Let The Sunshine In - The Soul City & Bell Albums 1967/1974

Description

Celebration of the 60th anniversary of The 5th Dimension. First box set dedicated to the legendary quintet of "champagne soul"! Gathering the complete recordings of Marilyn McCoo, Billy Davis Jr., Florence LaRue, as well as the late Ron Townson and LaMonte McLemore, for the Soul City, Bell and Arista labels. Not forgetting bonus tracks, including a rare single by the group, prior to the formation of The 5th Dimension, under their original name, The Versatiles. This 6 CD box set offers remastered editions of the ten Soul City and Bell albums, as well as 25 bonus tracks. This quintet, six-time Grammy Award winner, elevated the vocal harmonies of Laura Nyro, Jimmy Webb, Burt Bacharach and Hal David, Ashford & Simpson, Neil Sedaka, Paul Williams and Harry Nilsson, thus creating some of the most iconic songs of the 1960s-1970s. This compilation includes the hits "Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In" and "Wedding Bell Blues", as well as the top 10 successes "Up, Up, And Away", "Stoned Soul Picnic", "One Less Bell To Answer" and "(Last Night) I Didn't Get To Sleep At All", not forgetting the psych-pop classic "The Magic Garden". The bonuses include non-album singles, alternate takes, the first official release of rare live versions and the previously unreleased production by Bones Howe of the song "Hi-De-Ho" by Carole King and Gerry Goffin. Nick Robbins remastered the audio. The liner notes by Joe Marchese offer an oral history of the group, based on a 2025 roundtable with McCoo, Davis and LaRue; new interviews with Bones Howe and producer John Florez; and archival quotes from McLemore, Townson, Webb and others. The deluxe edition booklet also contains rare photos.