Mythic band rescued from musical oblivion
jon van horn | mount kisco, new york United States | 04/30/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Sometimes a band is so good, so original and unique that it defies logic that they can remain unknown to a mass audience.That band is Unicorn. Their music is truly timeless, and sounds as vibrant, fresh and immediate as if it were recorded yesterday instead of 25 years ago. In a perfect world, clever catchy melodies, great harmonies (CSN was an early influence, though they quickly graduated beyond that to forge their own trademark sound) and fine musicianship should have added up to instant success. Add the fact that they were discovered and produced by David Gilmour of Pink Floyd and how could they miss? In a perfect world, they should have been king of the heap, but we all know that life and the music biz in particular are unfair. Unfortunately, the success they deserved eluded them. What is Unicorn? Take a little of The Byrds, some CSN, a decidedly English slant on country rock (absolutely no songs about wives running off with best friends or horses dying!) and add lyrics that range from heartbreakingly beautiful ("Like seasons I'm changing, my next move I don't know, Like wind I'm restless and have no place to go, So tired of the road that leads to One More Tomorrow") to sinister and bleak (there's no way out of here, when you come in you're in for good/so it slips through your hands, like grains of sand you watch it go") to John Lennon/Lewis Carrol nonsense (The evening is red, the sheep will be pleased, the folk are inside and eating their teas, now it's up to you and all down to will, remember the mongrel that lived on the hill). And, oh yeah, these guys could really really play! Luckily, See For Miles has been smart enough to rescue these recordings from oblivion and reissue them, with liner notes from producer David Gilmour who also turns in some fine pedal steel guitar work. The only drawback being that so many great songs from their 4 albums were not included. (Ironically, the least interesting cuts are the 2 cover songs from their last album, which were recorded as an attempt to finally get a hit single.) Hopefully, a second CD release will bring us many of these other gems. This band is most certainly the great "lost" band from the seventies. Never has a band so deserving been so criminally neglected. Hopefully, this release will do something to change that. If you find the current music scene either too boring or too negative, please give your ears something fresh and positive to listen to. This is Unicorn. As David Gilmour says in the liner notes, "It's been a long time coming, but it has been worth the wait"."
Unicorn is an amazingly underrated band. One of the best!!
unowhoseattle | lynnwood, wa United States | 09/15/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Listening to this group is refreshing change from today's hard driving, angry rock music. I would classify Unicorn as country rock. The band members are Kevin Smith, Pete Perrier, Pat Martin, and Ken Baker. They are from England. All the songs are produced by David Gilmour of Pink floyd fame and he does play steel guitar on some songs, but there is little or no resemblance to any of Floyd's or Gilmour's work. Baker did write and sing "No way out of here" which Gilmour made famous in 1978. Unicorn's version is considerably crisper and cleaner. There are no songs from their first album "Uphill all the way" which Gilmour did not produce, and this music is totally different from that first album.
Except for the single "I'll believe in you" this music came from their last three albums, Blue Pine Trees, Too Many Crooks, and One More Tomorrow. My only disappointment is that they left out some truely wonderful songs. None of the songs written by Kevin Smith are included in this release. If you like this CD you might want to pick up the original albums. This music is simple and uncluttered, mellow and soothing. They know what a broken heart feels like, and they put it to music. In many ways it reminds me of Kris Kristofferson's version of "Me and Bobbi McGee", or Gordon Lightfoot's "Early morning rain". It's the kind of album you can play over and over and never tire of."
Track Listings (20) - Disc #1