The Dave Clark Five

The British-only CD release of Glad All Over Again -- not to be confused with a similarly titled U.S.-issued double LP from the '70s -- never got much exposure in the U.S., but it is a good alternative for listeners anywhere who find Hollywood Records' double-CD History of the Dave Clark Five to be just a little more Dave Clark Five than they wanted or needed. Prepared by Dave Clark himself on behalf of EMI, the sound is all mono and very crisp, as it was on the Hollywood Records release. On "Can't You See That She's Mine" the organ and rhythm guitar are both nice and crunchy, and the sax solo is good and loud; the same goes for the piano on "Don't Let Me Down," and those renowned screaming rockers like "Do You Love Me" and "Anyway You Want It" roar from beginning to end; at the same time, the ballads such as "Everybody Knows (I Still Love You)" parade the group's less well-known lyrical side in vivid detail. The annotation is also very thorough, and for a basic DC5 collection, this one is hard to beat -- all of the essential early tracks are here, including "Catch Us If You Can" and "Having a Wild Weekend," and it's only on the later material (which relatively few casual listeners remember) that this disc cedes any significant range to its double-CD rival. Note: The CD is subtitled "Thirty Five Solid Gold Hits" despite containing only 26 tracks, the larger number justified by the presence of a pair of medleys, "Good Old Rock 'n' Roll" and "More Good Old Rock 'n' Roll," which contain portions of six and five songs each, respectively. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide