Genesis song called Happy The Man questions

[GuitarGeek]

Had to be precise about the title, because I didn't want anyone to think I was asking about the band Happy The Man (though they are kinda related to this query).

1. What was the B-side of the Happy The Man single?

and

2. Was the single released Stateside, or only in the UK?

The latter question comes to mind because I recall reading where Kit Watkins said that Happy The Man took their title from Goethe, and only later found out that it was the title of a Genesis song. I think he actually said at the time this was despite them being big Genesis fans, at the time, would have missed the track. I figure perhaps either the single wasn't released in the US, or perhaps the band, being prog heads, probably didn't bother looking in the singles bins of their local record stores, and hence didn't the band had released any singles with non-album tracks (ya know, because progressive rock "wasn't about singles", ya know). I wonder if they knew about Twilight Alehouse.

[ca1ore]

Seven Stones (from Nursery Cryme) was the B side. I think the single was released in the UK and Italy (perhaps more broadly in Europe) but I do not recall it being released here in the USofA.

[GuitarGeek]

Seven Stones (from Nursery Cryme) was the B side. I think the single was released in the UK and Italy (perhaps more broadly in Europe) but I do not recall it being released here in the USofA.

Thanks. If it wasn't released Stateside, that would explain why Kit, Stan, and company didn't know about it's existence.

[enpdllp]

Thanks. If it wasn't released Stateside, that would explain why Kit, Stan, and company didn't know about it's existence.

FWIW, Stan's father was in the Army and from the Summer of 1969 to the Summer of 1972 his whole family was stationed in Germany.

Regarding the band's name, it was Stan's older brother the one who came up with the name. Here is an excerpt from an extensive interview Stan gave last year:

ATI: Let’s talk about your band names. How did Happy The Man get its name, and what is Oblivion Sun?

STAN: Happy the Man was actually my brother Ken came up with Happy The Man, and his main inspiration was from Goethe’s Faust.

O happy the man who can still hope though drowned in a sea of error!

There’s a Happy The Man quote in the Bible also [Proverbs 3:13].

Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.

We just loved it. We thought it was interesting and different and “Wow, what the hell is Happy The Man?” A lot of people thought we took it from a Genesis song titled “Happy The Man” (released as a single in 1972, and later appeared on Genesis compilation albums). It wasn’t, but it was a fun little Prog tie-in for us. Oblivion Sun is a book of poetry and prose which Frank had written. We were going to call the band Pedal Giant Animals, which I still love to this day. It was between those two names, and we ended up going with Oblivion Sun.

[ca1ore]

Thanks. If it wasn't released Stateside, that would explain why Kit, Stan, and company didn't know about it's existence.

It was an unremarkable song. Featured heavily in their live set in the very early days touring the UK/Europe, but never got an official release on any live set (nor do I think there are any surviving quality recordings of the song live).

[JKL2000]

Does Pedal Giant Animals have some meaning?

[GuitarGeek]

FWIW, Stan's father was in the Army and from the Summer of 1969 to the Summer of 1972 his whole family was stationed in Germany.

[/B][/I]

Yeah, I remember hearing about that. I gather that the keyboardist who played with Flash at ProgDay about three years ago, I think it was, was a friend of Stan's from that period, and they actually played in a band together in Germany, before Stan and his family returned Stateside. I believe his name was Rick Schultz.

[ProgArtist]

Does Pedal Giant Animals have some meaning?

Do you have the "Pedal Giant Animals" release from Frank and Stan? If not, I highly recommend it. It's very diverse as I think it was their chance to release a number of different tracks that didn't have to meet certain Happy the Man expectations from fans. Several of the tracks are still quite "proggy", most especially the title track. It's very literally about people pedaling giant mechanical animals over raised pathways. That isn't to say there isn't any deeper, spiritual meaning, and I'm certain there is based on the lyrics. I like the name, but I think "Oblivion Sun" works even better as a band name.

[bill g]

It was an unremarkable song. Featured heavily in their live set in the very early days touring the UK/Europe, but never got an official release on any live set (nor do I think there are any surviving quality recordings of the song live).

Yeah, there's something to it, but probably the most unremarkable song of the whole Trespass thru Lamb era

[happytheman]

I've got a recording from '72 Italy that I believe has a version of Happy the Man in the set list. I never came across this song until a Charisma "collection" was released along with a different version of Watcher of the Skies and Twilight Alehouse. Personally I like it, much like Twilight Alehouse it's typical of that period of Genesis' evolution.

It was an unremarkable song. Featured heavily in their live set in the very early days touring the UK/Europe, but never got an official release on any live set (nor do I think there are any surviving quality recordings of the song live).

[ca1ore]

I've got a recording from '72 Italy that I believe has a version of Happy the Man in the set list. I never came across this song until a Charisma "collection" was released along with a different version of Watcher of the Skies and Twilight Alehouse. Personally I like it, much like Twilight Alehouse it's typical of that period of Genesis' evolution.

Yes, there was a TM productions remaster of a pretty dodgy audience recording from Italy (cannot recall the venue). Remaster helps, but as the old adage about polishing a turd goes, still not a quality recording.