Best known for their huge international hit single from 1965, ‘Concrete And Clay’, Unit 4 + 2 were a part of the British Beat explosion, with a strong emphasis on vocal harmony. Their guitarist was Russ Ballard, who later enjoyed further fame with Argent and as a solo artist.
The band four hits in total, the others being their debut 45 ‘Green Fields’ (No. 48, 1964), ‘(You’ve) Never Been in Love Like This Before’ (No. 14, 1965) and ‘Baby Never Say Goodbye’ (No. 49, 1966).
Unit 4 + 2 signed to Decca in 1964, enjoying notable success and recording a string of singles, an EP and an album for the label before over a three-year period…
Reaktor 4 from Bottrop-Vonderort, situated in the north-western Ruhr area, mainly played instrumental, sometimes session-like progressive rock music.
There is only one single dub plate of this LP, i. e. one individual copy, which was given as a present to the band's drummer, Reinhold Stania, in 1975. It was unfortunately played too often and is therefore damaged significantly; the master tape was thrown away. Great efforts have now been made to restore and decrackle the LP as far as possible in the Kerpen Railroad Tracks studio, which is probably the best-equipped studio worldwide for this purpose. The result is highly superior to the original, but it is unfortunately still unsatisfactory, especially tracks one and three - more improvement was simply not possible…
The second recording and first studio set by the L.A. Four matched together Bud Shank on alto and flute, guitarist Laurindo Almeida, bassist Ray Brown, and drummer Shelly Manne for a diverse yet consistently enjoyable program. The selections range from "Dindi" and "Manteca" to "St. Thomas" and a 13-minute exploration of "Concierto de Aranjuez." As usual, the band mixes together bossa nova and Brazilian jazz, some touches of classical music, and cool-toned bop. Recommended as a strong example of the group's appealing sound.