Cassiber - Man Or Monkey (1982)

"Man or Monkey" was Cassiber's first album. It was released in 1982 on the German label Riskant as a set of two 45 rpm LPs - a format that turned it into a pricy collector's item. For this first effort, 

Christoph Anders, Chris Cutler, Heiner Goebbels, and Alfred 23 Harth entered the studio with only a handful of the drummer's lyrics and a few melodic ideas. They improvised, letting structures and arrangements develop by themselves, so to speak, and singer Anders threw in a text when he felt it appropriate. 

Even on the ReR Megacorp CD reissue, the structure of the four-sided LP remains strongly detectable. Side A presents three short improvised songs. Lyrics are more declamated than sung and the musical flooring is loosely rhythmical but very intense ("Red Shadow" is a highlight). Side B focuses on more prepared songs and Anders' singing. The festive music of "Our Colourful Culture" creates a disgusting contrast with the somber lyrics ("I came from the country/Arriba! Arriba!/They were killing my family/Ha ha ha ha"). "O Cure Me" sets the lyrics from one of Bach's cantatas against a delicate keyboard motif and thunderous clashes of noise. Both of these pieces would remain in the group's live sets until the end ten years later. Side C contains the 16-minute free improvisation "Man or Monkey." It has interesting moments but never really lifts up -- a failed attempt for the most part. Side D contains nice percussion work. "Man or Monkey" is miles away from the conciseness and strength of  "A Face We All Know", but it already shows all the ingredients for the maturation of this seminal avant rock group.


Tracklist:
1. Not Me (3:38)
2. Red Shadow (3:50)
3. Chor der Gefangenen (4:51)
4. Our Colourful Culture (3:05)
5. O Cure Me (5:54)
6. This Core (4:20)
7. Man or Monkey (16:39)
8. Django vergibt (3:10)
9. Die Verunreinigung des Flusses ist gerade noch ertraeglich (6:38)
10. Sag mir wo die Blumen sind (2:41)

Cassiber - Man Or Monkey (1982)

(ca. 192 kbps, cover art included)