Unison (song)

"Unison" is a song written by Andy Goldmark and Bruce Roberts, and first recorded by R&B/dance artist Junior in 1983 for the Tom Cruise movie All the Right Moves. A minor hit, the song would attract a good deal of attention in 1990, when three female singers each covered the song and placed it on their respective albums of that year.

Laura Branigan recorded the song for her sixth, self-titled album. Expatriate American singer Lory Bianco recorded the song for her album Lonely is the Night. The song's greatest success, however, would come when it was chosen to be the title track of Céline Dion's English debut album.

Céline Dion version

"Unison"
Single by Céline Dion
from the album Unison
Released	July 14, 1990 (1990-07-14)
Format	CD single, cassette single, vinyl single
Recorded	1989-1990 Studio 55, John Barnes Studio, Steve Mitchell's, Skyline Midi Studio, Unique Recording
Genre	Dance-pop
Length	4:13 (Album Version) 4:04 (Single Mix)
Label	Columbia, Epic
Writer(s)	Andy Goldmark, Bruce Roberts
Producer(s)	Andy Goldmark, Kevin Unger
Céline Dion singles chronology
"(If There Was) Any Other Way" (1990) "Unison" (1990) "Where Does My Heart Beat Now" (1990)

"Unison" was released as the album's second single in Canada (July 14, 1990) and fourth in Japan (November 4, 1991). In the rest of the world, "Unison" was used as B-side to "The Last to Know" single.^[1]

There were four club mixes created by Kevin Unger: single mix with rap, single mix without rap, mainstream extended mix, and club mix. Three of them feature rap by Frankie Fudge. They can be found on the Canadian editions of this single. The remixes took weeks of pre-production with the ultimate goal of making the original album version into a dance pop track for both contemporary radios and club dance floors. The new versions took 3 days to mix at Toronto's famed Metal Works Studios.

The music video was made in July 1990 for the single mix with rap and featured what many believed was an appearance by Frankie Fudge. However the person in the video was not Frankie Fudge. The video was included on the Unison VHS.

The song reached number 38 in Canada. "Unison" was more successful on the Canadian Contemporary Hit Radio Chart where it peaked at number 27. In the clubs, "Unison" became a national hit, peaking at number 1 on Canada's National Club Chart for 7 weeks.

It was voted the song of the year 1990 in Quebec (ahead of Madonna's "Vogue") on the Énergie radio network's Le choix du Québec.

Arguably, the success of the remix single was the springboard Sony Music Canada needed to garner the attention of its U.S. parent company, leading to Dion's release in the U.S. market.

Critical reception

Chicago Tribune's Jan De Knock wrote: "Dion`s big voice invites comparisons to the power-pop stylings of Taylor Dayne and Laura Branigan (coincidentally, the disco-flavored title track ``Unison`` also appears on Branigan`s latest LP.)" ^[2]

Formats and track listings

Canadian CD single

1. "Unison" (mainstream extended mix) – 7:05
2. "Unison" (club mix) – 7:25

Canadian CD maxi single

1. "Unison" (single mix with rap) – 4:04
2. "Unison" (single mix without rap) – 4:04
3. "Unison" (mainstream extended mix) – 7:05

Japanese CD maxi single

1. "Unison" (single mix with rap) – 4:04
2. "Délivre-moi" – 4:19
3. "Can't Live with You, Can't Live Without You" – 4:16
4. "Unison" – 4:13

Official versions

1. "Unison" (mainstream extended mix) – 7:05
2. "Unison" (club mix) – 7:25
3. "Unison" (single mix with rap) – 4:04
4. "Unison" (single mix without rap) – 4:04
5. "Unison" (album version) – 4:13

Charts

References