The 5th Dimension - Magic Garden (1967)

Tracklist

01. Prologue (Remastered 2000)
02. The Magic Garden (Remastered 2000)
03. Summer's Daughter (Remastered 2000)
04. Dreams/Pax/Nepenthe (Remastered 2000)
05. Carpet Man (Remastered 2000)
06. Ticket To Ride
07. Requiem: 8:20 Latham (Remastered 2000)
08. The Girls' Song (Remastered 2000)
09. The Worst That Could Happen (Remastered 2000)
10. Orange Air (Remastered 2000)
11. Paper Cup (Remastered 2000)
12. Epilogue (Remastered 2000)

This record did contain the small hits "Paper Cup" and "Carpet Man," but the group, or more likely arranger/conductor Jim Webb, was probably shooting for something a bit higher than the Top 40. Aside from a misfired cover of the Beatles' "Ticket to Ride," Webb wrote everything on this album, which -- with between-track segues, lyrics expounding dreams and possibility, and dense orchestral settings -- seemed to be aiming for a song cycle of sorts. It's not Pet Sounds, however, or even Van Dyke Parks' Song Cycle. It's overambitious MOR pop-soul with mild psychedelic colors, and a bit ludicrous, though not unattractive due to the typically conscientious harmonies. "Orange Air" is probably the group's best shot at pseudo-psychedelia; "The Girls' Song," on much firmer MOR territory, was done much better by Jackie DeShannon; and "The Worst That Could Happen," Webb at his most disagreeably sentimental, was covered for a huge hit by the Brooklyn Bridge about a year later. A recent biography of cult singer/songwriter Nick Drake, by the way, revealed that this album, along with such estimable underground classics as Love's Forever Changes and Van Morrison's Astral Weeks, was a special favorite of his because of its combination of rock and orchestration. That means it might suddenly become a lot harder to find in the dollar bins, although many of those copies will probably find their way right back there after Drake fans play it once or twice. [The album was also reissued by Soul City under the title The Worst That Could Happen.]

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