''Introducing Happiness'' is the fifth studio album by

Rheostatics Rheostatics are a Canadian indie rock band. They were formed in 1978, and actively performed from 1980 until disbanding in 2007. After a number of reunion performances at special events, Rheostatics reformed in late 2016, introducing new songs a ...

, released in 1994 on

Sire Records Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records. History Beginnings The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehre ...

. Produced by Michael Phillip Wojewoda, the album was recorded at

Compass Point Studios Compass Point Studios was a music recording studio in the Bahamas, founded in 1977 by Chris Blackwell, the owner of Island Records. The concept of the studio was of a recording facility supported by in-house sets of artists, musicians, producer ...

in the

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the ar ...

.Tom Harrison, "A musical banquet moves on to dessert: Rheostatics' album varied as ice cream". ''

The Province ''The Province'' is a daily newspaper published in tabloid format in British Columbia by Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network, alongside the '' Vancouver Sun'' broadsheet newspaper. Together, they are British Columbia's on ...

'', September 21, 1994. Band member

Dave Bidini Dave Bidini (born September 11, 1963) is a Canadian musician and writer. Originally from Etobicoke, Ontario, he was a founding member of the rock band Rheostatics, and currently performs with Bidiniband. In addition, he has published several b ...

described the album as intended to represent "a really crazy kind of thing with exploding colors like

XTC XTC were an English rock band formed in Swindon in 1972. Fronted by songwriters Andy Partridge (guitars, vocals) and Colin Moulding (bass, vocals), the band gained popularity during the rise of punk and new wave in the 1970s, later playing in ...

's ''

Oranges and Lemons "Oranges and Lemons" is a traditional English nursery rhyme, folksong, and singing game which refers to the bells of several churches, all within or close to the City of London. It is listed in the Roud Folk Song Index as No 13190. The earlies ...

''." The album includes "Claire", the band's only

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...

hit. That song is also featured on the '' Whale Music'' soundtrack album, and won the Genie Award for

Best Original Song This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

at the 15th Genie Awards."Genie Award winners". ''

Hamilton Spectator ''The Hamilton Spectator'', founded in 1846, is a newspaper published weekdays and Saturdays in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. One of the largest Canadian newspapers by circulation,''The Hamilton Spectator'' is owned by Torstar. History ''The Hami ...

'', December 8, 1994. ''Introducing Happiness'' was the band's second and final album for

. Sire found the band's quirky

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...

too quirky and too indie to market effectively despite having a Top 40 hit, and dropped the band from the label. It was also Dave Clark's last album with the band. Following this album, he left to concentrate on

The Dinner Is Ruined The Dinner Is Ruined is a Canadian indie rock band. the band plays an experimental and improvisational brand of blues rock. The band members are Dale Morningstar, Dave Clark and Dr. Johnny Pee. History The Dinner Is Ruined was formed in 1991 by ...

, and was replaced for the next several years by Don Kerr.

Critical response

Peter Howell of the ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and pa ...

'' ranked it as the third best album of the year, behind only

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...

's '' Unplugged in New York'' and

Hole A hole is an opening in or through a particular medium, usually a solid body. Holes occur through natural and artificial processes, and may be useful for various purposes, or may represent a problem needing to be addressed in many fields of en ...

's ''

Live Through This ''Live Through This'' is the second studio album by the American alternative rock band Hole, released on April 12, 1994, by DGC Records. Recorded in late 1993, it departed from the band's unpolished hardcore aesthetics to more refined melodies ...

''.Peter Howell, "Albums by Nirvana, Hole best of the year". ''

'', December 17, 1994. He wrote that the album was "just yer basic, Etobicoke jock hoser-music psycho trip - but it wails like ginger ale. The Rheos manage the neat trick of attracting mainstream appeal without losing their alternative savvy. And "Claire" qualifies as single of the year contender."

Track listing

#"Fan Letter to Michael Jackson" (

, John Critchley) – 3:59 #"Introducing Happiness" (

Tim Vesely Tim Vesely (born 10 December 1963) is a Canadian musician and songwriter. He is best known as a founding member of the indie rock band Rheostatics, in which he shared vocal duties with bandmates Dave Bidini and Martin Tielli. Vesely wrote much ...

) – 2:28 #"One More Colour" (

Jane Siberry Jane Siberry ( ; ; born 12 October 1955) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, known for such hits as " Mimi on the Beach", "I Muse Aloud", " One More Colour" and "Calling All Angels". She performed the theme song to the television series ''Maniac M ...

) – 3:45 #"Claire" (Vesely, Paul Quarrington) – 4:09 #"Digital Beach" (

Martin Tielli Martin Tielli is a Canadian singer-songwriter. He was a member of the Rheostatics, and has also released material as a solo artist and with the side project Nick Buzz. As well, he has appeared as a guest musician on albums by Barenaked Ladies, ...

) – 1:54 #"Earth/Monstrous Hummingbird" (Bidini) – 4:50 #"Row" (Vesely) – 4:52 #"Full Moon Over Russia" ( Dave Clark) – 2:19 #"Take Me in Your Hand" (Tielli) – 3:13 #"Jesus Was Once a Teenager Too" (Bidini, Tielli) – 4:25 #"Me and Stupid" (Bidini) – 2:33 #"Fish Tailin'" (Tielli) – 3:10 #"The Woods Are Full of Cuckoos" (Bidini) – 1:16 #"Cephallus Worm/Uncle Henry" (Tielli, Bidini) – 4:44 #"In This Town" (Tielli) – 3:19 #"Alomar" (Rheostatics) – 1:52 #"You Are a Treasure" (Tielli) – 3:22 #"Onilley's Strange Dream" (Bidini, Tielli) – 6:26

References

{{Authority control 1994 albums Rheostatics albums Sire Records albums Albums produced by Michael Phillip Wojewoda