Line #67 Music/CasablancaMoon


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/acnalbas.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:1980 (or 1982) album cover. Designed by Blegvad himself]]
3
4	''Casablanca Moon'' is a 1974 (or 1973 or 1980 still) album by Music/SlappHappy, the history of which is pretty complicated. It was first recorded by the band in collaboration with Music/{{Faust}} in 1973, with ascetic, austere instrumentation. Its genre can be definited as a mix of art-pop and avant-pop with a share of progressive-pop. The band's label, Creator/PolydorRecords, rejected it and its release was cancelled.
5
6	It was rerecorded in 1974 for Creator/VirginRecords with the addition of an orchestra so that it sounded much more lush. The refreshed material was released with the album under two names: ''[[SelfTitledAlbum Slapp Happy]]'' and ''Casablanca Moon.''
7
8	The band members, Anthony Moore and Peter Blegvad, were not entirely satisfied by the result and later managed to reissue the original versions of the tracks which were more to their liking. It happened in 1980 already after Dagmar Krause had left for Music/HenryCow and Moore and Blegved had parted ways too. Now everyone can compare the versions and decide which are better in every case.
9
10	The WordOfGod goes: "For the more direct approach it would have to be'' Acnalbasac Noom''. It had a naïve spontaneity to it. Naïve in the nicest sense of the nicest sense of the word."
11
12	The 1980 release was first named ''Slapp Happy'' or ''Slapphappy''. Which deninitely confirmed who were the band behind the music and the lyrics so that no-one would doubt about that. [[OverlyLongGag Probably.]] Then in 1982 it was reissued once more as ''Acnalbasac Noom''.
13
14	The new reissue of 1990 contained four worthy bonus tracks added to the 1980 version of the album.
15
16	!!Tsilkcart:
17
18	For the 1974 release known as ''Casablanca Moon'' or ''Slapp Happy'':
19
20	# "[[Film/{{Casablanca}} Casablanca]] [[{{Bookends}} Moon]]" (2:45)
21	# "Me and [[Myth/HinduMythology Parvati]]" (3:22)
22	# "Half Way There" (3:14)
23	# "[[Creator/MichelangeloBuonarroti Michelangelo]]" (2:33)
24	# "Dawn" (3:17)
25	# "[[FrenchLiterature Mr. Rainbow]]" (3:49)
26	# "The Secret" (3:28)
27	# "A Little Something" (4:30)
28	# "The Drum" (3:34)
29	# "[[HaikuWiki Haiku]]" (3:01)
30	# "Slow [[{{Bookends}} Moon]]'s Rose" (2:53)
31
32	For the 1980 release, known as ''Slapp Happy'' or ''Slapphappy'' which later in 1982 was reissued as ''Acnalbasac Noom:''
33
34	# "Casablanca Moon" (2:57)
35	# "Me and Parvati" (3:25)
36	# "Mr. Rainbow" (3:45)
37	# "Michelangelo" (2:34)
38	# "The Drum" (3:45)
39	# "A Little Something" (3:15)
40	# "The Secret" (3:20)
41	# "Dawn" (3:30)
42	# "Half-Way There" (3:02)
43	# "Charlie 'n Charlie" (2:18)
44	# "Slow Moon's Rose" (3:06)
45
46	In 1990 four bonus tracks were added to the new release of the latter version:
47	# "Everybody's Slimmin' (Even Men and Women)" ( 4:07)
48	# "Blue Eyed William (demo)" (3:32)
49	# "Karen (demo)" (3:16)
50	# "Messages" (2:07)
51
52	----
53	!!Srebmem Lapicnirp:
54
55	* Anthony Moore – keyboards, guitar
56	* Peter Blegvad – guitar, vocals
57	* Dagmar Krause – vocals
58
59	----
60	!! Seport
61
62	* AcCENTUponTheWrongSylLABle: Dagmar sings Hob'''o'''ken in the song "Casablanca Moon", stressing the second syllable instead of the first.
63	* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: Lyrics for "Me and Parvati":
64	-->''Scattered like scars\
65	On the skin of the stars''
66	** In the same song:
67	-->''The conversation\
68	Centered on\
69	Conservation''
70	** Also lyrics for "Blue-Eyed William":
71	-->''Hounding the hunt of heaven''
72	* AlbumTitleDrop: A curious retrospective variant. Acnalbacas Noom is mentioned once in the song ''Casablanca Moon'' released in 1974 in the end of the second verse. It is only later in 1982 that an album with the SdrawkcabName was released. Thus it became a proper title drop only 8 years after the song became available.
73	** Played much straighter with the phrase "Casablanca Moon", which is mentioned several times throughout the tracks.
74	** The name of the band themselves (and also somewhat of a title for some of their albums) is mentioned in the song "Everybody's Slimmin'", a 1990 bonus track. Except that an article "a" is put between two words.
75	-->''It's better with a friend but you can do it alone\
76	Just slapp a happy platter on the gramophone\
77	Stroke the air like you're buttering toast\
78	Shake you yamma yamma like you're humping a ghost''
79	* BonusMaterial: Four great tracks on their 1990 reissue of ''Acnalbasac Noom''. Including "Everybody's Slimmin'" which was a non-album single in 1983 complete with its BSide "Blue-Eyed William".
80	* {{Bookends}}" On both versions of the album, "Casablanca Moon" is the first song and "Slow Moon's Rose" is the last.
81	* CommitmentIssues: For the title character of the song "Karen":
82	-->''I bet she's found another\
83	Probably he's my best friend\
84	Takes no [[UsefulNotes/ChristopherColumbus Columbus]] to discover\
85	That's how these things tend to end''
86	* DarkReprise: On the 1974 album, "Mr. Rainbow" is performed with more instrumentation and with Blegvad delivering half of the lines in a much more sinister style than a previous take made earlier but released on the 1980 album. In the former version, the vocals are exclusively by Krause and entirely lack the menacing edge.
87	* ADayInTheLimelight:
88	** Blegvad has a huge vocal presence on "Mr. Rainbow" in 1974 version while the other tracks are sung by Krause.
89	** "Slow Moon's Rose" is the only original song credited exclusively to Moore while the rest of the songs is credited to Blegvad or both Moore and Blegvad.
90	** Also the last 1990 bonus track, "Messages", is credited to Dagmar Krause.
91	** Blegvad sings on "Karen" - another 1990 bonus track.
92	* DoubleAgent: The main character of "Casablanca Moon" is apparently that.
93	* EitherOrTitle: "Everybody's Slimmin' (Even Men and Women)".
94	* EpicRocking:
95	** Averted by "Mr. Rainbow", which while sounding huge is actually only 3:49 (or 3:45) long. In the 1980 album it is still the longest track because the songs generally last between 2:30 and 3:30.
96	** The 1974 version of "A Little Something" is the closest to this trope, lasting 4:30 even though it is cute and by no means bombastic.
97	* EverythingSoundsSexierInFrench: As proved by "Mr. Rainbow".
98	* FilmNoir: Invoked in "Mr. Rainbow". Even the very word "noir" is mentioned.
99	* GratuitousFrench: How about "Quéquette d'ivoire" in "Mr. Rainbow" for starters. The song is full of similar treasures.
100	-->''Casquette de moire,\
101	Quéquette d'ivoire,\
102	Toilette très noire,\
103	Paul guette l'armoire,\
104	Projette languette sur poire,\
105	S'apprête baguette et foire.''
106	* GratuitousLatin: On "Mr. Rainbow" too: "nebula's sine qua non"
107	* HotGod: Parvati, the titular goddess in "Me and Parvati".
108	* IntercourseWithYou: "Karen" is very explicit.
109	-->''I loved a girl named Karen\
110	She was from the Phillippines\
111	She had the nicest face\
112	& body I had ever seen\
113	We made love on water\
114	On land & in the air\
115	Daytime or night time\
116	Karen didn't seem to care''
117	* {{Irony}}: The album. A very playful kind of irony. This album always holds its tongue in its cheek.
118	* MindScrew: The history of this album is this. Two names for two versions released in the odd order.
119	* NonAppearingTitle: Played with in "Michelangelo". It is a song about an artist named [[Creator/MichelangeloBuonarroti Buonarroti]]. Of course he is Michelangelo but this first mononymous name is never mentioned in the lyrics, only a less-known surname.
120	* OneWomanSong: Karen of the same song (a bonus track), a very attractive girl from the UsefulNotes/{{Philippines}}.
121	* OverlyLongGag: The name of the 1980 reissue - Slapp Happy or Slapphappy
122	* RearrangeTheSong: And OmnipresentTrope for this album. Every track has two versions which are variously arranged.
123	** Up to eleven for "Mr. Rainbow ",which has three versions, two for each release of the album and a third can be [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eb1xIKkK9Nk found]] as a BSide of the 1975 non-album single "Johnny's Dead" (interestingly credited to "Slapp Happy featuring Anthony Moore".)
124	* SdrawkcabName: The smubla.
125	* {{Sexophone}}: "Slow Moon's Rose" contains a sax solo.
126	* ShoutOut: "Mr. Rainbow" is an allusion for Arthur Rimbaud.
127	* SillyLoveSong: "The Secret".
128	-->''There he goes,\
129	my hero in wonderful clothes - passing me by,\
130	giving me the eye - he's my guy''
131	* SopranoAndGravel: A very early example of that on 1974's version of "Mr. Rainbow" which is sung intermittently by Krause and Blegvad.
132	* SpyFiction: In "Casablanca Moon", complete with cocaine stains on a moustache.
133	-->''He lurks behind a paper in the shadow of a mosque\
134	He can't count all the continents he's crossed\
135	Trailing party members leaving footprints in the frost\
136	Underneath the Acnalbasac Noom\
137	His cover was broken somewhere in Hoboken\
138	The Man said his case was lost\
139	He was sent to the Orient\
140	A double agent double crossed''
141	* SophomoreSlump: Averted as this album is held in much higher esteem than ''Sort of... Slapp Happy''.
142	* SurprisinglyGentleSong: "The Secret". Especially on the 1974 version where it follows "Mr. Rainbow".
143	* AWeightyAesop: "Everybody's Slimmin'".
144	-->''You don't notice 'cos you're having a gas\
145	But as your body's working it diminishes in mass\
146	Eat light – that's right\
147	You can see the fat evaporate into the night''
148	* WordSaladLyrics: Many of them.

Context Music / CasablancaMoon