Everybody Knows

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1968 studio album by The Dave Clark Five

Everybody Knows is the twelfth US album by the British band the Dave Clark Five. Released in January 1968 on Epic Records, it contained four hit singles, a rock cover version of the old Bing Crosby hit "You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby", the band`s guitarist Lenny Davidson`s song "Red and Blue", cover of the Majors soul song "A Little Bit Now", and the UK chartbuster "Everybody Knows". It is the band`s last American album and the first not to enter the Billboard Top 200 chart.[1]

Overview

The album combined modern musical trends of soul and rock and roll ("You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby", "Concentration Baby", "A Little Bit Now"), powerful ballads ("Everybody Knows", "I`ll Do the Best I Can", "At the Place") with a slight influence of psychedelic music ("Lost in His Dreams"). LP was produced by Dave Clark himself. Most of the songs were composed by the band members. The album`s biggest UK hit "Everybody Knows" (written by Barry Mason and Les Reed) was sung by guitarist Lenny Davidson instead of the band`s lead singer Mike Smith. LP was released in both mono (LN 24354) and stereo (BN 26354) versions. The artwork featured sepia-toned photographs of the band members, but the author was not credited (they used the same cover for their later UK album 5 By 5).[2]

Reception

Everybody Knows was the first Dave Clark Five album not to enter the US charts, and the band therefore focused on the UK market, where three more albums followed. The reason for the failure in America may have been the group`s declining popularity, noticeable in the success of their singles in the US (the UK smash hit "Everybody Knows" remained at No. 43 on Billboard), but also the delayed release, which missed the 1967 Christmas market and wasn`t offered until January 1968 (the LP was released in the UK in December 1967).[4]

Billboard magazine wrote in the official review, "There`s something old and something new – and they both register. The new is Everybody Knows, with the soft sound not commonly associated with DCF. And in their traditional kick is You Must Have Been A Beautiful Baby. It all adds up to a solid effort, both old and new."[5] Cashbox magazine wrote, "Presently on the charts with the title tune of this LP, the Dave Clark Five should have no difficulty making the charts with the album itself. Rock foot-stompers and ballads make up the bill of fare. One of the grooviest tracks is a swinging, hard-driving updating of You Must Have Been A Beautiful Baby..."[6]

In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Richie Unterberger wrote about the songs, "Some of them saw the group competently, if not excitingly, adapt to trends in late-`60s production with an increased brassiness, as they do on the soul-pop tunes A Little Bit Now and Inside and Out." And he concluded the review with the opinion, "It adds up to an album that has some appeal for serious Dave Clark Five fans, but isn`t essential listening for more discriminating listeners."[7]

Track listing (US version)

UK version

In late 1967 the album was also released in the UK, but with a modified 16-track list that included a few songs from the previous US albums You Got What It Takes ("Blueberry Hill", "Tabatha Twitchit", "I`ve Got To Have A Reason", "Play Me Around", "You Got What It Takes"), Satisfied with You ("Go On"), and 5 by 5 ("Sitting Here Baby", "Bernerdette"). The British and Canadian editions had different artwork referencing the You Got What It Takes US LP.[8]

Track listing (UK version)

Personnel

The Dave Clark Five

• Dave Clark - drums, backing vocals
• Mike Smith - keyboards, lead vocals
• Lenny Davidson - electric guitars, backing vocals (lead on "Everybody Knows")
• Rick Huxley - bass guitar, backing vocals
• Denis Payton - tenor saxophone, backing vocals (lead on "Lost In His Dreams")