''Slapp Happy'' (also known as ''Casablanca Moon'') is a studio album by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

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-pop Avant-pop is popular music that is experimental, new, and distinct from previous styles while retaining an immediate accessibility for the listener. The term implies a combination of avant-garde sensibilities with existing elements from popular ...

group

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 ...

, 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 ...

in 1974. This album was originally recorded in 1973 in Germany under a working title of ''Casablanca Moon'' with

Faust Faust ( , ) is the protagonist of a classic German folklore, German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust (). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a deal with the Devil at a ...

as Slapp Happy's backing band, but

Polydor Records Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

in Germany rejected it. After moving to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and signing with

, Slapp Happy re-recorded the album (at Virgin's request) with session musicians under the direction of violinist Graham Preskett, and with new arrangements of the songs by Roger Wootton of Comus. Virgin released the album in 1974 as ''Slapp Happy''. A second UK pressing of the album used the title ''Casablanca Moon'' on the label (though not on the cover). Later CD reissues officially used the title ''Casablanca Moon''. In 1980 Recommended Records released the original recording (with Faust) as '' Acnalbasac Noom'' (''Casablanca Moon'' with the words written backwards).

Reception

Reviewing the album 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 ...

Richie Unterberger Richie Unterberger (born 1962) is an American author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing. Life and writing Unterberger attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he wrote for the university newspaper '' The Daily P ...

wrote that Slapp Happy's songwriting here is better than on their first album, ''

Sort Of ''Sort Of'' is the debut studio album by the avant-rock band Slapp Happy. It was recorded in Wümme, Bremen, Germany in May and June 1972 with Faust (band), Faust as their backing band, and released on LP by Polydor Records in 1972. In 1980 Re ...

''. It has "witty and oddball" lyrics that are not "pretentious", and are showcased by Krause's German-inflected singing. Unterberger compared some of the tracks on the album to

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono (, usually spelled in katakana as ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up in Tokyo and moved to New York ...

's 1970s songs, but felt that "Krause's vocals are much better than Ono's, while just as distinctive." Writing in ''The Rough Guide to Rock'', Mark Ellingham noted: "Slapp Happy found themselves at Virgin's Manor studios, recording the album with a virtual chamber orchestra of musicians." In a 1974 review in ''

Audio Audio most commonly refers to sound, as it is transmitted in signal form. It may also refer to: Sound *Audio signal, an electrical representation of sound *Audio frequency, a frequency in the audio spectrum *Digital audio, representation of sound ...

'', Carl Anthony said ''Slapp Happy'' has " me of the most extraordinary lyrics I've heard in a long time", and when they are sung by Krause in her " unting" voice, the deceptively "normal" music is transformed into "something surreal and distant", "alien but strangely inviting". He described the recording of the album as "clean and open" with "clear and well projected" vocals. Anthony added that Slapp Happy "is no ordinary group" and opined that they are "going to be big – no question of it".

Track listing

All music composed by Anthony Moore and Peter Blegvad, except where noted.

Personnel

Sources: Peter Blegvad,

Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

* Dagmar Krause (credited as "Dagmar") –

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

* Peter Blegvad – second vocals,

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

(uncredited) * Anthony Moore – keyboards

Guests

*Marc Singer – drums * Dave Wintour – bass guitar * Graham Preskett – violin, mandolin *Roger Wootton – backing vocals *Eddie Sparrow – drums, congas, whistles, etc. *Jean Hervé Peron – bass guitar *Clare Deniz – cello *Nick Worters – double bass *Jeremy Baines – sausage bassoon *Andy Leggett – jugs *

Clem Cattini Clemente Anselmo Agustino Cattini (born 20 August 1937) is an English rock and roll drummer of the late 1950s and 60s, who was a member of The Tornados before becoming well known for his work as a session musician. He is one of the most prolifi ...

– drums * Henry Lowther – trumpet *

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 ...

– saxophones *Keshave Sathe – tablas, tamboura

Sound and art work

– producers *Steve Morse – producer * Simon Heyworth – mixer, engineer *Steve Taylor – mixer, engineer *David Larcher – cover photograph *Carol Aitken – cover design

CD reissues

In 1993

reissued ''Slapp Happy'' as ''Casablanca Moon'' together with Slapp Happy's '' Desperate Straights'' on CD.

References

External links

Peter Blegvad Discography
26 October 2009)

Works cited

* {{Authority control 1974 albums Slapp Happy albums Virgin Records albums Avant-pop albums