風街ろまん Happy End

Happy Frame of Mind finds Horace Parlan breaking away from the soul-inflected hard bop that had become his trademark, moving his music into more adventurous, post-bop territory. Aided by a first-rate quintet - trumpeter Johnny Coles, tenor saxophonist Booker Ervin, guitarist Grant Green, bassist Butch Warren, drummer Billy Higgins - Parlan produces a provocative set that is grounded in soul and blues but stretches out into challenging improvisations. None of the musicians completely embrace the avant-garde, but there are shifting tonal textures and unpredictable turns in the solos which have been previously unheard in Parlan's music. Perhaps that's the reason why Happy Frame of Mind sat unissued in Blue Note's vaults until 1976, when it was released as part of a double-record Booker Ervin set, but the fact of the matter is, it's one of Parlan's most successful efforts, finding the perfect middle ground between accessible, entertaining jazz and more adventurous music.

Highly anticipated second album from Old Dominion. Happy Endings has 12 new songs that showcase the group's confidence with incorporating pop and rock touches into easily digestible, radio-friendly modern country. Their performance of "No Such Thing As A Broken Heart, " the first single from highly anticipated second album Happy Endings was the #1 Shazamed song during the Academy of Country Music Awards. The band's debut album Meat and Candy has been RIAA-certified Gold. Performed more than 180 Shows in 2016, including a sold-out Fall Tour and selected as part of the inaugural Stagecoach Spotlight Tour.

In 1990, the label Cuneiform released Beginnings, filling a huge gap in Happy the Man's discography. The jewel of American progressive rock recorded its first album in 1977, but its members had been hard at work for over three years. This CD contains home recordings from February 1974 to July 1975, for a total of seven songs not available anywhere else…..

Another triumph! After the band was dropped by Arista, these appear to be demo tapes for a third release. Again, the band offers up some tasty prog, chock full of great instrumentals along with some vocal tracks. "Eye of the Storm" is a Kit Watkins tune that Camel also recorded during his tenure with that band (on I Can See Your House From Here). Both versions are very similiar. "The Falcon" is a great heavy ominous piece that features an evil sounding slide guitar solo from Stanley Whitaker, who also takes on vocal duties and does an admirable job. Some other favorites here are "While Crome Yellow Light Shine" with its bright horn sounds and driving rhythm; this one also features some stinging work from Whitaker. The fusion feel of "Run into the Ground" and the jazzy "Footwork" make this a well rounded release. Also, the drumming of Coco Roussel is outstanding. He is not just a drummer, but a fine percussionist. This CD contains the final recordings of the band, and shows that they were still full of creativity.

I Could Be Happy: The Best of Altered Images is an excellent, thorough collection covering all of the highlights from the band's three albums, adding several non-LP singles for good measure. All of the group's hits – "Happy Birthday," "I Could Be Happy," "See Those Eyes," "Love and Kisses" – are presented, usually in their single versions, plus many fine album tracks, making I Could Be Happy a definitive retrospective.

A hypothetical loomed over Devendra Banhart while he was writing Ma, one of those questions that changes your life no matter how you answer it. “I may not have a child,” he tells Apple Music, “and I thought, maybe I should make a record where I can put in everything I would want to say to them. And while doing that, you kind of realize, well, maybe it’s also everything I wish someone had said to me.” Building on 2013’s Mala and 2016’s Ape in Pink Marble, Ma finds Banhart continuing his evolution from freak-folk poster boy to one of the more subtle stylists in his field, touching on atmospheric bossa nova (“October 12”), string-saturated ballads (“Will I See You Tonight?”), and Velvet Underground-style folk-rock (“My Boyfriend’s in the Band”) in a way that feels playful but sophisticated, naive but self-possessed—the nature boy, housebroken but still alight with beautiful ideas. Amongst the songs are a handful of meditations on the plight of Venezuela, a country where Banhart spent most of his early years, and where much of his family still lives.

More than a decade has passed since Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith parted ways with their soulful and ambitious swansong, Seeds of Love. Orzabal released two records under the Tears for Fears moniker in the mid-'90s, but the band's signature blend of hook-filled anthems and art pop excess seemed destined to reside eternally in the post-new wave graveyard of the '80s…

Irish singer Bob Geldof's third solo set, The Happy Club, finds him again being produced by Rupert Hine, although he and Pete Briquette lend a hand. Geldof eschews the guest star-laden turns of his prior albums and settles with a set band line-up, with World Party's Karl Wallinger the only name guest. While not quite the triumph of his previous outing, The Happy Club is still an engaging release through and through. Drawing on his love for Motown, the album is an often upbeat, ebullient affair starting with the lead track "Room 19," complete with "sha la las, " hand claps, and comical lyrics about cryogenics. Other standouts include the gentle, lovely "The Soft Soil," the singalong slice of neo-psychedelic pop "My Hippy Angel," and the catchy title track. Thought-provoking lyrics wrapped in some great melodies, The Happy Club is mature, adult pop/rock that doesn't forget to have a good time.