The 5th Dimension, Stoned Soul Picnic (United Records, 1968)

Recorded March-June, 1968

Whenever I think of this record, the first record alphabetically/numerically in my collection, I usually think of the above album cover section from Pavement's Westing (By Musket and Sextant). That record cover features a number of songs which, ostensibly, meant something to the nascent Pavement. The early 90s were often about rehabilitating and openly enjoying music that the previous generation had found offensive. The 5th Dimension was a group that I heard on the radio all the time growing up. Though no one explicitly told me that their music wasn't as good as other music from the period, no one was bothering to push the 5th Dimension as an important group. They made light music in dark times and that was always evidence of shallowness and disposability. If the previous generation of independent, outsider, punk and amateur musicians mocked the AM Gold sound(z) of groups like the 5th Dimension, Pavement and the indie bands of the 90s would be different. This will all culminate, partially, in the If I Was A Carpenter comp from the mid-90s which had a celebrated roster of independent/alternative artists covering the most golden of AM Gold, the Carpenters. 

The MVPs of this record are the songwriters: we have two Laura Nyro songs: "Sweet Blindness" and the title track. We also have Valerie Simpson and Nikolas Ashford's near-standard "California Soul." I've yet to hear a bad version of this song and the 5th Dimension version is perfectly fine, but you really want to hear this one: https://youtu.be/AlPFif7_tuI?si=iLR6lSjfbBAXfMkO (or this one: https://youtu.be/CUosSQZSw5c?si=EEDlKNI6XR_TO-eS) I'll be saying more about Ashford and Simpson's amazing disco records shortly and much more about Laura Nyro when we get further in my collection. 

Adopting the Michelin Guide/Jokermen rating system, I will rate each record on a three star scale: 

⭐️/⭐️⭐️⭐️ (1 out of three stars)