torstai 9. elokuuta 2012

Strong recommendation: Ibby it is (instrumental), by HAPPY THE MAN

Album: Crafty Hands
Year: 1978
Country: USA
Running time: 7 mins. 50 secs.
YouTube link


Happy the Man is an American prog band formed in Harrisonburg, Virginia, in 1973. Their self-titled debut (1977) is considered one of the essential American prog albums of the 1970's and I definitely must agree, although Happy the Man the album is noticeably uneven. Great at its best, slightly embarrassing at its worst. Even so, overall, it is the group's best work.

Only one year later, Happy the Man released their sophomore effort Crafty Hands, which had absolutely no commercial impact and led to the dissolution of their recording contract. And, one must admit, it is a weaker effort than its predecessor. It starts out quite well, then slowly dwindles into mediocrity. At the very beginning, there are a couple of pretty good tracks. Then there is track number 3 which is an unbelievable masterpiece. After that, the only remaining decent track seems to be the only non-instrumental one, Wind Up Doll Day Wind.

The masterpiece in question is the nearly 8-minute instrumental track called Ibby it is, simply phenomenal both as a composition and an achievement in skillful use of musical instruments. It is one of the best examples of one simple truth that I am aware of. While progressive rock may be perceived as something truly serious and joyless by the general public, it is in fact the most fun musical genre there is. You simply cannot listen to the impeccable skill and fun the guys have playing this track, without a wide grin on your face. Prog equals FUN! Oh, yes.

Happy the Man's peculiar name probably originates from a relatively unknown Genesis song from the Peter Gabriel era - unknown due to the fact that it was never included on any of their albums. This seems quite fitting, as the group's sound is not very American. Instead, they sound a lot like the British symphonic prog groups of the era.

Gabriel played an important role in helping Happy the Man get a recording contract in the first place, albeit inadvertently. He personally met them in the summer of 1976, following his departure from Genesis, while looking for new musicians to be his new "band". Eventually, he decided against them, but it was this encounter that led to sufficient attention towards Happy the Man that they were able to sign a recording deal with Arista, and release their first two albums.

Following Crafty Hands, Happy the Man released only a couple of collections of their early recordings which sound more like rehearsals than proper studio albums (the 37-minute epic Death's Crown is an obvious standout), until 2004 when their third real studio album was finally released. The Muse Awakens contains mostly instrumental music, which seemed to be their strong suit also earlier on.

The main reason for the group's instrumentals always sounding better than their songs is that they never had a strong vocalist. One of the original members Stanley Whitaker handled the singing duties in addition to playing guitars, but was never really much of a singer. Although he could certainly carry a tune, most of the time he sounded really unsure of himself, almost apologetic. During particularly emotional passages he even tended to pipe a falsetto vibrato that may or may not have been fully intentional.

Ibby it is doesn't suffer from uncertain vocal work. It is an exceptionally well played symphonic prog instrumental that employs eccentric time signatures. When it really gets going, it gives you an impression of getting airborne and circling you with its complicated melodies that move and change shape rapidly. The group is working at the peak of their creativity, most of which went into their debut album, but some luckily still remained and gave us this undying masterpiece.

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