Paypal-funded old farts rejoice: come next autumn, Rér will issue the definitive Henry Cow box, nine CDs of previously unreleased archival materials and, get this, a DVD containing the only existent footage of the group. This should definitely carve in stone the fact that this collective – whose name, for the still existing doubters, is NOT derived from composer Henry Cowell – has been an influence, when not the origin, in several fundamental pages of the book that delineates the transition from cultivated rock to improvisation, plus their subsequent (a-hem) fusion.
In a nutshell, 1975's In Praise Of Learning is one of those albums that divide the audience’s judgement in the classic “crucial/forgettable” dichotomy; no need to specify where this writer stands as this is the record that, at the age of 11, definitively shuffled the priorities in my approach to listening (and playing as well). After Desperate Straights - recorded in the same year - Tim Hodgkinson, Fred Frith, John Greaves, Chris Cutler and Lindsay Cooper were once again joined by Slapp Happy’s Dagmar Krause, Peter Blegvad and Anthony Moore, instantly shocking my childhood with the opening “War” – a genial piece if there was ever one, leaving the little kid wide eyed and willing to understand what was wrong in comparison with his "progressive favourites"; to this day, the trumpet solo by the late Mongezi Feza floors me.
This is also the place where two of the most brilliant songs ever written in the 70s are to be found (accepting “song” as a fitting definition for such intricate scores). “Living In The Heart Of The Beast” and “Beautiful As The Moon – Terrible As An Army With Banners” feature Krause’s dramatic interpretation of passionately politicized lyrics - by Hodgkinson and Cutler respectively - in instrumental contexts unsurpassed for emotional matter and technical adventurousness, unquestionable traits even without sharing the ideological essence. That’s what the sheer appeal of significance could once achieve. No scribbled word can testimony how hard the impact of these forms of expression was, and still is.
~ Massimo Ricci
Thanks for highlighting this great record. Like you said, it is a bit of a polarizing anomaly in their small discography, but I'd like to think it has something to offer for everyone. "Beginning: The Long March" still knocks me back to this day.
Where can I find the info on this box set? That is much welcome news...
Posted by: Michael C. at July 14, 2008 7:07 AMLove this record. Three cheers for Henry Cow!
Posted by: walto at July 14, 2008 7:43 AMMichael - just google "Henry Cow 40th Anniversary Box Set" and you'll find useful news.
Great to know that we share some love for this record.
Nice one - this was my intro to Cow.
Posted by: Matt Mitchell at July 14, 2008 11:51 AMAnyone heard 'Music for Other Occasions' by Lindsay Cooper, or Dagmar Krause's 'Supply and Demand' collection of Weill and Brecht songs? In regards to Henry Cow alumni, I've been digging those as of late.
Posted by: Michael C. at July 14, 2008 12:36 PMI have a soft spot in my heart for Lindsay Cooper. A short article I wrote about her work in 2005 on Paris Transatlantic can be found here:
http://www.paristransatlantic.com/magazine/monthly2005/11nov_text.html#6
Posted by: Massimo Ricci at July 15, 2008 1:54 AMTrivial, I know , but the words to "Living in the Heart of the Beast" are by Tim Hodgkinson, not Chris Cutler...
Harry G.
Posted by: harry Gilonis at July 15, 2008 6:13 AMThat's right, shame on my memory. This is not trivial at all....
Corrected, with thanks for the editorial heads-up
Posted by: Massimo Ricci at July 16, 2008 1:23 AMFunny, I started listening to 'Leg End' today, and I think after all this time I've finally gotten my head around it. For the few years I've enjoyed them it's been the one record in their discography I've had trouble connecting with. Any thoughts on their debut?
Posted by: Michael C. at July 16, 2008 9:22 AMMy co-favourite with IPOL, Michael. The initial one-two "Nirvana For Mice" and "Amygdala" is enough to knock me out. The chorale in "Teenbeat Introduction" elicits goosebumps every time. Great stuff.
But I'd have to say that I do love ALL the Henry Cows, it's like asking a father what's his favourite son.
Posted by: Massimo Ricci at July 16, 2008 10:23 AMYes! That chorale is gorgeous! It's like I never noticed it before.
Posted by: Michael C. at July 16, 2008 10:50 AMHi Massimo,
I get all soft and sentimental at any reference to this record, the mighty HC, or Dagmar. IPOL was my first HC album. I got it towards the end of high school and thought it was ugly and terrible music at first, but then a year later I tried it again and it clicked into place and hasn't clicked out of place and probably never will. When I'm 95 years old I will still probably get boosebumps from every last bit of music released by HC. By now I've been continually immersed in at least 99% of Dagmar's recorded output for many years and it still sends my spirit into a tizzy.
As far as Leg End, even though some members of HC apparently feel it was too derivative of the so-called "Canterbury" sound of the time and isn't as radical/important/innovative/whatever as the succeeding albums (each of which is such an entirely different aesthetic), for me it's right alongside the others all tied for first place. In fact, Leg End is one of the few records I've ever known that I find so hypnotic and addictive that if I hear even just the first few seconds (that magical snare hit) I simply CANNOT turn the album off and cannot barely turn it off without playing it a few times on repeat. I get sucked into this sense of timeless rapture (some analogy here to infinite cyclical musical traditions like gamelan, shona mbira, etc) that I never grow tired of. I think I could easily play that album for like 15 hours in a row and still feel totally locked in to the music. There's hardly any other music with that effect on me, but it's no coincidence that certain peak (1969-71) Soft Machine is another example. So for me Leg End is a pure music drug.
Also, Massimo, I do remember reading your Lindsay Cooper piece a few years back and feeling a great affinity to your thoughts, so tinged with sadness I imagine they were are are. I think News From Babel is her greatest achievement and one of the greatest achievements of the human race period, but I love the various other albums as well. Music For Other Occasions has a lot of gems!
Anyway, what can I say? Henry Cow is one of the primary reference points for my aesthetic experience as a human being. I have an inexhaustible urge to express my gratitude and passion for this body of work.
One last thing I will type now. I consider the HC/Slapp Happy collaboratory album Desperate Straights to be the greatest recoring of song music in history. It's in my all-time top five albums. For me it's the ultimate pinnacle and holy grails of what a "song" can be. Most of the other HC stuff is not really in the category of "song", and certainly never as a sustained form for an album.
Okay, enough! I could write hundreds of pages on these topics!
It's in my all-time top five albums
Just curious, MAP--What are the other four?
W
Posted by: walto at July 21, 2008 11:39 AMHi Walto, I don't mean to sucked into some kind of cyclone of tangentiality, but here's a plain answer! They are ranked, but at this level it's like a tie for second (first place is not a tie because Instinct is firmly ahead of everything else I've ever heard and has been for about a decade). I went out to 10 instead of 5 because I made the list a long time ago and it hasn't changed.
1. A.D.D Trio - Instinct
2. Melt-Banana - MxBx 1998/13000 Miles
3. Slapp Happy + Henry Cow - Desperate Straights
4. Mat Maneri, Randy Peterson - Light Trigger
5. Tipographica - God Says I Can't Dance
6. The Stick Men - Insatiable
7. Morton Feldman, Ives Ensemble - String Quartet no. 2
8. Art Bears - Winter Songs
9. Melt-Banana - Charlie
10. A.D.D. Trio - Sic Bisquitus Diintegrat
Whenever I hear 'Rats and Monkeys' from Winter Songs, I'm pretty sure an angel gets his wings.
Posted by: Michael C. at July 21, 2008 2:03 PMTwo A.D.D. trio albums and no Jack Wright, MAP?
Posted by: Dan Warburton at July 21, 2008 10:03 PMMichael,
thank you very much for everything you wrote.
This morning, while on my train to work, I played "War" three consecutive times. Enough said, I believe.
I think that the upcoming box will keep us engaged for years.
Once again I'd like to express my joy in seeing that this short reminder of IPOL's greatness has elicited deep emotional response in many of us.
Well, I agree with numbers 3 & 8 anyway.
Posted by: Alastair at July 25, 2008 12:33 PMWell, I agree with numbers 3 & 8 anyway.
Posted by: Alastair at July 25, 2008 12:43 PM.................................................. © 2003 - 2006 bagatellen ..................................................