{"id":8013,"date":"2016-08-02T19:33:50","date_gmt":"2016-08-02T18:33:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/?p=8013"},"modified":"2016-08-02T21:54:24","modified_gmt":"2016-08-02T20:54:24","slug":"unit-42-concrete-clay-scenester-reviews","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/unit-42-concrete-clay-scenester-reviews\/","title":{"rendered":"Unit 4+2 – Concrete & Clay – Scenester Reviews"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Complete Recordings<\/strong> (RPM Retro D944)<\/em><\/p>\n

Active between 1964 and 1969, Unit 4+2<\/strong>\u2019s relatively brief career packed in twelve singles, two LPs and a fair number of line-up changes. Starting out as a very capable vocal harmony group, the band\u2019s sound diversified into a pleasing Latin\/Flamenco sound, going completely against the grain of the wildly successful beat sound of the period. The band will always be remembered for their top notch No 1 hit, \u2018Concrete and Clay\u2019, with its distinctive Latin sound and urgent lyrical declaration of love. It\u2019s here of course, but so is much more, varied material, much of it written by singer Tommy Moeller and guitarist Brian Parker.<\/p>\n

\u2018The Green Fields\u2019 rolling country banjo number has you on your feet and ready for a hoe-down soon enough, in a song of lost and hopeful new love. \u2018Swing Down Chariot\u2019s sweet gospel harmonies works hard to get into the most stony of hearts, with its bright, happy message, and \u2018Sorrow and Pain\u2019 borrows the banjos and sings a gentle tear-jerker to one who caused it all. \u2018The Lonely Valley\u2019s play on self-pity and solitude may have been a step too far into the saccharine, but with the sublime \u2018Concrete and Clay\u2019 following it, it\u2019s almost forgivable.<\/p>\n

This harmony band\u2019s strength definitely lay in the standards and their gentle, subtly instrumented take on classic ballad \u2018When I Fall In love\u2019 would pass muster in any company. \u2018Woman from Liberia\u2019s banjo-ridden jokey gospel will raise a smile, followed by enjoyable-enough jaunty Mex country plicker \u2018Wild Is the Wind\u2019. The band\u2019s keen-as-mustard take on \u2018Cotton Fields\u2019 stands in the long shadow cast by The Beach Boys, and suffers from the comparison.<\/p>\n

\u2018Cross A Million Mountains\u2019 rhythmic journey song recalls The Hollies\u2019 Latin tinges, and the lively guitar\/banjo workout \u2018To Be Redeemed\u2019 reminds us of The Weavers\u2019 ever-energetic approach. \u2018(You\u2019ve) Never Been in Love like This Before\u2019s gentle stroll, assured lead guitar and numerous changes is kept together well with a great chorus. \u2018Tell Somebody You Know\u2019 is a tentative step into a more pop\/rock and roll sound, in a song of hope for the loveless.<\/p>\n

\u2018Couldn\u2019t Keep It To Myself\u2019 returns to the gospel sound the band seem most comfortable with, followed by a departure, in the form of \u2018You\u2019ll Remember\u2019, with its Beach Boys style start up and slow, steady build. \u2018500 Miles\u2019 harmonies carry well, in what is basically another sorrowful departure song, followed by their take on \u2018La Bamba\u2019, an excellent version, with a few extra beats to vary the rhythm. I wish I could say the same for their maudlin cover of \u2018You\u2019ve Lost That Lovin\u2019 Feelin\u2019, which suffers on its own choices, and not just by comparison with The Righteous Brothers\u2019 sublime original.<\/p>\n

The band\u2019s cover of \u2018Girl from New York City\u2019 is a\u00a0most\u00a0enjoyable one, and I\u2019d certainly like to see this girl who\u2019s \u2018Cute In her Mohair Suit\u2019 for myself. \u2018Hark\u2019 takes us to some other place where there\u2019s sun and sand, in a sultry country song that may be the best treatment here since their immortal hit. \u2018Stop Wasting Your Time\u2019 utilises the band\u2019s famously good harmonies in an otherwise routine song of jealousy, and \u2018You\u2019ve Got To Be Cruel To Be Kind\u2019, introduced by some tense bass and minimal triangle, has a rich stew of guitars, handclaps and thumping rhythm, with a great lead vocal to keep you interested. The CD closes with the poppy \u2018I Won\u2019t Let You Down\u2019, whose rock and roll beat and twangy guitar underpins a really great\u00a0vocal performance.<\/p>\n

CD2 opens with \u2018Baby Never Say Goodbye\u2019, one that borrows a little of \u2018Concrete and Clay\u2019s jaunty rhythm. The clapping intro to \u2018Rainy Day\u2019 sets the scene for a fairly routine piece that must have sounded out of date by the early 60\u2019s, never mind the latter part of that decade. \u2018For A Moment\u2019s bass pulse and climbing verse and resolution puts you in mind of the glorious pop of Dave Dee & Co, with an added surf sound they would have been wise to pursue further. \u2018Fables\u2019 late 60\u2019s trippy hippy sound is pleasing enough, and is followed by what is surely the most elegantly worked song on this compilation, \u2018I Was Only Playing Games\u2019. The quiet guitar chords and gentle voice, backed by tense cello sawing and confessional lyrics lead into a mighty, beautifully orchestrated swell.<\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019ve Seen The Light\u2019 s poignant feel and marching beat is another standout, perhaps suggesting that this band took a while to hit its stride after the huge hit. \u2019Too Fast Too Slow\u2019s Spanish guitars drive the song well, with \u2018Booby Trap\u2019s beaty, twangy psyche-lite dutifully earning its place on the record. \u2018Butterfly\u2019s soaring chorus and medieval strings send us into a nostalgic reverie, perfectly suited to the song\u2019s subject, making its chirpy neighbour, \u2018A Place to Go\u2019 sound a little trite by comparison.<\/p>\n

\u2018Loving Takes A Little Understanding\u2019s wailing mouth organ and sultry marimba atmosphere suits the arrangement well, even if the \u2018Lesson One\u2019 lyrics would have sounded a little old-fashioned by then. \u2018Would You Believe What I Say?\u2019 is a beatier, funkier affair, and all the better for it, and the band seem to revel in their new-found Stateside twang, in Bob Dylan\u2019s \u2018You Ain\u2019t Goin\u2019 Nowhere\u2019, which they performs as a West Coast piece with a smooth, swinging sort of beat.<\/p>\n

\u2018So You Want to Be a Blues Player\u2019 has a lively, danceable and most un-bluesy beat, but is nevertheless one of the best selections here. The echoing, haunting \u20183.30\u2019 seems less than the sum of its parts, and \u2018I Will\u2019 reprises the faintly medieval sound that so enlivened an earlier song. With all these borrowings from the hippie phase, we are once again puzzled by an unmistakably late 50\u2019s Drifters-style treatment of \u2018Face in My Head\u2019, with its \u2018fool\u2019 voice and tight orchestration. The simple, joyous \u2018Something I Can Believe In\u2019 is a slight, but celebratory track in the final run up of this collection, followed by the maudlin start to \u2018(Living In) The World of Broken Hearts\u2019, a song well worth persisting with for its drama and great chorus. We end with the bouncy \u2018I Can\u2019t Stop\u2019, and this is where the story of Unit 4+2 draws to a close, also. Packed with extensive liner notes, photos and record covers, this CD is a worthy addition to anyone\u2019s music library. BUY HERE!<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Complete Recordings (RPM Retro D944) Active between 1964 and 1969, Unit 4+2\u2019s relatively brief career packed in twelve singles, two LPs and a fair number of line-up changes. Starting out as a very capable vocal harmony group, the band\u2019s sound diversified into a pleasing Latin\/Flamenco sound, going completely against the grain of the wildly …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":8017,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[128,71,74],"tags":[1324,750,1325,962,305,1323,1322],"series":[],"class_list":["post-8013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hot-plugs","category-music","category-reviews","tag-brian-parker","tag-cherry-red-records","tag-concrete-clay","tag-rpm-records","tag-scenester","tag-tommy-moeller","tag-unit-42"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8013","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8013"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8013\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8023,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8013\/revisions\/8023"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8017"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8013"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=8013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}