Portrait (The 5th Dimension album)

Last updated
Portrait
The 5th Dimension - Portrait.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedApril 1970
RecordedAugust 22, 1969 March 20, 1970
StudioWally Heider, Hollywood
Genre Pop [1]
Length38:25
Label Bell
Producer Bones Howe
The 5th Dimension chronology
Greatest Hits
(1970)
Portrait
(1970)
The July 5th Album
(1970)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [1]

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.

Contents

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.

Track listing

Side one
  1. "Puppet Man" (Howard Greenfield, Neil Sedaka) – 3:00
  2. "One Less Bell to Answer" (Burt Bacharach, Hal David) – 3:31
  3. "Feelin' Alright?" (Dave Mason) – 4:28
  4. "This Is Your Life" (Jimmy Webb) – 4:13
  5. "A Love Like Ours" (Bob Alcivar, Lamonte McLemore) – 2:39
Side two
  1. "Save the Country" (Laura Nyro) – 2:39
  2. "Medley" – 10:12
  3. "Dimension 5ive" (Bob Alcivar) – 4:15
Bonus track on CD
  1. "On the Beach (In the Summertime)" (Landy McNeil) – 3:28

Personnel

Additional personnel

Production

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.

Charts

Album

YearChartPosition
1971US Top LPs 20 [2]
US Top Soul LPs 6 [3]

Singles

YearTitleChartPosition
1970"The Declaration"US Hot 100 60
US Easy Listening 35 [4]
"On the Beach (In the Summertime)"US Hot 10054
US Easy Listening12 [5]
"Puppet Man"US Hot 10024 [6]
US Easy Listening31 [7]
"Save the Country"US R&B Singles 41
US Hot 10027 [8]
US Easy Listening10 [9]
"One Less Bell to Answer"US Hot 1002 [10]
US R&B Singles 4 [11]
US Easy Listening1 [12]

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA) [13] Gold500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

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References

  1. 1 2 Greenwald, Matthew. "The Fifth Dimension: Portrait—review". AllMusic . Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  2. "The 5th Dimension: Portrait (Billboard 200)". billboard.com. Billboard.
  3. "The 5th Dimension: Portrait (Top Soul Albums)". billboard.com. Billboard.
  4. "The 5th Dimension: The Declaration (Adult Contemporary Songs)". billboard.com. Billboard.
  5. "The 5th Dimension: On the Beach (In the Summertime) [Adult Contemporary Songs]". billboard.com. Billboard.
  6. "The 5th Dimension: Puppet Man (Hot 100)". billboard.com. Billboard.
  7. "The 5th Dimension: Puppet Man (Adult Contemporary Songs)". billboard.com. Billboard.
  8. "The 5th Dimension: Save the Country (Hot 100)". billboard.com. Billboard.
  9. "The 5th Dimension: Save the Country (Adult Contemporary Songs)". billboard.com. Billboard.
  10. "The 5th Dimension: One Less Bell To Answer (Hot 100)". billboard.com. Billboard.
  11. "The 5th Dimension: One Less Bell To Answer (Hot R&B Songs)". billboard.com. Billboard.
  12. "The 5th Dimension: One Less Bell To Answer (Adult Contemporary Songs)". billboard.com. Billboard.
  13. "American album certifications – Fifth Dimension – Portrait". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved 24 October 2023.