| Unity | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Big Mountain |
| Cover: | Unity (Big Mountain album).jpg |
| Released: | 1994 |
| Genre: | Reggae, pop |
| Label: | Giant[1] |
| Prev Title: | Wake Up |
| Prev Year: | 1992 |
| Next Title: | Resistance |
| Next Year: | 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. The band supported the album by headlining Reggae Sunsplash in 1994 and 1995.[7]
The songs were written by frontman Quino; many of the lyrics contain political themes and criticisms of U.S. governmental policy.[8] Quino sang in Spanish on some songs.[9] "Border Town" is about undocumented workers.[10] The cover of "Baby, I Love Your Way" first appeared on the soundtrack to Reality Bites.[11]
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." 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."[12] The Atlanta Journal-Constitution stated that Unity "offers Rastafarian vibes for summer beer decks everywhere."
The Los Angeles Times noted that "the seed planted by Jamaican music and reggae culture is filtered through an American perspective."[13] 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." 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."[14]