SLAPP HAPPY

Slapp Happy's first album is a pretty nondescript collection of rootsy psychedelia. Avant garde collaborations with Henry Cow were pretty far off at this point. This album closely resembles the more pastoral side of Amon Duul II combined with some of the Dead's or the Airplane's sloppy, jammy roots rock tunes. Not unpleasant, but the tunes just aren't particularly memorable and don't sound too experimental to these ears either, despite some attempts at studio sound manipulation. Dagmar Krause is more of an ensemble singer here, as Peter Blegvad contributes many lead vocals. An album for completists and Kraut Rock fiends only.

This comeback from 1998 sees a mature Slapp Happy making contemporary music and utilizing modern sounds. Not avant garde at all, this is a collection of understated pop songs utilizing modern keys and drum loops. Dagmar Krause's vocals are very restrained, especially for her- at times she reminds me of Nico or Marianne Faithfull, with Massive Attack and Brian Eno backing her! Not the most apt comparison, perhaps, but somewhat indicative of the kind of production used on this record. The lyrics still carry a little bite, as on the first track where Krause invites her lover to scar her emotionally for life. Not a prog record in any sense, but a good, unembarrassing album of melodic mid-tempo pop by three musicians who have aged gracefully.

Following their Polydor debut Sort Of, Slapp Happy recorded a follow up which again featured backing from members of Faust. Unfortunately Polydor decided not to release it, and it languished in the vaults until Recommended gave it a much deserved release in 1980. Salvation appeared in the form of Virgin, flush with the profits from Tubular Bells, and this album was more or less a remake with the song Haiku replacing Charlie & Charlie from the Faust version. Debate rages to this day as to which is the better version; some dismiss the backing on this version as the work of session men, which is a tad unfair as the trio are backed by a stellar crew of players including cameos from Faust's Jean Herve Peron and Henry Cow's Geoff Leigh.

Whichever version you pick, there's no question that this album marked a significant progression from their fine debut album. Dagmar emerged here as the principal vocalist, with Blegvad getting just one lead vocal and a duet. Moore and Blegvad's songwriting had matured considerably as well, with Blegvad's erudite lyrics sharper and wittier and Moore's skewed pop songwriting moving more towards a kind of pan European cabaret style, with a definite RIO twist. The arrangements are largely acoustic, and are mostly sympathetic to the songwriting, although in places the strings add an unnecessary saccharine touch. From the warped tango of the opening track it's clear that this is no conventional rock album, and the first 6 tracks are infused with the kind of whimsy (described as 'sinister' by Blegvad) found on albums by Kevin Ayers and Robert Wyatt. A particular highlight is Mr Rainbow, a tribute to the French poet Rimbuad with one of his poems sung by Dagmar, giving a foretaste of her acclaimed interpretations of Brecht songs, this being juxtaposed with a down and dirty rock interlude where Blegvad sings lead for the first time on the album. The following 2 songs opened the b side of the vinyl original and are closer to the acoustic soft rock of Carole King or James Taylor than to RIO - the Faust versions of The Secret and A Little Something are harder edged and the better for it. The album closes with 3 more strong songs, including Blegvad's excellent Haiku. This is a kind of continuation of Heading for Kyoto from Sort Of, which was inspired by Basho's classic The Narrow Road To The Deep North. Haiku is written as a series of elegantly phrased - you guessed it - haikus, and the lyrics show that Blegvad was deeply immersed in the work of Basho and his acolytes and his lyrics do justice to the form in a way that few non Japanese have ever achieved. The lines 'Systole, diastole/Dealing with the parts but feeling with the whole...' have a triple inverted irony which crams more into a handful of syllables than many songwriters manage on entire albums.

After this Slapp Happy would forge an alliance with another great avant prog outfit, Henry Cow, and would subsequently resurface once a decade or so to the delight of of their small but intensely loyal fanbase. This is an album which is full of hidden delights, and it was through hearing it that I became acquainted with Basho, visited the Rue St Jacques in Paris (during a near riot, with the French riot police on one side and some very mean looking protesters on the other), read Rimbaud and learned the meaning of the words 'systole' and 'diastole' (look them up. I had to). Recommended, but as you've probably guessed I'm not 100% objective here

Wonderful !! Slapp Happy has made it into the Archives !! This group of intelligent individuals ; Dagmar Krause (vocals/piano/perc.), Anthony Moore (Keyboards), Peter Blegvad (guitars/sax/vocals) were helped out by some members of Krautrock band Faust (on drums, bass and sax) for this release. The songs are firmly in the avant-pop mould, featuring catchy melodies with strange arrangements and sounds - a kind of marriage between commercial and uncommercial ideals. Here, Dagmar sings so sweetly, not her aggressive, 'Teutonic' warbling she is closely associated with.

The rhythm section provides a certain 'looseness' to the songs, with Blegvad's acidic guitar tones chiming through the air in an effort to shred your ear-drums, and his singing is somewhat harsh - quite inaccessible, yet the format in which these textures are conveyed is undeniably 'pop'. Difficult to actually 'pin down' highlights, as most tracks are of equal high quality - opening track 'Just a Conversation' is a concisely written song, with wah-wah guitar and brief acoustic interlude, and gorgeous singing from Daggi. 'Paradise Express' features Blegvad on vocals, and a neat sax workout from Faust's Gunther Wusthoff, complete with a loveable melody. 'I Got Evil' is an eccentric sounding song, weird singing, even weirder synth (or is it a kazoo, or manipulated sax.....?) and amusing lyrics. 'Little Girl's World' is a quaint track, with Daggi playing the 7/4 middle section on piano. It's back to Blegvad for the rather psych sounding 'Tutankhamun', with another fuzzy solo (is it an organ? Anthony Moore, what are you doing??). Quite unique. 'Mono-Plane' is the long track (6.50) and is a groovy, repetitive riff jam from Blegvad, and, perhaps, is their nod toward Krautrock.

'Blue Flower' reminds me of cheerful country music, with more piano playing and singing from Dagmar. 'I'm all Alone' is a soft ballad sung by Dagmar, which just floats along, again featuring Gunther's sax playing. 'Who's Gonna Help Me Now' is another softer track, similar in mood to the previous track. 'Small Hands of Stone' is an almost ethereal sounding piece, with some sax playing from Peter Blegvad and hypnotic piano playing from Moore. 'Sort Of' is an instrumental ditty that is extremely catchy and fun. 'Heading For Kyoto' is a well arranged, percussively oriented track, with excellent progressions, wah-wah guitar and superb singing from Dagmar. With this LP (Recommended Records re-issue) a lovely 'etched' 7" entitled 'Alcohol' (by Blegvad) was included, and is a *very* strange atonal piece of music with bizarre poetry 'sung' by Blegvad. Curious, but not 'Slapp Happy' as such. A minor treasure.

It's not surprising that they eventually joined forces with Henry Cow, as both bands shared similar attitudes both within the music, and about the music.

As Slapp Happy saw Henry Cow playing live and were being deeply impressed, this album can be seen as the turning point as well as their single Europe. While it still has a few weird songs (well Dagmar's voice makes them automatically off-beat) that can remind you of their previous album, the help of Henry Cow both on production but also in playing the music. If Blegvad had been the main writer in the previous album, here the writing credits are definitely more even, with Moore even slightly tipping the balance in his favor.

Again a very nutty album, and it takes sound nerves to actually enjoy this kind of weirdness. RIO, in a way, avant-garde certainly, I have a problem recommending this kind of album to any proghead, because I always fear it might be "hors de propos", even if the album holds many qualities that are endearing to them. Some track are are reminding me of Julvene's En Ballade album, or even their other albums with a string quintet of sorts. Other tracks have a much rockier feel most impressively an adaptation of Handel's the Messiah. Then comes the weird, somber and gloomy 8-min+ Caucasian Lullaby (half written by HC's Cutler).

The first of two collaborations between Slapp Happy and Henry Cow, (the next being the highly rated In Praise Of Learning), this album is an essential piece of madness that must be heard at least once in a proghead's life. Whether the proghead should choose to further his investigation of this bizarre music is something altogether different.

Shortly after recording 'Unrest', Henry Cow entered into a merger with label mates Slapp Happy. Slapp Happy comprised Dagmar, a German vocalist who would later win great acclaim for interpretations of Brecht (and sign my copy of this abum), Peter Blegvad, American born but raised and educated in England, played guitar and wrote most of the lyrics and would later contribute the unique strip cartoon Leviathan to the Independent, and Anthony Moore, English pianist who wrote most of the music and who would later work with the post Waters Pink Floyd. Together they produced a kind of skewed pop awash with literary and artistic references. They had recorded 2 albums with Faust, the second of which was re-recorded with session players for Virgin. 2 albums would come from this merger; Desperate Straights (Slapp Happy with Henry Cow) and In Praise Of Learning (Henry Cow with Slapp Happy).

Desperate Straights was the first of the joint ventures to be recorded, and the union of Henry Cow's avant rock with Slapp Happy's warped pop was both challenging and accessible. The majority of the songs were built around a piano/bass/drums accompaniment, with other instruments adding extra colour where needed. Tim Hodgkinson's clarinet is deployed as an instrumental foil to Dagmar's unique voice to superb effect, particularly on the opening song Some Questions About Hats. Elsewhwere, The Owl features Dagmar accompanied solely by horns and Europa has some superb percussion from Pierre Moerlen - all the arrangements are highly original and well thought out. Peter Blegvad takes the lead vocal on Strayed and does a neat pastiche of Lou Reed's drawl. Excerpt From The Messiah is a snippet of Handel as though played by a 70s glam metal band like Slade. There are 2 instrumentals, the title track which is a short, off kilter foxtrot, and the closing track, a lengthy piano/clarinet piece which features the 2 instruments playing scales very slowly. Caucasian Lullaby isn't bad at all, and would have been a superb addition to one of Eno's Obscure label releases, but it is somewhat out of keeping with the rest of the album.

This release is more representative of Slapp Happy than Henry Cow. All of Slapp Happy's albums are worth checking out - this album was released on CD as a twofer with their first album for Virgin, and is superb value if you can find it. If you've ever wondered what a cabaret band from mars would sound like, this album is definitly for you.