2 languages
The Happy Album
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Work
The Happy Album · After the commercial failure of Celebrate the Bullet, the band broke up in 1981. In 1991 The Selecter got back together, which led to the live album Out on the Streets. Founder Neol Davies left after that and Arthur Gaps Hendrickson returned. He and Pauline Black share the vocals. In 1993 recording began at a studio on the Holloway Road in London, with Aswad guitarist Jimmy Senya Haynes as producer. In 1994 the album was released on Demon Music.
The core remains ska, but hip hop, samples, electronics and orchestral sounds are added, plus slow reggae tracks, including the covers I Want Justice and Sweet and Dandy. Despite the title, the lyrics are about social injustice. Critics were glowing. Trouser Press wrote that the album is anything but happy and that this speaks in its favour. It did not enter the British chart.
Listening
Track list
- 1Reselecterization4:21Apple Music ↗
- 2Whip Them Down3:05Apple Music ↗
- 3Sweet and Dandy3:54Apple Music ↗
- 4Neurotica3:37Apple Music ↗
- 5California Screaming5:17Apple Music ↗
- 6I Want Justice2:32Apple Music ↗
- 7Trout4:01Apple Music ↗
- 8Copasetic3:26Apple Music ↗
- 9Mother Knows Best3:34Apple Music ↗
- 10Ladders4:05Apple Music ↗
30-second previews via Apple Music. Listen to the whole album on Apple Music ↗