Unicorn
The Best of Unicorn

THE REVIEW

Postulated that normally reviewing a compilation is an operation I do not support too much (one could only discuss which hits were included or omitted and argue), in this case, I would like to make an exception.

I purchased "The Best of Unicorn" attracted by the naïve beauty of the cover and that writing "Produced by David Gilmur", which immediately suggested to me that if such an indication was needed, the group in question must certainly not have been a sales phenomenon nor a cult, in short, a band with four albums to their credit (which I have neither found nor heard) lost in oblivion. The reason for such invisibility probably lies in the choice of a pop-rock music with clear Beatles and Traffic references (those of "John Barleycorn") very linear and catchy. It's a pity we're already in the second half of the seventies and the more acoustic pieces of Supertramp seem twenty years younger. However, after decades, the album (on which I base my judgment of Unicorn in general) is absolutely pleasant to listen to, rich in sixties references, poetic melodies accompanied by strings that dialogue with acoustic guitars that very rarely go beyond accompaniment. Some more rhythmic and punctuated pieces are reminiscent of the south-rock of Creedence, but always sweeter and pop. Among the best tracks of the collection, we remember "Ooh Mother", a brief and very sweet piece dominated by choirs and strings, "Disco Dancer", the ballad "No Way Out of There", while I do not agree with the presence of the cover of Creedence "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" neither beautiful nor significant.

Overall, "The Best of Unicorn" undoubtedly deserves more than one listen, perhaps the album (and therefore the discography?) is a bit too repetitive and "soft" without really original and unique angles. On the other hand, if few know them, there must be a reason. The greatest "fault" of Unicorn is certainly having sought fortune by exploiting a vein already exhausted (probably at a historic low at the end of the seventies) and it is even more irritating because a couple of decades later, reviving the sixties would become fashionable (Beatles, CCR, Simon and Garfunkel, etc.).