PORTRAIT: Anniversary Reflections

“It was our form of a protest record,” declares Marilyn McCoo about the seminal album, “The 5th Dimension/Portrait,” alluding specifically to side 2 featuring “Save the Country” by Laura Nyro and then the Independence Medley: “The Declaration/A Change is Gonna Come/People Gotta be Free.” Concerning his timeless watershed moment delivering Sam Cook‘s “People Gotta Be Free,” Billy Davis, Jr. shared with Forever 5th Dimension, “That’s not me, it’s God working through me!” In his memoir, LaMonte McLemore notes he was particularly intrigued with artist Leroy Neiman attending the sessions, sketching The 5th Dimension in the recording studio…his etchings found in the album’s fold-out. Of course, Neiman’s “portrait” is famously featured on the cover. About Florence LaRue‘s tour-de-force, “This is Your Life” by Jimmy Webb, the tunesmith shared, “That was a good song for Florence.” Other notable cuts included Neil Sedaka‘s “Puppet Man,” a personal favorite of producer Bones Howe. Also, the jazzy scat of “Dimension 5ive,” Mac’s penning of “A Love Like Ours,” and Billy rocking out on “Feelin’ Alright?” The ubiquitous for-the-time, stellar musicians known as The Wrecking Crew have the following to share on Portrait’s anniversary week, noting that “One Less Bell to Answer” by Bacharach/David saved the day for the album, bringing a huge classic hit for The 5th Dimension with the torchy Ms. McCoo in the lead:

This week in April of 1970, the LP “Portrait” by The 5th Dimension was released on Bell Records. It was produced by Bones Howe.

The album stayed in the mid-60s on the Billboard Top 200 Album Charts after the release of its first three singles, none of which entered the Top 20 of the American pop music charts. Bell Records, hoping to see a return on the investment they made by signing The 5th Dimension after the group’s contract at Soul City Records ended, made a fourth and final attempt at a hit – a relatively uncommon practice at the time – with the release of Burt Bacharach and Hal David‘s “One Less Bell to Answer”. The single rose all the way to #2 by Christmas 1970, becoming one of the group’s greatest hits of all time.

The album was recorded at Wally Heider Recording in Hollywood August 22, 1969-March 20, 1970.

Instrumental personnel on the album:

Michael Anthony – electric guitar

Mike Deasy – electric guitar

Dennis Budimir – rhythm guitar

Tommy Tedesco – rhythm guitar

Fred Tackett – finger pickin’ guitar

Joe Osborn – Bass Player – bass

Hal Blaine – drums, percussion

Larry Bunker – congas, mallets, percussion, drums

Gary Coleman – mallets, percussion

Larry Knechtel – piano, organ, tack piano

Jimmy Rowles – piano

Tony Terran – trumpet

Gary Illingworth – electric piano

Bob Alcivar was the vocal arranger

Special thanks to Marilyn, Billy, Florence, LaMonte, Bones, and The Wrecking Crew! ~~Robert-Allan Arno