| Happy Rhodes — Ectotrophia (July 6, 2018) |
Happy Rhodes — Ectotrophia (July 6, 2018) 
⦿►⦿► První autorská kompilace americké dream~popové umělkyně Happy Rhodes, jejíž singulární písničkářství a čtyř~oktávový rozsah vokálu pochází z pastorálních hranic severního New Yorku 80. let. Její mix klasicky vyznívající hudby ovlivňuje syntezátor a akustická kytara, společně s její okouzlujícím, idiosynkratickým zpěvem, což jsou podobnosti, pozitivně srovnatelné s charakteristikami výrazové angličtiny, kterou zpívala Kate Bush. Pro fans takovéto umělecké populární hudby, či snad vyššího populáru, by Happy Rhodos přehlédnout bylo zásadní nedbalostí. Sonické transmise Rhodos jsou podobně pozoruhodné jako v případě Kate Bush, jsou zde jak z jiného světa převzaté příběhy snílků, outsiderů, milenců a jiných krásných i děsivých bytostí, narozených z pramenů divoké kreativity a odvážné představivosti. Písně jsou laskavě převzaty z originálních pásů. Ectotrophia tedy shromažďuje zásadní skladby přibližně od poloviny 80. let z období neuspořádaných dnů Rhodes, kdy byla velmi pracovitá a napsala mnoho věcí, když byla ještě v pubertě, v divoce prožitém čase, bez bázně své duše před regionálním publikem a kdy předváděla svůj osobitý subžánr populární hudby. A jak se s odstupem dvaceti let ukázalo zcela zřetelně, tato deska je na její počest. Ponořte se hluboko do rozjímání se ženou, která to všechno začala. 18 Track Limited Edition Double Album In Gatefold Sleeve With Booklet. Progressive pop singer, songwriter, and multi~instrumentalist; her four~octave range inhabits songs rich in sonic atmospheres and drama.
Birth name: Kimberley Tyler Rhodes
Born: August 9, 1965, Poughkeepsie New York, United States
Location: New York, NY
Styles: Alternative Pop/Rock, Alternative/Art Rock, Ethereal, Ambient Pop, Dream Pop, Prog~Rock
Instruments: Vocals, guitar, keyboards
Album release: July 6, 2018
Format: 2 × Vinyl, LP, Compilation, Remastered
Record Label: Numero Group
Duration: 76:10
Tracks:
01 Oh the Drears 3:16
02 I Cannot Go On 4:09
03 Would That I Could 4:13
04 Where Do I Go 3:28
05 For We Believe 2:50
06 When the Rain Came Down 5:45
07 If Love Is a Game, I Win 5:35
08 I’m Not Awake, I’m Not Asleep 3:22
09 Baby Don’t Go 4:11
10 Come Here 3:57
11 Don’t Want to Hear It 4:56
12 If So 3:38
13 I’ll Let You Go 3:57
14 Because I Learn 3:41
15 I Am a Legend 4:08
16 Perfect Irony 4:02
17 Many Nights 2:51
18 To Be E. Mortal 8:16
℗© 2018 Numero Group
Credits:
⦿► Beth Bliss Photography
⦿► Bill Demichele Cover Photo
⦿► Field of Grass Design
⦿► Adam Luksetich Producer
⦿► Bill Murphy Photography
⦿► Chris Muth Mastering
⦿► Erin Osmon Liner Notes
⦿► Rob Sevier Producer
⦿► Ken Shipley Producer
Notes:
★ Track durations are not printed on the release.
★ Info from the sticker on the front of the wrapper: “Affectionately remastered from the original tapes, Ectotrophia gathers essential songs from Rhodes’s mid~‘80s salad days, many written when she was just a teenager — wildly ahead of her time and unafraid to bare her soul to regional audiences, the ectophiles who’d eventually coin an entire subgenre of pop music in her honor.”
Live performances:
★ University Museum Auditorium, both in 1992. In New York City Rhodes has played the Bottom Line several times. In 1994 Rhodes performed at YesFest, a convention for fans of the band Yes. She has also performed at the Knitting Factory in New York City as a guest of the band Project Lo.
Review
AllMusic Review by Thom Jurek; Score: ****
★ Happy Rhodes is the definition of a cult artist. She’s a very private, New York~based singer, songwriter, and multi~instrumentalist, best known by most music fans — if at all — as frontwoman for Security Project, an all~star supergroup (also including Trey Gunn, Jerry Marotta, and Michael Cozzi) dedicated to the music of Peter Gabriel. Rhodes does enjoy a global fan base that has existed since the early ‘90s. They call themselves “ectophiles,” chosen from the title of Rhodes’ fourth album. Numero, one of the standard~bearers in mining the deep veins of American musical culture, makes her the centerpiece of this 18~track set, compiled and remastered from four cassette releases cut when she was in her early twenties between 1986~1987 for the indie Aural Gratification label. Obviously deeply influenced by the dramatic approach of Kate Bush, Freddie Mercury, and Gabriel~era Genesis, Rhodes’ voice is a dead ringer for Bush’s. Her acoustic guitar and synthesizer~based songs are the definition of arty dream pop, but also touch on prog. Her peers are Bush, Dead Can Dance, Jane Siberry, and Toyah Wilcox; her music remains relevant in the present, as Marissa Nadler’s recent (and beautiful) cover of her “Where Do I Go” poignantly illustrates.
★ Rhodes’ lyrics explicitly and dramatically chart her private depths. Music was a salvation for her, as Erin Osmon’s lengthy liner essay illustrates. Most songs were written during her teens, a prolific period of intense loneliness and alienation, thanks to the bullies of the American schoolyard. As a result, some of them are indeed clumsy, clearly the mark of a young writer under the powerful sway of emotion, but that adds weight, too. There is an unvarnished quality to them via the grain in her voice and wonderfully illustrative arrangements. Opener “Oh the Drears,” despite its gothic intro and title, is actually a gauzy, classically tinged pop song with a memorable hook. The aforementioned “Where Do I Go,” performed only on synths, is more declamatory in its expressions of loss and confusion. “When the Rain Came Down,” with its loops and angular electronics, crisscrosses the very terrain explored by Gabriel on “Blood of Eden” and Rain Tree Crow on “Every Colour You Are.” The five~part lead and harmony vocals on the passionate “If Love Is a Game, I Win” underscore the trancelike keyboard pattern and syncopated drum loops. The ghostly “I’m Not Awake, I’m Not Asleep” shines a light on the terrain from which Rhodes’ music emerges as well as the spaces between genres and classifications. The final five tracks — from “Because I Learn” to “To Be E. Mortal” — reflect the creative electronic influence of Kraftwerk and DAF, as Rhodes invests her charts and lyrics with such emotion that she balances the icy qualities of the synthesizers with a dynamic, tension~filled sense of writhing sensuality. Beautifully presented (of course) with photos and full lyrics, this is a fantastic introduction to a genuine musical enigma.
Label: http://www.numerogroup.com/
_____________________________________________________________
| Happy Rhodes — Ectotrophia (July 6, 2018) |
Birth name: Kimberley Tyler Rhodes
Born: August 9, 1965, Poughkeepsie New York, United States
Location: New York, NY
Styles: Alternative Pop/Rock, Alternative/Art Rock, Ethereal, Ambient Pop, Dream Pop, Prog~Rock
Instruments: Vocals, guitar, keyboards
Album release: July 6, 2018
Format: 2 × Vinyl, LP, Compilation, Remastered
Record Label: Numero Group
Duration: 76:10
Tracks:
01 Oh the Drears 3:16
02 I Cannot Go On 4:09
03 Would That I Could 4:13
04 Where Do I Go 3:28
05 For We Believe 2:50
06 When the Rain Came Down 5:45
07 If Love Is a Game, I Win 5:35
08 I’m Not Awake, I’m Not Asleep 3:22
09 Baby Don’t Go 4:11
10 Come Here 3:57
11 Don’t Want to Hear It 4:56
12 If So 3:38
13 I’ll Let You Go 3:57
14 Because I Learn 3:41
15 I Am a Legend 4:08
16 Perfect Irony 4:02
17 Many Nights 2:51
18 To Be E. Mortal 8:16
℗© 2018 Numero Group
Credits:
⦿► Beth Bliss Photography
⦿► Bill Demichele Cover Photo
⦿► Field of Grass Design
⦿► Adam Luksetich Producer
⦿► Bill Murphy Photography
⦿► Chris Muth Mastering
⦿► Erin Osmon Liner Notes
⦿► Rob Sevier Producer
⦿► Ken Shipley Producer
Notes:
★ Track durations are not printed on the release.
★ Info from the sticker on the front of the wrapper: “Affectionately remastered from the original tapes, Ectotrophia gathers essential songs from Rhodes’s mid~‘80s salad days, many written when she was just a teenager — wildly ahead of her time and unafraid to bare her soul to regional audiences, the ectophiles who’d eventually coin an entire subgenre of pop music in her honor.”
Live performances:
★ University Museum Auditorium, both in 1992. In New York City Rhodes has played the Bottom Line several times. In 1994 Rhodes performed at YesFest, a convention for fans of the band Yes. She has also performed at the Knitting Factory in New York City as a guest of the band Project Lo.
Review
AllMusic Review by Thom Jurek; Score: ****
★ Happy Rhodes is the definition of a cult artist. She’s a very private, New York~based singer, songwriter, and multi~instrumentalist, best known by most music fans — if at all — as frontwoman for Security Project, an all~star supergroup (also including Trey Gunn, Jerry Marotta, and Michael Cozzi) dedicated to the music of Peter Gabriel. Rhodes does enjoy a global fan base that has existed since the early ‘90s. They call themselves “ectophiles,” chosen from the title of Rhodes’ fourth album. Numero, one of the standard~bearers in mining the deep veins of American musical culture, makes her the centerpiece of this 18~track set, compiled and remastered from four cassette releases cut when she was in her early twenties between 1986~1987 for the indie Aural Gratification label. Obviously deeply influenced by the dramatic approach of Kate Bush, Freddie Mercury, and Gabriel~era Genesis, Rhodes’ voice is a dead ringer for Bush’s. Her acoustic guitar and synthesizer~based songs are the definition of arty dream pop, but also touch on prog. Her peers are Bush, Dead Can Dance, Jane Siberry, and Toyah Wilcox; her music remains relevant in the present, as Marissa Nadler’s recent (and beautiful) cover of her “Where Do I Go” poignantly illustrates.
★ Rhodes’ lyrics explicitly and dramatically chart her private depths. Music was a salvation for her, as Erin Osmon’s lengthy liner essay illustrates. Most songs were written during her teens, a prolific period of intense loneliness and alienation, thanks to the bullies of the American schoolyard. As a result, some of them are indeed clumsy, clearly the mark of a young writer under the powerful sway of emotion, but that adds weight, too. There is an unvarnished quality to them via the grain in her voice and wonderfully illustrative arrangements. Opener “Oh the Drears,” despite its gothic intro and title, is actually a gauzy, classically tinged pop song with a memorable hook. The aforementioned “Where Do I Go,” performed only on synths, is more declamatory in its expressions of loss and confusion. “When the Rain Came Down,” with its loops and angular electronics, crisscrosses the very terrain explored by Gabriel on “Blood of Eden” and Rain Tree Crow on “Every Colour You Are.” The five~part lead and harmony vocals on the passionate “If Love Is a Game, I Win” underscore the trancelike keyboard pattern and syncopated drum loops. The ghostly “I’m Not Awake, I’m Not Asleep” shines a light on the terrain from which Rhodes’ music emerges as well as the spaces between genres and classifications. The final five tracks — from “Because I Learn” to “To Be E. Mortal” — reflect the creative electronic influence of Kraftwerk and DAF, as Rhodes invests her charts and lyrics with such emotion that she balances the icy qualities of the synthesizers with a dynamic, tension~filled sense of writhing sensuality. Beautifully presented (of course) with photos and full lyrics, this is a fantastic introduction to a genuine musical enigma.
Label: http://www.numerogroup.com/
_____________________________________________________________