(The following is a mock review of the band, written by "Brooks". - 1993)
It Hurts But I Love It ('89) *** 1/2
Prelude to a Spastic Clog dance ('90) **** 1/2
Baked While You Sleep ('90) ** 1/2
Almost There ('91) ****
Happy Trails ('91) ****
Wash and Wear Separately (EP '91) *** 1/2
Peace is For Hippies ('91) *** 1/2
Stone Muffin ('91) ***
Tell Her We Said High (EP '91) **
Gross Generalizations ('91) **** 1/2
Into the Heart of the Industrial Surf Planet ('91) *****
Donkey Ride to Heaven ('91) *** 1/2
Inverse Bulbous Crunch (EP '91) ***
Sanity at the Edge of the Flow (EP '92) **
The Choice of the Future Generation (EP '92) ** 1/2
Shake Well Before Listening ('92) ***
Shake Well Before Listening II ('92) *** 1/2
It Only Hurts When I Exist ('92) ****
Nature Loves the Inverse Square ('93) *** ½
Happy Trails burst onto the Greenville, PA. music scene in the summer of 1989, with their hastily recorded debut "It Hurts But I Love It." The band's early punk stylings are evident here, showing the influence of the Buzzcocks, Ramones, the Velvet Underground, and Black Flag. The hit single from "It Hurts" was "Shopping Cart", which was later re-recorded for inclusion on their next album. "Shopping Cart" combined the song structure of the Buzzcocks "Orgasm Addict" with Alice Cooper/Pete Townshend destruction fantasy lyrics, creating a powerful pop number for the boys. This tune, plus the humorous takes on "Louie Louie" and "Amazing Grace" established the trademark counter- point that would color this album and the ones to follow. What's exciting on "It Hurts" is the interplay between the sardonic vocalizing of Paul, the metallic but melancholy grunge of his brother Neil on guitar, the jumpy humor of Adam's keyboard/bass lines, and the flamboyance of Jason's cascading drum patterns. Never mind the cheerfully incompetent playing--each listen is like watching a low-budget sci-fi flick: an unpredictably good time!
All that they needed at this point was to improve their playing. Happy Trails did just that, and outdid expectations on their second LP "Prelude to a Spastic Clogdance." The "Spastic Clogdance" in question occured all over this exciting record, thematically linking the songs in a way the first album hadn't tried. Lyrically and stylistically this theme is present, but cannot be readily defined, and thus merits frequent listenings and ponderings. From a more obvious standpoint, the boys tackled such subjects as the environment in "Recycle or Die" and "Sludgepond", masturbation in "Maulin' the Marlin", and orgiastic sex in "Power Tool Orgy." All these tunes became hits on album radio, with "Maulin'" going on to become a smash on the dance charts and the start of a dance craze that did not exactly meet with the artistic wishes of Happy Trails. The "Prelude" album went on to become their first platinum record, and prompted a brief tour, after which it was clear that the boys were tiring of punk rock.
The third LP "Baked While You Sleep" is the transition LP between the punk and the funk, in a sense. It contains some hilarious numbers, including a satanic fantasy "Order out of Chaos" and the joyful singalong "I Don't Wanna Work", but is otherwise uneven, as the group attempts to cover Bob Dylan and the Velvet Underground somewhat clumsily. "Baked" was the first LP to feature vocalist/saxophonist/keyboardist Brooks, and the last to feature Paul, who soon departed to pursue graduate school.
"Almost There" compiles the greatest (and most listenable) tunes from the first three albums, plus a couple of other unreleased tracks. With the start of the summer of '91, Happy Trails went through a complete reconfiguration: Adam moved from keyboards to electric bass, Jason obtained a brand new drumset, Neil acquired a new set of distortion pedals, and Brooks began to spend more time playing saxophone, and less time singing. The result was the self-titled "Happy Trails", which had a fresh new sound altogether different from the previous albums. Melodic improvisation and rhythmic exploration replaced teen angst, and it was clear the boys had done some growing up. It was clear that Adam was meant to be on bass all along, and he was in full form on "Adam's Groove", a funky, chunky piece which has Neil playing a solid rhythm fill. Brooks gave his most spirited solo on "What I Like About You", making up for the strained vocals and lagging tempo. Jason kicked in more than ever, and as "Flubbin' the Nubbin" evolved into "Sky" which evolved into "Gypsy" he came up with ever surprising rhythmic transitions. There is even some humorous dialogue captured live between tracks, most notably Adam's euphoric expression "parts of that were just incredible!"
The albums that followed were all equally competent, but the band seemed to have fewer and fewer ideas. "Wash and Wear Separately" was a compilation of trio tunes (recorded without Brooks) that are important mainly for in- dicating some of the early stylistic development of their new sound. "Peace Is For Hippies" contains the classic "Angels in the Clouds", and "Stone Muffin" tries some neat tricks with distortion, but these albums lack the vivacious quality of "Happy Trails". The EP "Tell Her We Said High" is an oddball collection of unreleased tracks, including some trio recordings of Brooks, Jason, and Neil doing versions of "Sweet Jane" and "Dirty Boulevard" from the Lou Reed catalog. Triumphantly, the Happy Trails return to form on the next two albums, "Gross Generalizations" and "The Heart of the Industrial Surf Planet", recapturing some of their former spirit with such tunes as "Stepping Stone" but discovering a new melodic radiance in "Santa's Trip". The latter album also includes the corny "Things You Find Along Happy Trails" and Adam's solo number "Ed Steals Neil's Time Machine and Plunges into the Heart of the Industrial Surf Planet.", for which the album was named. It was at this point that Happy Trails reached their artistic and commercial peak.
The next album, "Donkey Ride to Heaven" featured Brooks moving from sax to piano and keyboard. The
title cut is the melancholy gem here, but there is also a clever duet between Adam and Neil, aptly named "Adam and Neil".
"Donkey Ride" was the last full length album for the group, which broke up at the end of the summer of '91, after a quite
prolific season. The compilation EP "Inverse Bulbous Crunch" contains the hit "12 Bar Blues In A!". This was followed with a
shaky album recorded in January, '93 called "Sanity at the Edge of the Flow", which featured the '91 lineup minus Adam.
Also in this month was an EP entitled "The Choice of The Future Generation", named for a pencil sketch Neil had done
featuring a fetus whose umbilical cord was attached to a can of Pepsi Cola. "The Choice" featured an all new lineup
consisting of Brooks, Neil, and Jenny and was released under the group name Acoustic Fetus.
Acoustic Fetus only recorded this one EP. Brooks now records solo on guitar, and has released four albums. Jason plays in Stoney Jim and the Freight Train Blues. Adam has released a collection of keyboard work on "My Stuff", which also includes his "Ed Steals Neil's Time Machine..." Paul and Niel have done some recording in their spare time. A group reunion seems unlikely at this point, as two members have now moved far from the area, but demand from their fans may bring them to mine some more of the outtakes from early albums to put together more compilations.