In all seriousness, a truly, truly GREAT band. Highly influential for me, that's for sure!
Coming September 1st - "Dean Watson Revisited"!
My favorite US Prog band ever (although Spock's Beard/Neal Morse, Cheer-Accident, MOI, Kansas and Thinking Plague are right up there!)
The Prog Corner
Steve F.
www.waysidemusic.com
www.cuneiformrecords.com
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
“Remember, if it doesn't say "Cuneiform," it's not prog!” - THE Jed Levin
Any time any one speaks to me about any musical project, the one absolute given is "it will not make big money". [tip of the hat to HK]
"Death to false 'support the scene' prog!"
please add 'imo' wherever you like, to avoid offending those easily offended.
In the 70's when I played clubs and theaters , Happy The Man were an attraction. For example, the band I traveled with on a tour bus..were..seated passing Happy The Man albums around and discussing the band's possibilities. Possibly unlikely that would occur today. People were very interested in Happy The Man by 1979 which confuses me as to why they were dropped after a 2 year contract, maybe based on sales..duh? ...but yet there were talent scouts and record executives in those venues and Happy The Man's name was in the air for everyone to breath. Therefore, every state I traveled people were interested. Obviously the industry no longer interested in Prog is attributed but the crowds following Happy The Man were devoted and everyone was like family. The interest in the band was totally honest.
Steve F.
www.waysidemusic.com
www.cuneiformrecords.com
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
“Remember, if it doesn't say "Cuneiform," it's not prog!” - THE Jed Levin
Any time any one speaks to me about any musical project, the one absolute given is "it will not make big money". [tip of the hat to HK]
"Death to false 'support the scene' prog!"
please add 'imo' wherever you like, to avoid offending those easily offended.
I believe they turned down that gig, and that it was actually offered to them.
Which, considering Peter's actual solo direction based on his 1st two solo albums, is surprising that he offered it to them as they don't in any way sound at all 'Happy The Man' or symphonic rock based to my ears.
Steve F.
www.waysidemusic.com
www.cuneiformrecords.com
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
“Remember, if it doesn't say "Cuneiform," it's not prog!” - THE Jed Levin
Any time any one speaks to me about any musical project, the one absolute given is "it will not make big money". [tip of the hat to HK]
"Death to false 'support the scene' prog!"
please add 'imo' wherever you like, to avoid offending those easily offended.
Anybody know what this is???
Nevermind. Here's the back cover:
Steve F.
www.waysidemusic.com
www.cuneiformrecords.com
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
“Remember, if it doesn't say "Cuneiform," it's not prog!” - THE Jed Levin
Any time any one speaks to me about any musical project, the one absolute given is "it will not make big money". [tip of the hat to HK]
"Death to false 'support the scene' prog!"
please add 'imo' wherever you like, to avoid offending those easily offended.
Never actually heard them before. This thread has piqued my interest...will check em out.
I'm holding out for the Wilson-mixed 5.1 super-duper walletbuster special anniversary extra adjectives edition.
Exactly. Consider how HTM might have influenced Gabriel to new heights of progressive rock, to new daring instead of the tame MOR he became (cough "Sledgehammer" cough).
Other than HTM and Caravan, were there any other sort of "progressive" orientated bands on Arista? I know Anthony Braxton recorded several albums for Arista, but I gather their jazz division was practically a separate label from the rock/pop/soul department.
But yeah, I agree that by the time HTM's first record came out, progressive rock "had it's day" and punk, new wave and disco were moving in, so HTM might have been out of place on any big label, never mind the team who paired the Grateful Dead up with producers associated with the likes of Fleetwood Mac and Foreigner.
Steve F.
www.waysidemusic.com
www.cuneiformrecords.com
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
“Remember, if it doesn't say "Cuneiform," it's not prog!” - THE Jed Levin
Any time any one speaks to me about any musical project, the one absolute given is "it will not make big money". [tip of the hat to HK]
"Death to false 'support the scene' prog!"
please add 'imo' wherever you like, to avoid offending those easily offended.
I was working on an AOR radio station in 1980. We played the hell out of The Wall, and other prog, but to be honest, I was not even aware of Happy The Man’s existence at the time. They got zero airplay on our station and I don’t even think we stocked the album(s). If we did I never saw them.
Given the fact that the Allman Brothers Band and Sea Level both also made the jump from Capricorn to Arista, all within roughly the same time frame, I'm guessing what really happened there was that Arista simply bought what was left of the Capricorn roster, as Phil Walden's label was falling apart. So I'm guessing whoever it was at Arista who engineered that deal probably viewed The Dregs, at best, as a "Southern rock band", and more likely just viewed them as "one of our new clients".
And like Caravan, Camel (who I also forgot about), the Grateful Dead and the Allmans, The Dregs managed to deliver their least impressive outings while working for Clive Davis.
OK, so maybe when you consider Camel, Caravan and Ant Phillips, Happy The Man being on that particular label doesn't seem so weird. I guess the "weirdness" factor comes in when you consider that you're talking about 1977-1978, during which time prog was decidedly and suddenly unfashionable, in the wake of the punk insurrection. Or maybe even that's not so weird, I dunno. Maybe Clive had an A&R guy who genuinely believed "prog" was going to peacefully coexist alongside The Clash, The Ramones, Talking Heads, and Blondie, in terms of record sales.
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