''The Happy Album'' is the third
studio album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
by British
ska
Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...
band
The Selecter
The Selecter are an English 2 tone ska revival band, formed in Coventry, England, in 1979.
The Selecter featured a diverse line-up, both in terms of race and gender, initially consisting of Arthur 'Gaps' Hendrickson and Pauline Black on lead vo ...
, and their first following their reformation in 1990, released in 1994 on
Demon Music in the UK and
Triple X in the US. Their first album of new material in thirteen years, ''The Happy Album'' follows their successful live reunion tour of 1991 and its respective live album document, ''Out in the Streets'' (1992). Founding member
Noel Davis
Noel Davis (born Edgar Davis; 1 March 1927 – 24 November 2002) was a British film and television actor; and latterly, a film and television casting director.
Partial filmography
* '' Darling'' (1965) - Shop Assistant (uncredited)
* ''Fahren ...
left the band between ''Out in the Streets'' while fellow original member Arthur "Gaps" Hendrickson rejoined the band. The new line-up recorded ''The Happy Album'' with production from
Aswad
Aswad are a British reggae group, noted for adding strong R&B and soul influences to the reggae sound. They have been performing since the mid-1970s, having released a total of 21 albums. Their UK hit singles include the number one "Don't Tur ...
guitarist Jimmy "Seyna" Haynes
While retaining the band's
ska
Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...
sound at its core, the album sees a new direction for the band, taking influence from and incorporating other genres, styles and techniques, including
electronic
Electronic may refer to:
*Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor
* ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal
*Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device
*Electronic co ...
music,
hip hop,
sampling and
orchestral music
An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families.
There are typically four main sections of instruments:
* bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ce ...
, and also features several slower
reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
tracks, including two cover versions. Despite the album's name, the record's lyrics are bleak and concerned with social injustice. Although expected to alienate some long-time fans, upon release, the album was greeted with critical acclaim. The band toured in promotion of the album in 1994 and a special edition was released by Moon Ska Europe in 2004.
Background and recording
The Selecter's second album ''
Celebrate the Bullet
''Celebrate the Bullet'' is the second studio album by English 2 tone ska revival band the Selecter, released on 27 February 1981 by Chrysalis Records after the band had left the 2 Tone label. The album was recorded with producer Roger Lomas, who ...
'' (1981) was a commercial failure, and the band split-up shortly after its release.
Lead singer
Pauline Black
Belinda Magnus (born 23 October 1953), better known as Pauline Black (), is an English singer, actress and author.
In a music career spanning over 40 years, Black came to prominence in the late 1970s as the lead singer of the 2 Tone ska reviva ...
moved into acting and writing work as well as undergoing a short solo career under
Chrysalis Records
Chrysalis Records () is a British record label that was founded in 1968. The name is both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders' names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis. It started as the Ellis-Wright Ag ...
, who released her unsuccessful cover version of "
I Can See Clearly Now
"I Can See Clearly Now" is a song written and recorded by American singer Johnny Nash. It was the lead single from his album I Can See Clearly Now (Johnny Nash album), ''I Can See Clearly Now'' and achieved success in the United States and the U ...
", originally by
Jimmy Cliff
James Chambers OM (born 30 July 1944), known professionally as Jimmy Cliff, is a Jamaican ska, rocksteady, reggae and soul musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and actor. He is the only living reggae musician to hold the Order of Merit, t ...
.
Similarly unsuccessful was the
pirate radio
Pirate radio or a pirate radio station is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license.
In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are received—especially w ...
-themed "Pirates of the Airwave", her single under the extended name Pauline Black and The Sunday Best (a backing band consisting of fellow
ska
Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...
musicians
Neville Staple
Neville Eugenton Staple (born 11 April 1955), sometimes credited as Neville Staples, is a Jamaican-born English singer, known for his work with the 2 Tone ska band the Specials, as well as with his own group, the Neville Staple Band. He also per ...
and
Lynval Golding
Lynval Golding (born 24 July 1951) is a Jamaican-born British musician. His family moved from Jamaica to Gloucester, before moving to Coventry when he was eighteen. He is currently living in Gig Harbor, Washington. He is best known as a rhythm g ...
).
Her acting career won her the 1990 "
Time Out
Time-out, Time Out, or timeout may refer to:
Time
* Time-out (sport), in various sports, a break in play, called by a team
* Television timeout, a break in sporting action so that a commercial break may be taken
* Timeout (computing), an enginee ...
Award for Best Actress" in regards to her portrayal of singer
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop si ...
.
However, with the enduring legacy of
2 Tone music
Two-tone or 2 tone is a genre of British popular music of the late 1970s and early 1980s that fused traditional Jamaican ska music with elements of punk rock and new wave music. Its name derives from 2 Tone Records, a record label founded in ...
and how, in the words of critic Terry Rompers, "latter-day
bluebeat refuses to die,"
The Selecter reunited in 1991 with a new-line up which reunited Black with band founder
Noel Davies; the line-up, which also consisted of drummer Perry Melius and former
Bad Manners
Bad Manners are an English two-tone and ska band led by frontman Buster Bloodvessel. Early appearances included ''Top of the Pops'' and the live film documentary, ''Dance Craze'' (1981).
They were at their most popular during the early 1980 ...
members Nick Welsh and Martin Stewart,
performed a series of live performances, leading to the critically acclaimed live album ''Out on the Streets'' (1992), recorded in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
and released on Receiver Records, and the success of the band's return meant that their return was not temporary.
The band's reunion came about after
Buster Bloodvessel
Douglas Trendle (né Woods; born 6 September 1958), better known as Buster Bloodvessel, is an English singer who has been the frontman of the two-tone band Bad Manners since forming the band in 1976.Larkin, Colin (1997) ''The Virgin Encycloped ...
, front man of fellow ska band
Bad Manners
Bad Manners are an English two-tone and ska band led by frontman Buster Bloodvessel. Early appearances included ''Top of the Pops'' and the live film documentary, ''Dance Craze'' (1981).
They were at their most popular during the early 1980 ...
, spoke to the band over the phone about the possibility.
Black said that
Fine Young Cannibals
Fine Young Cannibals (FYC) was a British pop rock band formed in Birmingham, England, in 1984, by bassist David Steele (musician), David Steele, guitarist Andy Cox (both formerly of The Beat (British band), The Beat), and singer Roland Gift (fo ...
' album ''
The Raw & the Cooked'' (1989) had restored her faith in music and inspired her to start singing again.
The band aimed to record their third studio album, ''The Happy Album'', a year later. However, Davies left the band to pursue a solo career, and was replaced by fellow original member Arthur "Gaps" Hendrickson on vocals.
The band got ready to record the album in 1993 in a studio on London's
Holloway Road
Holloway Road is a road in London, in length. It is one of the main shopping streets in North London, and carries the A1 road as it passes through Holloway, in the London Borough of Islington. The road starts in Archway, near Archway Under ...
.
Black and Hendrickson share vocals on ''The Happy Album''.
The line-up that recorded the album was completed by bassist Nick Welsh and keyboardist Martin Stewart, both of whom played on the live album.
Aswad
Aswad are a British reggae group, noted for adding strong R&B and soul influences to the reggae sound. They have been performing since the mid-1970s, having released a total of 21 albums. Their UK hit singles include the number one "Don't Tur ...
lead guitarist and producer Jimmy "Senya" Haynes was the album's main producer, while also contributing guitar.
Welsh, besides playing bass, has also been credited with contributing co-writing and co-production to the album,
while mixing the album with Zah Martin.
Music and lyrics
![Ricogf](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/Ricogf.JPG)
''The Happy Album'' sees a stylistic change for the band's music; while the album is still predominately a
ska
Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...
album, keeping the genre as "its boppy touchstone,"
the album also takes other influences from numerous other genres.
According to Terry Rompers of ''
Trouser Press
''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference to ...
'', the album occasionally slows down "to a
reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
strut," while "using
samples,
electronic
Electronic may refer to:
*Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor
* ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal
*Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device
*Electronic co ...
s, contemporary rhythms and broader songwriting to roughly parallel for the memory of
2- Tone what
Big Audio Dynamite
Big Audio Dynamite (later known as Big Audio Dynamite II and Big Audio, and often abbreviated BAD) were an English band, formed in London in 1984 by Mick Jones, former lead guitarist, and co-lead vocalist of the Clash. The band mixed various mu ...
did for
punk
Punk or punks may refer to:
Genres, subculture, and related aspects
* Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres
* Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
."
As with the band's debut album ''
Too Much Pressure
''Too Much Pressure'' is the debut studio album by English Two-tone (music genre), 2 tone ska revival band the Selecter. After the band's official formation in 1979 in Coventry, following the release of a song entitled "The Selecter" by an unoffi ...
'' (1980),
there are also several reggae cover versions on the album, namely "I Want Justice", originally by
Delroy Wilson
Delroy George Wilson CD (5 October 1948 – 6 March 1995)
Greene, Jo-Ann, " Delroy Wilson Biography, allmusic.com, Macrovision Corporation
was a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae singer. Wilson is often regarded as Jamaica's first child s ...
, and "Sweet and Dandy" by
Toots Hibbert
Frederick Nathaniel Hibbert, (8 December 1942 – 11 September 2020), better known as Toots Hibbert, was a Jamaican singer and songwriter who was the lead vocalist for the reggae and ska band Toots and the Maytals. A reggae pioneer, he perform ...
.
Lyrically, the album is "burdened by a social conscience", bring a sombre irony to the album name.
Heralding in the new direction, opening song "Reselecterization" features an instrumental flourish that is "explicitly derived" from
hip hop music, but after that, the album "soon settles down into a ska groove that," according to Rick Anderson of
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
, "is far from the old school on its shiny surfaces but still deeply rooted in Jamaican verities."
"California Screaming" is about, "among other things," the police assault of
Rodney King
Rodney Glen King (April 2, 1965June 17, 2012) was an African American man who was a victim of police brutality. On March 3, 1991, he was beaten by Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers during his arrest after a pursuit for driving whi ...
, while "Copasetic", an
anti-war
An anti-war movement (also ''antiwar'') is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term anti-war can also refer to pa ...
song, and "Mother Knows Best", are said to veil their subjects in "obscure detail."
The latter song features
church bell
A church bell in Christian architecture is a bell which is rung in a church for a variety of religious purposes, and can be heard outside the building. Traditionally they are used to call worshippers to the church for a communal service, and t ...
s,
whistle
A whistle is an instrument which produces sound from a stream of gas, most commonly air. It may be mouth-operated, or powered by air pressure, steam, or other means. Whistles vary in size from a small slide whistle or nose flute type to a larg ...
s and synthesised
orchestral strings.
"I Want Justice" similarly features whistles and bells.
The cover version of "Sweet and Dandy", one such "juxtaposition of old and new" on the record, counterbalances its slick, contemporary production with "greasy" trombone playing from Jamaican trombonist
Rico Rodriguez, who had worked with the band on their debut album,
as well as Black's "husky vocals."
Some songs feature "studio frippery."
Release and reception
In the United Kingdom, ''The Happy Album'' was released in July 1994 by the
Demon Music Group
Demon Music Group (DMG) is a record company owned by BBC Studios that is mainly concerned with back-catalogue rights and re-issuing recordings as compilations on physical media (CDs and vinyl) via supermarkets and specialist stores.
History
DM ...
, and was their first release on the label.
In the United States, it was released on
Triple X Records
Triple X Records was a Los Angeles-based record company started by three former employees of the bankrupt Greenworld Distribution: Dean Naleway, Peter Heur and Charley Brown.
The label was known for "a fearlessly eclectic catalogue that broke away ...
with slightly different artwork and a sticker on the CD case,
while in Japan it was released by Quattro with another album cover.
One critic speculated that, due to its new direction, the album would alienate several long-time fans while possibly finding the band several new fans too.
No singles were released to promote the album, and it did not chart on the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
. Record label Moon Ska Europe remastered and re-released the album in the UK in 2004, with the music video for the band's early song "Missing Words" added as a bonus
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains data. Computers can read—but not write or erase—CD-ROMs. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold both comput ...
element.
Unlike the band's second album ''Celebrate the Bullet'', ''The Happy Album'' was greeted with critical acclaim. Rick Anderson of
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
rated the album three stars out of five, saying he recommended the album and noting that "Sweet Dandy" was the album's "best juxtaposition of old and new" and noting how "Mother Knows Best" and "I Want Justice" both manage "to draw strength from the added bells and whistles."
Terry Rompers of ''
Trouser Press
''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference to ...
'' was also favourable, saying: "''The Happy Album'' is anything but, and that's to its credit."
In ''
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music
''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music'' is an encyclopedia created in 1989 by Colin Larkin. It is the "modern man's" equivalent of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music'', which Larkin describes in less than flattering terms.''The Times'', ''The Know ...
'', writer
Colin Larkin
Colin Larkin (born 1949) is a British writer and entrepreneur. He founded, and was the editor-in-chief of, the ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music'', described by ''The Times'' as "the standard against which all others must be judged".
Along wit ...
rated the album three stars out of five.
More mixed in his assessment was
Martin C. Strong
Martin Charles Strong (born 1960 in Musselburgh) is a Scottish music historian known for compiling discographies of popular music including ''The Great Rock Discography''. Strong has been described in broadsheet newspaper profiles as a "compiler ...
in ''
The Great Rock Bible'', rating it 5/10 and saying: "The Selecter threw in a bit of hip hop and orchestral flourishes into the mix
..the reggae roots kept the group on
rock-steady ground."
The Selecter toured in promotion of ''The Happy Album'', and in late 1994 they reached Limelight in
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
,
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
and The Town Pump in
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
.
The band toured America with
The Skatalites
The Skatalites are a ska band from Jamaica. They played initially between 1963 and 1965, and recorded many of their best known songs in the period, including " Guns of Navarone." They also played on records by Prince Buster and backed many othe ...
, with whom they shared a tour bus. The two bands rarely spoke on the bus and Black spent her time listening to
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...
.
For the first time in the band's history, the same line-up that recorded one album recorded another one, as the same line-up as that on ''The Happy Album'' followed the record up with ''
Pucker!
''Pucker!'' (originally released as ''Hairspray'' in the United States) is the fourth album by English 2 Tone ska revival band The Selecter, released in 1995 on Dojo Music in the United Kingdom as, under the name ''Hairspray'', on Triple X Recor ...
'' (1995), which again saw a slight artistic deviation; in the words of Rompers, "the same mob
hat made ''The Happy Album''made ''Hairspray''
'Pucker!s American equivalent but you'd never know it from the catchy chorus of 'My Perfect World,' which leads it off, or the cornball pot-centric version of
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
's 'Rainy Day Women #12 & 35' that curls up near the end."
Track listing
All songs written by The Selecter; except where noted.
#"Reselecterization" – 4:20
#"Whip Them Down" – 3:04
#"Sweet and Dandy" (
Toots Hibbert
Frederick Nathaniel Hibbert, (8 December 1942 – 11 September 2020), better known as Toots Hibbert, was a Jamaican singer and songwriter who was the lead vocalist for the reggae and ska band Toots and the Maytals. A reggae pioneer, he perform ...
) – 3:54
#"Neurotica" – 3:37
#"California" – 5:17
#"Screaming" – 2:32
#"I Want Justice" (
Delroy Wilson
Delroy George Wilson CD (5 October 1948 – 6 March 1995)
Greene, Jo-Ann, " Delroy Wilson Biography, allmusic.com, Macrovision Corporation
was a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae singer. Wilson is often regarded as Jamaica's first child s ...
) – 4:00
#"Trout" – 3:26
#"Mother Knows Best" – 3:34
#"Ladders" – 4:02
Personnel
;The Selecter
*
Pauline Black
Belinda Magnus (born 23 October 1953), better known as Pauline Black (), is an English singer, actress and author.
In a music career spanning over 40 years, Black came to prominence in the late 1970s as the lead singer of the 2 Tone ska reviva ...
– vocals
*Arthur "Gaps" Hendrickson – vocals
*Nick Welsh – bass, production, mixing
*Martin Stewart – keyboards
with:
*Jimmy "Senya" Haynes – production, guitar
*
Rico Rodriguez – trombone
*Zah Martin – mixing
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Happy Album
1994 albums
The Selecter albums
Demon Music Group albums
Triple X Records albums