Unit 4 + 2: "Concrete and Clay" / Eddie Rambeau: "Concrete and Clay"

May 17, 1965 (1 week)

Down near the bottom of the Billboard Hot 100 during the week of May 8, 1965, a pair of singles made their debut. One was by an English band with the curious and rather awkward name of Unit 4 + 2, the other by an American who until recently had been eking out a living as a staff songwriter in New York called Eddie Rambeau. The former came in at number ninety-six while the latter was just two spots below. The American charts had two competing versions of "Concrete and Clay" to deal with.

On Canada's RPM chart, however, things were handled differently. The two charted together rather than separately — or that's how it ended up. In fact, Unit 4 + 2's original had been doing fairly well for itself on its own at first. It entered the Top 40 at an impressive number twenty-four and then moved up nine places the following week. It was only when it climbed into the Top 10 at the beginning of May that Rambeau's name was given a co-credit. Thus, for the first and only time, Canada's number one single happened to be occupied by the same song done by two different acts. It was almost as if they were handing out participation trophies or something.

In the classic 1998 film Rushmore main character Max becomes besotted by Ms. Cross, a teacher at his exclusive private school. It turns out that the following year they'll be offering Japanese while at long last getting rid of Latin from the curriculum, something Max claims to have been campaigning for for years ("'It's a dead language, I'd always say'," he tells a colleague). However, he then meets Ms. Cross who expresses regret that this will be happening. Max promptly begins a counter-campaign to have Latin restored. As he gathers signatures from fellow students — with "sic transit gloria" his catchphrase — the sound of "Concrete and Clay" accompanies him.

Rushmore director Wes Anderson is as well-known for his immaculately curated soundtracks as he is for his highly stylized form of cinematography. The dreamy "A Summer's Song" by Chad and Jeremy plays as Max begins planning to build an aquarium at Rushmore in order to further impress Ms. Cross. "Here Comes My Baby" by Cat Stevens documents some positive experiences for the two characters, along with friend Herman Blume, who also begins to have feelings for Ms. Cross. The last couple minutes of The Who's outstanding suite "A Quick One, While He's Away" soundtracks the escalating blood feud between Max and Blume with a hint that a reconciliation may still be possible ("you are forgiven..."). The upbeat "Oh Yoko" by John Lennon sees the two former rivals back in cahoots as they work on getting their lives back on track.

No doubt Anderson pores over every minute detail in his films. Every song used is there to serve a purpose. (And shouldn't that be the case with every film director and not just the notoriously persnickety Wes Anderson?) Unit 4 + 2's only major hit (with apologies to the moody "(You've) Never Been in Love Like This Before", a number six hit in Canada following the success of "Concrete and Clay") is included in order to examine Max's state as he falls in love for presumably the first time which makes him forget all about his impending expulsion from his beloved school. The promise of a newfound love can be a wonderful thing even if it leads us to stumbling along the way.

I have no way to prove this but I can say with one hundred percent certainty that Eddie Rambeau's cover of "Concrete and Clay" wasn't even on Anderson's radar. While similarly-sized hits on the Hot 100 — a number twenty-eight peak for Unit 4 + 2,  number thirty-five for Rambeau; one can only wonder how the original would've done without its inferior facsimile placed up against it — only one of them remained with people in the years ahead — and with good reason. While the former has sunny tinges of flamenco exoticism, the latter copies the basis of the original while adding little beyond a superfluous string arrangement. "The rhythm," Tom Ewing helpfully points out, "bump[s] away in the background like a cyclist down a cobbled road." Though the details are expertly copied by producer Bob Crewe (who had recently been piecing together those wonderful Four Seasons hits) in the Rambeau rendition, there's less ragged activity going on. It's all a little too glossed over in the studio. Plus, Rambeau himself doesn't do much with it either: while Unit 4 + 2 vocalists Tommy Moeller and Brian Parker balance optimism with a hint of melancholy, the American gives a mostly bland reading with just the chorus being a little bit on the zesty side.

So, Rambeau's version isn't particularly good but that doesn't mean we should go nuts in praising the original either. Having such a weak cover to hold up against it probably makes it seem better than it is. While certainly a "gas" (as they used to say), it's bogged down by lyrics that are so banal I can hardly blame Rambeau for sounding so like he was just going through the motions. In a way, its presence in Rushmore doesn't do it any favours: while a thirty second clip of "Concrete and Clay" playing while Max saves Latin makes for a perfect mix of cinema and song, the full two minutes plus all on its own isn't quite as captivating. Ultimately, it's a case of good, not great — not unlike many of Wes Anderson's films that aren't named Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums.

Unit 4 + 2 Score: 7

Eddie Rambeau Score: 4