''Acnalbasac Noom'' (also known as ''Slapp Happy or Slapphappy'') is a studio album by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **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. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

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 merged w ...

, recorded in Wümme, Bremen, Germany in 1973 with

Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroa ...

as their backing band. It had a working title of ''Casablanca Moon'' but was never released at the time because it had been rejected by their record label,

Polydor Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-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 the United States ...

. Slapp Happy later re-recorded the album in 1974 for

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

, who released it in 1974 as ''

''. The original 1973 recording of ''Casablanca Moon'', was released as ''Slapp Happy or Slapphappy'' by

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 mus ...

in 1980, and reissued as ''Acnalbasac Noom'' in 1982. The title ''Acnalbasac Noom'' appears in the lyrics of the song "Casablanca Moon", and is ''Casablanca Moon'' with the words written backwards. The track titles on ''Acnalbasac Noom'' are identical to those on ''Slapp Happy'', except for the track sequence, and that "Haiku" on ''Slapp Happy'' is replaced by "Charlie 'n Charlie" on ''Acnalbasac Noom''. An instrumental version of "Charlie 'n Charlie" had been released as the title tune of Slapp Happy's 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 as their backing band, and released on LP by Polydor Records in 1972. In 1980 Recommended Re ...

''. Musically, ''Acnalbasac Noom'' is

arranged In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchest ...

quite differently from ''Slapp Happy'': it has a raw and unsophisticated "

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

" feel about it, whereas ''Slapp Happy'' tends to be more sentimental and "dreamy" with complex arrangements, including a string orchestra. While the unsophisticated feel of ''Acnalbasac Noom'' still appeals to many fans, it was the sentimental sound on ''Slapp Happy'' that the band became best known for.

Track listing

All music composed by

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, inc ...

and

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 so ...

, except where noted.

Personnel

– keyboards, guitar *

– guitar, vocals *

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. He ...

– vocals

Guests (Faust)

Jean-Hervé Péron Faust (English: "fist") are a German rock band from Hamburg. Formed in 1971 by producer and former music journalist Uwe Nettelbeck, the group was originally composed of Werner "Zappi" Diermaier (b.1949), Hans Joachim Irmler (b.1950), Arnulf M ...

– bass guitar *

Werner "Zappi" Diermaier Werner Diermaier (also known as Werner "Zappi" Diermaier) (born 1949) is a German drummer, best known as one of the founding members of the German krautrock band, Faust. Diermaier has remained with Faust for its entire lifespan and appears on all ...

– drums *

Gunther Wüsthoff Faust (English: "fist") are a German rock band from Hamburg. Formed in 1971 by producer and former music journalist Uwe Nettelbeck, the group was originally composed of Werner "Zappi" Diermaier (b.1949), Hans Joachim Irmler (b.1950), Arnulf M ...

– saxophone

Sound and art work

* Uwe Nettelbeck – producer *

Kurt Graupner Kurt is a male given name of Germanic or Turkish origin. ''Kurt'' or ''Curt'' originated as short forms of the Germanic Conrad, depending on geographical usage, with meanings including counselor or advisor. In Turkish, Kurt means "Wolf" and i ...

– engineer *

– cover art work

CD reissues

In 1990

reissued ''Acnalbasac Noom'' on CD with four extra tracks: *"Everybody's Slimmin' (Even Men and Women)" ( Moore/ Blegvad) – 4:07 *"Blue Eyed William (demo)" ( Blegvad) – 3:32 *"Karen (demo)" ( Blegvad) – 3:16 *"Messages" (

Krause Krause (German for ''ruffle'') is a common German surname. Geographical distribution As of 2014, 64.9% of all known bearers of the surname ''Krause'' were residents of Germany (frequency 1:531), 20.6% of the United States (1:7,541), 3.5% of Brazil ...

) – 2:07 In 2000 Recommended Records issued a remastered (by Bob Drake) edition with the same artwork and tracks. The same remaster was also issued as a Japanese mini-LP sleeve with the original LP artwork.

References

External links

Peter Blegvad Discography
24 October 2009) {{Authority control 1980 albums Slapp Happy albums Recommended Records albums Albums produced by Uwe Nettelbeck Avant-pop albums