Catherine Wheel - Happy Days (1995)

A good percentage of Catherine Wheel's fans might have chucked Happy Days out of their players after the unleashing of Rob Dickinson's David Coverdale-like "oooh" during the brain bash of "God Inside My Head." In the event that the listener had the open-mindedness required to tackle the lengthy record in whole, they would have heard more Headbanger's Ball vocalisms, wanky guitar solos, and some lyrical passages that would lead admirers of Ferment and Chrome to wonder what happened. "Grow my hair long and strange/I'll be a walking mountain range." What?

Although the onslaught of pounding, throbbing hard rock prevails throughout the course of Happy Days, there are moments of respite. "Heal" tugs the heartstrings, summing up the record's theme of combating cynicism and coming to grips with adulthood. (The line "Everyone needs someone to live by" comes straight from Talk Talk.) The smoldering eight-minute "Eat My Dust" is unfortunately buried half way through the record. It's easy to get lost in the web of dazzling atmospherics. But more than anything, the greatest challenge of Happy Days is wading through it. At 14 songs and 58 minutes, it's not necessarily bloated for records of its time, but with the tug of war between cocksure heaviness and grandiose pop, it's a chore to get through. It's only four minutes longer than Chrome, but it feels like it doubles it in length. The band seems like they lowered themselves to make a play for the U.S. alternative charts, but they undeniably sound full of fire. The record undeniably misses the imagination of their previous conquests, and it ultimately sounds like a lesser band.

Happy Days is the third studio album by English alternative rock band Catherine Wheel, released 6 June 1995 by Fontana Records in the UK and Mercury Records in the US. Like its predecessor, Chrome, it was produced by Gil Norton.

"Judy Staring at the Sun" featured guest vocals by Tanya Donelly. On the single mix, Donelly performed the song's chorus and second verse; on the album, however, her vocals appeared only in the chorus, and all verses were sung by Rob Dickinson. The single peaked at No. 22 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart; second single "Waydown" peaked at number 15 on the Modern Rock chart and number 24 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart.

The album peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart, and was also the band's first album to chart on the Billboard 200, peaking at No. 163.

1.  God Inside My Head - 3:52

2.  Waydown - 3:14

3.  Little Muscle - 3:04

4.  Heal - 6:13

5.  Empty Head - 3:12

6.  Receive - 3:35

7.  My Exhibition - 2:27

8.  Eat My Dust You Insensitive Fuck - 8:06

9.  Shocking - 3:58

10.  Love Tips Up - 3:55

11.  Judy Staring at the Sun - 3:56

12.  Hole - 3:49

13.  Fizzy Love - 3:34

14.  Glitter - 4:10 (exclusive to vinyl edition)

15.  Kill My Soul - 5:10

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