John, your difficuly seems to be that the 5/4, although potentially more interesting than the 3/4, still itself has a very pronounced 3-beat which leads the ear to expect the triple time to keep rolling. I'm not sure how to get around this: irregular times are very hard to write in, which is why most don't, most times. When it works, it's wonderful (as in Brubeck, and the Stranglers). When it doesn't, it can be dire.

FWIW I prefer the 5/4 lead-=in: suggestion is to reduce the ONE-two-three feel to the first "half" of each bar: perhaps use a chord in the left hand rather than the oom-pah-pah waltz-style bass. dotted minim for first chord, minim for second.

Regards
Tim Fatchen

www.flyingtadpole.com