Happiness (The Beloved album)
Encyclopedia
Happiness is a 1990 album
from British
Pop
band The Beloved
. The album reached #14 on the UK Albums Chart
on its release, in March 1990, and subsequently reached #154 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 200 Pop Albums Chart.
Having slimmed down from a four piece
to a duo comprising Jon Marsh and Steve Waddington in 1987, following the departure of original members Tim Havard and Guy Gausden, Marsh and Waddington soon fell under the influence of the burgeoning Acid House
scene emerging in London
at the time, from clubs such as Shoom. The duo changed their style from the New Order
-influenced synthpop
(only audible on this second album in the final track, "Found", the one Pop rock
tune of the whole work), and took in influences from Acid House
, Pop
and Techno
(the record also features Chicago House
diva
Kym Mazelle
on female vocals).
The change in style proved to be their commercial breakthrough, as the album yielded three Top 40 UK
singles
: "The Sun Rising" at #26, "Hello" at #19, and "Your Love Takes Me Higher
" at #39. A fourth single, "Time After Time," failed at Number 46 in the UK, but was one of the group's most popular songs in some Europe
an countries, including Italy
, where the long playing work became known soon after the release of the final single, which also caused the previous singles to be reissued. The success of the album was so big as to push the band to release a whole remix album
, called Blissed Out, in 1991, including almost all of the original album's songs, in one or more remix
ed versions, and a number of additional tracks, mostly instrumental
.
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
from British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
band The Beloved
The Beloved
The Beloved are an English electronic dance music group, best known for the singles "Sweet Harmony", "Hello", "Your Love Takes Me Higher", and "Satellite".-Formation:...
. The album reached #14 on the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
on its release, in March 1990, and subsequently reached #154 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 200 Pop Albums Chart.
Having slimmed down from a four piece
Quartet
In music, a quartet is a method of instrumentation , used to perform a musical composition, and consisting of four parts.-Western art music:...
to a duo comprising Jon Marsh and Steve Waddington in 1987, following the departure of original members Tim Havard and Guy Gausden, Marsh and Waddington soon fell under the influence of the burgeoning Acid House
Acid house
Acid house is a sub-genre of house music that emphasizes a repetitive, hypnotic and trance-like style, often with samples or spoken lines rather than sung lyrics. Acid house's core electronic squelch sounds were developed around the mid-1980s, particularly by DJs from Chicago who experimented with...
scene emerging in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
at the time, from clubs such as Shoom. The duo changed their style from the New Order
New Order
New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris...
-influenced synthpop
Synthpop
Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...
(only audible on this second album in the final track, "Found", the one Pop rock
Pop rock
Pop rock is a music genre which mixes a catchy pop style and light lyrics in its guitar-based rock songs. There are varying definitions of the term, ranging from a slower and mellower form of rock music to a subgenre of pop music...
tune of the whole work), and took in influences from Acid House
Acid house
Acid house is a sub-genre of house music that emphasizes a repetitive, hypnotic and trance-like style, often with samples or spoken lines rather than sung lyrics. Acid house's core electronic squelch sounds were developed around the mid-1980s, particularly by DJs from Chicago who experimented with...
, Pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
and Techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
(the record also features Chicago House
Chicago house
Chicago house is a style of house music, a genre of electronic dance music which emerged in Chicago in the mid-1980s. Stylistically, Chicago house has no widely accepted definition, but generally includes the first house music productions by Chicago-based artists throughout the 1980s, and any later...
diva
Diva
A diva is a celebrated female singer. The term is used to describe a woman of outstanding talent in the world of opera, and, by extension, in theatre, cinema and popular music. The meaning of diva is closely related to that of "prima donna"....
Kym Mazelle
Kym Mazelle
Kym Mazelle is an American dance-pop, Hi-NRG, soul, and house singer. She was brought up and lived on the same street as the Jackson family and knew Michael Jackson's mother and uncle.-Career:...
on female vocals).
The change in style proved to be their commercial breakthrough, as the album yielded three Top 40 UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
: "The Sun Rising" at #26, "Hello" at #19, and "Your Love Takes Me Higher
Your Love Takes Me Higher
"Your Love Takes Me Higher" is a single by The Beloved."Your Love Takes Me Higher" appears on the Happiness album. Remixes also appear on the Blissed Out album. The first release of the single came in a selection of formats and spent three weeks in the UK charts...
" at #39. A fourth single, "Time After Time," failed at Number 46 in the UK, but was one of the group's most popular songs in some Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an countries, including Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, where the long playing work became known soon after the release of the final single, which also caused the previous singles to be reissued. The success of the album was so big as to push the band to release a whole remix album
Remix album
A remix album is an album consisting mostly of remixes or re-recorded versions of a music artists' earlier released material.One of the earliest remix albums was 1971's Aerial Pandemonium Ballet by Harry Nilsson, which was released by Nilsson after the successes of Everybody's Talkin and The Point!...
, called Blissed Out, in 1991, including almost all of the original album's songs, in one or more remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
ed versions, and a number of additional tracks, mostly instrumental
Instrumental
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
.
Track listing
All songs by Jon Marsh unless stated.- "Hello" - 6:08
- "Your Love Takes Me Higher" (Jon Marsh, Steve Waddington) - 10:41
- "Time After Time" - 4:13
- "Don't You Worry" - 3:51
- "Scarlet Beautiful" - 4:40
- "The Sun Rising" (Jon Marsh, Steve Waddington) - 4:30
- "I Love You More" - 3:56
- "Wake Up Soon" - 6:13
- "Up, Up and Away" - 7:06
- "Found" - 4:24
Personnel
- Jon Marsh: keyboards, vocals, rhythmRhythmRhythm may be generally defined as a "movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions." This general meaning of regular recurrence or pattern in time may be applied to a wide variety of cyclical natural phenomena having a periodicity or...
- Steve Waddington: guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, keyboards - Kym MazelleKym MazelleKym Mazelle is an American dance-pop, Hi-NRG, soul, and house singer. She was brought up and lived on the same street as the Jackson family and knew Michael Jackson's mother and uncle.-Career:...
: vocals - Margo Sagov: vocals
- Daniel AbrahamDaniel Abraham (record producer)Daniel Abraham is a French record producer, sound engineer and record mixer.He has most closely been associated with the band Duran Duran, with whom he worked on the Notorious and Big Thing albums....
: engineer - Paul Staveley O'DuffyPaul Staveley O'DuffyPaul O’Duffy is a British record producer, composer, mixer. He is best known for producing Swing Out Sister's Grammy-nominated multi-platinum debut album, for his BMI nomination as 'Producer of the Year' in 1987, and work with John Barry and other film score producing...
: producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, engineer - Martin Phillipps: programming, producer, engineer