Up, Up and Away - The 5th Dimension
2:43
Up, Up and Away, 1967
Written by Jimmy Webb
Lamonte McLemore, founding member of the 5th Dimension, died a few days ago. This track, one of their big hits, is a love song that walks the line between silly and truly sweet. The conceit is that the narrator describes how nice life would be if the object of his interest would take a ride in his "beautiful balloon." The idea is kind of twee, but some of the sly lyrics would not be out of place in a Cole Porter torch song: "If by some chance you find yourself loving me / We'll find a cloud to hide us / We'll keep the moon beside us." In addition to the group's beautiful harmonies, the track features the Wrecking Crew as backing band with some powerhouse horns punctuating the strings, and a piccolo providing a lighter-than-air line that evokes floating out into the sky. The fantasy may be weightless, but the craft is anything but.
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