Dave Clark Five - Catch Us If You Can

(Epic, 1965)

“Catch Us If You Can” is the Dave Clark Five doing everything right, with swinging, finger-popping verses exploding into a rave-up chorus that sticks in the head for decades. Those gunshot drums are king, but credit for the overall excitement is also owed to the surprise harmonica solo and Mike Smith’s simple but texturally important keyboard playing. It’s a wild song, and even the lyrics see the band in a surprisingly defiant mood, snottily challenging us – or, rather, some larger, unhip “them” – to try our darndest to keep up with da boyz. This makes sense, as the film from which this comes, Having a Wild Weekend, looks to be a Hard Day’s Night rip intended to establish the DC5’s Youth Culture bona fides (while raking in a ton o’ dough). True to the fellas’ clean-cut, play-it-safe form, however, the plot synopsis printed on the back of the soundtrack LP promises that that message of rockin’ teen rebellion will be sold out in the end as “all realize you can’t run away from life’s responsibilities.” OOF! Dave! Wotta gut punch! Anyway, on the B-side, sheets of hot saxXx dominate the surfy hotrod-isms of “On the Move,” an anachronistic instrumental that’s still scorching enough to earn its place on this wholly wonderful disc. Both songs are on the parent soundtrack, though, so feel free to skip this taster and go right for the full meal. Myself, I’ve eaten six copies of Having a Wild Weekend today alone, and boy are my insides bloody. Yum!