The Dave Clark Five Play Good Old Rock & Roll
| The Dave Clark Five Play Good Old Rock & Roll | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | December 1971[1] | |||
| Genre | Rock and roll | |||
| Length | 24:30 | |||
| Label | EMI/Starline SRS 5090 | |||
| Producer | Dave Clark[2] | |||
| The Dave Clark Five UK chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Dave Clark Five Play Good Old Rock & Roll | ||||
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| Alternate UK cover art (1972) | ||||
.jpg) Album re-issue on Music For Pleasure | ||||
The Dave Clark Five Play Good Old Rock & Roll (subtitled "18 Golden Oldies") is the album by the Dave Clark Five released in 1971, after the band's breakup. It was released by EMI/Starline label and sometimes is classified as a compilation, as most of the tracks were first released on two EPs (in 1969 and 1970).[3] Dave Clark included the album in the band's core collection and remastered and re-released it on Spotify in 2019.
Overview[edit]
This is the band's only album composed entirely of cover versions of well-known American rock and roll songs. The core of the album consists of two popular hit medleys, the top ten hit "Good Old Rock 'n' Roll" (peaked on the UK chart at No. 7, 1969) and its sequel "More Good Old Rock 'n' Roll" (reached No. 34, 1970).[4] Keith Altham called the first part of the album "a party piece for the hit parade" in his article in Record Mirror magazine.[5] Singer Mike Smith in the same interview with Altham said, "Originally the record Good Old Rock and Roll was a Cat Mother & the All Night Newsboys hit in America but Dave recognised the potential and when it died a death here we decided to resurrect it."
The singles had overdubbed applause to simulate a live recording, but the LP version omitted this effect. The album also includes full versions of songs such as "Raining In My Heart", "Lucille", "Reelin' and Rockin'", "One Night" and "Memphis, Tennessee". All songs were sung by Mike Smith.
Release[edit]
The Good Old Rock & Roll album was initially released by Starline (a label associated with EMI), with a modified gold record on the cover, but with no picture of the band members (on the back of the cover was featured an artistic caricature of Dave Clark). In 1972, a second version of the LP was released on the Music For Pleasure label (an EMI label designed for budget-priced LPs), which already had a photo of the band and a sleeve note by Roger St. Pierre. Pierre wrote that the group added "something of their own brillant individuality" to the songs.[6] Although the album was available in countries on almost every continent (e.g., the UK, Germany, France, Turkey, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Africa), it was not released in the United States. This was probably because of the failure of the single "More Good Old Rock 'n' Roll" (due to the band's decision, the single "Good Old Rock 'n' Roll" was not released for the US market[7]).
Reception[edit]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [8] |
In his AllMusic retrospective review of the release, Richie Unterberger wrote, "Mike Smith does sing everything with commendable commitment, but otherwise these are routine late-'60s hard rock interpretations that don't have much similarity to the mid-'60s Dave Clark Five sound."[8] Singer and songwriter John E Vistic called the album one of his favorites and said, "Every tune on it is epic rock and roll gold."[9]
Track listing[edit]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Good Old Rock 'n' Roll incl. Sweet Little Sixteen / Long Tall Sally / Chantilly Lace / Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On / Blue Suede Shoes" | various composers | 3:28 |
| 2. | "Raining In My Heart" | Felice Bryant, Boudleaux Bryant | 2:48 |
| 3. | "Lucille" | Albert Collins, Little Richard | 2:44 |
| 4. | "Reelin' and Rockin'" | Chuck Berry | 2:47 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "More Good Old Rock 'n' Roll incl. Rock And Roll Music / Blueberry Hill / Good Golly Miss Molly / My Blue Heaven / Keep A-Knockin'" | various composers | 2:57 |
| 2. | "Loving You" | Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller | 2:29 |
| 3. | "Memphis, Tennessee" | Chuck Berry | 2:43 |
| 4. | "One Night" | Dave Bartholomew, Pearl King, Anita Steinman | 2:37 |
| 5. | "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" | Lloyd Price | 1:57 |
References[edit]
- ^ "Dave Clark Five Complete Discography". Record Collector. June 1993. p. 123.
- ^ "The Dave Clark Five – Play Good Old Rock & Roll". Discogs. December 1971.
- ^ George-Warren, Holly; Romanowski, Patricia; Pareles, Joe (2001). Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll. Touchstone. p. 180. ISBN 978-0743201209.
- ^ Hartman, Tom (1984). Guinness Book of Christmas. Guinness Publishing. p. 49. ISBN 978-0851124049.
- ^ Altham, Keith. "DC5 – People still tend to underestimate Dave's part in this business" (PDF). Record Mirror. No. (not numbered), 10 January 1970. London, England: Cardfont Publishers Ltd.
- ^ "The Dave Clark Five – Play Good Old Rock & Roll". Discogs. 1972.
- ^ Green, Richard. "Misses hurt Dave Clark but they're happy now" (PDF). New Musical Express. No. 1198, 27 December 1969. London, England: IPC Magazine Ltd.
- ^ a b Unterberger, Richie. The Dave Clark Five – Play Good Old Rock 'N' Roll Review at AllMusic
- ^ Kardasz, Jonathon. "Interview: John E Vistic". Bristol24-7. No. 3 January 2016. Bristol, United Kingdom: Bristol24/7 CIC.