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Happy Rhodes—Rhodes I & Rhodes II


General comments about both volumes:

These two CDs represent a compilation of songs Happy Rhodes recorded between the years 1984-86, when she was learning the basics of recording at Cathedral Sound Studios in Rensselaer, NY. None of these were ever intended for public consumption, and the result is a sometimes brutal honesty that immediately draws the listener into her sometimes frightening world and refuses to let go.
     Rhodes' voice has rightly been compared to Kate Bush and Annie Lennox singing a duet—her four-octave vocal range can easily mimic both in the span of a phrase. Musically the arrangements are simple: acoustic guitar, with electronic keyboards providing other instrumentation when needed. Her lyrics are dark, exploring the darker side of love and mental anguish from the personal perspective of a troubled childhood, in songs with titles such as "Possessed", "Under And Over The Brink", "Asylum Master", "Oh The Drears", and "The Suicide Song". Yet as Rhodes exorcises her demons she doesn't burden us with them, and even at their most depressing the songs still manage to be engaging and uplifting, and after many listens they remain fresh, with more details still to discover.
     Because they were not meant to be released in album form, some songs are rough around the edges, and there one or two that should never have been committed to tape, but as a whole Rhodes I and Rhodes II are brilliant pieces of work, and an appropriate introduction to the wonders of Happy Rhodes' voice and music. (meth@smoe.org)

Rhodes I and Rhodes II—in my opinion they have to go together there are just so many wonderful songs on both, all on a similar frequency. These cds have the most acoustic Happy, Happy with just her and her guitar, but also include some great synthesizer pieces. This was an incredibly bold and ground-breaking debut, one of my faves! (ItsyBitsyS@aol.com)

yeah okay "oh the drears" and other early happy songs have lots of what now seems like really unpolished cheesy synth. but then whadaya expect on a shoestring budget and the early-mid '80s? :)
     however, i can clearly remember the moment i opened the package with the first four tapes, popped rhodes i in the walkman and put on the headphones and having an epiphany. a defining moment, and the synths hardly seemed cheesy at the time. (jetgrrl@magenta.com)

Wait until you hear "The Wretches Gone Awry." Or "Given In" or "Step Inside" or "Oh The Drears" or "Possessed" or "Come Here" or "Under And Over The Brink" or "To The Funnyfarm" or "Til The Dawn Breaks" or "Friend You'll Be" or "Dreams Are" or "Crystal Orbs" or "Because I Learn" or really, damn, just about every song on her first 3 albums, all written between the ages of around 14 to 20. It's really disgusting how talented she was. (Still is, of course!) (vickie@enteract.com)

I find that most of the first two CDs sound very similar to me. This makes sense based on when they were recorded in historical perspective. Here are some of my favorites on the early CDs: "Oh The Drears", "Given In", "I'll Let You Go", "The Wretches Gone Awry" from Rhodes I and "The Revelation", "Under And Over The Brink", "Let Me Know Love", "Noone Here", Beat It Out", "The Chase" on Rhodes II. (wpm@value.net)

Simply put, the songs on the early albums are about monsters. Happy was not only writing about them, but painting them too. Mind, these monsters were somewhat like imaginary playmates. While I find the critter on II to be rather creepy, I adore the monster on I.
     These are more than slightly melancholy—all those pretty songs about death, suicide, cripplingly low self-esteem and monsters?
     Happy has been known to introduce "Possessed" live with words to the effect of "You can get up and dance now." One of my very favorite songs by ANYBODY. EVER.
     Perhaps more significant, then, is the fact that it's supposedly one her earlier recordings, dating back to when she was 17 and had gotten her job at the studio....
     In fact, everything on the first two albums was recorded over the same general period of time, and then collected into two relatively cohesive albums; it's not really appropriate to try to treat the albums chronologically. (burka@jeffrey.net)

If there was a surprise in listening to these early albums, it was the uniform success of everything, something like looking at a mountain range where some mountains might be higher than others, but every song was way above expectations. I also experienced the gradual sorting out, perhaps not so much in the way of finding favorites as in the ability to identify the landmarks that distinguished one from another. There is a basic similarity in the A/B/A forms used, but the melodies are so inventive that you get to know them all, even if at first they seem to have a striking similarity.
     I also found Happy's monster paintings a bit much, but her music triggered visions of my own. (ditto@taconic.net)

My initial reactions to Rhodes I and Rhodes II were kinda lukewarm, as I had a hard time distinguishing between songs. The more I listen to them, though, the more I'm really starting to love these two albums. There's something about the music on these two discs (and to a lesser extent on Rearmament and Ecto) that is absent from Happy's more current music. That's not necessarily a bad thing, because I think Happy's music has many facets (or so I'm quickly discovering)...but the depth of sadness that is evoked on these albums is stark, both lyrically (of course), but even more so musically. While at first I had a hard time finding a single standout track on Rhodes II, recently I've discovered how moved I am by the music of "Not for Me," which makes me sadder than any other Happy song (irony!). And I love it! I'm not the kind to get teary-eyed by *any* song, but this one definitely makes me stop for a somber pause while it passes over me. This same sense of sadness is also reflected musically in the tracks "I'm Not Awake, I'm Not Asleep" (I) and "Let Me Know, Love" (II).
     I'm also amazed at how Happy takes something as simplistic and repetitive as "Many Nights" and still makes it so compelling! Genius.... (Patrick)


Rhodes I

Release info:

1992—Aural Gratification—AGCD0007 [CD]

Originally released in 1986 on tape as Rhodes Vol. I

Availability:

See Auntie Social Music—Happy Rhodes' Official website for current availability

Ecto priority:

Very high. (jbr@casetech.dk)

Group members:

Happy Rhodes

Produced by:

Pat Tessitore and Happy Rhodes

Comments:

Please also see the comments on Rhodes I & II together.

This album is probably the best if you want to enjoy Happy's high voice. It also contains some brilliant songs. (jbr@casetech.dk)

My favourite songs on this album are: "Rainkeeper", "Oh the Drears", "Possessed", "The Wretches Gone Awry." Why? The simplicity of the arrangements, and the emotional depth of the lyrics make this the album I most frequently go back to and rediscover. (kyrlidis@templeton.cchem.berkeley.edu)

My favorite song on this album is "Possessed," with honorable mentions going to "Oh The Drears" and "Given In." I would recommend this album because to get a feel for the full evolution of Happy's music, it's best to start at the beginning. On the other hand, it isn't my favorite of all the albums, so it's not the single one I'd suggest in the event of a forced choice. The best thing about Rhodes I, in my opinion, is the "Possessed" track, an unusual and interesting song from the standpoint of its combination of a jazz-waltz rhythm (uncommon among Happy's songs, to my perception), acoustic guitar accompaniment and lower-register vocal—especially coming, as it does, after a string of more ethereal numbers on the album. Beyond these exigencies, you're on your own with regard to reasons to buy this one :-). The stylistic diversity of Happy's music, and the literacy of her lyrics, are selling points for all her albums, and this one is no exception. (mapravat@prairienet.org)

Wonderful, wonderful stuff. Where can I begin? "Possessed" is so energetic and bold. "Moonbeam Friends" is lilting and perfectly suited to its lyrics. "I'm Not Awake, I'm Not Asleep" has a great drive behind it. "The Wretches Gone Awry"[1] is lovely. And my favorite song on the album is probably "The Flaming Threshold"[1], which is ecstasy beyond description, and is possibly my favorite Happy song, period. (as010b@uhura.cc.rochester.edu)

Rhodes I is the first Happy I heard and it still sends chills down my spine and brings a smile to my face. (meth@smoe.org)

I'm fond of "Oh the Drears," but the last time I heard it, I was *yet again* reminded of my biggest gripe about it: lousy synth strings. My dream for the last *8* years has been to have a properly orchestrated and performed version of "Oh the Drears" with real strings. (jburka@raptor.cqi.com)

"Oh the Drears" is my favorite Happy song. (stuart@sph.emory.edu)

I can't help but speak up and give Rhodes I the credit I think it deserves. I must say that, out of Happy's albums, Rhodes I is one of 3 that can most easily move me to tears. Rhodes II is very close behind, and Rearmament is right there too. I call those 3 albums my "emotional favorites" of the 10. It's a personal thing, it's how so many of the lyrics are personal emotional touchstones for me. When I discovered Happy I couldn't believe I'd finally found someone who wrote words that could have come from my own psyche at various points in my life. It didn't have anything to do with how I felt at that time either, because it was the happiest time of my life (mid/late 1988), but when you have those feelings, you never forget what they feel like, and I was amazed that those feelings were coming out of my speakers, from my headphones. It was a revelation. "The First To Cry" hit me especially deep.
     Who was this woman writing these words that I'd thought a million times? Who was this woman who *did* have the nerve to show listeners who she was/had been? I was amazed then and I'm amazed now.
     I've always heard Happy as an emotional singer. Not all songs on all albums, of course, but on the whole, as an artist.
     Some songs on Rhodes Ihit me on an emotional level long before Mike Mendelson, Jeff Burka and I started the Lyrics Project to figure them all out. Songs like "Oh The Drears," "Given In," "Possessed," "I'll Let You Go," "I'm Not Awake, I'm Not Asleep," "Step Inside" and the emotional grandmom of them all, "The First To Cry" could make my psyche and heart soar (either in joy or an ecstatic empathetic despair) long before I ever knew all that she was saying in them. Knowing the lyrics just made them even better, even if the lyrics turned out to be about something that I didn't relate to on a personal emotional level (the urgent, driving, wind-swept dreamscape of "I'm Not Awake, I'm Not Asleep," for example, or the oh so sad, I-deserve-to-be-hurt confusion of "I'll Let You Go" or the tension-filled nightmare of insanity in "Possessed"—Happy didn't write the lyrics to that, but she sings them as if she did.)
     Now, some of the early songs were easy to understand and didn't need lyric sheets, but having the words right in front of me often made me hear them in a new way. Actually, knowing the lyrics helped me to appreciate many songs that I hadn't paid much attention to until then. Once I knew the lyrics to "The Wretches Gone Awry" it went from being a light, sometimes too-sweet-for-me-but-nice-harmonies-Happy ditty to an amazing, gut-wrenching epic.
     Of course, not every song has to be an emotional touchstone for me to hear it as an emotional song *for Happy* and be moved by that. "He's Alive" is a great example. I never painted, I never had monsters as friends and I never had vivid revenge fantasies against those who hurt me, but boy, hearing that little girl call to life the monster Alice to go and "roam the streets, invade their dreams" is chillingly exhilarating! It's an amazingly simple song with more power than a full-length film, IMEWO (In My Extremely Weird Opinion). Go Alice!
     One of the many interesting things about Happy, especially in her earlier work, is her ability to hide dark, depressing and/or scary lyrics under layers of beautiful music, sweet vocals and sometimes even happy music.
     "Rainkeeper" is sweeter than cotton candy, but listen to the lyrics—shades of "Mother Stands For Comfort" and The Dead Zone. "Case of Glass" is so slight it can be heard without being heard, but when you realize what it's about...chills up and down the spine time. Listen to the yearning-for-hope pain of "Number One", and the I-dare-you taunts of "Step Inside", the child's creepy creature pals, "Moonbeam Friends". And it just continues on and on, song after song. And the whole thing starts all over again with the equally wondrous Rhodes II! Maybe I am just too weird for words, but I can't see Rhodes I as anything other than emotional, complex, fascinating and the work of a budding genius. (vickie@enteract.com)

I still remember when I first popped in the freshly-arrived tape of Rhodes I. I listened through "Rainkeeper" thinking that this was nice, but maybe not as stunning as everyone had been making it out to be.
     Then "Oh the Drears" came on. Shining through the Casiotone instrumentation were Happy's amazing vocals and an immediate, direct evocation of a childhood memory. I had just returned from a summer camp where I had made a bunch of friends I probably wouldn't see for another year, if ever, and I was back at home in a town were there were very few people indeed who had any common interests with me. I was bummed, and yet I also realized in the back of my mind that I would get over it whether I wanted to or not. "Oh the Drears" brought it all back.
     I probably wouldn't be the Happy fan I am now if I hadn't had that immediate emotional connection leap out of her music. (stevev@hexadecimal.uoregon.edu)

By the way, I just listened to Rhodes I for the first time in years yesterday, prompted by the messages about it recently. Mumm... I'd forgotten how good some of the early songs were, or how strong her vocals already were back then. (jzitt@humansystems.com)

It's worth noting here that Rhodes I was Happy's first release, and was basically recorded between the ages of 17-20, which may have a lot of bearing on the material...
     That said, I get totally caught up in "Possessed" (one of my all time favorites) and "Given In," amongst others. The loneliness of "'Til The Dawn Breaks" (*shiver*) or "Crystal Orbs" or "Baby Don't Go" or....
     I *love* the album, and always have. Many of the lyrics that Vickie pointed out as being so powerful are faves of mine, too. I often think of "The Wretches Gone Awry" because the wing imagery is some of the best I think Happy's written.
     Wow.
     And "Possessed" is one of my very favorite songs. Both times I have heard Happy perform it live were two of the highlights of my concert-going career.
     Again, wow.
     It was great hearing Rhodes I today; I've been listening so much to Many Worlds are Born Tonight, that it's nice to get back to the roots. They're amazingly sturdy! (burka@jeffrey.net)


Rhodes II

Release info:

1992—Aural Gratification— AGCD0008 [CD]

Originally released in 1986 on tape as Rhodes Vol. II

Availability:

See Auntie Social Music—Happy Rhodes' Official website for current availability

Ecto priority:

Very high. (jbr@casetech.dk)

Group members:

Happy Rhodes

Produced by:

Pat Tessitore and Happy Rhodes

Comments:

Please also see the comments on Rhodes I & II together.

This is much like Rhodes I, though the songs aren't quite that good. Still, I wouldn't do without it.... (jbr@casetech.dk)

Favourite songs: "Under and over the brink", "Where do I go?", "Noone here." For a while I couldn't stand this album, mainly because I was saturated with new Happy music, and didn't listen close enough. This album is very personal for Happy, and contains some of her scarier songs in terms of mental imagery. (kyrlidis@templeton.cchem.berkeley.edu)

My favourite song on this album is "Come Here" ("The Chase" isn't bad either). As with all the other albums, it's another step in Happy's musical evolution; but the particular songs I like the most would be a stronger selling point for me (again, the same goes for all six albums). "Come Here" is on my preferred end of Happy's stylistic spectrum; what is more, the lyrics' image of a sexually assertive woman is a refreshing change from the multiple tales of emotional angst that also populate Happy's discography. (mapravat@prairienet.org)

Like Rearmament, this album feels a little uneven. "Come Here"[1] is sweetly sinister; "Under and Over the Brink"[1] feels like a raft riding powerful, but not rough, currents—rolling and exhilarating; "Beat It Out" is languid and tense, like one of those nightmares where you seem to move in slow motion or not at all; "The Chase" is filled with the strange contentment the pursued may feel when s/he realizes that the pursuer's victory is inevitable. Heady stuff. Many of the other songs, however, struck no chords with me. I expect this one to keep growing on me, though. (as010b@uhura.cc.rochester.edu)

My first time through the CD was an epiphany. My SO was out of town, and I had the amplifier as loud as is possible with my pathetic speakers. About midway through "Where Do I Go"... "...I want to live / Not ready to die..." the most amazingly vivid lightning displayed the dark room in strobe light. The end of the song was almost drowned by the thunder. I must admit, I moved to the stereo and considered unplugging it at that moment, but I couldn't bring myself to stop the music. Instead, I turned it up *louder*. I had to, to hear "Not For Me" over the claps of thunder. As that song faded into "One Alien", the sky opened up with sheets of rain, the wind blew branches out of trees, and hail the size of golfballs peppered the ground outside. It was quite the production. We (the cats &am; I) were very freaked out, but Happy just kept on singing.... I was drawn closer to the speakers by the guitar at the beginning of "Noone Here" and was pleased when the storm weakened to just rain. The first chorus of that song literally floored me. I can only remember that ever happening once before, when I heard Kate Bush's "Man With the Child in His Eyes". I would say my 'Happy' epiphany on last Friday evening topped even *that* (sorry Kate). ;-) I hope you all can get at least a vague picture of me on the carpet with my two very large *cats*, listening to that repeated line, "...and I'm without a body to keep me warm / and not even a kitty to share my storm..." and listening to the now-distant thunder rumbling. It was *too* perfect.
     I haven't obsessed like this over music in quite some time. It's rather fun, but it's going to be hard on the pocketbook next month, I'm afraid! (mickey@io.com)


Happy Rhodes' other recordings:

The main Happy Rhodes page

Notes:

1Singing along with Happy on these tracks is pure ecstasy. (as010b@uhura.cc.rochester.edu)


Thanks to Philip Sainty for work on this entry.

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Entry last updated 2008-07-13 17:51:24.
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