Desperate Straights

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Desperate Straights
Studio album by Slapp Happy / Henry Cow
Released	1975
Recorded	The Manor, Oxfordshire, England, November 1974
Genre	Avant-progressive rock
Length	36:06
Label	Virgin Records (UK) Nippon Columbia (Japan)
Producer(s)	Slapp Happy, Henry Cow and Simon Heyworth
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Prog. Archives link Pitchfork link
Slapp Happy chronology
Slapp Happy (1974)	Desperate Straights (1975)	In Praise of Learning (1975)
Henry Cow chronology
Unrest (1974)	Desperate Straights (1975)	In Praise of Learning (1975)

Desperate Straights is an album by British avant-garde rock groups Slapp Happy and Henry Cow, recorded at Virgin Records' Manor studios in November 1974. It was the first of two collaborative albums by the two groups and was released in 1975.

Desperate Straights is a Slapp Happy album with Henry Cow as their backing band and is an unusual blend of avant-garde music and nostalgic pop. The success of this venture resulted in the two bands merging.

Contents 1 Track listing 2 Personnel 2.1 Guests 2.2 Sound and art work 3 CD reissues 4 External links

[edit] Track listing

Side One

1. "Some Questions about Hats" (Moore, Blegvad) – 1:49
2. "The Owl" (Moore) – 2:14
3. "A Worm is at Work" (Moore, Blegvad) – 1:52
4. "Bad Alchemy" (Greaves, Blegvad) – 3:06
5. "Europa" (Moore, Blegvad) – 2:48
6. "Desperate Straights" (Moore) – 4:14
7. "Riding Tigers" (Blegvad) – 1:43

Side Two

1. "Apes in Capes" (Moore) – 2:14
2. "Strayed" (Blegvad) – 1:53
3. "Giants" (Moore, Blegvad) – 1:57
4. "Excerpt from The Messiah" Handel, Blegvad) – 1:48
5. "In the Sickbay" (Krause, Blegvad) – 2:08
6. "Caucasian Lullaby" (Cutler, Moore) – 8:20

[edit] Personnel

• Dagmar Krause – Voice, Wurlitzer ("In the Sickbay")
• Peter Blegvad – Guitar, voice
• Anthony Moore – Piano
• Tim Hodgkinson – Clarinet, piano
• Fred Frith – Guitar, violin
• John Greaves – Bass guitar, piano
• Chris Cutler – Drums, etc

[edit] Guests

• Geoff Leigh – Flute
• Pierre Moerlen – Percussion (Europa)
• Muchsin Campbell – French horn
• Mongezi Feza – Trumpet
• Nick Evans – Trombone
• Lindsay Cooper – Bassoon, oboe

[edit] Sound and art work

• Slapp Happy – Producers
• Henry Cow – Producers
• Simon Heyworth – Producer
• Peter Blegvad – Cover art

[edit] CD reissues

• In 1993 Virgin Records reissued Desperate Straights together with Slapp Happy's Casablanca Moon on CD.
• In 2004 Recommended Records reissued Desperate Straights on CD by itself.

[edit] External links

• Fred Frith discography

v • d • e Slapp Happy
Peter Blegvad  •  Dagmar Krause  •  Anthony Moore
Discography
Sort Of (1972)  •  Slapp Happy (1974)  •  Acnalbasac Noom (1980)  •  Ça Va (1998)  •  Live in Japan (2001)
with Henry Cow:  Desperate Straights (1975)  •  In Praise of Learning (1975)
Related bands
Faust  •  Henry Cow

v • d • e Henry Cow
Lindsay Cooper  •  Chris Cutler  •  Fred Frith  •  Tim Hodgkinson  •  Dagmar Krause Georgie Born  •  John Greaves  •  Geoff Leigh Dave Attwood  •  Rob Brooks  •  Martin Ditcham  •  Joss Graham  •  Andy Powell  •  Sean Jenkins
Discography
Leg End (1973)  •  Unrest (1974)  •  Henry Cow Concerts (1976)  •  Western Culture (1979)
with Slapp Happy:  Desperate Straights (1975)  •  In Praise of Learning (1975)
Related bands and movements
Art Bears  •  Rock in Opposition  •  Slapp Happy