WE FIVE - You Were On My Mind - (A&M) - 1965, comment, review, folk rock

I only knew the “You Were on My Mind” single by this pop folk act from the 60s which i like so it was a treat to come across this album with that single

History … “Michael Stewart formed We Five after graduating from Pomona Catholic High School and attending Mt. San Antonio College with guitarist Jerry Burgan). He was the brother of John Stewart of the Kingston Trio and came from Claremont, California. When Michael was a student at the University of San Francisco in 1964, he formed We Five as a quartet, although it soon added another member. The group played adult rock ‘n roll, pop jazz, Broadway show tunes, and Disney tunes. Stewart did all the arrangement” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Five

A variation: “They were based in San Francisco but the group’s members came from outside the area. Mike Stewart (from Riverside, California, brother of The Kingston Trio’s John Stewart) and Jerry Burgan (who’d moved out from Kansas City) started singing folk songs together during high school in Claremont, California, around 1961. Mike played several string instruments (acoustic and electric guitars, bass and banjo) while Jerry stuck with his trusty acoustic guitar. While attending the University of San Francisco in 1963, they met the electric axe-obsessed Bob Jones of Honolulu, Hawaii. Two more Claremont compadres joined up, bassist Pete Fullerton and singer Sue Davies (whom Mike and Jerry had known from high school). In those days they called themselves The Ridgerunners, though for a short time the name was changed to The Michael Stewart Quintet. Frank Werber, the Kingston Trio’s manager, also took on managing duties for the younger Stewart’s group. Werber’s connections got them an audition with Capitol Records, but nothing came of it … Davies left after a year or so and was replaced by Santa Ana, California native Beverly Bivens. Her arrival in the spring of ’64 coincided with an engagement at San Francisco’s Hungry i nightclub and a name change to We Five (Werber’s idea).” https://www.waybackattack.com/wefive.html

The line up was:

Michael Stewart (1945–2002) (baritone-bass, 5-string banjo, 6-string acoustic guitar, 9-string amplified guitar)
Beverly Bivens (born 1946) (low contralto to high soprano, rhythm guitar)
Jerry Burgan (1945-2021) (tenor, 6-string acoustic guitar)
Pete Fullerton (tenor, acoustic and Fender bass)
Bob Jones (1947–2013) (baritone-tenor, 6-string electric jazz guitar, 12-string electric guitar)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Five

They picked up on a song written by Sylvia Fricker, of Ian & Sylvia (from their Northern Journey album from 1964), called “You Were on My Mind.” The song became a giant hit during the 1965-1966 folk-rock boom.

“After completing their second album, Make Someone Happy, later in 1966, lead singer Beverly Bivens decided to leave the group. To continue, We Five replaced Bivens with Debbie Graf Burgan (wife of guitarist Jerry Burgan) and added a full-time drummer in Mick Gillespie for live performances … The group would record two albums with Debbie Burgan singing lead, Return of the We Five (1969) for A&M and Catch the Wind (1970) for Vault. Neither album came close to the success of the earlier Bivens material. In 1970, Stewart, Jones and Fullerton all quit We Five, breaking up the original band … Subsequent events

After We Five split up, Debbie Graf and Jerry Burgan kept a version of the group going through 1977. This group recorded another album in 1977, Take Each Day as It Comes for AVI Records before also disbanding. From 1977 through 1981, Jerry and Debbie performed as “The Burgans”, supported by bassist Paul Foti”.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Five

This is folk, but folk at the pop end of the spectrum. Not dissimilar to The Seekers or Peter, Paul & Mary in their more pop moments. They are a folk version of the trad pop act The Anita Kerr Singers, emphasising the female voice with male backing as opposed to the masses male chorus of traditional; old folk in sea shanties and frontier songs..

But I love it. Folk lends itself to pop (and rock). Pop folk may not be taken seriously by enthusiasts in either camp but the public like it, or rather, liked it. It is less regional, more user friendly, and easier of the ears.

When it is “too easy” on the ears then there could be a problem.

And, We Five don’t only do folk songs. They do pop songs, rock ballads, and Broadway songs. They have covered all the bases and open themselves to schmaltz. And, cunningly (?) they have taken the hits of the previous five years and folkified them in a pop way. They aren’t folk purists but punters with one eye on the market. But, that is honest and the motivation for many (most) musicians.

And, you know … here, it works.

The group’s mix of acoustic guitars and gentle high harmonies has a wonderfully sunny ethereal quality, but with a touch of melancholy. They are California sunshine on a winters day …. it makes you wonder what Brian Wilson could have done with them..

I love vocal groups and find them relaxing on the brain … maybe its because everyone sings in harmony and that’s what we are looking for … people banding together in harmony?

I don’t know … it’s just a thought.

We Five anticipate Spanky & Our Gang. The Mamas & the Papas and especially the The Pozo-Seco Singers. I can even hear a touch of Grace Slick in the vocals – though less strident and not psychedelically slanted.

And there was part of their problem … they were just not hip enough to be part of the emerging San Francisco psych folk scene … though none of those band had any hits on the Easy Listening charts either. It was not the first time that looks would be more important than content in music, nor, definitely, the last.

The always interesting Ritchie Unterberger had this to say about this album. “Despite the presence of the cheery folk-rock title smash, much of We Five’s debut LP was given over to collegiate folk-pop renderings of standards such as “Tonight” (from West Side Story), “Cast Your Fate to the Winds,” “My Favorite Things,” and Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love.” Some cuts mined a more satisfying mild folk-rock territory; the confused direction was only compounded by “I Got Plenty O’ Nuttin’,” an odd Mersey-styled raveup. The harmonies are nice, and an overlooked influence upon the early San Francisco rock scene. But the album as a whole is pretty lightweight, with nothing else in the same league as “You Were On My Mind.” https://www.allmusic.com/album/you-were-on-my-mind-mw0000844861

With all respect, he acknowledges them as an “overlooked influence” but he seems to listen to the songs individually. I think the album, as a whole, is more pleasing than any sum of its parts.

For so many reasons, including Bev Bevins voice alternating between high (soprano) and low (tenor), the harmonies, the arrangements, and the broad range of music selection (making the album fun in a trainspotters way) make this a great album of the time.

Tracks (best in italics)

Side One

Love Me Not Tomorrow – (John Stewart) – written by Michael’s brother John from The Kingston Trio, this comes across as a Peter Paul and Mary song if they were fronted by Grace Slick. Not too bad, quite reflective… a strange one to open and album with
Somewhere Beyond the Sea – (Charles Trenet, Jack Lawrence) – Bobby Darin’s mammoth #6 hit from 1959. I love this song so it’s always going to get a thumbs up. And this version is great in its new Peter Paul and Mary style folk suit. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beyond_the_Sea_(song)
My Favorite Things – (Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II) – The popular show tune from “The Sound of Music” which came out in 1959. The popular film with Julie Andrews singing was from 1965. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Favorite_Things_(song)
If I Were Alone – (Mike Stewart, John Stewart) – A good folk song. More folk than rock and with a hint of Phil Ochs in the folk.
Tonight – (Stephen Sondheim, Leonard Bernstein) – from the 1957 musical and 1960 film “West Side Story”. Often covered, and another song I love. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonight_(West_Side_Story_song)
Cast Your Fate to the Wind – (Vince Guaraldi, Carel Werber) – by jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi (later, a lyric was written by Carel Werber). Another good updating and anticipating sunshine pop. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cast_Your_Fate_to_the_Wind

Side Two

You Were on My Mind – (Sylvia Fricker) – originally done by Sylvia on Ian & Sylvia’s album “Northern Journey” from 1964. The song has been covered many times post We Five, including versions by Englishman Crispian St. Peters (1965) (who had a #2UK hit with it … and a #36 in the US) in 1966, The Lettermen (1966), Family Dogg (1969), Jay and the Americans (1970), and Susanna Hoffs (1992). Wonderful folk pop. Inspired. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Were_on_My_Mind
Can’t Help Falling in Love – (George David Weiss, Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore) – Elvis’ big 1962 hit (#2US, #1 UK, #3 Australia) from the film “Blue Hawaii” (1961). Who hasn’t done this song? But, in 1965, to cover an Elvis 60s movie song for a “folk” album is pretty “out there”. It’s wonderfully done with their own spin on it, making it one of the best versions of the song. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Can%27t_Help_Falling_in_Love
Small World – (Jule Styne, Stephen Sondheim) -from the 1959 Broadway show and 1962 film “Gypsy”. It still sounds like a Broadway song but it’s quite a joy on the ear.
I Got Plenty o’ Nuttin’ – (Dorothy Heyward, Ira Gershwin, George Gershwin) – a song composed in 1934 by George Gershwin for the 1935 “folk-opera” Porgy and Bess (1934). Done by heaps and in the successful film of the same name from 1959. This fits in stylistically if not in mood. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Got_Plenty_o%27_Nuttin%27
Softly, as I Leave You – (Antonio De Vita, Hal Shaper) – Done by everyone, usually in the trad pop space, including Bobby Darin and Andy Williams both in 1965. A haunting song. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Softly,_as_I_Leave_You_(song)
I Can Never Go Home Again – (John Stewart) – a familiar theme in 60s folk … wandering, rootless, ”alienation”. Excellent. – 1965 –