Browse by Artist: HENRY COW

Artist:	HENRY COW
Title:	Leg End
Label:	RECOMMENDED (UK)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	RER HC1

The Henry Cow catalog is now available again in the US, via ReR (note that HC1, 3 & 4 are actually old pressings on the now defunct East Side Digital label). Featuring Fred Frith, Chris Cutler, John Greaves, Tim Hodgkinson and Geoff Leigh. "At last available on CD in the original mix, this is the classic first album from the band who invented a new genre, changed music forever and carved out a permanent place in rock history. Henry Cow were among the first bands signed to Richard Branson's fledgling Virgin label in 1973, on the recommendation of Soft Machine's drummer Robert Wyatt, who described them at the time as 'my favourite band in the world'. The record with the sock on the cover made a huge impact at the time, forging on from where Soft Machine and Frank Zappa had left off. The music was incredibly dense, complex yet melodic progressive rock, with a large dose of wacky English humour."

Artist:	HENRY COW
Title:	Stockholm and Göteborg
Label:	RECOMMENDED (UK)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	RER HC12

"The first new release for 30 years from this legendary audience-splitting British group, and the first featuring Georgina Born, the group's bassist between 1976-1978. Remixed and re-mastered from the original Swedish radio tapes. Henry Cow were never going to fit in. Their compositions were way too composed and their improvising was way too improvised -- a tendency that only got more extreme as time went on, as these recordings from 1976 and 1977 demonstrate. Stockholm and Göteborg fills in some of the missing history between In Praise of Learning (1975) and Western Culture (1978) and offers music that has not been heard on record until now. First is Tim Hodgkinson's late and fiendishly complicated epic composition 'Erk Gah' (a working title), that took many months of sweat to learn and resolutely eschews any hint of riff, solo or modular assembly. At the other extreme, are the two wide-ranging improvisations built around heady extended instrumental techniques, aleatorics, quotations, more-or-less randomly inserted prepared materials and a blithe disregard for genre rules. Between constantly shifting ground, are a straight-ahead version of Phil Ochs' 'No More Songs' (one of only two covers ever performed by the band), an unreleased composition by Fred Frith, and a version of the 'Ottawa Song' -- a typical live set from that period. Finally, Stockholm is a snapshot of a band of exceptional talents having fun. And it reflects what the studio albums could not -- that Henry Cow's natural habitat was the stage -- and the real-time pressure of public performance -- because it was there that the music could live and breathe. And evolve. Stockholm and Göteborg is the first volume of a 9CD and one DVD set of unreleased material commemorating the band's 40th anniversary."

Artist:	HENRY COW
Title:	Unrest
Label:	RECOMMENDED (UK)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	RER HC2

"This is the second in our series of definitive reissues of the original Virgin Albums, dating from 1974. By the time Unrest was made, Geoff Leigh had left the group and Lindsay Cooper joined on bassoon, oboe, flute, and soprano sax. The mix is more 'live' than Legend, with the drums much more to the fore. The first half of the album is fully composed material, with some of the Cow's best loved tunes, 'Canterbury' anthems like 'Half Asleep Half Awake' and 'Bittern Storm Over Ulm'. For the second half the material was written in the studio, using loops, varispeed tapes and electronics, and superimposing live improvisation and composed passages. The compositions are poised half way between classical and rock, with Bartok and Duke Ellington re-figured for rock instruments, and there is still a residual Soft Machine influence, echoed by the gorgeous sound of Fred Frith's fuzz guitar and Tim Hodgkinson's fuzz organ. The abstract grooves laid down by Chris Cutler's drumming, and John Greaves' sprung bass, are the stuff of legend, and Lindsay Cooper adds a unique voice, with her funky bassoon and pungent oboe playing. First heard live on the John Peel show in 1974, this music is classic, historic and still relevant. This re-issue has been carefully 24 bit re-mastered with a new booklet, photos and documentation."

Artist:	HENRY COW
Title:	In Praise of Learning
Label:	RECOMMENDED (UK)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	RER HC3

"This is the third in our series of classic re-issues, following on from Leg End and Unrest. In Praise... was produced in 1975 by a new version of Henry Cow after they had merged with cult Euro-popsters Slapp Happy, and then split apart again. The process unleashed on their music the extraordinary voice of Dagmar Krause, as songs became a major component of the music for the first time. From the opening track 'War' -- a Moore/Blegvad composition covered by The Fall on the 1993 'Middle Class Revolt' album -- we are thrown into a black comedy, repeated laughter in odd time signatures, and a great Mongezi Feza trumpet solo. The centrepiece of the album, Tim Hodgkinson's 'Living In the Heart of the Beast', is justly famous; its an extraordinary 20 minute epic which manages to fuse Messiaen-like organ with vast fuzz guitar tunes, complex arrangements and revolutionary lyrics. This is the first time In Praise of Learning has been available on CD in the original mix, and it has been carefully re-mastered -- for many years only a poorly mastered remix was available. This album is essential for fans of Henry Cow, the Canterbury/Soft Machine school, and all those interested in challenging music."

Artist:	HENRY COW
Title:	Western Cuiture
Label:	RECOMMENDED (UK)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	RER HC4

"This is the 4th in ReR's series of Henry Cow re-releases, which traces the career of this most influential of experimental rock groups. Following their split with Virgin, the group's history became complicated; bass player John Greaves left, and after a dispute in the recording studio, what was intended as the next Henry Cow album mutated into the Art Bears' much respected Hopes and Fears. In 1978 the members of the Cow agreed to stay together under the Cow banner for a final six months of touring. They decided to record a final album of entirely new music, written by Tim Hodgkinson and Lindsay Cooper -- and that album was Western Culture. It's one of their very best. Titles like 'Industry', 'The Decay of Cities', and 'Falling Away' hurl the listener into a dark world of additive time signatures, spooky organ interludes, and complex instrumental textures. The invigorating blast of energy suggests a new vision of part classical, part Industrial, part Brechtian rock chamber music. Like a minimal, concentrated re-vision of the old Henry Cow, it prefigures the terrifying structures of 80's iconic rock group This Heat. For the first time the group was happy with their recorded sound. Western Culture has been digitally re-mastered, and the CD sounds better than ever before. The booklet is crammed with previously unpublished photographs and biographical material, and there are three extra tracks which have only appeared before on the ReR vinyl magazine."

Artist:	HENRY COW
Title:	The Road: Volumes 1-5
Label:	RECOMMENDED (UK)
Format:	5CD BOX
Price:	$95.00
Catalog #:	RER HC40

"40th Anniversary Box Set Volumes 1 & 2. 9 CDs and 1 DVD with 2 60pp books, in two solid boxes. Limited edition. A substantial collection of all-new material that puts the depth and breadth of the work of one of the most controversial and edgy of the British bands of the '70s into an altogether new perspective. Even at 10 discs it still represents only the tip of the iceberg, but even this will oblige the histories to be amended. Henry Cow was a band viewed by almost all its contemporaries as outsiders, but embraced equally on the art fringes of rock, jazz and contemporary music (as evidenced by the festivals and venues at which they appeared) as innovators and mavericks. It was also a band that walked the talk, finessing its way out of a stifling commercial contract with Virgin and then taking control of every aspect of its life and appearances, remaining unfashionably political and evenly divided in gender (band and roadcrew) until the end. The music was extreme, often complex, constantly changing and driven, on the one hand, by an intense dialogue between craft and tight-knit composition and, on the other, radically open improvisation and experimentation - all expressed through a deep root in popular music and rock. These nine CDs embody some extraordinary and prescient music; then there is the DVD, 80 minutes of the 1976 band in performance - the only known video recording in existence, professionally made, multi camera and unseen since its original broadcast. Last but not least, there is a great deal of historical documentation in two 60 page booklets: photographs, posters, memorabilia, facsimiles -- as well as a complete biography and a series of specially written essays, recollections, histories and commentaries on the compositions by all the members of the band, and a few close friends. This 40th anniversary collection comes in two sturdy limited edition boxes, one covering the period between 1971 to 1976 and the other (Vol.2, which includes the DVD) following through to the end in 1978."
       "Volume 1 of the definitive collection of unreleased recordings, unrecorded compositions, one-off events, radio and concert recordings. These 5 CDs cover the period from 1971 to 1976 and include the legendary Hamburg radio concert, many otherwise unrecorded compositions and two remarkable one-off projects: Halsteren and Trondheim. With a substantial 60-page book of information, unpublished photographs, documents, an annotated concert list, recollections and substantial notes written by Chris Cutler, Fred Frith, John Greaves, Tim Hodgkinson, Peter Blegvad, Dagmar Krause and Geoff Leigh."
        Contents of this box:
       Vol. 1: Beginnings CD
       Vol. 2: 1974-5 CD
       Vol. 3: Hamburg CD
       Vols. 4 & 5 Trondheim 2CD

Artist:	HENRY COW
Title:	The Road: Volumes 6-10 with DVD
Label:	RECOMMENDED (UK)
Format:	4CD/DVD BOX
Price:	$108.00
Catalog #:	RER HC41

"Volume 2 of the definitive collection of unreleased recordings, unrecorded compositions, one-off events, radio and concert recordings. These four CDs and one DVD cover the period from 1976 to 1978 and include the legendary Stockholm and Bremen radio concerts, many otherwise unrecorded late compositions, and the only known video ever made of the band (a complete 75 minute concert from 1976). With a substantial 60-page book of information, unpublished photographs, documents, recollections and substantial notes written by Lindsay Cooper, Georgie Born, Chris Cutler, Franco Fabbri, Fred Frith, Tim Hodgkinson and Chris Wangro."
       Contents of this box:
       Vol. 6: Stockholm & Göteborg CD
       Vol. 7: Later and post-Virgin CD
       Vol. 8: Bremen CD
       Vol. 9: Late CD
       Vol. 10: DVD - Vevey 1976 DVD

Artist:	HENRY COW
Title:	Concerts Remastered
Label:	RECOMMENDED (UK)
Format:	2CD
Price:	$24.00
Catalog #:	RER HC5/6

2006 remastered version, replacing the old ESD version. "Originally released in 1976, this collection offers a snapshot of Henry Cow as audiences would have heard it in the year before. In the chronology, Concerts came between In Praise of Learning and Western Culture -- that is, after Virgin had lost interest in releasing any more Henry Cow studio records and before the band quit to make one of its own. It was also the year of the 'merger' with Robert Wyatt for a series of concerts in which compositions were shared -- the last show, in Rome, was also Robert's last public performance. From its earlier records, the band was known for its rather complex compositional work. This double LP for the first time gave serious space to the improvisations that accounted for maybe a third of any of its lengthy stage performances. When the double LP was reissued as a CD, the Henry Cow side of the long deleted Greasy Truckers album was added -- 5 surprisingly accessible but abstract studio pieces recorded in an afternoon in 1973 -- recovering yet another side of the group's rapidly evolving vocabulary. This new edition, repackaged and carefully re-mastered by Bob Drake, completes our definitive edition of the group's officially released recordings."

Artist:	HENRY COW
Title:	Leg End
Label:	RECOMMENDED/GOODFELLAS (ITALY)
Format:	LP
Price:	$31.00
Catalog #:	RER VHC1

"The first, 1973, release by Britain's most enigmatic and unclassifiable band. Formed in 1968 by two Cambridge students, Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson, Henry Cow's original influences included the likes of Soft Machine and Frank Zappa. However, in their undying quest to push the boundaries of conventional music, members soon took out their machetes and began hacking a new trail into an unmapped wilderness of sound. The band was thereby also staunchly anti-commercial, never compromising their sound to please anyone but themselves, and it is precisely because of this that they have gone on to influence so many musicians on the outer fringes of rock & roll on both sides of the Atlantic, particularly the NY experimental music scene. Now returned to its original audio mix. Limited audiophile edition of 1000 copies on 180 gram virgin vinyl."

Artist:	HENRY COW
Title:	Unrest
Label:	RECOMMENDED/GOODFELLAS (ITALY)
Format:	LP
Price:	$31.00
Catalog #:	RER VHC2

"Dating from 1974, and following on from the re-release of Legend, this is the second in our series of vinyl reissues of the original Virgin albums. Geoff Leigh had left the group and Lindsay Cooper joined on bassoon, oboe, flute, soprano sax. The mix was more 'live' than Legend, with the drums much more up front. The first half is highly composed material, with some of the Cow's best loved tunes, like 'Half Asleep Half Awake' and 'Bittern Storm Over Ulm'. For the second half the material was all written in the studio, using loops, varispeed tapes and electronics, and superimposing live improvisation and composed passages. Classic, historic and still relevant." Printed inner sleeve; 180 gram vinyl.

Artist:	HENRY COW
Title:	In Praise Of Learning
Label:	RECOMMENDED/GOODFELLAS (ITALY)
Format:	LP
Price:	$31.00
Catalog #:	RER VHC3

"A landmark in the history of European experimental rock, the third 'Cow' work, originally released on Virgin in 1975, represents the second act of joined forces between Henry Cow and Slapp Happy, and the first fully integrated appearance of Dagmar Krause. In Praise Of Learning is a unique piece of art, showing perfect unity of political content, with rock complexity, extended song form and free noise explorations. An impressive array of new compositions, including Tim Hodgkinson's masterwork 'Living In The Heart of the Beast' and Fred Frith's 'Beautiful As The Moon-Terrible As An Army With Banners'. An extraordinary set of music, performed by an amazingly rich line up: Dagmar Krause, Lindsay Cooper, Fred Frith, Tim Hodgkinson, John Greaves, Chris Cutler, Peter Blegvad, Anthony Moore, and guests: the great Mongezi Feza, Geoff Leigh and Phil Becque. A timeless classic!" On 180 gram vinyl; limited edition of 1000 copies.

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