Info about new Happy Rhodes release

["Xenu's Sister" <vickie@miso.wwa.com>]

(If anyone would like a Happy/Ecto FAQ, write me or check
out alt.music.ecto, rec.music.info, rec.music.misc or 
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"The Keep"  Happy Rhodes   Aural Gratification AGCD0031

Street date: October 17, 1995


 From the liner notes, written by Kevin Bartlett:


THE KEEP

It was the spring of 1991 when Happy Rhodes released Warpaint. Tech-
nically her fifth recording, it was however, the first to be mass 
marketed. This basically meant, servicing radio stations and using
independent distributors as opposed to selling copies from the trunk 
of a car. Warpaint was also our (her) first release on the ever popular
CD format. (Our 8-track sales were starting to decline) 

The appeal and acceptance of a little known artist on an even more 
little known label was far reaching. Many radio stations took to Happy 
like stunt ducks to water, embracing her incredible voice, haunting
compositions and "right between the eyes" lyric. In fact the album's 
single "Feed the Fire" was reported by Philadelphia's WXPN as the #1 
most requested song of 1991.  Indeed !

What was once a small cult following of fans, was rapidly becoming a 
large cult following of fans. All of a sudden, people from all over 
the world were wanting to know, Who was this woman ? Where'd she come 
from ? What has she done ? What is she doing next ? When's the tour ? 
Who's that guy singing with Kate Bush ? The proverbial "splash " had 
been made.

As with any artist being commercially presented, the challenge of 
eternal exposure becomes paramount. ("Outta sight, Outta mind") A 
demand is created for new material, new albums, personal appearences 
at record stores, radio stations, live shows, solo shows, band shows, 
and lots and lots of interviews. Meeting this challenge becomes the 
artist's "new" job description. Probably the best effect of all this
commotion is that an awful lot of music gets played. Not just in recor-
ding studios, clubs and theatres, but music played at radio stations, 
cold radio stations, hot radio stations, music played in living rooms, 
music played with crushed fingers, music played for a guy and his dog, 
music played for 100,000 listeners, music played on no sleep, music 
played on too much sleep, music played for people who came to hear 
someone else. 

Most of this music gets recorded, but usually it's for a single broadcast 
or for the sake of posterity. After about 5 years of this however, you 
begin to notice that there is this pile of tape threatening to move you 
out of house and home. A wealth of material that was probably heard only 
once or twice by people who happened to be tuned into a radio or had
caught one of Happy's rare live shows. This brings us to the point of 
this recording.

We've been very fortunate to have a dedicated listening audience for the
music of Happy Rhodes. We're always asked where people can get a hold of
copies of all these unique performances. People who missed a broadcast 
or are interested in what a 48 track recording sounds like performed with
one voice and one guitar. People curious aboutwhat Happy sounded like, 
doing a medley of Yes songs at the group's 1994 New York City convention.
What's her trio sound like ? What was that Christmas carol performed on
Helen Leicht's WMMR show ? What was her very first recording ? All these
inquiries got us wondering if we should go to the "vault" and see if we 
had enough good material to make an album of interest and merit. What you
hold in your hand is the result of that search. We found some pretty rare
stuff. We came across recordings once thought to be lost, as well as a few
that should have stayed lost. (No offense to Ms. Rhodes, they were technical
nightmares). We listened to every tape from every radio station, every
recording session as far back as 1984, every gig. Finally we picked out 
what we thought were the most interesting performances and arrangements. 
Most of this material is "as is", in it's original state. Some material 
was too precious to exclude, but didn't make the technical grade. In these
cases we opted to rerecord the songs, keeping their uniqueness intact.

So hopefully what we have here is a collection of some very diverse and
possibly historical musical moments that will sate the appetite for the 
more rare and intriguing aspects of a very special artist's career. At 
least to date. This album is a tribute to the thousands of fans and
supporters of Happy's music, as much as it is a tribute to the musical
brilliance of Happy herself. This is your record, from the vault, from 
The Keep.

Thank you for listening.

Kevin Bartlett/Aural Gratification 


Track listing:

1.  Temporary and Eternal (5:33) 
    Echoes Living Room Concert series, Spring 1995

2.  Life On Mars (3:20)
    New Recording of unreleased song from 1986

3.  Collective Heart (4:45)
    Unplugged version, live at the World Cafe Spring 1995

4.  The Yes Medley (6:05)
    New Recording of the Manhattan Center Show, 1995

5.  Save Our Souls (6:00)
    Echoes Living Room Concert series, Spring 1995

6.  Flash Me Up (2:14)
    New Unreleased Song from 1994

7.  For We Believe (2:34)
    Live from WDET, Winter 1993

8.  Summer (3:28)
    Echoes Living Room Concert Series, Spring 1995

9.  Oh Holy Night (3:27)
    New Recording of WMMR performance, Winter 1994

10. Look For The Child (4:20)
    From Radio-only Promo CD, Spring 1995

11. Hold Me (3:25)
    Echoes Living Room Concert series, Spring 1995

12. Bye Moon (2:07)
    Studio Recording, 1984

13. Prey of the Strange (3:36)
    First Studio Recording, 1984

14. Oh Hand of Mine (3:49)
    Studio Recording, 1984


(I've got it...I've heard it...I love it!)


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Vickie Mapes         ectoMUSH   irc/#ecto    "My ears are lucky to hear
vickie@wwa.com          alt.music.ecto         these glorious songs" HR
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