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Portrait | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | April 1970 | |||
Recorded | August 22, 1969 –March 20, 1970 | |||
Studio | Wally Heider, Hollywood | |||
Genre | Pop [1] | |||
Length | 38:25 | |||
Label | Bell | |||
Producer | Bones Howe | |||
The 5th Dimension chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Portrait is the fifth album by the American pop group the 5th Dimension, released in 1970. This is the group's first album for Bell Records, having switched from the Soul City Records label. The cover features an impressionistic portrait by famous artist LeRoy Neiman.
The album languished 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. As a result, Portrait began climbing the charts once again, eventually peaking at #20. The single features Marilyn McCoo on lead vocal, and ushers in The 5th Dimension's transition from pop to adult contemporary artists. McCoo from this point became the primary vocalist for the group's subsequent chart hits, including "Last Night (I Didn't Get to Sleep at All)", "Love's Lines, Angles and Rhymes", "Never My Love", "If I Could Reach You", "House for Sale", "Everything's Been Changed" and "Flashback". This became a source of friction for the group as time went on, and was in part responsible for McCoo and husband Billy Davis Jr. leaving the group after the release of Earthbound in 1975.
Additional personnel
As mentioned on the liner notes of the album, this was one of the first albums to be recorded on a 16-track recorder, and was recorded at the Wally Heider Studios in Hollywood. The sketches of the vocal recording sessions included in the album cover art are dated January 13 and January 14, 1970.
Album
Year | Chart | Position |
---|---|---|
1971 | US Top LPs | 20 [2] |
US Top Soul LPs | 6 [3] | |
Singles
Year | Title | Chart | Position |
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1970 | "The Declaration" | US Hot 100 | 60 |
US Easy Listening | 35 [4] | ||
"On the Beach (In the Summertime)" | US Hot 100 | 54 | |
US Easy Listening | 12 [5] | ||
"Puppet Man" | US Hot 100 | 24 [6] | |
US Easy Listening | 31 [7] | ||
"Save the Country" | US R&B Singles | 41 | |
US Hot 100 | 27 [8] | ||
US Easy Listening | 10 [9] | ||
"One Less Bell to Answer" | US Hot 100 | 2 [10] | |
US R&B Singles | 4 [11] | ||
US Easy Listening | 1 [12] | ||
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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United States (RIAA) [13] | Gold | 500,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
The 5th Dimension is an American popular music vocal group. Their music encompasses sunshine pop, pop soul and psychedelic soul.
Earthbound is the twelfth album by American pop group the 5th Dimension, released in 1975 by ABC Records. It is the last album for the group's original line-up of Billy Davis Jr., Marilyn McCoo, Florence LaRue, Lamonte McLemore and Ron Townson. After touring with the 5th Dimension in support of this album, Billy Davis Jr. and Marilyn McCoo left the group to work as a duo and as solo artists.
The Age of Aquarius is the fourth album by the American pop group the 5th Dimension, released in 1969. It was their biggest commercial success in the United States, peaking at number two on the Billboard 200 and the Top R&B Albums charts.
Up – Up and Away is the debut album by the American pop group the 5th Dimension, released in 1967. The title track was released as a single and became a major pop hit.
The Magic Garden is the second album by the American pop group the 5th Dimension, released in 1967. A concept album, it tells the story of a couple's love and the end of their relationship. In more recent discussions of the album, that love affair is said to be about Jimmy Webb — who composed all but one of the album's songs — and his time with singer and then-girlfriend Susan Horton. The album's one track not credited to Jimmy Webb, a cover of Lennon–McCartney's "Ticket to Ride", was originally intended for the group's debut album, Up, Up and Away.
Stoned Soul Picnic is the third album by the American pop group the 5th Dimension, released in 1968. Early versions of the album had a lyric sheet inserted in the sleeve.
"Medley: Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In " is a medley of two songs written for the 1967 musical Hair by James Rado and Gerome Ragni (lyrics), and Galt MacDermot (music), released as a single by American R&B group the 5th Dimension. The song spent six weeks at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart in the spring of 1969 and was eventually certified platinum in the US by the RIAA. Instrumental backing was written by Bill Holman and provided by session musicians commonly known as the Wrecking Crew. The actual recording was novel at the time, being recorded in two cities, Los Angeles and Las Vegas, and being mixed down to a final version later.
Broken Blossom is the fourth studio album by American singer Bette Midler, her second album release in 1977 and her fifth on the Atlantic Records label. Just as Midler's three previous studio albums Broken Blossom includes songs from a wide variety of genres, ranging from Edith Piaf's signature tune "La vie en rose", Phil Spector-esque covers of Billy Joel's "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" and Harry Nilsson's "Paradise" and hard rock like Sammy Hagar's "Red", to a jazzy duet with Tom Waits, "I Never Talk to Strangers", and a rendition of "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes", originally from Walt Disney's 1950 film version of Cinderella. The album reached #51 on Billboard's album chart.
Love's Lines, Angles and Rhymes is the sixth album by the American pop group the 5th Dimension, released in 1971. The title song had been recorded originally by Diana Ross the previous year. It reached #17 on Billboard's Top 200 Album Chart and became the band's third consecutive album to be certified Gold.
"California Soul" is a funk-soul tune written by Ashford & Simpson, issued originally as the B-side of the Messengers' single "Window Shopping" in 1967 under the Motown group of labels.
"Wedding Bell Blues" is a song written and recorded by Laura Nyro in 1966. The best known version was a number one hit for the 5th Dimension in 1969.
"One Less Bell to Answer" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Originally written in 1967 for Keely Smith, the song was rediscovered in late 1969 by Bones Howe, the producer for the 5th Dimension, and the song was included on the group's 1970 debut album for Bell Records, Portrait. Lead vocals on the single were sung by Marilyn McCoo.
"Never My Love" is a pop standard written by American siblings Don and Dick Addrisi, and best known from a hit 1967 recording by the Association. The Addrisi Brothers had two Top 40 hits as recording artists, but their biggest success as songwriters was "Never My Love". Recorded by dozens of notable artists in the decades since, in 1999 the music publishing rights organization Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) announced it was the second most-played song on radio and television of the 20th century in the U.S.
"Stoned Soul Picnic" is a 1968 song by Laura Nyro. The best-known version of the song was recorded by the 5th Dimension, and was the first single released from their album of the same title. It was the most successful single from that album, reaching No. 3 on the U.S. Pop chart and No. 2 on the Billboard R&B chart. It became a platinum record.
Lamonte McLemore is an American vocalist, composer, and photographer. He was a founding member of The 5th Dimension, a popular vocal group of the late 1960s and early 1970s.
"Save the Country" is a song written by Laura Nyro, first released by her as a single in 1968. Nyro released another version of the song on her 1969 album New York Tendaberry.
"Love's Lines, Angles and Rhymes" is a song written by Dorothea Joyce and performed by The 5th Dimension. It reached #6 on the U.S. adult contemporary chart, #19 in Canada, #19 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #28 on the U.S. R&B chart in 1971. It was featured on their 1971 album, Love's Lines, Angles and Rhymes.
"Everything's Been Changed" is a song written by Paul Anka and performed by The 5th Dimension. The song was produced by Bones Howe and arranged by Bill Holman, Bob Alcivar, and Howe.
Greatest Hits is the first compilation album by American pop group the 5th Dimension, released in 1970 by Soul City. It includes all but two of their charting singles to date: "Go Where You Wanna Go", their first Top 20 record in the USA, would appear on the follow-up compilation, The July 5th Album, released later that year, while "Another Day, Another Heartache" was not included on either compilation. Greatest Hits and The July 5 Album were the final two album releases for Soul City Records' distribution deal with Liberty Records. The 5th Dimension subsequently signed with Bell Records. The album peaked at no. 5 on Billboard's Top LP's chart in the summer of 1970, achieving gold record status.
Individually and Collectively is the seventh album of original material by American pop group the 5th Dimension, released in 1972. The album peaked at No. 58 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart on June 24, 1972. This album includes both of the group's final top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart — "(Last Night) I Didn't Get to Sleep at All" and "If I Could Reach You". Both feature lead vocals by Marilyn McCoo.