Slapp Happy - 1980 - Acnalbasac Noom

Slapp Happy

1980

Acnalbasac Noom

01. Casablanca Moon (3:02)
02. Me and Paravati (3:31)
03. Mr. Rainbow (3:50)
04. Michaelangelo (2:40)
05. Drum (3:51)
06. Little Something (3:21)
07. Secret (3:25)
08. Dawn (3:35)
09. Half-Way There (3:08)
10. Charlie 'N Charlie (2:24)
11. Slow Moon's Rose (3:10)

Anthony Moore/ keyboards, guitar
Peter Blegvad / guitar, vocals
Dagmar Krause / vocals

Guests (Faust):
Jean-Hervé Péron / bass guitar
Zappi Diermaier / drums
Gunter Wüsthoff / saxophone

I've had the re-recorded version of "Casablanca Moon" for years and just recently picked up "Acnalbasac Noom", the originally recorded version. You can read the details on the other reviews or Wikipedia, but in short, the original version, released as "Acnalbasac Noom" was recorded with Faust as the backing band, while the re-recording was done with studio musicians. The original version is more rocking and garagey, while the second is more polished and features a wider range of instrumentation, including horns, strings, acoustic guitars, etc.

I always assumed that I would like Acnalbasac better, because of the Faust connection, but, honestly, after a couple of spins of both back to back, I have a hard time deciding on one over the other. Both are great and have their pluses. You might say the first is the "garage" version, while the second is the "cabaret" version. The track listing is the same except for a couple of songs, and the arrangements of most songs are significantly different.

I say check both of them out. I intend to keep both versions. They're both great.

The re-recorded version is usually bundled on a CD with the following album, "Desperate Straights", which is an absolute must-have, in any event.