#4:2:five

[jules-has-notes]

25th anniversary of 4:2:Five's eponymous debut EP

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release date: 6 May 2001

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When they'd been performing together for about a year and attained a bit of success, the fine young gentlemen of 4:2:Five decided it was time to record some original music. Layne, Earl, Geoff, Scott, and James grabbed their pencils and pitch pipes in the summer of 2000, and started composing their own a cappella boy band goodness.

After their win in Ed McMahon's Next Big Star online competition led to a disappointing session at the Sony studio in New York City in the autumn, the guys finally started recording in earnest by mid-November. Several more minor speedbumps ensued, but — with a little help on the production side from Jeff Thatcher of Rockapella fame — they finally had a finished product in the spring of 2001.

All of the songwriting is credited to either James or a collaboration between Earl and Layne. Given what they've said about their process in more recent chats, though, it seems likely that everyone contributed at least a little to all the compositions.

The album came with a couple extra surprises. There are some hidden outtakes from rehearsals of "Look At Me" at the end of the final track. (Clearly, these boys don't have any fun singing together.) And as an incentive to visit their website, they offered everyone who bought a physical disc a free download of a bonus track called "Your Moon". That song was also included on their next album of original music, "Unstoppable" in 2004.

photos courtesy of Discogs.com

Trivia:

"Look At Me" had earned them Best Original Song at the Mid-Atlantic Regional of the Harmony Sweepstakes A Cappella Festival earlier in the year. In addition to being crowned regional champions, they also garnered the Audience Favorite award.

The day before the album's official launch, the boys were at the Harmony Sweepstakes national finals in California. They didn't win, but they did draw praise for their rendition of "Still the One".

A couple weeks later, the guys received a nice write-up in the Orlando Sentinel, and appeared on the local news station's Good Morning Orlando to promote their upcoming CD release party at the Lost And Found nightclub in Longwood.

[jules-has-notes]

20th anniversary of "Unstoppable" by 4:2:Five

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release date: 8 September 2004

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This album was a long time in the making. "Unstoppable" was intended to be 4:2:Five's first full-length album, following their 2001 eponymous EP. The fellas were writing and arranging new songs for a couple years, and started recording them in the summer of 2003, before Scott left the group. Dave Baumgartner, who came onboard as their vocal percussionist for their autumn tours, picked up where Scott left off in late July.

Layne continued to work on post-production during the six months while they were part of the shipboard entertainment on the Celebrity Constellation from November 2003 through May 2004, and after they returned home. In the meantime, they also produced "Time Machine", an album of the stripped-down cover songs they were performing on the cruise.

These tracks have a more produced sound, which was in fashion at the time. But no amount of reverb or post-production filters can change the fact that these guys are talented singers who work well together. And the final track (not listed on the album case) is a peek into the shenanigans that happened during the recording process.

photos courtesy of Discogs.com

Trivia:

Their recording of "Stayin' Alive" from this album won a 2005 CARA for Best Contemporary Pop/Rock Cover.

"Rules" had previously appeared on the album "Sing: A Vocal Explosion" compiled by the Alliance for A Cappella Initiatives (Nov. 2003), and 4:2:Five's stripped down cover album "Time Machine" (April 2004) as a preview for this album.

"Your Moon" had been a bonus downloadable track available to anyone who bought a physical disc of their 2001 eponymous E.P.

"Any Note Will Do" contains a brief excerpt of the Super Mario Bros. overland theme, which also appeared in VoicePlay's "Aca Top 10 – Video Games" medley a decade later.

[sentimentalufo]

Look at me by 4:2:Five

[sentimentalufo]

Move My Way · 4:2:Five

[sentimentalufo]

You Gotta Know · 4:2:Five

[sentimentalufo]

Why Do You + 4:2:Five

[sentimentalufo]

Life · 4:2:Five

[jules-has-notes]

20th anniversary of "Time Machine" by 4:2:Five

[YouTube] ● [Spotify] ● [Apple Music] ● [Amazon Music]

release date: 8 April 2004

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From November 2003 through May 2004, the young gentlemen of 4:2:Five were part of the shipboard entertainment on the Celebrity Constellation. The job certainly kept them busy, but it didn't take up all of their time. In between performances and rehearsals, they recorded some of the stripped-back cover songs from their setlist and produced an album.

"Time Machine" contains tracks spanning several decades and genres, from doowop and funk to classic rock and feel-good pop songs. Most of the arrangements were done by the guys themselves. The few exceptions are Rockapella's version of "Hound Dog", as well as Return 2 Zero's "How Sweet It Is to Be Loved By You" and "Love Potion #9". For "How Sweet It Is", they mixed things up even further, with Geoff singing the lead tenor part and Layne dropping down to cover bass.

The one original song on the album is "Rules", which they included as a preview for their other album that was in progress at the time, "Unstoppable". That was released later in the year.

And just in case anyone was worried that all the tracks are straightforward a cappella music, be assured that these silly boys also included a live recording of "The Chicken Song".

photos courtesy of Discogs.com

Trivia:

The physical CD packaging credits the production facility as "Mr Boat Studios, somewhere in the Caribbean".

They self-published the album through CD Baby, with preorders opening in February and finished discs shipping while they were still at sea. The wonders of modern technology.

For the duration of the cruise (and the recording of this album) 4:2:Five was a quartet once more — just Earl, James, Geoff, and Layne. Scott had left the group in July 2003 when he was selected for a stint at Tokyo Disney. After the guys returned home in the spring of 2004, Layne decided to switch over to percussion, and they recruited their theme park buddy Matthew "Bucky" Buckner as their new baritone to bring them back from four to five.

Without a fifth member allowing them to include the waitress verse of "The Chicken Song" yet, it's gum tree Geoff who tries to refuse his turn.

VoicePlay revisited "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" twenty years later with a new, more hectic arrangement.