Even the harmony master himself agreed. Gene Puerling loved unison singing.
I can’t prove it to you, because the album is not available on any streaming services. I can’t link to a YouTube video because they’re all unavailable.
But go and find The Hi-Lo’s singing “A Quiet Girl” By Leonard Bernstein (lyrics Comden/Green). It was on their album Now Hear This!
I don’t hear a single chord. I don’t hear a single beat of 2-part harmony among the 4 virtuosic singers.
All the song needed was their voices in unison. Because the sound of voices singing together is sometimes a sound more powerful than 4-part harmony or a solo. Unison is sometimes exactly what’s needed.
I think too often we forget, in the age of Collier, that unison can be fresh. More than fresh, it can be overwhelming.