2.24.2008

Five Americans: Progressions (1967)

ALBUM REVIEW(am)

The Five Americans' third album, Progressions, lives up to its title. The group, which had gained success with the pounding frat rocker "I Saw the Light" and the bubbly pop hit "Western Union," began to show some real artistic growth as they stretched out and explored new sounds. Some of the tracks sound like more assured versions of their earlier efforts — the bubblegummy "Zip Code" (the attempted follow-up to "Western Union"), the tender folk-rock of "(But Not) Today," the sparkling pop of "Stop-Light" — but they also incorporate some harder guitar rock on "Black Is White — Day Is Night," Kinks-y baroque pop psych on "Rain Maker," and blue-eyed soul on "Come on Up." They also ditched the at times too slick sound achieved by producer Dale Hawkins, took over the production chores themselves, and did a fine job of creating a full and rich sound with just enough experimentation to keep things unpredictable. Progressions is a substantial leap of quality for the group; with the right push, it could have been big. Instead it is a hidden gem that fans of fine '60s pop should seek out and savor.

JUST GREAT... LIKE ALL FIVE AMERICANS ALBUMS ... HIGHLY RECOMMENDED ...

LINK: ZIP CODE ! ! !

6 comments:

Maximiliano said...

Prolijo y delicado como todo el material de los Five, a esta altura los muchachos estaban bastante maduros y profesionales como para abrir la puerta y salir del garage.
Lamentablemente es otra banda injustamente olvidada.

zebulon said...

i've just discover your blog...
what can i say... a real candy for garage fan like me

PS: sorry, i don't speak spanish (and i'm french)

Anonymous said...

Muchas gracias por el estupendo material de todo el blog, magnificos bitrates y veo que has escaneado las portadas, viendo esto mi disco se pone mas duro, con tu permiso creo que me lo voy a bajar todo.
Un abrazo.

me said...

Thank you for this great post! I'm still trying to find the original LP.

The Bomber said...

Ohu yes, a great lp, also a hard to find...I know!

Cheers!!!

Sundazed said...

Please remove this an all other Sundazed titles from your blog. These are still in print with us and active in our catalog. Thank you!