Body Popping, Moon Walking, Top Rocking

Body Popping, Moon Walking, Top Rocking

ASIN: B00004NRQE

Track Listings

1. The Barstow Sizzler

2. Marvin Says

3. If This Is Love It Isn'T

4. Where Does A Stranger Go On Christmas Eve?

5. The Express Lane Really Isn'T All That Fast

6. Wishing Book

7. Tang - The Astronauts Drink Of Desire

8. Western Motel Girl

Editorial Reviews
From Jazziz
Coming out of the same school of post-fusion jazz as Charlie Hunter and Medeski, Martin & Wood, the Minneapolis band Happy Apple has a sound filled with acrobatic vamps, cinematic tone schemes, and visceral rock wallop. Body Popping/ Moon Walking/ Top Rocking, the trio's third album, follows the solid Part of the Solution Problem by delving deeper into the group's unique chemistry. This time there are no guests sitting in, just the three of them getting down to business.

The band of twenty-somethings plays its own version of fusion on saxophone, electric bass, and drums. The musicians neither overplay the tunes with hyperactive chops, nor are they afraid of playing quietly. Tracks like the melancholy "Where Does a Stranger Go on Christmas Eve?" and the understated "Wishing Book" display a depth of character not often associated with musicians straddling the rock and jazz worlds. The band also adeptly moves into jazzier territory with the winding vamp of "Marvin Says" and the unified three-minute blast "If This Is Love It Isn't."

It's not surprising that the band landed on a local alternative rock label, since they often share gigs and audiences with fellow Minneapolis rock acts. But Happy Apple should be a pleasant discovery for jazz fans looking for something from the rock/funk edge.

--- Tad Hendrickson Copyright © 2000, Milor Entertainment, Inc.

Neil Tesser, Chicago Reader
"Drummer David King, saxist Michael Lewis, and bass guitarist Erik Fratzke offer up a lot of variety and the skill to control it: they can run from mournful lullabies to big-energy romps, but they always sound like the same band. On emotive passages, Lewiss tenor and soprano drip with the jazz equivalent of blue-eyed soulcavernous low notes and a yearning upper registerwhich makes his forays into screaming multiphonics and guttural sheets of sound more surprising and thus more effective. King, with whom Lewis founded Happy Apple three years ago, has all the requisite technique and then some, and Happy Apples got the ability to swing like Sosa on the hard n heavy stuff.

Body Popping, Moon Walking, Top Rocking

Tracks:

The Barstow Sizzler
Marvin Says
If This Is Love It Isn't
Where Does A Stranger Go On Christmas Eve?
The Express Lane Really Isn't All That Fast
Wishing Book
Tang: The Astronaut's Drink Of Desire
Western Motel Girl

Album Description

Second album from acclaimed Minneapolis trio.

Average customer rating:

yes, more praise
Excellent
Happy Apple rocks
The best so far

Body Popping, Moon Walking, Top Rocking
Happy Apple
Manufacturer: Midwest Artists Dist.
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00004NRQE
Release Date: 2000-01-22

Tracks:

The Barstow Sizzler
Marvin Says
If This Is Love It Isn'T
Where Does A Stranger Go On Christmas Eve?
The Express Lane Really Isn'T All That Fast
Wishing Book
Tang - The Astronauts Drink Of Desire
Western Motel Girl

Customer Reviews:

yes, more praise.......2007-03-29

Once you have seen Happy Apple live, you are going to want everything they record. They have all of the "right stuff" needed to be considered excellent and important. All of the emotional responses art can generate in we humans is acheived. Genuine beauty.

Excellent.......2006-03-01

This is a really great album of modern trio jazz. The sax playing explores thoughtful, beautiful passages and then hops into explosive free bursts. The electric bass is smooth and rumbling and as always, David King's ineffable rhythmic perfection rounds out the trio. Overall, the sound is playful, rhythmically dynamic, and just so fun to listen to. "Where does a stranger go on Christmas Eve?" and "Wishing Book" are perhaps my two favorite Happy Apple tunes, just beautiful, warm and mesmerizing. I think this disc is a bit more downtempo than some of the other HA albums. Highly Recommended.

Happy Apple rocks.......2000-07-06

I went to Happy Apple's midnight show at Tonic, here in NYC, and they were simply amazing. King is an incredible drummer, Lewis plays like a dream, and Fratzke's bass lines compliments the explosive saxophone and drums. This album, though less "heavy" than PofSP, is nonetheless beautiful. Check out "Marvin Says" and "If This is Love it isn't." Hopefully, Happy Apple's psuedo-indie rock energy will keep their jazz going for years to come.

The best so far.......2000-07-03

On their third (and best so far) album, these guys have taken what they've learned and expanded on their principals. The pieces on this album do clock in at over ten min. plus, dont't let that put you off. They do have a sense of humor that is rare to see in bands like this. The best piece on this album is "Where does a stanger go on Christmas Eve?". Fans of MMW's Tonic album should check them out.

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