With renowned producer Jeff Glixman in tow, Washington DC band 4 Out Of 5 Doctors sound moved closer to typical AOR of the day and is a remarkable Improvement on their 1980 new wave oriented debut.
Written by: Eric
ARTIST: 4 Out Of 5 Doctors
ALBUM: 2nd Opinion
LABEL: Nemperor
SERIAL: ARZ 37700
YEAR: 1982
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA
LINEUP: Jeff Severson – guitars, keyboards, vocals * George Pittaway – guitars, vocals * Cal Everett – vocals, bass * Tom Ballew – drums
TRACK LISTING: 01 Good Pretender * 02 Dawn Patrol * 03 Anna With Antennae * 04 Breaking Rocks * 05 Never Say Die * 06 Waiting For Roxanne * 07 Lonely Ones * 08 Heart On A Chain * 09 Call Me At Home * 10 Young World
WEBLINKS: Site Link
Background
The 4 Out Of 5 Doctors 1980 debut album from the outside looked more like a Devo inspired knock-off than a decent pop album which it was. Yet the first release from this Washington DC band failed to do much business which is probably the reason for the change in direction on their sophomore LP; ‘2nd Opinion’.
With renowned producer Jeff Glixman who actually appears on the back cover photo with the band, 4 Out Of 5 Doctors sound moved closer to typical AOR of the day and is a remarkable Improvement on the debut.
The Songs
‘Good Pretender’, the albums opening track is a good Bad Company influenced rocker, while ‘Dawn Patrol’ (settle down Night Ranger fans!) kicks it up a notch although the song itself is somewhat average. ‘Anna With Antennae’ despite its quirky new wave title is pretty good with a catchy chorus and some fine bass work worthy of mention.
Side one closes with the group’s best track ‘Never Say Die’ which received some minor air play. Reminiscent of classic REO Speedwagon with touches of Queen, this is one of those obscure 80’s ballads that seem to be a dime a dozen back in the day, but is definitely worth another listen.
On the flip, ‘Waiting For Roxanne’ is nothing more than a second rate Cheap Trick while the rest of the songs slip between weak Rick Springfield and John Cougar inspired rockers that are to say the least-disappointing.
In Summary
4 Out Of 5 Doctors would hit the road with Van Halen in support of the record, but would fall off the face of the Earth a short time later. Whether they had a chance to record a third album is unknown, but it would have been interesting to hear what they would have done next.
4 Out Of 5 Doctors on Video
Click to go to YTM album page.
This is a 2fer release, featuring the 1980 debut as well.
There is one unofficial release on YouTube Music from around 2008/2009 with a load of Unreleased tracks. It’s called Post Op. It’s on Spotify too, Thanks to Alun for pointing this out on the review comments on our old site.