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Reviews

Unicorn — Too Many Crooks
(Esoteric Recordings ECLEC 2576, 1976/2017, )

by Jon Davis, Published 2023-08-26

Too Many Crooks Cover art

A few years ago, we covered Laughing Up Your Sleeve, a collection of demos by the English band Unicorn. At hand we have a new reissue of the group’s third studio album, originally released in 1976. Four of the tracks on that collection appear in their final versions here: “Weekend,” “Ferry Boat,” “Disco Dancer,” and “So Far Away,” the last of which is a bonus track not on the original 1976 release. For the band’s history, refer to the previous review — suffice it to say that Unicorn’s basic style was a blend of rock, folk, and country music not far removed from such American bands as Crosby, Stills and Nash or The Band, and while the style isn’t unique, the songwriting is good enough to make Too Many Crooks worth hearing. “Weekend” has some nice fiddle playing to add a different flavor; the bonus track “So Far Away” is a nice acoustic tune with banjo and superb vocal harmonies; and “Keep On Going” is a fun rock-n-roll strut along the lines of The Hollies’ “Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress.” I was suspicious of the song “Disco Dancer,” but it’s actually a decent song that doesn’t attempt the disco style, instead coming off almost like a Squeeze tune of the early 80s. Unicorn may not have topped the charts in their day (especially not in the US) but the quality of their music makes them a band that shouldn’t be forgotten.

Filed under: Reissues, 2017 releases, 1976 recordings

Related artist(s): Unicorn

 

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