THE UNIQUES
''HAPPENING NOW!!''
1967
31:34
1 Every Now And Then (Joe Stampley) 02:27
2 Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love) (Cyril Vetter, Smith) 03:09
3 And I Love Her (Lennon, McCartney) 02:19
4 Sugar Bee (Shuler) 01:41
5 Oh Pretty Woman (Orbison, Dees) 02:53
6 96 Tears (The Mysterians) 02:18
7 Run And Hide (Wade, Stampley, Freeman) 02:16
8 Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying (Marsden) 02:56
9 Time Wont Let Me (Kelley, King) 02:24
10 Look To Me (Jefferson) 02:39
11 Dont Bring Me Down (Goffin, King) 03:10
12 You'll Never Walk Alone (Rodgers, Hammerstein) 03:17
Joe Stampley - Organ, Lead Singer
Ray Mills - Lead Guitar
Bobby Sims - Rhythm Guitar
Bobby Stampley - Bass Guitar
Mike Love - Drums
REVIEW/AMG
Richie Unterberger
In comparison to their 1966 debut LP Uniquely Yours, the Uniques' second album, Happening Now, was a little bit of a disappointment, though not without its assets. The main flaw is that, in common with numerous albums issued by good but not great bands in the mid-'60s, there are too many covers of familiar hit songs. In this disc's case, those include "96 Tears," "Oh Pretty Woman," the Animals' "Don't Bring Me Down" (which does have a remarkably accurate Eric Burdon-like vocal), the Outsiders' "Time Won't Let Me," the Swinging Medallions' "Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love)," and even Gerry & the Pacemakers' "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying," which wasn't standard garage/frat band fare. This isn't as dull as it seems; the Uniques were a good group with a very fine singer/organist, Joe Stampley, and certainly sound like they would have been a hell of a band to have at your party or club if you couldn't afford bigger names. It's not all that original, however, even if it's a pretty good snapshot of mid-'60s Southern rock that adeptly blended more standard garage rock with soul and swamp pop. It does have a surprisingly nice cover of "And I Love Her" (even if it seems to be faded out prematurely), and a couple decent tracks outside of the hit cover category in the tough single "Run and Hide" and the more melodic "Look to Me," which has a really peculiar clavioline-like keyboard solo.
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
by Steve Leggett
The first version of the Uniques formed in 1966 when two members of the Techniques, Slim Smith and Franklyn White, joined with Roy Shirley to create a new group. The original lineup recorded a few ska sides for J.J. Johnson that year before disbanding, only to reform again almost immediately, this time with a front line of Smith, Lloyd Charmers, and Jimmy Riley (and occasionally Cornel Campbell). The reconstituted Uniques had a brief run from 1967 to 1969, recording several vocal trio classics with producer Bunny Lee, including two impressive covers (Stephen Stills' "For What It's Worth," tracked as "Watch This Sound," and Curtis Mayfield's "Gypsy Woman") as well as their signature song, the brilliant "My Conversation." Led by Smith's high and emotional tenor, the Uniques represented, by many accounts, the pinnacle of Jamaica's harmony trio genre. The group folded in 1969, with each member pursuing a solo career. Smith's tragic death in 1973 ended any possibility of the group reuniting.
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''HAPPENING NOW!!''
1967
31:34
1 Every Now And Then (Joe Stampley) 02:27
2 Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love) (Cyril Vetter, Smith) 03:09
3 And I Love Her (Lennon, McCartney) 02:19
4 Sugar Bee (Shuler) 01:41
5 Oh Pretty Woman (Orbison, Dees) 02:53
6 96 Tears (The Mysterians) 02:18
7 Run And Hide (Wade, Stampley, Freeman) 02:16
8 Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying (Marsden) 02:56
9 Time Wont Let Me (Kelley, King) 02:24
10 Look To Me (Jefferson) 02:39
11 Dont Bring Me Down (Goffin, King) 03:10
12 You'll Never Walk Alone (Rodgers, Hammerstein) 03:17
Joe Stampley - Organ, Lead Singer
Ray Mills - Lead Guitar
Bobby Sims - Rhythm Guitar
Bobby Stampley - Bass Guitar
Mike Love - Drums
REVIEW/AMG
Richie Unterberger
In comparison to their 1966 debut LP Uniquely Yours, the Uniques' second album, Happening Now, was a little bit of a disappointment, though not without its assets. The main flaw is that, in common with numerous albums issued by good but not great bands in the mid-'60s, there are too many covers of familiar hit songs. In this disc's case, those include "96 Tears," "Oh Pretty Woman," the Animals' "Don't Bring Me Down" (which does have a remarkably accurate Eric Burdon-like vocal), the Outsiders' "Time Won't Let Me," the Swinging Medallions' "Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love)," and even Gerry & the Pacemakers' "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying," which wasn't standard garage/frat band fare. This isn't as dull as it seems; the Uniques were a good group with a very fine singer/organist, Joe Stampley, and certainly sound like they would have been a hell of a band to have at your party or club if you couldn't afford bigger names. It's not all that original, however, even if it's a pretty good snapshot of mid-'60s Southern rock that adeptly blended more standard garage rock with soul and swamp pop. It does have a surprisingly nice cover of "And I Love Her" (even if it seems to be faded out prematurely), and a couple decent tracks outside of the hit cover category in the tough single "Run and Hide" and the more melodic "Look to Me," which has a really peculiar clavioline-like keyboard solo.
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
by Steve Leggett
The first version of the Uniques formed in 1966 when two members of the Techniques, Slim Smith and Franklyn White, joined with Roy Shirley to create a new group. The original lineup recorded a few ska sides for J.J. Johnson that year before disbanding, only to reform again almost immediately, this time with a front line of Smith, Lloyd Charmers, and Jimmy Riley (and occasionally Cornel Campbell). The reconstituted Uniques had a brief run from 1967 to 1969, recording several vocal trio classics with producer Bunny Lee, including two impressive covers (Stephen Stills' "For What It's Worth," tracked as "Watch This Sound," and Curtis Mayfield's "Gypsy Woman") as well as their signature song, the brilliant "My Conversation." Led by Smith's high and emotional tenor, the Uniques represented, by many accounts, the pinnacle of Jamaica's harmony trio genre. The group folded in 1969, with each member pursuing a solo career. Smith's tragic death in 1973 ended any possibility of the group reuniting.
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