This is Part 1 of Lisa Germano on 4AD, an ongoing series looking at the work of the singer/songwriter from 1994-1998.

Read Part 2
Read Part 3
Read Part 4

I used to have a thought or two, but now I only smile.

—Lisa Germano, “Puppet”

In the liner notes for the 4AD release of Happiness, Lisa Germano more than hints at her recent, contentious break with Capitol Records. She opens her thank you credits with: 

“resurrected from the dead by Ivo Watts-Russell and everyone at 4.A.D”

And ends with: 

“and all the people at Capitol Records who suddenly aren’t there anymore…..ain’t life fun?”

Somewhere between signing Germano and the release of Happiness, Capitol Records had a change of management, and a change of heart about her chances at mainstream success. Thankfully, she was able to keep her master tapes. With the release of Happiness, she was already moving further away from the alt-country pixie girl image that Capitol had in mind for her. They saw a cute little Indiana chick that toured with John Melloncamp and wrote her own rootsy folk songs; a promising artist with a rough-around-the-edges debut, On the Way Down from the Moon Palace. How could they monetize this?

Artwork from the 1999 Koch reissue of On the Way Down from the Moon Palace. Originally released in 1991 on Lisa’s own Major Bill Records (named for the major bill she received when it was done)

I’ll give props to Capitol, someone in their A&R saw something in this violinist and multi-instrumentalist. They probably envisioned a line-stepping Tori Amos, but still, it was something. Capitol signed her and asked her to record a new album, which she did, in no less than three different studios (not a great sign), as well as her home, where she felt most comfortable. Not completely happy with the end result, Capitol forced her to record a cover of the the Lee Hazlewood/Nancy Sinatra hit “These Boots Are Made for Walkin.’” She unhappily complied. The relationship was off to a rocky start. 

In an interview on BBC Radio 1 in March, 1994, Germano mentions how the whole “cows and the cornfields” thing was never something she identified with until she moved to Bloomington, Indiana, started touring with Mellencamp and performing at farmer’s protest rallies. If she identified as anything growing up, it was being Italian, she says with a laugh. Alt-country was an easy pigeonhole based on her recent associations, but if there is any silver lining to the collapse of her relationship with Capitol Records, it was Germano escaping that miscategorization and charting her own path of twisted bedroom dream-pop. 

Lisa Germano performing with John Mellencamp & Larry Crane at Farm Rally in Chillicothe, MO, May 7, 1986 [video here] | With John Prine at Farm Aid in Indianapolis, Indiana April 7, 1990 [video here]

Germano’s style of folk music was already becoming more insular, more dark. You can imagine the wringing of hands by the new decision makers at Capitol, wondering what to do with this “difficult” girl and her sad songs about depression, cats and her mother Betty. If she was already moving into a off-the-beaten-path soundscape with Happiness, far from the eyes of MTV viewers and casual record buyers, her new relationship with 4AD head Ivo Watts-Russell only pushed her further into the dark recesses of her mind. He encouraged her to chase her demons, resulting in one of her most pitch-black records, the trauma-haunted, Geek the Girl. But that’s a story for another piece. 

My focus here is on Happiness, a unique entry in her discography not only for the shift it signaled in her sound and songwriting, but for being one of the hardest to grasp in its entirety, existing in three different forms: the original Capitol Records release in 1993, the Inconsiderate Bitch EP (the first release with 4AD, which boasts alternate remixes of five tracks), and the 4AD reissue from 1994 (which is completely resequenced, features two new tracks, and also removes two tracks from the original Capitol release). 

Artwork for Happiness (Capitol, July 27, 1993), Inconsiderate Bitch EP (4AD, January 17, 1994) and Happiness (4AD, April 26, 1994)

In an interview with The Bloomington Voice in October, 1995, Germano compared the two versions of Happiness: 

“What’s mostly different is just the sequence. There’s two or three different mixes, but I kept fighting with Capitol and trying to tell them that I felt like the sequence would make it feel a different way, and they just wouldn’t let me do it. It’s amazing how many people think that the whole record is mixed over or something. It’s really just the sequence. 4AD is cooler because they trust you.” 

And she’s right. On first blush, the 4AD version doesn’t appear drastically different, but the resequencing completely reshape the listening experience. The Capitol release jumps from mood to mood, and doesn’t seem sure of what sound it’s aiming for. The 4AD reissue is confident and conceptual, something you’d recommend to friends of Dead Can Dance more than Liz Phair. Beyond how it sounds, the presentation by 4AD of Lisa Germano, the artist, couldn’t be any more different from how Capitol Records advertised her. Images of Germano posing in flowery sun dresses were replaced by the hauntingly oblique sleeve design by Vaughan Oliver and Adrian Philpott. 

Two different presentations of Happiness, Capitol Records and 4AD

Look at the video for “You Make Me Wanna Wear Dresses,” the lead single from the Capitol release, to see exactly how they were looking to market Germano: cartoon backdrops of castles, short skirt and rodeo outfit, and B&W insert shots of a completely different girl cinching up a bustier and putting on a wedding ring. Romantic fantasy! 

Images from “You Make Me Wanna Wear Dresses,” director unknown [video here]

Now look at the video for “Puppet,” released by 4AD, a Jim Jarmusch-esque slice of trailer park southern gothic. Lisa is barefoot, wearing a retainer of rubber bands, and is seen only in harsh shadow. This is dark night of the soul cowgirl. Still wearing the boots, but they’re scuffed and marked with cigarette burns. 

Images from “Puppet,” director unknown [video here]

Post-Capitol Records, many of the lyrics on Happiness take on a new, cutting edge over the This Mortal Coil production haze. “What do you want me to do now?” from “Sycophant” comes off like a jilted Germano spitting in the face of Capitol execs and yes men. Furthermore, in one of the more blatant middle fingers to her major label past, Ivo Watts-Russell and John Fryer remixed her biggest hit up to that point, the previously titled “You Make Me Want to Wear Dresses” (and in the case of the droning version that appears on Inconsiderate Bitch, retitled it “(Late Night) Dresses”). They push Germano’s fragile vocals to the front and remove almost all standard instrumentation except for the repeated violin melody and a bubbling sequence of drums underneath, bouncing back and forth between the left and right channel. The resequencing of the song also seems intentionally flippant, moving it from track two (the best seat in the house) to the penultimate, throwaway slot—right before the album’s downer ending, “The Darkest Night of All.” 

Lisa performing “The Darkest Night of All” on Dutch TV show “2 Meter Sessies” in 1994

The official Warner Bros/4AD press release also was not above a few digs at Germano’s previous label home, calling their reissue:

“a remodeled version of Happiness…a series of musical mood swings that range from folky to furious, it’s now an even more compelling showcase for her talents.”

Lisa was more indirect with her criticism, but clearly still chaffed by label mandates and re-re-re-recordings, pronouncing it:

“darker, and makes the idea of happiness more elusive. The contradiction is obvious, so the listener will question it that much more. Manipulated by uncontrollable outside forces, including a voodoo hex in New Orleans (where much of the album was recorded), later consummated by sex, love and secrets.”

No matter which version you listen to, Happiness is an important, messy entry in Lisa Germano’s early discography. It both broke and resurrected her. Ten years of touring with John Mellencamp, playing on records from Indigo Girls to Simple Minds, self-releasing her own solo record, finally getting attention from a major label, releasing what she felt was her first “real” album, and immediately getting dropped from her label. It must have been a gut punch, and Germano could have easily retreated back to working solely as a session musician, a major label failure.

The compact discs for Happiness (Capitol), Inconsiderate Bitch EP (4AD) and Happiness (4AD)

What would have happened if Ivo Watts-Russell hadn’t stepped in to not only sign her to a new record deal, but to support her original vision for Happiness? This was just the beginning, and while Ivo was a lifeline in 1994, he was no savior. Germano would flirt with mainstream success for the next few years, but never achieve it. Did she ever really want it, or was she again pressured by lagging sales, economics, and a record label that needed to keep the lights on? Her relationship with 4AD would come to an end just four years, and three records later. But the journey wasn’t over. In many ways it would come full circle, back to the moon palace, back to her home recordings for nobody else but Miamo-Tutti and Betty. New liquid demons, same (un)happiness.

You would give anything to change back to when the waves were smaller
And you could jump over
Change back to when you laughed easy
And all your moves were childlike

—Lisa Germano, “Bad Attitude”