Slapp Happy - Same / Casablanca Moon (Virgin, 1974)

These recordings were originally released in 1974 as the group's eponymously titled Virgin label debut (and are not the same versions of the tunes recorded earlier with Faust, first intended for release by Polydor, and ultimately issued by Recommended Records - and by Cuneiform with bonus tracks - under the title "Acnalbasac Noom").

The group's songwriting had improved since 1972's "Sort of...Slapp Happy", and Dagmar Krause's German chanteuse-influenced vocals were presented in catchier settings, although some prefer the comparatively unsophisticated and rockish Faust-backed versions from "Acnalbasac Noom" to the re-recorded "Casablanca Moon" tracks, which are backed by session musicians and even a string section. In either case, the lyrics are witty and oddball without being pretentious. Tracks like "Mr. Rainbow" recall Yoko Ono's early-'70s song-oriented material, with an important difference: Krause's vocals are much better than Ono's, while just as distinctive. "The Secret" could even be a potential commercial single.

Tracklist:

Casablanca Moon
Me & Paravati
Half-Way There
Michelangelo
Dawn
Mr. Rainbow
The Secret
A Little Something
The Drum
Haiku
Slow Moon's Rose

Slapp Happy -  Same / Casablanca Moon (Virgin, 1974)
(224 kbps, cover art included)