CRAFTY HANDS

I remember how I was totally pleased and mystified the first time I heard "Service with a Smile" from the album "Crafty Hands" back in 78 and how fast I ran to the record store to buy their first self titled album.

I've listen to "Crafty Hands" so many times thinking : this is where prog music will go in the near future and it will come from the US. Unfortunately, the intentional will of the major record companies, with the help of ridiculous mass media journalists will prefer the little punky band that cost much less and can generate as much money as the uncompromising (and costly) prog musician of the time. Since then, the prog disappeared as the mainstream rock music. (But maybe this is a good thing!).

Anyway, what amazed me then, is the fact that, as long as I know, in the 70's, except for the extraordinary psychedelic music of Jimi Hendrix, The Doors and many others, not forgetting the visionary RIO movement of the great Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart and the likes, there was not a lot of really true original progressive band from the US. (Because I consider bands like Kansas, Styx, etc while being very good bands, to be more towards Arena Rock, with few prog influences but nothing very original).

Then Happy the Man arrived with a totally new sound, a new approach to rock music, not heard anywhere else on the planet. Their sound was even more modern than many great internationally known prog band from the rest of the world. While kind of close to symphonic prog with many medieval tricks and bits, they add some very tasteful jazz-fusion, avant-garde elements to their sounds and of course the essential psychedelic vision.

Still today, with the help of the re-mastered and today's much better sound systems, I enjoy this album very much.

It starts with "Service with a Smile". A short and sweet instrumental song that set the moods for the rest of the album. The melody is beautiful and catchy, predominantly from keyboards while the drum works of Ron Riddle is jaw dropping.

I will not go through all the songs analysis. Suffice to say that we are invited to an 90% instrumental double keyboards affair, very efficient and melodic wind instruments (Frank Wyatt and Kit Watkins), extraordinary polyrhythmic drum works, very efficient bass riffs (Rick Kennell) and some very nice guitar exploration (Stanley Whitaker). There is no really stands out pieces here as they all propose something new and challenging.

There is some beautiful kind of futuristic waltz still dominated by very melodic synths, up tempos complex jazzy exploration, challenging time signature shifting, lots of changes between soft and hard passages (the song called "Ibby It Is" is to mention here), medieval passages close to Gentle Giant yet totally different, and a feeling of joy and hope in this world.

Absolutely essential. 5 stars.

Share this HAPPY THE MAN review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to danielfortin
• Report this review (#216399)
• Buy HAPPY THE MAN music online with PA partners
• Show all HAPPY THE MAN MP3/Stream
• Go to HAPPY THE MAN page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Crafty Hands page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for HAPPY THE MAN related discussions