Happiness

Now on 4AD. Resequenced. People think it was all remixed but not… just a different order and a few different tracks already existing. p.s. no “boots are made for walking!!” That’s the important thing.

Lisa Germano’s major-label debut, Happiness, was originally released through Capitol Records in the summer of 1993, but shortly thereafter, organizational changes within the label placed Germano’s musical future with them in immediate limbo.

Through a meeting with Gary Gersh, Capitol’s label head at the time, it’s alleged that he and Germano didn’t care for one another and saw the incompatibility of their partnership, so Gersh agreed to allow her to take the record elsewhere (a truly rare thing in the music industry).

Free to find a new home for Happiness, Germano began discussions with 4AD founder, Ivo Watts-Russell, who had previously spoken to Germano’s management about obtaining the right to release Happiness in the U.K. The partnership was soon forged and Watts-Russell and team quickly took the record and reimagined its format, including a revised sequencing, a few edits, and entirely new artwork and packaging.

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No.	Title	Length
1	Bad Attitude	6:12
2	Destroy the Flower	3:12
3	Puppet	6:00
4	Everyone’s Victim	4:45
5	Energy	3:51
6	Cowboy	4:08
7	Happiness	3:43
8	The Earth	2:44
9	Around the World	4:27
10	Sycophant	4:26
11	Miamo-Tutti	1:58
12	The Dresses Song	3:39
13	The Darkest Night of All	4:41

Although Lisa herself has stated that none of the songs on the 4AD version of Happiness were remixed, some songs are clearly re-worked with this release, as many of them are extended or edited. “You Make Me Wanto Wear Dresses,” for example, is reimagined as “The Dresses Song” and lacks the rootsy, country-tinged approach of the Capitol version.

Other notable changes on this version is the removal of “Breathe Acrost Texas,” and “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’,” but the inclusion of “Destroy the Flower” and “The Earth.”

Additional Versions

Happiness (Album Promo)

Prior to the release of 4AD’s version of Happiness, an advance copy of the album was released. These copies were traditionally sent to music publications and journalists to review the album and promote its official release.

The promotional version of the album was manufactured in the U.K. and was released as a cardboard sleeve with unique artwork.

The back cover included the tracklisting and the following text:

This is a re-release of the album that was first available in 1993. This 1994 version has a completely different running order including two new tracks, two re-mixed tracks and a different version of "you make me want to wear dresses" (the dresses song).

The album has been re-mastered, has brand new artwork and will be available at a lower list price.

art direction: Vaughan Oliver / V23
design: Vaughan Oliver and Adrian Philpott
images: John Weber

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Happiness (LP)

The 4AD reissue of Happiness was also released in vinyl within the U.K. The cover of the LP release uses a modified version of the back cover to serve as the front, featuring the tracklisting. The back cover also features the track list, but inverted.

More images to come.

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Happiness (1999 Reissue)

Five years after its release, 4AD reissues Happiness and included four tracks from the Inconsiderate Bitch EP as bonus tracks (the extended version of “Happiness” is omitted—likely due to run time of the CD). The back cover of this version includes the listing of the additional tracks. The front cover is the same as the 1994 release.

Press Release

To find evidence of Lisa Germano’s many instrumental talents, then a cursory listen to ‘Happiness’ or even a glimpse at her session credits will suffice. But to hear what she really has to say, you may have to lean in a little closer because Lisa doesn’t sing her heart out… she just whispers it into your ear.

After contributing material to the film ‘Falling From Grace,’ Lisa recorded the largely DIY album, ‘On the Way Down from the Moon Palace,’ for her own Major Bill label (named so because the disc’s production cost set her back a “major bill”). The acclaim following the release of ‘…Moon Palace’ led to Germano inking with Capitol and recording ‘Happiness’ in New Orleans with Daniel Lanois associate Malcolm Burn.

Shortly after its release, 4AD’s Ivo Watts-Russell attended the ‘In Their Own Words’ songwriters showcase at LA’s Troubadour and found himself intrigued by Lisa’s performance. He then approached Capitol about licensing the ‘Happiness’ LP for worldwide rights at a time when that company was undergoing internal changes, and subsequently, all parties agreed that 4AD may be a more suitable home for Lisa’s future.

4AD’s issue of the ‘Happiness’ LP features material remixed by John Fryer and Ivo, different artwork & running order, extra tracks (“Betty Says…”, “Destroy the Flower”, “The Earth”), “You Make Me Want to Wear Dresses” has transformed into “The Dresses Song,” and ‘Happiness’ now excludes the cover of “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’.

Considering the scrutiny and re-assessment that the ‘Happiness’ sessions produced, it’s a testament to Lisa’s abilities that the disc is so veracious. Joyless at the core, laments like “what a waste to feel the way I feel” can be found on “Around the World” while “pain and sadness are real to me” punctuate the LP’s title track (if these confessions appear to lifted straight from Germano’s diary, it’s because they are).

Yet despite the allusions to personal torment, Lisa’s songs never become bogged down in despair, largely because they’re leavened with a pop veneer and an impish sense of humor, “You wish you were pretty, but you’re not… ha, ha, ha.” (‘Bad Attitude’). And the extremes are musical as well as emotional, ‘Happiness’ runs from the plaintive, folky approach of “Cowboy” and “Energy” to texturally dense numbers like “Puppet” without sounding out of context. Germano feels that this version of ‘Happiness’ is darker, and makes the ‘idea of happiness’ more elusive. The contradiction is obvious, so the listener will question it that much more.

Personnel

Videos

Related Press

The 4AD version of Happiness received favorable reviews from critics.

Related Releases

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