Half Past Midnight: The Staccatos and Beyond

Ottawa's the Five Man Electrical Band were an unwittingly fine example of how rock & roll began to shapeshift during the mid- to late '60s. The Five Men Electrical Band began life as the Staccatos in 1963, and by the time the Staccatos cut their first singles for Capitol Records' Canadian branch in 1966, they'd become a fine pop band with a talent for folk-rock in the manner of the Byrds and the Hollies. But when the Staccatos began recording their second album for Capitol in Hollywood, CA in 1969, psychedelia had made more than a few fine pop bands sound obsolete, so the guys began dipping their toes into more Baroque and lysergic waters. Taking their new name from a tune written by leader Les Emmerson, the Five Man Electrical Band's "debut" album is a charming relic of the era when seemingly every band that knew how to string two hooks together were trying to create their own Sgt. Pepper's, and Now Sounds/Cherry Red have reissued the album on CD along with a handful of Staccatos single sides as Half Past Midnight: The Staccatos and Beyond. If the results are a far cry from what the Fab Four wrought, it's well-crafted studio pop with a faint but pleasing psychedelic edge and just the right dash of attitude here and there. The Five Man Electrical Band's two greatest strengths in their early days were Emmerson's knack for songwriting and the group's talent for harmonies, and both are on frequent display on the original self-titled album; "The Last Time I Saw Memphis" is a prescient bit of country rock, "Maple Lane" suggests a Canadian fusion of Paul McCartney's "Penny Lane" and Ray Davies' "Waterloo Sunset," and "Black Sheep of the Family" shows flashes of the more aggressive sound that would become their hallmark in the 1970s. Emmerson produced the album, and he gives his band a sound that's polished and ambitious without sounding too slick, and the group sings beautifully on every track. The early Staccatos' singles are not quite as glossy, but they make it clear that this was already a very good group; "Let's Run Away" and "Face to Face (With Love)" are superb folk-rock obscurities, and "Half Past Midnight" (with was re-recorded for the Five Man Electrical Band album) was a massive hit in Canada that deserved to do just as well in the United States. If you're looking for "Signs" or "Absolutely Right" or other tunes like them, this collection is not the Five Man Electrical Band disc you want, but anyone wanting to hear their earlier, poppier music will be delighted with this release.