Unity (Big Mountain album)

Unity
Studio album by Big Mountain
Released	1994
Genre	Reggae pop
Length	47:06
Label	Giant [1]
Big Mountain chronology
Wake Up (1992) Unity (1994) Resistance (1996)

Unity is an album by the American band Big Mountain, released in 1994. ^{[2] [3]}

The album peaked at No. 174 on the Billboard 200. ^[4] "Sweet Sensual Love" was released as a single, peaking at No. 51 on the UK Singles Chart. ^{[5] [6]} Unity sold more than a million copies. ^[7] The band supported the album by headlining Reggae Sunsplash in 1994 and 1995. ^[8]

Production

The songs were written by frontman Quino; many of the lyrics contain political themes and criticisms of U.S. governmental policy. ^[9] Quino sang in Spanish on some songs. ^[10] "Border Town" is about undocumented workers. ^[11] The cover of "Baby, I Love Your Way" first appeared on the soundtrack to Reality Bites . ^[12]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution	[13]
The Buffalo News	[14]
Calgary Herald	B [15]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[7]
Los Angeles Daily News	[16]

The Calgary Herald wrote that the band "is never less than soothing, often inspiring, and its lyrics of love (personal, spiritual, political) is a welcome respite from the below-the-belt toastin' so common today." ^[15] The Baltimore Sun praised the cover of "Baby, I Love Your Way" but determined that, "unfortunately, that sort of trick works only once an album, and anyone expecting more of the same from Unity will be sorely disappointed." ^[17] The Atlanta Journal-Constitution stated that Unity "offers Rastafarian vibes for summer beer decks everywhere." ^[13]

The Los Angeles Times noted that "the seed planted by Jamaican music and reggae culture is filtered through an American perspective." ^[18] The Los Angeles Daily News called the album "too pop oriented, too lightweight", writing that "it lacks the pathos that made Marley, at even his most chirpy, believable." ^[16] The Orange County Register concluded that "this group is extremely commercial; at its most hard-hitting, Big Mountain sounds like a more accessible Steel Pulse." ^[19]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Fruitful Days"	Quino James McWhinney Brett Fovargue	Bruce Caplin Quino	3:56
2.	"Border Town"	Quino Lance Rhodes	Quino	4:03
3.	"Upful & Right"	Quino J. McWhinney	Quino Caplin	3:28
4.	"Sweet Sensual Love"	Quino	Kevin Flournoy	3:46
5.	"I Would Find a Way"	Diane Warren	Steve Lindsey Jeff Aldrich (ex.)	5:05
6.	"Tengo Ganas"	Quino Rhodes	Flournoy	4:24
7.	"Baby, I Love Your Way"	Peter Frampton	Ron Fair Aldrich (ex.)	4:09
8.	"Young Revolutionaries"	Quino	Caplin Quino	3:50
9.	"Revolution"	Quino	Caplin Quino	3:39
10.	"Time Has Come"	Lynn Copeland Quino	Lynn Copeland Quino	3:41
11.	"Big Mountain"	Quino Jerome Cruz	Quino Caplin	7:05
Total length:				47:06

Charts

Chart performance for Unity

Chart (1994)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [20]	97
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [21]	15
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [22]	52
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [23]	52
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [24]	29
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [25]	37
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [26]	10
US Billboard 200 [27]	174

References

1. Bratt, L. Erik (June 22, 1994). "The big test lies ahead for Big Mountain". The San Diego Union-Tribune . p. E7.
2. "Big Mountain Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic .
3. Snadowsky, Leslie Tamar (October 1994). "Music reviews — Unity by Big Mountain". Seventeen. 53 (10): 130.
4. Whitburn, Joel (2001). Top Pop Albums 1955–2001. Record Research Inc. p. 71.
5. "A swarm of new albums...". The Province . June 26, 1994. p. B7.
6. "Big Mountain | full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company .
7. Larkin, Colin (1998). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 1 (3rd ed.). MUZE. p. 528.
8. Moskowitz, David V. (2006). Caribbean Popular Music. Greenwood Press. pp. 29–30.
9. Barton, David (June 24, 1994). "Big Mountain: Revolutionary Reggae". The Sacramento Bee . p. TK18.
10. Beal, Jr., Jim (November 11, 1994). "Reggae in the U.S.A. – San Diego's Big Mountain due Friday". San Antonio Express-News . p. 12J.
11. "Album reviews — Unity by Big Mountain". Billboard. Vol. 106, no. 31. July 30, 1994. p. 50.
12. Bratt, L. Erik (August 4, 1994). "Big Mountain – Hasn't Peaked Yet". Entertainment. The San Diego Union-Tribune . p. 13.
13. Dollar, Steve (July 31, 1994). "Spin Cycle". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . p. N4.
14. Gaughan, Liz (August 12, 1994). "Big Mountain's promoters call their music...". The Buffalo News . p. G33.
15. Muretich, James (July 24, 1994). "Big Mountain: Unity". Calgary Herald . p. B8.
16. Shuster, Fred (July 29, 1994). "Big Mountain/'Unity'". Los Angeles Daily News . p. L20.
17. Considine, J.D. (July 29, 1994). "'Baby' remake is summit of Big Mountain album". Features. The Baltimore Sun . p. 5.
18. Snowden, Don (August 3, 1994). "Big Mountain Mixes Optimism, Second-Generation Reggae". Los Angeles Times . p. F3.
19. Darling, Cary (July 29, 1994). "Poppy molehills spoil a Big Mountain effort". Orange County Register . p. P42.
20. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 30.
21. "Austriancharts.at – Big Mountain – Unity" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
22. "Dutchcharts.nl – Big Mountain – Unity" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
23. "Offiziellecharts.de – Big Mountain – Unity" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
24. "Charts.nz – Big Mountain – Unity". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
25. "Swedishcharts.com – Big Mountain – Unity". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
26. "Swisscharts.com – Big Mountain – Unity". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
27. "Billboard 200: Week of August 27, 1994". Billboard . Retrieved October 28, 2024.