Get Happy is an enigma.

Pretty self-explanatory
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wehitandrun
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Get Happy is an enigma.

Post by wehitandrun »

I've never... not everrrrrr... met an Elvis fan who didn't adore Get Happy.

But it took me a long, long time to get into it. I had to force feed it forever, and if it wasn't for New Amsterdam acting as a checkpoint in the cd, I may have never fully gotten some of the songs. The production sort of through me off, I always wondered why he his voice had to so far away.

Did anybody else go through this period, or was everybody an instant lover of Get Happy?

I love it now, but I would never introduce it as an Elvis work to someone who had never heard him.





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Post by BlueChair »

Maybe it was my love of 60's soul music that did it, but I think Get Happy!! is one of the few albums that I totally fell in love with the first time I heard it.
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Post by Watching_Detectives »

I loved it from day one.
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Post by wehitandrun »

Maybe I'm the enigma here.

Atleast I learned to love it. I still prefer "Armed Forces"(however, I also prefer "Armed Forces" to eating).





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snarling pup
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Get Happy

Post by snarling pup »

I've loved this one since the day it was released. AF had caught my interest, but this was the one that hooked me forever.

EC's vocals don't sound so far away when you play it loud enough. This one sounds best VERY loud, IMHO.
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Post by crash8_durham »

how could you not love get happy?
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Post by 10 »

I agree, i don't think there is too much to "not get" in Get Happy!
I find it much easier and enjoyable than Armed Forces..
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Post by Mr. Average »

"Get Happy" worked well for me, in spite of the trepidation I had with all the pre-release hype about this new sound for the "angry young man", most likely as a direct function of my age. I grew up listening to Ray, the Supremes, the Temptations, and the whole genre of music characterized by the Motown Sound and Philly Soul.

Some of the references were bold and obvious, some were much more subtle. But it immediately worked on a more visceral level. With time, it just became one of the best pop records of all time.

When I joined this forum, nothing could unseat "Imperial Bedroom" as my ultimate favorite. With the reissue of Get Happy, Imperial Bedroom now has a stranglehold on second place.

Apologies to cbartal.
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Post by wehitandrun »

10 wrote:I agree, i don't think there is too much to "not get" in Get Happy!
I find it much easier and enjoyable than Armed Forces..

Hmm, that's interesting.

I would have said the exact opposite.





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Post by Jackson Doofster »

hmmm, well there's a surprise
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Post by wehitandrun »

Wow, nice job at attempting to keep this little fued going.

Infantile? Yes, that's the word you used.

"hmmm, well there's a surprise."

That could work, if you're referring to the fact that I posted this thread as a way of stating that I like Armed Forces more than Get Happy!!- thus making my repeating of it 'redundant'.

Something tells me you were just being an immature asshole, though.

You're a waste of sarcasm.


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Post by Jackson Doofster »

oh dear...and there was me trying to be friends :lol:
"But they can't hold a candle to the reciprical war crimes which have plagued our policy of foriegn affairs."
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Post by Mr. Average »

"Get Happy" is a great recording???


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Post by cbartal »

Mr. Average wrote:"

When I joined this forum, nothing could unseat "Imperial Bedroom" as my ultimate favorite. With the reissue of Get Happy, Imperial Bedroom now has a stranglehold on second place.

Apologies to cbartal.
Geez, Mr Average, you must've reached deep into the bowels of the board to remember me for IB. Thanks.

And here I was worried that my ops on this board had the life span of a Super Bowl half time show; Super Bowl 38D not withstanding.
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Post by Copenhagen Fan »

Get Happy! was one of the first Elvis albums I had, so I got used to it right away. I always loved it because it had 20 songs on it!! Short songs, but a LOT of good material. NOW, many people claim that it is kinda of a "soul" and "r & B" thing....I don't really go along with that appraisal. The PRODUCTION is more of a murky STAX sound which suggests "soul", but most of the songs (except for the covers) are not really soul songs at all. I just don't buy the argument that Elvis made a soul record to atone for his "Blind Ignorant you know what" comments, although I've read that a number of places. It was a half-assed effort if he tried to make a soul record..........

I love Get Happy! It's my number 2 after Imperial Bedroom.
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Post by wehitandrun »

Copenhagen Fan wrote:Get Happy! was one of the first Elvis albums I had, so I got used to it right away. I always loved it because it had 20 songs on it!! Short songs, but a LOT of good material. NOW, many people claim that it is kinda of a "soul" and "r & B" thing....I don't really go along with that appraisal. The PRODUCTION is more of a murky STAX sound which suggests "soul", but most of the songs (except for the covers) are not really soul songs at all. I just don't buy the argument that Elvis made a soul record to atone for his "Blind Ignorant you know what" comments, although I've read that a number of places. It was a half-assed effort if he tried to make a soul record..........

I love Get Happy! It's my number 2 after Imperial Bedroom.

I see what you're saying about the soul apraisals being written everywhere.

Sometimes I wonder if these people have any clue what they're writing, or if they're just making "news" our of what they read on another publication/website. And then it makes me think of how reliable the source of all of the information is.

My solution- TRUST everything you read. :lol:




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Clover
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Soul persuasion

Post by Clover »

" NOW, many people claim that it is kinda of a "soul" and "r & B" thing....I don't really go along with that appraisal. The PRODUCTION is more of a murky STAX sound which suggests "soul", but most of the songs (except for the covers) are not really soul songs at all. I just don't buy the argument that Elvis made a soul record to atone for his "Blind Ignorant you know what" comments, although I've read that a number of places. It was a half-assed effort if he tried to make a soul record.........."

I read somewhere that Get Happy was initially going to be another New Wave record, that all the demos were done in that style, that they'd been road tested in that style. So it stands to reason why you think they're not really soul songs. I personally love Get Happy because they are non-soul songs forced into a soul "sound". It adds to the frenetic, pschizophrenic vibe of the album.

By the way everybody I'm new and I like Elvis.
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Post by Goody2Shoes »

I'm old and I like Elvis. Welcome!
It's a radiation vibe I'm groovin' on
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Post by so lacklustre »

Hi, I'm So Lacklustre, I'm old, I have a drink problem, and Love the music of Elvis Costello.
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Post by Copenhagen Fan »

Hey Clover! THat explains it........thankyou! I'm in total agreement with you.
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Post by Danny »

I definitely though 'Oh Christ, what've I bought' when I first listened to this - all the songs melted into one homogenised mass. It took a helluva lot of listens, but now I love the album. The arrangements, vocals and playing are astonishing - it's in the top five with Blood & Choc, This Year's Model, Brutal Youth and Trust.

That said, I would never recommend it for Elvis newcomers! They'll be scared off for life.
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Post by wehitandrun »

Danny wrote:I definitely though 'Oh Christ, what've I bought' when I first listened to this - all the songs melted into one homogenised mass. It took a helluva lot of listens, but now I love the album. The arrangements, vocals and playing are astonishing - it's in the top five with Blood & Choc, This Year's Model, Brutal Youth and Trust.

That said, I would never recommend it for Elvis newcomers! They'll be scared off for life.
Haha, yeah, I definitly see what you mean. When I bought it over the "Brutal Youth" reissue(which i got later, dont worry) I thought I had made the mistake of my life. I remember seeing the "50 Great Hits!" stamp on the front, and that sold me... and before hand I had liked "New Amsterdam" and "Opportunity". But when I listened, I thought it was one long fast song of a cd. The first song I really gave a chance was "Secondary Modern".

Now I think it is the greatest purchase I have made in my youth.




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