Henry Cow Concerts

Infobox Album | Name = Henry Cow Concerts
Type = Live album
Artist = Henry Cow


Released = 1976
Recorded = Live in London, Italy,
Netherlands and Norway
between September 1974
and October 1975
Genre = Avant-progressive rock
Length = 1:43:43
Label = Compendium (Norway) Caroline (UK)
Producer = Henry Cow
Reviews =
*"Allmusic" Rating|3|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:e8ogtq1ztu46 link]
*Piero Scaruffi (6/10) [http://www.scaruffi.com/vol3/henrycow.html link]
*Ground and Sky (favorable) [http://www.progreviews.com/reviews/display.php?rev=hc-con link] | Last album = "In Praise of Learning"
(1975)
This album = "Henry Cow Concerts"
(1976)
Next album = "Western Culture"
(1979)

"Henry Cow Concerts" is a live double album by British avant-garde rock group Henry Cow, recorded at concerts in London, Italy, the Netherlands and Norway between September 1974 and October 1975. Sides one and two of the LP record consist of composed material while sides three and four contain improvised pieces.

The album includes Henry Cow's last John Peel Session, recorded in September 1975 and extracts from a concert with Robert Wyatt at the New London Theatre in May 1975. The opening bars of the improvised piece "Groningen" (recorded in September 1974) were later incorporated in Tim Hodgkinson's "Living in the Heart of the Beast", on "In Praise of Learning" (1975).

CD reissues of the album include Henry Cow's tracks on "Greasy Truckers Live at Dingwalls Dance Hall" (1974), a double LP of an October 1973 concert, featuring Camel, Henry Cow, Global Village Trucking Co and Gong.

Track listing

Side one – 22:50
#"Beautiful as the Moon - Terrible as an Army with Banners" (Frith, Cutler)
#"Nirvana for Mice" (Frith)
#"Ottawa Song" (Frith, Cutler)
#"Gloria Gloom" (Wyatt, McCormick)
#"Beautiful as the Moon (Reprise)" (Frith, Cutler)Side two – 25:36
#"Bad Alchemy" (Greaves, Blegvad)
#"Little Red Riding Hood Hits the Road" (Wyatt)
#"Ruins" (Frith)Side three – 29:02
#"Oslo" (Henry Cow)Side four – 26:15
#"Groningen" (Hodgkinson, Henry Cow)
#"Udine" (Henry Cow)
#"Groningen Again" (Henry Cow)

Personnel

*Lindsay Cooper – Bassoon, flute, oboe, recorder, piano
*Chris Cutler – Drums, piano
*Dagmar Krause – Voice, piano
*Fred Frith – Guitar, piano, violin, xylophone
*John Greaves – Bass guitar, voice, celeste, piano
*Tim Hodgkinson – Organ, clarinet, alto saxophone
*Robert Wyatt – Vocals ("Bad Alchemy" and "Little Red Riding Hood Hits the Road")

ound and art work

*Henry Cow – Producers
*Maggie Thomas – Cover art

Concert venues and dates

*Side One: Peel Session, BBC Studios, 5 August 1975 [ cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/johnpeel/sessions/1970s/1975/Aug05henrycow/ |title=Peel Sessions: Henry Cow |work=BBC Radio 1 |accessdate=2007-09-27 ] , Recorded and Mixed by Bob Conduct and Tony Wilson.
*"Bad Alchemy" and "Little Red Riding Hood Hits the Road": New London Theatre (with Robert Wyatt), 21 May 1975, Mixed by Sarah Greaves.
*"Ruins" and "Udine": Palamostre Auditorium, Udine, Italy, 13 October 1975, Mixed by Neil Sandford, Recorded by Sandro Pascolo.
*"Oslo": Høvikodden Arts Centre, Oslo, Norway, 5 July 1975, Record and Mixed by Jack Balchin and Harold Clark.
*"Groningen" and "Groningen Again": Vera Club, Groningen, the Netherlands, 26 September 1974, Mixed by Sarah Greaves.

Composed material

The composed material (with the exception of "Ottawa Song") originally appeared on the following albums:
*Matching Mole: "Matching Mole's Little Red Record" (1972) – "Gloria Gloom"
*Henry Cow: "Leg End" (1973) – "Nirvana for Mice"
*Henry Cow: "Unrest" (1974) – "Ruins"
*Robert Wyatt: "Rock Bottom" (1974) – "Little Red Riding Hood Hit the Road"
*Slapp Happy/Henry Cow: "Desperate Straights" (1975) – "Bad Alchemy"
*Henry Cow/Slapp Happy: "In Praise of Learning" (1975) – "Beautiful as the Moon - Terrible as an Army with Banners"

ingles

*"In Concerto" (1977, 33⅓ rpm 7" single, "Gong", Italy) – included with issue 4/4 of the Italian magazine, "Gong"
*#"Beautiful as the Moon - Terrible as an Army with Banners" (Frith, Cutler)
*#"Udine" (Henry Cow)

CD reissues

In 1995, East Side Digital reissued "Henry Cow Concerts" as a double CD with four extra tracks. The extra tracks came from "Greasy Truckers Live at Dingwalls Dance Hall" (1974), a double LP of an October 1973 concert performed by Camel, Henry Cow, Global Village Trucking Co and Gong, each band contributing to one side of the double album. Henry Cow's contribution, however, was actually recorded a week later at the Manor Studios because a power failure at the event had delayed the start of the concert and a 2am curfew reduced Henry Cow's set (billed last) to ten minutes.

The addition tracks are:
#"Off the Map" (Hodgkinson, Cutler, Frith) – 8:30
#"Cafe Royal" (Frith) – 3:22
#"Keeping Warm in Winter" (Frith, Greaves) – 1:00
#"Sweat Heart of Mine" (Henry Cow) – 9:06The additional personnel on these tracks are:
*Geoff Leigh – tenor and soprano saxophone, recorder, flute, clarinet

In October 2006, Recommended Records released a remastered version of "Henry Cow Concerts", plus Henry Cow's "Greasy Truckers" set, on a double CD. The remastering was done by Bob Drake in March 2006.

ee also

*"Henry Cow Box" (2006)

References

External links

* [http://home.arcor.de/nyds-exp-discogs/frith.htm Fred Frith discography]
* [http://www.handgranat.org/Henry_Cow/Beautiful_As_The_Moon-Terrible_As_An_Army_With_Banners "Beautiful as the Moon" lyrics] . "handgranat.org".
* [http://www.handgranat.org/Henry_Cow/Gloria_Gloom "Gloria Gloom" lyrics] . "handgranat.org".