Re: Happy Rhodes' CD "Warpaint" - buy it!!

[L-H@cup.portal.com]

Lee Hounshell writes: 

>...  For those of you who have both the tapes and the 
>CD, how do they compare??  Are the tapes near as good as the disk? 
>Which is your favorite? 

Hey, another Happy fan after only 3 days of hearing only _Warpaint_! 
CONGRATULATIONS!  

I have all of Happy's tapes as well as _Warpaint_.  If by "...how do 
they compare??  Are the tapes near as good s the disk?" you're trying 
to get an opinion on the songs, the answer is, uh, yes.  HELL YES, to
be more to the point.  You haven't heard them yet, alright! :-)  And 
are you in for many, many treats!   There are timeless, priceless 
songs on each of Happy's tapes.  I'm listening to _Ecto_ right now, thank
you very much.  If possible, take a look at the archive for more Happy-
related posts from other Katefans; there are many here, and the list grows
more and more.  Love-Hound extraordinaire Vickie Mapes is in fact thanked
by Happy in _Warpaint_'s liner notes, for making so many aware of Happy 
to begin with, both here and on her radio program.  Vickie recommends 
_Rhodes Vol. 1_ and _Ecto_ as a good place to start on Happy's tapes if 
you have budget constraints.  I'm kind of sentimental towards _Rearmament_,
myself.  And _Rhodes Vol. 2_ is also a must-hear which has be intimated 
by some as Happy's "weakest" album.  Funny that one of the most beautiful,
heart-wrenching songs ever written ("The Revelation") just so happens to 
be on that album.  They don't mean "weak" in the traditional music reviewer's
sense, I'm certain.  It's more like _Vol. 2_ is "great," as opposed to the 
others being "wonderful."  My suggestion is to start at the beginning, and 
admire the evolution.  The lyrics to "In Hiding" on _Warpaint_ tell it
like it is.  So do each of Happy's four tapes.  Happy really is quite
great. 

Don't look for the first four albums to make it to CD in the near future,
though.  Happy and Kevin (Aural Gratification) can't afford it right 
now.  It was a struggle just to get _Warpaint_ out on CD.  I have written
to _Goldmine_ asking them to review it, as that is one of the few 
publications who would do this for a lesser-known artist.  I encourage 
other Happy fans to do the same!           

Happy has told me personally that the music on the tapes would not be 
released on CD ever.  She said that she had so much more to write, that
those songs are "of the past."  I think in the meantime, other's 
discoveries and ravings about these gems has possibly softened this stance. 
Maybe a bigger label may want to see this happen; we can only see.  I find 
some of Happy's songs to be so personal that I wonder if this will happen,
just for _that_ reason.  

Larry (l-h@cup.portal.com)