Brand New Happy the Man track

[Gizmotron]

Happy the Man has followed up their “Only Love” single from earlier this year with another single. This is called “Lock ‘Em Up”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyYloHws1Mo

The bridge section features some classic HTM/Stanley Witaker swirling guitar.

Hold onto your hats!

[JKL2000]

I came here to find out if these are really HtM tracks! They sound like HtM, yet they don’t. I guess they are!

[Boceephus]

Excellent!


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[interbellum]

Nice, although my mind also whispers that this would have been the sound of Peter Gabriel if Stan had joined him in the late 70s.

[Gizmotron]

Here is some PR for the track:

This tune is a follow-up to their single “Only Love” which was released on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, 2024. Also written by Stanley Whitaker, its optimistic and unifying lyrics are a plea for remembering that the world’s people have more similarities than differences and that only love can keep us together. “Lock ‘Em Up” is a much more direct, gut-punch of a song. Stanley says that he channeled what he sensed much of the public felt about the Presidential election, which also jived with what he, Rick Kennell, and Ron Riddle felt. Says Stanley, “We were horrified watching the erosion of Democracy and the attack on truth that Trump and his backers used to divide our country. Real crimes were committed by him and his followers. We just had to express our opinion at these injustices and call upon the public to vote. I felt a rock and roll “fact check” was needed because it would reach more people. I wanted to be clear that these people do not speak for all of our country, and that they need to be held accountable for their crimes.”

Says Stanley, “I want this song to reach the masses! We certainly feel the Kamala/Walz supporters will love it, and hope to even influence some voters that are still undecided. But like them, my principal message is positive: our country is strongest when we work together and reconcile our differences.”

Ron Riddle sees another set of positives about the song: “What I love about the song is that it shakes things up, and when that happens there’s an opportunity for creativity and change, whether it be political or musical.”

Instead of the rhythmic twists, turns, and tricky time signatures that are characteristic of Happy the Man compositions, “Lock ’Em Up” uses an intensely hypnotic and seductive beat which feels right for the song. While he is aware some longtime HTM aficionados might long for more overt progressive rock trappings, he assures fans that the HTM DNA is baked in, and is most obvious in the orchestrated, textural elements in the bridge section.

Some of that magic is due to drummer Ron Riddle use of the HTM technique of engineering the pulse to work on two different levels. Says Ron, “I realized something unusual about the song…it is firmly rooted in a straight eighth-note feel, but on a deeper level there’s an underlying subtle ‘swing’ feel that I realized could be utilized in different places in the song. When the two different feels were present at the same time it created a subtle tension and a slight feeling of ‘out of control.’ It made the groove more interesting and more on the ‘edge of your seat.’ Utilizing those ‘swing’ undercurrents led to a big band sound with the horns.”

Ron also felt the arrangement helped soften the admittedly intense lyrics. “I loved the song from the beginning, but we, as a band, kept trying to soften or subdue or obscure the powerfully direct lyric Stanley had written. The horns transformed the energy in the chorus giving it an unexpected, fun vibe. The dichotomy between the angst of the lyric and the ironic optimism of the horns just somehow worked and made the lyric not quite so angry and in your face.”

Bassist Rick Kennell was energized by this stunner of a song, and is very proud of the effort he and his band mates put in. “Stanley held nothing back, but I love how he used a splash of humor to mitigate some of the anger. Most Trump supporters will not see the humor, but I assure you that our goal is to unite our country and create more of a dialog. We sincerely want everyone to work together. The most important lyrics to me are, ‘We the people means everyone, We the people means all of us.’ Even the very beginning of the tune stresses solidarity and inclusivity. The intro is one massive percussive hit that is comprised of seventeen different instruments played by the band.”

Rick is a huge part of the sonic impact of the track. As well as propelling the track with his bass guitar he also handled the engineering of the record. “I carefully mixed and mastered this record so that Stanley’s insightful lyrics and the band’s immense energy and talent could shine strongly and brightly.”