WE FIVE
Agradeço ao amigo Onésimo Cordeiro, que me mandou o link e a biografia deste grupo, de curta duração nos anos 60. Valeu, Onésimo.
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WE FIVE
"We Five" were a quintet formed in 1965 (Los Angeles, CA), led by singer/guitarist/banjoist Mike Stewart, who also arranged most of the group's music; Pete Fullerton (bass, vocals), Beverly Bivens (lead vocals), Bob Jones (six- and 12-string electric guitars, vocals) and Jerry Burgan (vocals, acoustic guitar) were the other members. They were formed in Los Angeles in 1965, and were produced by Frank Werber, the Kingston Trio's manager. Their original sound, as represented by their first album, stood midway between the music of the New Christy Minstrels and the Byrds. They were as prone to do show tunes as folk numbers, although limited as they were to five members, they didn't have quite the same outsized arrangements on material like "My Favorite Things" (from The Sound of Music), Bernstein and Sondheim's "Tonight" (from West Side Story), and George Gershwin's "I Got Plenty O' Nothin'" (from Porgy and Bess). Stewart also wrote a decent body of originals, and between them the group and Werber had a knack for finding outside songs. The group's mix of acoustic guitars and high harmonies had a wonderfully radiant, ethereal quality, vaguely similar to the "Seekers" and anticipating "Spanky & Our Gang" and the "Mamas and the Papas". In 1966 the group had split up but, at various times, "We Five" have reappeared in some version, playing the oldies circuit, with new players substituting for absent originals, but their actual history ended in 1967. Mike Stewart and Bob Jones later formed a short-lived group called West, and Stewart subsequently played with his brother John, and with Kenny Rankin, among others, while Pete Fullerton drifted in and out of the business during the late '60s and early '70s.
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MINHA OPINIÃO: o WF, apesar de não ser original (nesta praia já nadavam "The Byrds" e "The Seekers), de certa forma antecipou o formato que viria a ser adotado, com enorme sucesso, pelos "Mamas & Papas". Apesar de, na minha opinião, seus arranjos serem mais elaborados que os do "M&P", o "WF" teve curta duração: coisas da vida...O repertório é muito bom, com grandes canções, arranjadas com muita competência por Mike Stewart, dentro do estilo "pop-folk", em voga nos anos 60 & 70.
(*)Uma curiosidade: um dos componentes de uma das formações do grupo foi o grande KENNY RANKIN, falecido há poucos anos. Kenny foi um cantor e guitarrista extraordinário - confiram postagem no CBLatin Jazz.
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WE FIVE: You were on my mind
WE FIVE
Beverly Bivens
Bob Jones
Jerry Burgan
Mike Stewart
Pete Fullerton
(*) Drums: Jerry Granelli, John Chambers
TRACKS/FAIXAS:
A1 - Love Me Not Tomorrow (John Stewart)
A2 - Somewhere Beyond The Sea (lyrics by Jack Lawrence, music by Charles Trenet)
A3 - My Favorite Things (lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, music by Richard Rodgers)
A4 - If I Were Alone (lyrics by Mike Stewart, music by John Stewart)
A5 - Tonight (lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, music by Leonard Bernstein)
A6 - Cast Your Fate To The Winds (music By Vince Guaraldi)
B1 - You Were On My Mind (Sylvia Fricker)
B2 - Can't Help Falling In Love (George David Weiss, Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore)
B3 - Small World (lyrics by Jule Styne, music by Stephen Sondheim)
B4 - I Got Plenty O' Nuttin' (lyrics by Dorothy Heyward, Ira Gershwin, music by George Gershwin)
B5 - Softly As I Leave You (lyrics by Antonio De Vita, music by Hal Shaper)
B6 - I Can Never Go Home Again (John Stewart)
