Summary
Happiness? is the third solo album by English musician Roger Taylor, best known as the drummer for the band Queen. It was his first album outside of Queen since releasing Blue Rock with the Cross in September 1991.
| Happiness? | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 5 September 1994 | |||
| Studio | Cosford Mill[1] | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 48:15 | |||
| Label | Parlophone, EMI | |||
| Producer | Roger Taylor Josh Macrae (co-producer) | |||
| Roger Taylor chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Happiness? | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| NME | 2/10[2] |
Taylor collaborated with Japanese musician Yoshiki on the song "Foreign Sand".
Controversy edit
Although released as a single, the lyrics of the track "Nazis 1994", attacking neo-Nazism, were deemed so controversial that it was banned by UK commercial radio stations. Additionally, it was banned from being advertised and many record stores refused to stock the single. Ironically, the publicity aided in the album's success.[3]
Track listing edit
All songs written by Roger Taylor, except "Foreign Sand" written by Taylor and Yoshiki.
- "Nazis 1994" – 2:35
- "Happiness" – 3:17
- "Revelations" – 3:44
- "Touch the Sky" – 5:04
- "Foreign Sand" – 6:53
- "Freedom Train" – 6:12
- "You Had to Be There" – 2:55
- "The Key" – 4:25
- "Everybody Hurts Sometimes" – 2:52
- "Loneliness..." – 2:25
- "Dear Mr. Murdoch" – 4:19
- "Old Friends" – 3:33
Personnel edit
- Roger Taylor: Drums, Vocals, Bass, Percussion, Keyboards and Guitars
- Jason Falloon: Guitars
- Phil Spalding: Bass on "Revelations", "The Key", And "Old Friends"
- Mike Crossley: Piano and keyboards on "Happiness", "Touch The Sky", "Freedom Train", "The Key", "Dear Mr Murdoch" and "Old Friends"
- Catherine Porter: Backing Vocals
- Josh Macrae: Programming
Foreign Sand:
- Yoshiki: Arrangement, Drums, Piano and Synthesizer.
- Roger Taylor: Vocals
- Jim Cregan: Guitars
- Phil Chen: Bass
- Dick Marx: Strings Arrangement
- Brad Buxer and Geoff Grace: Programming
- Mastered by Chris Blair at Abbey Road
- Album Design by Roger Taylor and Richard Gray
Singles edit
"Nazis 1994" - (UK No. 22)
"Foreign Sand"- (UK No. 26)
"Happiness?" - (UK No. 32)
References edit
Happiness Liner Notes@ http://www.queenpicturehall.com/albums/r03h.shtml
- ^ a b AllMusic review
- ^ Harris, John (17 September 1994). "Long Play". New Musical Express. p. 55.
- ^ Roger Taylor Biography on Yahoo! Music, December 2009, archived from the original on 11 August 2011