The Uniques - Happening Now!! (1967) [Hi-Res]

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.

Tracklist:
01 - The Uniques - Every Now and Then (I Cry) (2:28)
02 - The Uniques - Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love) (3:04)
03 - The Uniques - And I Love Her (2:15)
04 - The Uniques - Sugar Bee (1:35)
05 - The Uniques - Oh, Pretty Woman (2:45)
06 - The Uniques - 96 Tears (2:16)
07 - The Uniques - Run and Hide (2:15)
08 - The Uniques - Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying (2:53)
09 - The Uniques - Time Wont Let Me (2:18)
10 - The Uniques - Look to Me (2:32)
11 - The Uniques - Don't Bring Me Down (3:04)
12 - The Uniques - You'll Never Walk Alone (3:09)