''Happy Head'' is the debut album by the English band

the Mighty Lemon Drops The Mighty Lemon Drops were an English rock group active from 1985 to 1992. Biography Originally called the Sherbet Monsters, the quartet first formed in the spring of 1985 in Wolverhampton, in the Black Country. Paul Marsh, Dave Newton and ...

, released in 1986. It peaked at No. 58 on the

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and was a hit on American college radio. The band supported the album with a UK tour and by opening for

the Chameleons The Chameleons are an English rock band formed in Middleton, Greater Manchester, in 1981. The band's classic line-up consisted of bassist and vocalist Mark Burgess (now known as Vox), guitarists Reg Smithies and Dave Fielding, and drummer Jo ...

on a North American tour. The title track appeared on ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

''s ''

C86 ''C86'' is a Audio cassette, cassette compilation released by the British music magazine ''NME'' in 1986, featuring new bands licensed from British independent record labels of the time. As a term, ''C86'' quickly evolved into shorthand for a g ...

''. ''Happy Head'' was rereleased in 2022 as part of the ''Inside Out'' box set.

Production

The album was produced by

Stephen Street Stephen Brian Street (born 29 March 1960 in Hackney, London) is an English record producer best known for his work with the Smiths, the Cranberries and Blur. Street collaborated with Morrissey on his debut album '' Viva Hate'' following the ...

. Its music was influenced primarily by the

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they became culturally influential in popular music. The band initiated the punk movement in the United Ki ...

the Teardrop Explodes The Teardrop Explodes were an English post-punk/neo-psychedelic band formed in Liverpool in 1978. Best known for their Top Ten UK single " Reward", the group originated as a key band in the emerging Liverpool post-punk scene of the late 1970s. ...

, and

Echo and the Bunnymen Echo & the Bunnymen are an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1978. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and bassist Les Pattinson. By 1980, Pete de Freitas joined as the band's drummer. ...

. Most of the songs were written by guitarist

David Newton David Newton may refer to: * David Newton (artist) (1953–2011), American artist * David Newton (pianist) (born 1958), Scottish jazz pianist and composer * David Newton (guitarist) David Newton is a British guitarist, songwriter and record p ...

, with the entire band working on the arrangements. The album was recorded quickly; singer Paul Marsh later expressed dissatisfaction with the results. All of the songs are about relationships.

Critical reception

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'' stated that "the sunny outlook and artless charm of the four-man group's debut LP ''Happy Head'' hearkens back to the days of mop-top pop". The ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

'' noted the "blend of hard-nosed rhythms and nifty melodic hooks." The ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'' labeled the album "mainstream rock, much of

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has an aggressive, forceful undercurrent that suggests a familiarity with the late-'70s punk scene in Britain." ''

'' concluded that "the Mighty Lemon Drops teeter precariously on the brink of mediocrity." '' The Gazette'' called it "catchy pop that mixes Byrds' guitars with Echo and the Bunnymen mood." The ''

Omaha World-Herald The ''Omaha World-Herald'' is a daily newspaper in the midwestern United States, the primary newspaper of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area. It was locally owned from its founding in 1885 until 2020, when it was sold to the newspaper ...

'' said that ''Happy Head'' "benefits from the Lemon Drops' special blend of punk energy and pop instincts, a style not unlike Australia's Hoodoo Gurus." ''

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who, Dave Schulps, and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...

'' determined that it "offers the neo-psychedelia of early Echo played with a ringing Rickenbacker as the lead instrument and a less mannered (and less interesting) vocalist."

Track listing

References

{{reflist The Mighty Lemon Drops albums 1986 debut albums Chrysalis Records albums Albums produced by Stephen Street