Henry Cow - In Praise Of Learning (Vinyl)

Descriere

"In 1975, the German/English avant-garde group Slapp Happy merged with English chamber progressive rock group Henry Cow and created what has to be one of the most exciting and challenging recordings in my collection. Come to think of it, In Praise of Learning (1975) is easily my favorite Henry Cow album and the complexity on this album certainly gave bands like Gentle Giant a run for their money. The lineup on the album included Henry Cow members Tim Hodgkinson (Hammond organ, clarinet, piano on Living in the Heart of the Beast); Fred Frith (guitar, violin, xylophone, piano on Beautiful as the Moon - As Terrible as an Army with Banners); John Greaves (bass guitar, piano); Chris Cutler (drums, radio); Lindsay Cooper (bassoon, oboe); and Slapp Happy members Dagmar Krause (vocals); Peter Blegvad (guitar, voice, and clarinet); and Anthony Moore (piano, electronics, and tapework). All of the musicians are absolutely top shelf and the group is capable of some mind numbingly complex ensemble work - the arrangements are unbelievable. John is an exceptionally good bass player, and his angular lines on the bass show a clear mastery of the instrument. Other great players include the superb guitarist Fred Frith and Chris Cutler, a drummer I would place in a class with other masters such as Christian Vander (Magma) and Bill Bruford (Yes, King Crimson, U.K. etc). The five tracks on the album range in length from the 2'30 War to the lengthy 16'18" Living in the Heart of the Beast suite. Although there are moments on the album that use somewhat pleasant modalities (i.e. scales that are nice to listen to) there are large sections of sheer atonal chaos, complete with electronic mayhem and furious explosions on the woodwinds courtesy of Lindsay. The tracks Beginning: The long March and Morning Star are great examples of the more harsh and astringent aspects of the music, while the Living in the Heart of the Beast suite and Beautiful as the Moon... are more in keeping with the English progressive rock style (well somewhat at any rate). I especially appreciate the (at times) complete disintegration of melody and Dagmar's harsh vocal style (there are moments however when her singing style is more "traditional"), although I suppose that for me, the most impressive aspect of this album is the unbelievable intricacy of the arrangements - it is clear that the band spent a great deal of time composing the pieces. Before I forget, the pieces seem to be arranged in a massive suite of sorts. All in all, this album is very highly recommended to those listeners that like their prog rock on the difficult, atonal, and challenging side of the equation. Other albums by Henry Cow that might prove interesting include Unrest (1974) and Western Culture (1978)." (J Park)