We Five

We Five were a quintet led by singer/guitarist/banjoist Mike Stewart, who also arranged most of the group's music; Pete Fullerton (bass, vocals), Beverly Bivens (lead vocals), Bob Jones (six- and 12-string electric guitars, vocals), and Jerry Burgan (vocals, acoustic guitar) were the other members. They were formed in Los Angeles in 1965, and were produced by Frank Werber, the Kingston Trio's manager, no surprise since Mike Stewart was the brother of Kingston Trio member John Stewart. Their original sound, as represented by their first album, stood midway between the music of the New Christy Minstrels and the Byrds. They were as prone to do show tunes as folk numbers, although limited as they were to five members, they didn't have quite the same outsized arrangements on material like "My Favorite Things" (from The Sound of Music), Bernstein and Sondheim's "Tonight" (from West Side Story), and George Gershwin's "I Got Plenty O' Nothin'" (from Porgy and Bess). Stewart also wrote a decent body of originals, and between them the group and Werber had a knack for finding outside songs. The group's mix of acoustic guitars and high harmonies had a wonderfully radiant, ethereal quality, vaguely similar to the Seekers and anticipating Spanky & Our Gang and the Mamas and the Papas (check out their version of "Cast Your Fate to the Wind"), although they lacked the clearly defined personalities and image of the latter. They also had the good luck to pick up on a song written by Sylvia Fricker, of Ian & Sylvia, from their Northern Journey album, called "You Were on My Mind." The song, released on A&M Records, became a monster hit during the 1965-66 folk-rock boom. Bivens, in particular, shone well on this record, with a big voice slightly reminiscent of Judy Henske, and not very...