Casablanca Moon/ Desperate Straights

Artist: Slapp Happy
Label: EMI Int'l
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Format: Import
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 724383917426
EAN: 0724383917426
ASIN: B0000073VG

Release Date: 1993-09-30

Casablanca Moon/ Desperate Straights

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Tracks:

Casablanca Moon
Me And Parvati
Half Way There
Michaelangelo
Dawn
Mr Rainbow
The Secret
A Little Something
The Drum
Haiku
Slow Moon's Rose
Some Questions About Hats
The Owl
A Worm Is At Work
Bad Alchemy
Europa
Desperate Straights
Riding Tigers
Apes In Capes
Strayed
Giants
Extract From The Messiah
In The Sickbay
Caucasian Lullaby

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Customer Reviews:

"Apes in Capes", the most stunning arrangement in a song of a british group!!.......2006-03-15

I have this two-in-one-cd Virgin edition since I was interested in progressive rock, about twelve years ago, and for God sake, I never get tired listening to it. Well, I confess, I've just listen two or three times the last track, "Caucasian Lullaby", a sad(?) and strange visionary theme (reminds me tragically Balkan's War, so I usually skip it, well...it's the last track, we just stop the cd).
But the "Casablanca" album is something of a prodigy, a strange object (just like all Slapp Happy albuns!) in the middle of the progressive/glam era...the magnificient high-voltage voice of Dagmar Krause and the subversive writing of Moore/Blegvad, and the skin-shivering strings of "Me and Parvati", oh, my, that cello!!!!!!! If there's a difference in "Casablanca Moon" in spite of his earlier brother, "Acnalbasac Noom", is that fresh attitude towards a pop expression of a song-driven album, resuming it's a lovely record, so positive to listen in the morning...after waking...
"Mr.Rainbow" is a stunning celebration of Rimbaud, the french poet...get the word-game (Rainbow/Rimbaud)? Blegvad's voice is so expressive here and in the same way funny in "Haiku", a gorgeous song about a kind of japanese poetry, again poetry...Beautiful arrangement also gave Steve Morse to "A Little Something" with that galloping string quartet at the end, and in "Slow Moon's Rose" probably the most beautiful saxophone solo (Blegvad?) in a rock record, it's a perfect solo, incredibly tender and magic...it drives me in tears!!! Listen to it, folks! Please!
In passing to "Desperate Straights", a avant-garde collection of little (not in quality, of course!) vignettes (the avant-garde Pictures Of an Exhibition!!!), we could imagine something between Weill, Magritte, a book of Alchemy (later in Art Bears...), Alice in Wonderland, one or two political statements, a delightfull tea-time break (the title track!!Gorgeous jazz!!) and "APES IN CAPES", that is in my opinion, the most stunning arrangement in a song of a british group!!Almost a work of a trio: perfect piano, creative drums and a tender bass guitar in 2 minutes of a musical masterpiece!!! Listen (1:33m to 1:46m) to the piano/drums incredible rhythm melody and think: "How can I miss this???"
All album is in the same quality way of "Apes in Capes", in fact "A Worm Is At Work" has a remarkable percussive excitement, very unusual in 1975 but perhaps with an influence of the krautrockers Neu!.
The beauty of "Desperate Straights" lies in the diversity of this astonishingly crafted songs, another masterpiece in Slapp Happy tremendous discography!!!

Should be split up again.......2003-06-08

This CD, I mean, not Slapp Happy!
First, the bad news: "Casablanca Moon" does not equal "Acnalbasac Noom", even if you could play it backwards! For some incomprehensible reason, Peter Blegvad, one of my all-time favorite singer/songwriters, took "Acnalbasac Noom", a most cherished memory from adolescence (and one of the few I was never willing to part with) and ruined it. I can't understand why he would take such a natural gem and tart it up like that! He has re-recorded the originals with all-new personnel and completely over-produced them to sound "weird" or "bizarre", totally obscurring the original quirkiness and charm that made that album so wonderful. Certainly none of the songs have improved by this strategy, and only one, "The Drum" is even remotely comparable to the original. I bought this disk not realizing that such was the case, so now I need to buy the one and only, original "Acnalbasac Noom" and learn to read the fine print before I rush to buy another CD that has been "re-recorded" or "re-created". I wish I could give this half of the CD 0 stars!
Now for the good news: listening to "Desperate Straights" again after a couple of decades' absence makes me remember just what caused me to become so enchanted with these guys in the first place! This is truly one of their masterpieces and has weathered the ages beautifully. To paraphrase Paul Simon, "when I think back on all the crap I heard in high school..." not to mention the intervening decades, it's truly a joy to hear this album again! This part I give 5 stars plus!

Dagmar is Always Worth A Chance.......2002-09-28

After first hearing Dagmar Krause sing on Henry Cow's, In Praise of Learning, I was hooked. I went on to buy the first Art Bears album and then this 2 on one CD. Casablanca Moon and Desperate Straights. Casablanca Moon has a complicated history. This is the second recording of the original. I haven't heard the original, although I plan on acquiring it. I've heard that this is a better version of that album. This was recorded shortly after the original, for the band's new label, I believe. The second album on this CD, Desperate Straights, sees the band getting more progressive.
Wow! These two albums are GREAT.
The Secret, The Drum, and Haika for me, are the two most addictive songs on Casablanca Moon. The Secret is probably the best tune. Very beautiful. Catchy, enjoyable.
Almost all of the songs range from 2 - 3 1/2 minutes on both CD's, but don't be fooled, this is progresssive rock. Actually the brevity of the songs is an enjoyable thing. Each song glimmers like a little gem. Being a huge Dagmar fan, it is especially nice to me that her voice is basically considered an essential element to each moment of both albums. She sings nearly always throughout, with just a few exceptions...It is all very experimental sounding. Just as in Henry Cow's, In Praise of Learning, expect to hear music unlike anything you've heard before. It is easy to see how these two bands ended up hooking up.
The second album, Desperate Straights is more progressive than the first and enjoys a better production. It is the stronger album in my opinion. It starts out with Some Questions About Hats. Even diehard Dagmar fans will be taken aback a bit with the weirdness going on here. Then, after the initial shock sets in, a desire to hear this song again and again prevails.
Let's see, other highlights on Desperate Straights:
A Worm Is At Work (excellent!!)
Bad Alchemy
Europa (perhaps the best...)
Giants
In The Sickbay
I can't wait for these albums to be remastered. I don't know when it will happen but it eventually will, I'm sure. If you are a Dagmar fan, don't wait though. Life is too short, it could be years! Buy this while you can! I'm by no means complaining about the sound quality here though. It is not an issue, I just would like to see a remaster. Dagmar's voice is so fascinating and unique that I think I could listen to a beat-up, scratchy old record and still love every minute.

PUT ON YOUR THINKING CAPS..........2001-06-14

Finding these two albums together on a single cd was a long-held dream of mine. These are the two albums this quirky and intelligent group recorded for Virgin Records in the early 70s -- one of them after they joined forced with the leg endary progressive band Henry Cow.

Slapp Happy were like no other band of their time -- or since, for that matter, now that they've (Sort of) reformed. The melodies are jagged but hummable -- a disconcerting type of pop music. The lyrics, always intelligent and challenging, are filled with incredible wordplay, humor and obscure philosophical references. This music will make you tap your foot, but it will also definitely make you think -- and we all know exercise is good for us, right?

I can't think of another songwriter to whom I can properly compare Peter Blegvad -- a look at the constantly-endangered life of a spy, always living on the edge; a song about reincarnation; a look at Michaelangelo through the suspicious eyes of a contemporary; a paean to French poet and enfant-terrible Arthur Rimbaud; a re-working of a section from Handel's 'Messiah'. Beginning to get the picture? There was no subject off-limits to Blegvad on these albums -- and his career has shown that this is an integral part of his songwriting ethos to this day. He has continued to amaze his listeners in the years since these albums were released.

Dagmar Krause's voice MUST be heard to be appreciated. German-born, she sounds as if she were raised on a mixed diet of Brecht-Weill-Eisler political ballads, opera, and pop music. She can coo, she can warble, she can shriek, covering all bases in between as well. Admittedly an aquired taste, her voice is one of the imminently recognizable, integral parts of Slapp Happy's 'sound'.

And then there's Anthony Moore. His keyboard work, as well as his occasional songwriting, comprise the remaining piece in the puzzle that is Slapp Happy. Never 'in your face' with his playing, he nonetheless contributes irreplacably to the overall effect. 'The owl', 'Slow moon's rose', and 'Apes in capes' are all Anthony Moore compositions, and show him to be a fine writer with his own style.

Instrumentally, the basic group of three was augmented on both of these albums. On the first by some of England's finest progressive musicians of the day, gathered together at Mike Oldfield's Manor Studio by producer Steve Morse. It's basically a re-recording of most of the songs from 'Acnalbasac noom', which is also available (for those who prefer the less-produced, earlier recording).

By the time 'Desperate straits' was recorded in 1974, Slapp Happy had begun working in tandem with Henry Cow, and the two groups merged soon after its release. Rather than the based-on-compositions improvisational style that was favored by the Cow on their lps, and to a greater extent in concert, the merger with Slapp Happy reined them in a bit for this recording -- but their roles here give it a sound that could never be mistaken for anyone else. Fred Frith's mind boggling guitar work, Chris Cutler's instantly-recognizable drumming style, Lindsay Cooper's work on oboe and bassoon, Tim Hodgkinson's keyboards and clarinet, and the impeccable bass of John Greaves, all added immeasurably to the album's personality.

Again, this is pop music for the listener who enjoys being challenged -- challenged to think and ponder the words, to appreciate the lines played by the different instruments as they wind and weave their way in and out of each other's paths...and challenged to take a step beyond -- WAY beyond -- the music that our good buddies at the major record labels would have us swallow, spoon and all (...and say, 'Thank you sir, may I have another...').

If you've never heard these folks, start here -- later, you can look back and remember where the worm at work in the core came from...

Uneasy Listening.......2000-09-05

It's been a long time since I heard an album that affected me quite like this. I consciously decided a few years ago that enthusing about music was a symptom of youth and naivety, something best left to sixth-formers and the sort of journalists without the attention span to sit down and concentrate on proper topics.

But I heard Casablanca Moon last night (apologies for the highly subjective tone, but I don't know enough about the band and/or movement to make a thesis out of it). I heard it through a friend - a fan of Henry Cow who bought the album yesterday.

Now Henry Cow have always been a signal for me to go home in the past. Their usual output goes on way too long and gives me nosebleeds. Very clever, and it undoubtedly has its place, but not in my record collection I'm afraid.

With the musicians involved in mind, this could have been a very irritating album indeed, but it miraculously avoids self-indulgence through its accessibility. Fans of The Cow might complain about this very facet of the music, but to me it's a refreshing change from the usual arch virtuosity.

The main difference for me was in the arrangements (and glorious brevity). Production that makes The Cardigans sound like Napalm Death is obviously not to everybody's taste, but the lyrical idiosyncracy sustains interest (the title track, Haiku, Michaelangelo), and some of the less self-consciously twee tracks are enchanting mixes of baroque strings, folky playfulness, film soundtrack lushness, Euro-Jazz stylings evolving into country and western freak-outs.

Music Album:

Music Album

Music Album

Music CD

Land of Giants ~ McCoy Tyner, Bobby Hutcherson

Mood Swings ~ Russell Gunn

Phantasies, Vol. 2 ~ Jaki Byard & The Apollo Stompers

Funky Beats/Real Jazz Gro ~ Various Artists

Dancing with Nature Spirits ~ Jack DeJohnette

Marronnage ~ Malavoi

City Highway ~ Bernd Roger

Trilhas Brasileiras ~ Alberto Rosenblit

Frieden In Allen Herzen ~ Geschwister Hofmann

Goodbye Cyborg ~ Captain Straidum