Happenings Four + 1 - The Long Trip (1971) (2008)

Digitally remastered edition of this 1971 album from the Japanese Prog/Psych band. The Long Trip was their last album and after having dabbled with various styles such as Latin, Classic, Soft Rock and Underground, this album is their finest. Although they started out as a GS outfit, this last album is far removed from their humble origins. This entire disc is fantastic Japanese Progressive Rock with heavy organ and superb electric guitar leads from Mizutani. Unusually it was a concept album about the life cycle of the Human Being (from Birth to Death). Happenings Four were one of the most interesting Japanese bands, having survived the heydays of the GS era and mutated into the Progressive Japrock in the early '70s.