Henry Cow

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Matt Wilson
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Henry Cow

Postby Matt Wilson » 29 Jul 2021, 17:03

All right - this is not going to be one of my usual prog threads where I analyze the LPs track by track. It's a "one and done" because there's not much I can say about this avant garde music. Much of it is not composed as such, merely experimental exercises in '70s progressive trippiness - but not in a psychedelic way either. It's rather hard to describe. Check them out on youtube if you're interested. Quirky singing by Dagmar Krause (but it was weird before she came on board too), exotic textures, and a disinterest in songs frankly.

A brief catalogue lends itself to an easy essay - and I'm all about ease...

You can get everything, or 99% of it, on this box set:

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Henry Cow - Redux
See what I mean by ease? Any time I can get the complete recordings of a band I'm interested in with one purchase I'll take the plunge. This is less than $100 with 17 CDs, a DVD, and three booklets. More than you need, actually. So since brevity is what I promised, let's get to it...

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Henry Cow's Legend 1973
Or Leg End, as it's commonly known. This is their most listener-friendly LP, and probably the one you should start with. Eight cuts (but the discs in this box have the irritating habit of including a silent track in the middle to represent the separation of sides one and two of the original record), all of them more or less commercial-sounding. Or at least as commercial as these guys ever got. I like most of it, with "Nirvana for Mice," "Amygdala," "Teenbeat," and "Teenbeat Reprise" being standouts to these ears. The outside-the-box, stand alone CD gives you "Bellycan" as a bonus cut, but that's not here for some reason. I think it's because "Bellycan" is an excerpt from one of the longer numbers on the Greasy Truckers LP, which is included here on the second disc of the Concerts album - only I can't figure out which track it's excerpted from.

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Unrest 1974
Just as good I'd say, with all of side one being stand outs. "Bittern Storm over Ulm," "Half Asleep: Half Awake," and "Ruins" are all prime cuts, and "Solemn Music" on side two sets you up for some experimental mucking about to follow (but in a good way) which is representative of what this band really does. "Deluge" is a highlight at the end of the LP.

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Desperate Straights - Slapp Happy/Henry Cow 1975
Strange combination of two bands which almost seems more Slapp Happy than it does Henry Cow because songs dominate. Of course, said songs are so quirky that it seems unfathomable that they would ever be played on the radio, and Dagmar's voice takes some getting used to. But like the first two Cow albums proper, this record is fairly well-known in prog circles, so its acquisition was a given. I tend to gravitate towards the tracks which don't feature her vocals though, so right now I like "Desperate Straights," "Riding Tigers," and "Strayed" best. That could change with future plays of course.

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In Praise of Learning 1975
This one was difficult, I'll admit. We're back to the avant garde for much of side two, and even "War" and "Living in the Heart of the Beast" don't really do it for me - and those are two of the more well-known songs on the LP. There's a communist vibe to the record, but the band weren't really Marxists, more like students or musicians playing at being Bolsheviks. Regardless, you don't need to buy into any of that to enjoy the album.

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Concerts 1976
Originally a double LP consisting of shows from various gigs representing the full spectrum of Henry Cow music. The first LP was the best with great versions of "Beautiful as the Moon..." and "Nirvana for Mice," and on side two Robert Wyatt is there for "Bad Alchemy" and his own "Little Red Riding Hood Hits the Road." But the "Groningen" stuff is slow going and all the "Oslo" stuff is a bit meandering. Still, as I'm a fan of live progressive rock albums, this is mostly pretty good.

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Western Culture 1979
Three years passed before there was another record and by then the band had broken up. They recorded an LP of honest-to-goodness songs, but didn't feel it was Henry Cow-enough, so released it under the Art Bears moniker and called it Hopes and Fears. It's not in this set as far as I can see. So how is Western Culture? Well, more of the same really. Zappaesque in places, no melodies to be found, and all recorded with a studio sheen which is not unpleasing. They sound nothing like how they sounded five years ago on Leg End. Still, it's a wonder music like this (progressive in the truest sense of that word) was being recorded and released in the late '70s when prog was winding down. Fave cut is probably "Falling Away."

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Sneelock
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Re: Henry Cow

Postby Sneelock » 29 Jul 2021, 17:16

Nicely done, Matt. I think that is a very sound assessment.
I love all that stuff to varying degrees but "leg end" is certainly the one that's been in my life the most.
the whole band was really quite a unit. great stuff.
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ConnyOlivetti
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Re: Henry Cow

Postby ConnyOlivetti » 29 Jul 2021, 18:42

Great!
Got the box sets, first edition
and the Art Bear box
Love ’em
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Lord Rother
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Re: Henry Cow

Postby Lord Rother » 29 Jul 2021, 19:25

I have hated every single second of their “music” that I have heard. And I did listen to a whole album once, fuelled by the disbelief it could be as bad all the way through.

For me it’s just an abysmal noise with no redeeming features whatsoever.

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Hightea
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Re: Henry Cow

Postby Hightea » 29 Jul 2021, 19:43

God Matt your killing me so many great write ups I need to reply too.
Love most of Henry Cow even bought a Redux tee shirt. Really a fan of the sox albums but I've picked up a bunch of live albums that are good too.
Henry Cow also started the Rock in Opposition festival and genre (RIO). RIO is a minor genre mostly of bands from Japan, France and USA.

I saw Hodgkinson, Frith and Cutler in 2006 great show ended up going to both shows.
Cutler had plenty of toys including a pot of boiling water and a bunch of pots and pans to bang on.
Frith has been a staple on the lower east side of NYC with his assortment of items to play his guitar with - hammer, ashtray, bows, drum sticks, chair parts.


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Re: Henry Cow

Postby toomanyhatz » 29 Jul 2021, 19:44

Desperate Straights is great - I've loved it from the first. Yeah, Dagmar takes some getting used to, but really the songs aren't all that weird. Both Blegvad and Moore have demonstrated actual pop sense on some of their own records. They play with time signatures quite a bit, but I like that. And so does Lennon, Zappa, Adrian Belew, etc. Haven't really gotten into either band separately, but the two combined? I'm in.

Chris Cutler is a great drummer too. I love how phrases often end in a bit of a random clatter that sounds perfectly appropriate in context.
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Purgatory Brite
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Re: Henry Cow

Postby Purgatory Brite » 30 Jul 2021, 07:47

Lord Rother wrote:For me it’s just an abysmal noise with no redeeming features whatsoever.


My thoughts exactly. I recently attempted to listen to the Leg End album, but turned it off during the 3rd track. I'd rather listen to The Fall!!

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Matt Wilson
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Re: Henry Cow

Postby Matt Wilson » 30 Jul 2021, 15:22

It has been said...

"One man's Cow is another man's Fall."

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C
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Re: Henry Cow

Postby C » 30 Jul 2021, 23:04

I love Henry Cow

In Praise of Learning is probably my fave




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Re: Henry Cow

Postby ChrisB » 30 Jul 2021, 23:29

Purgatory Brite wrote:
Lord Rother wrote:For me it’s just an abysmal noise with no redeeming features whatsoever.


My thoughts exactly. I recently attempted to listen to the Leg End album, but turned it off during the 3rd track. I'd rather listen to The Fall!!

I bought Leg end because it was one of those albums which were cut price. Now I know why.

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Re: Henry Cow

Postby Six String » 31 Jul 2021, 05:31

I uaed to see the knitted sock lps all the time at record stores in the early 80s but I never bought any. I might have liked them at some point.
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robertff
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Re: Henry Cow

Postby robertff » 31 Jul 2021, 07:11

Bought Legend, liked it a lot but haven't gone any further yet. I'll probably buy some more sometime.




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Re: Henry Cow

Postby Rorschach » 31 Jul 2021, 14:46

slightbreeze wrote:
Purgatory Brite wrote:
Lord Rother wrote:For me it’s just an abysmal noise with no redeeming features whatsoever.


My thoughts exactly. I recently attempted to listen to the Leg End album, but turned it off during the 3rd track. I'd rather listen to The Fall!!

I bought Leg end because it was one of those albums which were cut price. Now I know why.



I'm with you three.
I bought In Praise of Learning when it came out and just thought it was a dreadful racket. I seem to remember it had the lyrics somewhere; was it a gatefold sleeve or were the lyrics one the inside sleeve? They didn't make any sense to me anyway.

I did pretend to like Fred Frith's Guitar Solos for a while, because the NME spoke so highly of it and I was trying to be hip.I actually used some of them as backing tracks for recordings of my own abysmal songs. I hope those cassettes never see the light of day.
Bugger off.

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Re: Henry Cow

Postby C » 31 Jul 2021, 19:53

Western Culture is their most accessible album methinks.

Leg End is the place to start for the uninitiated - accessible and very easy going





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Lord Rother wrote:And there was me thinking you'd say "Fair enough, you have a point Bob".


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