Search - Aphrodite's Child :: It's Five O'clock

More of a pop/psychedelic offering

BENJAMIN MILER | Veneta, Oregon | 07/03/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"If you enjoyed 666, the final album from Aphrodite's Child, you will be put in a big shock when you hear their previous effort, It's Five O'Clock, which was released in 1969. This was their second album (debut was End of the World/Rain and Tears from 1968, which Vangelis was reported with using Mellotron, despite his dislike for them). What you won't find is dark, gloomy prog rock here, but more like psychedelic pop, not unlike the debut album from Genesis, From Genesis to Revelation (released the same year). No concepts here, this is pretty much a straightforward, song-oriented album. Aphrodite's Child at this point was still a trio with Evangelos Papthanassiou (who we all know better as Vangelis, later one of the big name figures in electronic music), Demis Roussos, who I alway felt had one of the more peculiar voices in rock, and drummer Lucas Sideras. Guitarist Silver Koulouris was meant to be in the band from the beginning, but had to take military service, so he couldn't join them until around 1970. This early version of the band did able to scrape up some European hits, most specifically "End of the World", which isn't on this album, of course. The title track is a melodramatic song dominated by Demis' voice, reminding me a bit of From Genesis to Revelation or the Moody Blues. "Wake Up" is a pretty cute little singalong, where they even mention the name of their own band. "Take Your Time" features piano from Vangelis, being a rather upbeat number. "Annabella" is the one song on this album that most resembles their following album, 666, sounding like a precursor to "The Four Horsemen". You can even hear some evidence of the style Vangelis would explore on his own with the likes of Earth and L'Apocalypse des Animaux. "Let Me Love, Let Me Live" is a catchy number, especially with that constant beat. Somewhere you get to hear Vangelis use his clavinet, before the music starts gaining speed. "Funky Mary", I don't know what to think of this piece, other than they were trying to have a sense of humor. "Marie Jolie" is yet another one of those ballads like "Annabella", but doesn't quite work as well. The final song, "Such a Funny Night" is really difficult for me to get in to with the squeely vocals. Most of the album had really aged poorly. The songs have their appeal which to me, wears off aften a few listens. It's little wonder why the band got much more serious when they recorded 666. It's no doubt I far prefer that album, but if you don't mind not the most mature-sounding psychedelia and pop from the late '60s, then It's Five O'Clock is worth getting."