Warehouse Stock Clearance Sale

Grab a Bargain Today!

Happy the Man [Remastered]
By
Rating


Product Description
Product Details
Performer Notes
  • Personnel: Stanley Whitaker (vocals, guitar); Frank Wyatt (flute, saxophone, piano, keyboards, background vocals); Kit Watkins (flute, acoustic & Fender Rhodes pianos, Clavinet, Hammond B-3 organ, ARP & Mini-Moog synthesizers, marimba); Rick Kennell (bass); Mike Beck (percussion).
  • Producer: Ken Scott.
  • Reissue producers: Michael Kraft, Lynn Hemingway.
  • Includes liner notes by George Varga.
  • Digitally remastered by Kit Watkins.
  • Though it met with little commercial success, Happy the Man's 1977 debut quickly became a cult sensation with fans of prog rock. It's easy to see why: their sound combines a number of diverse influences in a distinctive manner, and their music is as complex and meticulously arranged as any prog album one cares to mention. Unlike some popular prog acts, Happy the Man does not allow one instrument to take center stage or allow relentless soloing to dominate the songs. Instead, the focus is on complex interplay between the group's players: compositions like "Knee Bitten Nymphs In Limbo" and "Stumpy Meets the Firecracker in Stencil Forest" are built on the kind of mathematically complex yet playful instrumental interplay that is normally associated with Frank Zappa's most complex work. Elsewhere, the group slows down the instrumental pyrotechnics to show off a grasp of melody; the best example is "Starborne," which starts off with moody washes of Tangerine Dream-style synthesizer and builds to a dramatic, almost orchestral fanfare. The one real downside of the album is the inclusion of two vocal-oriented songs that don't jell with the rest of the album because the group is obviously not comfortable dealing with conventional song structures. These selections also suffer from pretentious lyrics; for example, "On Time as a Helix of Precious Laughs" tries to philosophize about the meaning of life but gets bogged down in artsy, obscure imagery. In the end, Happy the Man doesn't quite live up to its legendary reputation but remains a solid prog outing that will find favor with those who enjoy art rock at its most complex and ambitious. Collector's note: One Way Records' 1999 reissue of Happy the Man was remixed for the compact disc format by the group's keyboardist, Kit Watkins. ~ Donald A. Guarisco
Ask a Question About this Product More...
 
Look for similar items by category
Home » Music » Pop » Art Rock
People also searched for
How Fishpond Works
Fishpond works with suppliers all over the world to bring you a huge selection of products, really great prices, and delivery included on over 25 million products that we sell. We do our best every day to make Fishpond an awesome place for customers to shop and get what they want — all at the best prices online.
About Fishpond
Webmasters, Bloggers & Website Owners
You can earn a 8% commission by selling Happy the Man [Remastered] on your website. It's easy to get started - we will give you example code. After you're set-up, your website can earn you money while you work, play or even sleep! You should start right now!
Sign up now
Authors / Publishers
Are you the Author or Publisher of a book? Or the manufacturer of one of the millions of products that we sell. You can improve sales and grow your revenue by submitting additional information on this title. The better the information we have about a product, the more we will sell!
Submit Information
Item ships from and is sold by Fishpond World Ltd.

↑
Back to top