 | Acnalbasac Noom (1973)Genres: pop, progressive pop |
review by daniel
This is the original version of “Casablanca Moon”, recorded with Faust as a backing band. The dominating instruments are guitar and keyboards (usually piano) and Faust’s contribution is mostly restricted to providing a solid rhythm section. Dagmar Krause’s vocals are (naturally) dominating as well, but her singing is actually more pretty than ugly. Those who have heard Dagmar in other groups and found her objectionable, and have second thoughts about exploring Slapp Happy because of her presence, need not fear; the croaking, german-accented witch of the Art Bears are not present here.
Slapp Happy’s music is often described as cabaret-rock, avant-pop or “brechtian” pop. I am not quite sure what some of those descriptions mean, or if they are correct, but Slapp Happy plays a kind of pop music that it would be unfair to describe as just pop. They are basically playing with genres in a pop context. This album includes tango-pop, electrified country, bossanova-pop, lounge-pop, humorous ditties and more. It is a diverse album, but unfortunately it is uneven as well. Some songs are close to brilliant, some are mildly interesting but disposable, while some are even annoying. The best songs (“Mr Rainbow”, “The Drum” and “Dawn”) are catchy in the best possible sense, while the annoying ones are catchy in the worst possible sense (choruses that stick the first time are repeated way too many times).
 | Casablanca Moon (1974)Genres: pop, progressive pop |
review by daniel
The rearranged and re-recorded version of “Casablanca Moon” is a more ornate affair, featuring more instruments and a less direct approach. Violins and saxophones are usually a welcome addition, but they do not add much here. The additional instruments are not what make this version differ from the original, however; it is the rearrangement of the songs. Some songs are slightly improved and some are almost ruined by cheesy backing vocals and misplaced “funny” sounds. Unfortunately, the improved ones are mainly those who weren’t that good in the first place, making the slight improvement rather pointless. And the ruined ones include some of the best songs on the original album, the most devastating example being “Mr Rainbow”, where Dagmar is replaced by a horrible male voice in the choruses (a cheesy “oooo-ooo-oooh Mr Rainbow” are added as well).
In comparison with “Acnalbasac Noom”, this version is more even and less interesting.
 | Desperate Straights (1975)Genres: pop, progressive pop |
review by daniel
This should not be possible, not even in theory. What would you expect if you where familiar with both Henry Cow (HC) and Slapp Happy (SH) and heard about their collaboration? I would expect solid guest appearances on each other's albums at best, and a classic "super group"-failure at worst. Instead they come up with material that is not only radically different from what they have done before, but also really, really good. The music is catchy enough to instantly attract you, yet it continues to reveal pleasant surprises for every listen. You can call it sophisticated and quirky pop music if you drain the word "sophisticated" of all its negative connotations (like "boring")*. The guy who came up with the cliché of "the sum being greater than the parts" must have spawned it when listening to this album.
The instrumentation is rich; the HC members play their usual main instruments with the exception of Tim Hodgkinson who plays the clarinet, not the organ. Add to that the guitar and piano from Blegvad and Moore, the voice of Dagmar, as well as several guest musicians, including Pierre Moerlen on percussion and Mongezi Feza on trumpet, and you will end up with a cluttered sound, right? Actually, thanks to the superb arrangements, the sound is quite airy and the various instruments are used only in the right places.
I do not know how the SL members managed to tame the beast that is HC, but you have to give them credit for it. The music never drifts too far out, yet you never get the feeling that HC is a mere backing-group (as opposed to Faust on "Casablanca Moon"). Especially Chris Cutler seems to have no objections to being slightly tamed; he is as brilliant as ever, even within the boundaries of the more song-oriented material. His drumming is as essential to the success of the material as the great song writing and the rich instrumentation. A lesser drummer could easily have ruined the quirky pop tunes by just keeping time somewhere in the background.
"Desperate Straights" is sadly overlooked in pop history and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in (eccentric) pop music.
* Yes, I know that the extended instrumental track is both sophisticated and boring, that is why I am not from giving the album a five-star grade.
