"For fans of progressive rock Happy the Man is essential listening. Death's Crown was originally a "multi-media event" that the band performed a few times in their early days. No major label in the late 70's would have had the guts to let a band release a 40 minute suite like this, so the music never saw the light of day except for one section that appeared as "Open Book" on their Crafty Hands album. I once emailed Kit Watkins to ask if there were any surviving tapes of this music--he said he did not know of any. Fortunately, someone found one!
Since this is a rehearsal tape, the music is less than studio quality. Don't let that detract you! The sound quality is decent (comparable to a concert soundboard) and the quality of the music more than makes up for it. This is easily on par with the "epic" works by ELP, Yes, Genesis, and other prog rock bands of the 70's."
A true progressive masterpiece
Patrick Collins | Garden Grove, CA USA | 10/07/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"If you are a Happy the Man fan or a fan of progressive music, Buy this CD! Happy the Man are probably the finest example of progressive rock to ever come out of the U.S. This CD is made up of tracks that were meant for a live multi-media performance and were recorded around the time of their first self titled album. A must have!"
A classic.
T. Canoura | Miami, Florida | 10/12/1999
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I only wonder what would have been if these guys would have performed this material in a state of the art studio with the full backing of a producer. Despite the technical shortcomings from the recording, the music has to be one of the most inspired I've heard from any progressive band in over 20 years!"
Very Good for History
Carl Johnson | Detroit, MI United States | 01/31/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Happy The Man is one of the last American 1970's art rock groups. kit Watkins is an amazing player. This recording features a vocalist that is much better than any of the singers occurring on later LP's. I am impressed with this record, being that it can from mid seventies technology and done out of the home. David Rosenthal (Rainbow, Steve Vai) has a lot to do with getting this record released and I am glad he did. You can hear some new sounds and many familiar HTM chord progressions. Great spin!"
Excellent 1970s American progressive rock
Jeffrey J.Park | Massachusetts, USA | 08/20/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is a great album of American progressive rock recorded live in the band rehearsal room in 1974 (Deaths Crown suite) and 1976 (New York Dream's Suite and Merlin of the High Places). I guess it is no surprise that this band hailed from the mid-Atlantic region (Virginia), which was one geographic area in America where prog had a large fan base in the 1970s (along with the Northeast and the Midwest). Although prog bands did emerge from other parts of the country, they were the exception and not the rule.
The lineup at this point included Dan Owen (lead vocals, classical guitar, percussion, and additional bass on New York Dreams Suite); Frank Wyatt (electric piano, vocals); Kit Watkins (Hammond organ, mini-moog, ARP String Ensemble, clavinet, flute, recorder, and sound effects); Stanley Whitaker (guitar, recorder); Rick Kennell (bass); and Mike Beck (drums, percussion). All of the musicians are quite good and it is clear that they were serious about recording each piece (even though it was a rehearsal) because there is not a single botched note. Nice work by all of the band members overall with great ensemble work. The vocals are absolutely excellent.
The three tracks on the album range from the massive eleven-part, 38'00 Death's Crown suite to two shorter pieces including the 8'45 New York Dream's Suite and the 7'10" Merlin of the High Places. The Death's Crown suite alternates smoothly flowing and dreamy synth-heavy instrumental sections with fuller passages that feature the whole band and vocals. Although there are moments that remind me of a few extremely popular British prog bands (Genesis comes to mind), there is little here that sounds like any band around at the time and the piece is somewhat original sounding. While some might argue that the Death's Crown suite might have been better if it had been edited down to 16 minutes or so, I feel that the whole 38 minute piece works pretty well. The two shorter tracks are different and feature much more energetic instrumental work than the comparatively subdued Death's Crown suite. Furthermore, the arrangements are denser and much more emphasis is placed on counterpoint - the ensemble work on New York Dreams Suite is especially intricate. The use of melodies and harmonies is also very nice too and are liberally splashed across the entire album.
Much to my delight, there is not a single shred of boogie, hard rock, or blues on this album and the influences stem largely from European classical. All in all, I would have to say that this is one of the finest albums of American prog out there.
With respect to sound quality, it is extremely good given the circumstances. Cuneiform Records did a nice job with this release.
This was purely an impulse purchase that I made not long after seeing the band at the 2nd NEARFEST (in 2000), and was worth every penny. For those of you that are interested, the album Proto-Kaw: Early Recordings from Kansas 1971-1973 might also prove enjoyable. The Proto-Kaw album is also interesting in that there are no traces whatsoever of boogie, hard rock, or blues."
Track Listings (13) - Disc #1
