Slapp Happy

No Secrets in the Family were a Swiss avant-prog band active during the late 1980's and early 1990's. They were heavily influenced by many of the RIO-related bands, in particular the more song-orientated groups like Art Bears, Slapp Happy, Etron Fou Leloublan and News From Babel. The result, as fans of these bands might expect, is playful, quirky art rock which balances discordant elements with melodic touches and places an emphasis on theatrical vocals and complex instrumental interplay. Though they never made a big impact at the time and remain obscure today, even by avant-prog standards, No Secrets in the Family should certainly not be overlooked. They are especially recommended for fans of the afore-mentioned artists, as well as avant-rock bands like Debile Menthol, Skeleton Crew and the Residents.

This collection brings together the full contents of the three former boxes, with the addition of a further 60pp booklet of newly unearthed, or commissioned, band commentaries, pictures and other documents prepared specifically for this release - as well as re-mastered versions of all the studio CDs and the rare bonus CD (Cabinet of Curiosities), which came with the subscription edition of the original boxed set. Subscribers only will also receive an extra numbered edition subscription CD of more newly recovered, discovered and previously unreleased recordings.

An amazingly titled triple-cd compilation of early material on Virgin Records. Provides a pretty great survey of the mid-1970s: Captain Beefheart, Faust, Robert Wyatt, Fred Frith, even Can… very nice! The cover deftly imitates a well-worn old record from the period, and the set also comes with extensive liner notes.

You will get diverging opinions about Kleinzeit. Some people say it is No Secrets in the Family's finest; others condemn it as their worst. And truth be told, both camps are right. Simply put, the Schönholzers went overboard on this album, an adaptation of Russell Hoban's novel Kleinzeit, itself a very strange story about hospitals, love, pain, and medical devices. The songwriting is definitely a few steps higher in terms of complexity and experimentation, something Rock in Opposition fans will appreciate (particularly fans of News from Babel, although not for the vocals). On the other hand, the album misses the unbridled humor found on Play & Strange Laughter. Despite a lot of quirks and fun passages, Kleinzeit is serious business and, because of that and its duration (67 minutes), it gets slightly tedious.

No Secrets in the Family were a Swiss avant-prog band active during the late 1980's and early 1990's. They were heavily influenced by many of the RIO-related bands, in particular the more song-orientated groups like Art Bears, Slapp Happy, Etron Fou Leloublan and News From Babel. The result, as fans of these bands might expect, is playful, quirky art rock which balances discordant elements with melodic touches and places an emphasis on theatrical vocals and complex instrumental interplay. The core group consisted of Annette and Markus Schönholzer who played keys and guitar respectively and shared the main vocal duties, Christian Strässle on violin and saxophone, Daniel Meisenberger on bass and Martin Gantenbein on drums and flute.

Political astuteness aside, Henry Cow's Leg End is simply a busy musical trip, comprised of snaking rhythms, unorthodox time signatures, and incongruous waves of multiple instruments that actually culminate in some appealing yet complex progressive rock…

vant-garde rock & roll of 1970s vintage – especially, it must be said, of the British variety – doesn't typically age very well. And although Henry Cow was quite a unique ensemble, even by the standards of the 1970s avant-garde, it would be silly to deny that much of the music captured on these two live discs (originally released on LP in 1976) sounds pretty dated…