The Dave Clark Five

Depending on your outlook, this was either one album too many for the Dave Clark Five, or an essential step in their survival after the mid-'60s. By 1966, the Beatles, and even the Rolling Stones, were using sitars on their records; Brian Wilson was composing concept albums and vest-pocket pop symphonies, and folk-rock was so well established as a commercial music genre that its inventors, the Byrds, were compelled to find some new wrinkles to maintain their edge. In that environment, it was inevitable that the DC5 would allow their music to evolve. From the crisp piano chords and lean, restrained guitar and sax sound, as well as the upbeat tone of Try Too Hard there was change in the air from the opening seconds of this LP. "I Never Will" is another cheerful and tuneful rocker with a gorgeous modulation, and "Looking In" is a similarly lyrical piece of rock 'n' roll, driven more by its piano and rhythm guitar parts (all punctuated by a soaring chorus), than by the honking saxes or pounding organ of prior years. "Ever Since You've Been Away" sounds like a theme from a lost western movie (in fact, the melody and the break are very similar to the theme from Hang 'Em High, written a year later). The one track that might not work is the much too retro "Scared Of Falling In Love," but most of the rest makes for an enjoyable, still exciting, if somewhat softer, permutation of their basic sound. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide