''Desperate Straights'' is a collaborative studio

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

avant-rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, wit ...

groups A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...

Slapp Happy Slapp Happy was a German/English avant-pop group, formed in Germany in 1972. Their lineup consisted of Anthony Moore (keyboards), Peter Blegvad (guitar) and Dagmar Krause (vocals). The band members moved to England in 1974 where they merg ...

and

Henry Cow Henry Cow were an English experimental rock group, founded at the University of Cambridge in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson. Henry Cow's personnel fluctuated over their decade together, but drummer Chris Cutler, b ...

. It was recorded at

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

Manor Studio The Manor Studio (a.k.a. the Manor) was a recording studio in the manor house in the village of Shipton-on-Cherwell in Oxfordshire, Oxfordshire, England, north of the city of Oxford. Overview The Manor Studio was housed in a manor house which ...

and Nova Sound Studios in November 1974, and released in February 1975. It was Slapp Happy's second album for Virgin, and they had invited Henry Cow to record with them.

Content

The album is a blend of Henry Cow's

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

music and Slapp Happy's nostalgic pop, and the success of this collaboration led to the two bands merging and recording ''

In Praise of Learning ''In Praise of Learning'' is a studio album by British avant-rock group Henry Cow, recorded at Virgin Records' Manor studios in February and March 1975, and released in May 1975. On this album, Henry Cow had expanded to include members of Slapp ...

'' in 1975. "Europa" and " War (Is Energy Enslaved)" were recorded for a single by Slapp Happy with session musicians in May 1974, but it was not released. The two songs were re-recorded with Henry Cow for this album. "War" was released later on Slapp Happy and Henry Cow's second collaborative album ''In Praise of Learning''. The lyrics of the song "A Worm Is at Work" refers to the song "War", and the lyrics of "Europa" relates to

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake has become a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of the Roma ...

's ''

Europe a Prophecy ''Europe a Prophecy'' is a 1794 William Blake's prophetic books, prophetic book by the British poet and illustrator William Blake. It is engraved on 18 plates, and survives in just nine known copies. It followed ''America a Prophecy'' of 1793. ...

'' (1794). The songs "Extract from the Messiah" and "A Worm Is at Work" appear on the Virgin Records

sampler album A sampler or promotional compilation is a type of compilation album generally offered at a reduced price to showcase an artist or a selection of artists signed to a particular record label. The format became popular in the late 1960s as record labe ...

''V'', with "Extract from the Messiah" credited to Slapp Happy and "A Worm Is at Work" credited to Henry Cow.

CD reissues

*In 1993

reissued ''Desperate Straights'' together with Slapp Happy's '' Casablanca Moon'' on a single CD. *In 2004

Recommended Records Recommended Records (RēR) is a British independent record label and distribution network founded by Chris Cutler with Nick Hobbs in March 1978. RēR features largely "Rock in Opposition" and related music, but it also distributes selected musi ...

issued a remastered version of ''Desperate Straights'' on CD by itself. This edition improves the audio considerably, but includes much longer gaps between the songs, adding about forty seconds of silence.

Reception

In a review of ''Desperate Straights'' at

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, Ted Mills described the album as "surprisingly melodic", given the musicians behind it. He said it is "light on the art-school angst and heavy on the playfulness". "Some Questions About Hats" reminded Mills of

Kurt Weill Kurt Julian Weill (; ; March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for hi ...

, while Blegvad's "Strayed" sounded like

Kevin Ayers Kevin Ayers (16 August 1944 – 18 February 2013) was an English singer-songwriter who was active in the English psychedelic music movement. Ayers was a founding member of the psychedelic band Soft Machine in the mid-1960s, and was closely asso ...

art rock. Reviewing the album at

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music magazine founded in 1996 by Ryan Schreiber in Minneapolis. It originally covered Alternative rock, alternative and independent music, and expanded to cover genres includin ...

Dominique Leone Dominique Leone is an American musician and writer based in New York City. Early life and education Leone was born in Shreveport, Louisiana on December 29, 1973, and grew up in the Dallas, Texas area. He received a Bachelor's degree in Music Per ...

felt that even though Henry Cow features prominently in the recording's baroque sound, it is Moore and Blegvad's songs that "steal the show". They use "delicate" instruments – "soft" piano, brushed cymbals, violin, clarinet – and are closer to Weill and

art song An art song is a Western world, Western vocal music Musical composition, composition, usually written for one voice with piano accompaniment, and usually in the classical music, classical art music tradition. By extension, the term "art song" is ...

than contemporary pop music. Leone recommended ''Desperate Straights'' to "anyone into pushing the chamber-pop envelope". Pete Erskine wrote in

New Musical Express ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a " rock inkie", the ''NME'' would become a maga ...

in April 1975 that "''Desperate Straights'' cannot be recommended too highly". He described the album as "an extended lament intended to awaken the wearers of rose-tinted spectacles". Erskine stated that the music is "jagged, angular and at time (deliberately) grotesque – not the kind of thing you have humming softly in the background whilst doing the ironing."

Track listing

Personnel

;Slapp Happy *

Dagmar Krause Dagmar Krause (born 4 June 1950) is a German singer, best known for her work with avant-rock groups including Slapp Happy, Henry Cow, and Art Bears. She is also noted for her coverage of songs by Bertolt Brecht, Kurt Weill and Hanns Eisler. Her ...

(credited as "Dagmar") – voice,

Wurlitzer The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...

("In the Sickbay") *

Peter Blegvad Peter Blegvad (born August 14, 1951) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, writer, and cartoonist. He was a founding member of German/English avant-pop band Slapp Happy, which later merged briefly with Henry Cow, and has released many sol ...

– guitar, voice *

Anthony Moore Anthony Moore (also known as Anthony More) (born 13 August 1948) is a British experimental music composer, performer and producer. He was a founding member of the band Slapp Happy, worked with Henry Cow and has made a number of solo albums, i ...

– piano ;Henry Cow *

Tim Hodgkinson Timothy George Hodgkinson (born 1 May 1949) is an English experimental music composer and performer, principally on reeds, lap steel guitar, and keyboards. He first became known as one of the core members of the British avant-rock group Henry ...

– clarinet, piano ("Caucasian Lullaby") *

Fred Frith Jeremy Webster "Fred" Frith (born 17 February 1949) is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer, and improviser. Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as a founding member of the English avant-rock group Henry ...

– guitar, violin *

John Greaves John Greaves (1602 – 8 October 1652) was an English mathematician, astronomer and antiquarian. Education Educated at Balliol College, Oxford, he was elected a Fellow of Merton College in 1624. He studied Persian and Arabic, acquired a ...

– bass guitar, piano ("Bad Alchemy") *

Chris Cutler Chris Cutler (born 4 January 1947) is an English percussionist, composer, lyricist and music theorist. Best known for his work with English avant-rock group Henry Cow, Cutler was also a member and drummer of other bands, including Art Bears, N ...

– drums, etc. ;Additional musicians *

Geoff Leigh Geoff Leigh (born 5 October 1945) is an English jazz and progressive rock musician, playing primarily soprano saxophone and flute. He was a member of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow and founded several bands himself, including Red Balu ...

– flute *

Pierre Moerlen Pierre Moerlen (23 October 1952, Colmar, Haut-Rhin – 3 May 2005, Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines, near Strasbourg) was a French drummer and percussionist, best known for his work with Gong and Mike Oldfield and as Pierre Moerlen's Gong. Biography Pie ...

– percussion ("Europa") *

Mont Campbell Dirk Campbell (born Hugo Martin Montgomery Campbell, 30 December 1950), previously known as Mont Campbell, is a British composer, multi-instrumentalist, and company executive. Campbell is best known for his work with progressive rock bands suc ...

– French horn *

Mongezi Feza Mongezi Feza (11 May 1945 – 14 December 1975) was a South African jazz trumpeter and flautist. Biography Feza was born in Queenstown, Cape Province, Union of South Africa, into a family of musicians, His elder brother, Sandi Feza, who ...

– trumpet * Nick Evans – trombone *

Lindsay Cooper Lindsay Cooper (3 March 1951 – 18 September 2013) was an English bassoon and oboe player and composer. Best known for her work with the band Henry Cow, she was also a member of Comus, National Health, News from Babel and David Thomas and th ...

– bassoon, oboe ;Production *

– producer *

Simon Heyworth Simon Heyworth is an English record engineer and producer. He rose to prominence as engineer at Richard Branson's The Manor Studio in the 1970s, where he and Tom Newman worked on ''Tubular Bells'' (1973) by Mike Oldfield, which achieved significant ...

– producer *

– cover art * Bob Drake – remastered 2004 CD reissue

References

Works cited

* * {{Authority control 1975 collaborative albums Slapp Happy albums Henry Cow albums Virgin Records albums Recommended Records albums