Once upon a time there was a band named after a magical, mythical creature: Unicorn. It disappeared into the mists of time and waited to be found again by those who love the strange and beautiful....
The Cosmic Storyteller (1967), Unicorn's masterpiece concept album, was thought to be lost forever. This extraordinary "concept" album languished in a vault for over 30 years without having ever been released. Thanks to the chance discovery of the master tapes, and the wonders of today's digital wizardry, you are about to discover a new dimension in entertainment.
With its theme of the transcendence of creativity, The Cosmic Storyteller voices the hope, joys and sorrows of love, and concerns that belong to every generation. Springing anew out of rock creativity, it is a cornucopia of American styles, from hard rock to folk, pop ballads, jazz, blues, country and R&B, a luxurious, poetic tapestry performed with unity of purpose and verve.
Now you can revisit that golden era. Come, stimulate your imagination and experience an album as relevant today as when it was first made.
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| "The Cosmic Storyteller" leads off the album and states its premise. It is introduced by a traditional raga-establishing sitar chord which signifies that the album itself is a mystical epic. This is an acid rock blues song in E minor. Indian stringed instruments complement the roar of guitars. The break includes a metallic bridge clearly ahead of its time. Lyrically, Unicorn summons its generation on a journey through time. The ending includes improvisational madness to the shouts of the Cosmic Storyteller, and then slips into a brief raga with a contemplative denouement. The song is the quintessential psychedelic rock overture for an ambitious concept album |
CD: The Cosmic Storyteller
Label: Platform Records
Credits: words and music by Hilary Clay Hicks; produced by Hilary Clay Hicks and Simon Higgs |
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| "Time I Got To Know You" is A-major 4/4 pop on the order of the Buckinghams, Grass Roots, or the Monkees. It is an interesting blend of styles, very sixties, with a happy, positive feel that fits the words and Gospel-like harmonies. Between verses are jammed with boiling bluesy guitar hooks. It has a countryish ending in which the lead vocal shouts along like Otis. It describes tentativeness at the beginning of a romance. |
CD: The Cosmic Storyteller
Label: Platform Records
Credits: words and music by Hilary Clay Hicks; produced by Hilary Clay Hicks and Simon Higgs |
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| "Ideal Lady" is a 4/4 folk ballad in A-major, very pretty. It's a beautiful, romantic, wistful, dreamy, mystic song in which the poet pines for the woman of his dreams and in so doing, idealizes every woman. The vocal is warm, straight and earnest. Classical guitars sing in suspended counterpoint. Dual synthesizer parts dance in harmonic swirls. A tambourine gently adds subtle energy. For 1967, this was a very advanced, pioneering, innovative piece. |
CD: The Cosmic Storyteller
Label: Platform Records
Credits: words and music by Hilary Clay Hicks and Richard P. Vittallo; produced by Hilary Clay Hicks and Simon Higgs |
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| "Love Star" is an easy, Gospelish, 1950s style A-flat R&B blues in 12/8,reminiscent of many Ray Charles or Elvis hits. Honky-tonk piano, New Orleans-style horns and a screaming sax solo give it that classic sound. The music resolves in a hoarse, crooned duet like Uncle Ray and The Raelettes, cooing and agreeing. It's a letter to whoever is the current Hollywood sex-symbol, raising questions about image-versus-reality in life, love, and the media. |
CD: The Cosmic Storyteller
Label: Platform Records
Credits: words and music by Hilary Clay Hicks; produced by Hilary Clay Hicks and Simon Higgs |
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| "Filled With Love Again" is a passionate confession that condemns the down-side of love. It is a pop ballad in B-major with Motown elements and a suspended chord at the end of the chorus that gives it a sad, thoughtful feel. Instrumentation includes a chimy guitar, wood block and glockenspiel. A classical string quartet takes it to another level, self-consciously proclaiming that rock music is art. |
CD: The Cosmic Storyteller
Label: Platform Records
Credits: words and music by Hilary Clay Hicks; produced by Hilary Clay Hicks and Simon Higgs |
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| "Give It All That You've Got" is a 4/4 minor blues in E, a rowdy R&B rocker that literally lives up to its title. With competing sax and guitar riffs and bold bass, brass and organ hooks, this is a high energy exhortation suitable for dancing that embodies the raw passion of the sixties. |
CD: The Cosmic Storyteller
Label: Platform Records
Credits: words and music by Hilary Clay Hicks; produced by Hilary Clay Hicks and Simon Higgs |
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| When nobody was looking, the great ship came and took Lucky away. This brave experiment in sound was startling and new in its day, kicking off Side Two of this collection. |
CD: The Cosmic Storyteller
Label: Platform Records
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| Psychelic backwards guitars swoop into the downbeat of the first song on side two. "The Big Time" explores disillusionment and the price of success in the music business. It is an acid blues-rock 4-4 shuffle in D taken to ethereal lengths. Foreshadowing the guitar bands of the '70s, it was a new form of music in 1967. |
CD: The Cosmic Storyteller
Label: Platform Records
Credits: words and music by Hilary Clay Hicks; produced by Hilary Clay Hicks and Simon Higgs |
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| This is a classic country-western ballad in C, a wry tear-jerker. It has everything found in the great country songs: romance, betrayal, jail, drunkenness, misery, the last call. The harmonies are practically Sons of The Pioneers. Great honky-tonk piano, flat-picking, and pedal steel guitar provide a truly authentic feel. A tribute to a major influence, it further demonstrates Unicorn's remarkable diversity. As a storytelling vehicle it is very much in keeping with the album's title. |
CD: The Cosmic Storyteller
Label: Platform Records
Credits: words and music by Hilary Clay Hicks; produced by Hilary Clay Hicks and Simon Higgs |
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| Contemporary audiences are vibing to the amazingly modern magic of "Johnny's In A Corner," a lively poke at complacency and alienation. It's a vigorous 4/4 straight rock groove in G flat minor. The prominent snare snap drives the danceable beat. The guitar has a crunchy sound achieved by phasing that won't be common for twenty-five years, juxtaposed to a sixties Farfisa organ. The vocal is pure preachy shout and the sisters give the call a gospel response. The bridge is sort of a nursery rhyme taunt. The song climaxes with a sensational sax solo |
CD: The Cosmic Storyteller
Label: Platform Records
Credits: words and music by Hilary Clay Hicks; produced by Hilary Clay Hicks and Simon Higgs |
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| "Love Has Died" is a torch song, a pop standard that could have been sung by Frank Sinatra, Jack Jones, or even Elvis. In the sixties, it was a bone of contention to some in the rock culture and confusing to the record company. Unicorn insisted that it was a valid homage and pointed to kindred pop numbers recorded by The Beatles, Buffalo Springfield and The Byrds. "Love Has Died" is a 12/8 pop jazz blues in A flat, emotional and innovative, with both jazz chords and country guitar fills. The piano maintains the pop motif, while the B3 organ provides bluesy fills and string-like decoration. There is superb jazzy flute interplay with the vocal. A trumpet matches the warmth of the vocal in the intro, the bridge, and the close. Serious and sad, it is classic ballad of disillusionment and alienation (the leading literary themes of the 20th century) |
CD: The Cosmic Storyteller
Label: Platform Records
Credits: words and music by Hilary Clay Hicks; produced by Hilary Clay Hicks and Simon Higgs |
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| "The Great Dream" is traditional 6/8 ballad in D, like an English or Welsh folk song (which are suitable for message songs because of their mood and drama). 'Voices' include a full-throated male vocal, a trembling guitar solo, a haunting male chorus, and a distant Spanish trumpet providing taste, drama, anticipation, a hint of the martial, and even a threat. The dramatic string section is subtly laid throughout. A big production, it is an eloquent cry for justice, a hymn, a protest song, a lamentation that will move anyone from any walk of life or political perspective |
CD: The Cosmic Storyteller
Label: Platform Records
Credits: words and music by Hilary Clay Hicks; produced by Hilary Clay Hicks and Simon Higgs |
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