by Dave ThompsonMedicine Head's fifth album, and their last as major U.K. chart contenders, saw the founding duo of John Fiddler and Peter Hope-Evans joined by a full band's worth of co-conspirators, a development that gave the group a far vaster sound, but also went some way towards diluting the original purity of the group. In later years, Fiddler himself would express some dissatisfaction over this album, while Medicine Head's U.S. label opted to not even release it. Yet, once past its most apparent flaws, Thru a Five is something of a minor masterpiece, opening with the steaming seduction of "Cajun Kick" before plowing on through two bona fide British hit singles, and wrapping up with the tremendous "Indian Queen." Those hits, of course, are the most obvious point of entry -- the snakelike slither of "Slip and Slide," and the buoyant pop of "Rising Sun" are both classic Medicine Head, and the promises they delivered are borne out across the album. True, some of the earlier records' most endearing eccentricities are lacking, with Hope-Evans' traditional musical idiosyncrasies, in particular, losing out to the full-band sound. But still Thru a Five throws a double six in terms of sheer enjoyment and fulfillment.