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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The magic doesn't end ..., April 21, 1999
Happy's fifth album, WARPAINT, sits contently in the center of her ten-album collection. It has all the ingredients of a typical Happy album: tumbling, twisting harmonies and layered synths and percussion; darker, fascinating lyrics; beautiful, rich and powerful vocals.The album starts off with a charge, both musically and lyrically, with "Waking Up." Driving synth and drums hoist the phrases on sturdy shoulders: I have never been afraid to change the circumstances / of the world. Bells and chorus harmonies decorate "Feed the Fire," offering thanks to those giving inspiration: I want to go back to the trees / where my art was born / and I was duly sworn / to be alive / a live burning force / forever more and evermore / I feed the fire. "Murder" clashes a bit with "To Live in Your World" where on one hand: you cannot defy their will / but I'd rather die than kill; and on the other hand: something made me hate her / I had to suffocate her / my common sense spoke of no consequence. Track five, "Phobos," is a great midway point on the album. A place to sit and have a cold drink: I have a friend in Phobos / sometimes I think I'm almost / there. Happy's vocal range also gets to stretch out during this piece, booming the baritone during the verse and soaring in harmonic highs during the chorus. "Wrong Century" is a twin to "Phobos", except without the company of friends: is there where it stands now? / must I remain / in this grey and dismal year? / it's plain to see I'm a foreigner / it's clear I do not blend / still, I make a home in this / wrong century. During the bridge there's an exceptional techno-skat session that is a perfect example of Happy's unique fingerprint. Hauntingly beautiful is "Lay Me Down," not only with sultry darkness: where there was hope / let there now be sorrow / let no sparrow sing / light the candles and incense / the clouds roll in; but with sorrowful strains of a violin coursing in and out through the refrains. Another Happy trademark is lyrics that imply being a different kind of being, or being from a differently place. Both "Terra Incognita" and "All Things" bare truth to this: I'm made for this terrain / or any other plane / watch me go like fire / I will always burn / I'll never tire. "All Things" provides backup: I had another accident / last night / I tripped over a soul / in flight / must've dented the ship / 'cause my memory fades / while I patch the damage / tell me of your escapades. The tenth track is a mini-drama, though the title gives it all away. "Words Weren't Made for Cowards" harbors truth for those who think they can hide behind actions: you are transparent / regardless of efforts made / to mask your face / you reveal everything in a phrase / you conceal what your mouth betrays. Getting ready for battle, presumably with her self, Happy brings "Warpaint" to the table: don't try to tell me / there's no reason / for any moment in time / every memory of mine / those years are lines of color on my face / the past is warpaint. After the dust has settled, it's clear she's survived and doing just fine with the ballad "In Hiding." I've tried to show / God only knows / to grow / but music hides me so well / and reveals me / oh well / you can find me / in hiding. So, all the ingredients have been used, the cookware thoroughly taken advantage of. When the buzzer goes off, that great-smelling pie is WARPAINT. Take one bite, and you'll want all the food in her cookbook.
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by Happy Rhodes 
