Henry Cow C/D and S/D

Really hoping for some high quality footage/recordings of the reunion show.

London has gone up on d1m3, I expect Huddersfield will go up too, judging by the comments.

Nice to hear but the "News From Babel" portion of the set really blows away the Henry Cow portion. It's kind of weird how Henry Cow specifically got canonized in a way the frequently superior post-Cow projects by various alumni didn't.

Henry Cow are just the best so I can't personally agree with that directly. I'd agree that it is kind of weird how News From Babel don't come up more; out of all the post-Cow projects where they really went all in on concise songwriting, Lindsay's tunes are so beautiful

http://avantmusicnews.com/2014/11/22/amn-reviews-henry-cow-and-others-play-the-music-of-lindsay-cooper-nov-21-2014-the-barbicon-london/

A nine-minute piece from one of the shows. I haven't listened to it yet but the fb poster describes it as "A very droney, cathartic piece in a precise, dirty, post-Weillian sort of way - love this stuff."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ay-_QlnQ0Ew

That's 'England Descending' from Lindsay's 'Oh Moscow'.

xpost you mean you don't have both the remasters and the original early 90's ESD reissues with the remixes? get cracking

― Milton Parker, Friday, February 6, 2009 2:43 PM (7 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

sadly no, I just got the plebeian remasters box set with the bonus 3" CD instead. excuse me while I go harvest the potatoes for me lord.

― System Jr. (Mackro Mackro), Friday, February 6, 2009 2:50 PM (7 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

This just resulted in the longest, hardest laugh I've had all year. Thanks ILX

Nice version of "Little Red Riding Hood..." with Hodgkinson and Cutler, with Yumi Hara and others.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4M0u4JDrhRM&feature=youtu.be

? maybe just copy and paste.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4M0u4JDrhRM&feature=youtu.be

Oh well, just search for this: Little Red Riding Hood Hit the Road, THE WATTS + Canterbury Favourites

incoming...

Incredibly excited to dive into the page proofs for Ben Piekut’s massive “Henry Cow:
The World is a Problem,” to be published in September by @DukePress. pic.twitter.com/YAGuZvaxl3

— David Grubbs (@blackfaurest) April 12, 2019

Great to hear. Want to read an in depth history of them.

ben is the man for the job. it'll be interesting to see if it gets into the personal stuff. in the case of a band that lived their politics this intensely, it's never merely gossip, their lives were the work (perhaps I am being sentimental but this is still the only progressive band for me)

More on the book here from Cutler:

http://www.rermegacorp.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=COW+BOOK&Store_Code=RM

I was just wondering if hardbacks tended to be 4x the price of paperbacks but looks like that must be a common question or variations thereof. CC makes some comment beside the hb price on the rer page.

It's because it's an academic press. Those prices are aimed at university libraries.

Just ordered the book from ReR, looking forward to reading it. Also, it seems that there is yet another box set coming out:

HENRY COW SUBSCRIPTION EDITION

HENRY COW BOX REDUX: THE COMPLETE HENRY COW

17 CDs, 1 DVD and 180 pages of histories, chronology, testimony and commentaries by the band, sundry contemporary documents, and rare photographs – in a sturdy box.

This collection brings together the full contents of the three former boxes, with the addition of a further 60pp booklet of newly unearthed, or commissioned, band commentaries, pictures and other documents prepared specifically for this release - as well as re-mastered versions of all the studio CDs and the rare bonus CD (Cabinet of Curiosities), which came with the subscription edition of the original boxed set. Subscribers only will also receive an extra numbered edition subscription CD of more newly recovered, discovered and previously unreleased recordings.

Content summary:

Newly designed and packaged set of 18 CDs and one DVD covering the entire career of the band - re-mastered by Bob Drake. Plus extra subscription-only CD of further rarities.

Dang

Yeah, just reading the book and it said that the 40th anniversary set had long since sold out but Cutler was working on a new version. Hope i can pick up the extra bits somehow since I have the Road box at least.
Need to listen to the Beginnings disc .

Got as far as the era that covers so far. hadn't known how many drummers they had before CC or how the band formed.

Looks like few places have the book. I missed getting the thing through Book Depository which is probably the cheapest if you're outside the UK, had to get it through The Wire's shop.

Think it got back into the Book Depositary while i was waiting for it to arrive. Had been saying No longer available or something to that effect.

French documentary on Virgin Records from 1974, which contains footage of a Henry Cow recording session (at the Manor) followed by an interview. Unfortunately there's a French voiceover. There's also three tracks from a live performance by Kevin Coyne (at some kind of stately home?) and interview - which is more interesting to me personally but I'm guessing there's more Henry Cow fans on ILX than Kevin Coyne fans so I'm putting it here. Contains Branson content.

https://www.ina.fr/video/I12200660

lord coyne from the seat of his fathers

I've just realized it's Branson's old school, Stowe.

early hotbed of public school pop (george melly fucking peregrine worsthorne)

Indeed, checking their old alumni, Roger Hodgson of Supertramp was in the same year as Branson.

Apparently, the Nazi rally in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was filmed at Stowe

Also, Crispian Mills from Kula Shaker went there

I'm sure the two aren't linked though

That's a session from November 1973. They're doing an early version of "Half Asleep Half Awake" (which they would re-record on Unrest) and "Keeping Warm in Winter / Sweet Heart of Mine", for a compilation. Both the Cow and Coyne had just released their first Virgin albums a couple of months before this was filmed.

Had somehow missed or forgotten teh existence of a band called Artaud Beats so when I saw it mentioned above I thought it was an auto correct slip for Art Bears. I see the band started as Not Henry Cow and has a different lineup to Art bears anyway outside of Chris Cutler.
I've been neglecting my Henry Cow so need to put some on.

I was put in mind of them this morning by having Spotify have The Momes lp pop up as a recommendation. Interesting stuff with some crossover in sound with This Heat whose cold Storage facility they recorded in and Tim Hodgkinson went on to manage.

Apparently, the Nazi rally in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was filmed at Stowe

Also, Crispian Mills from Kula Shaker went there

I'm sure the two aren't linked though

― would a nit be nice? (NickB)

This post needs more appreciation, my god!

early hotbed of public school pop (george melly fucking peregrine worsthorne)

― mark s, Monday, 15 February 2021 11:51 (one year ago) bookmarkflaglink

🧐🧐🧐

i'd say slept on (on a chaise longue in the art department) but

Don't know anything more about this.

https://scontent-ort2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/299648826_467277328742381_762629716978013444_n.jpg?_nc_cat=111&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=soGL2eCh7G4AX8He_Qi&_nc_ht=scontent-ort2-1.xx&oh=00_AT90QSCUkOPNRj4VV7PkB_Za0SqgmoRkAxAjBgwo6eiSlg&oe=63089313

Wow

that "data unica mondiale" is kind of a bummer

I didn't notice that earlier, not that I thought they'd make it to California anyway. Maybe they'll record it for release.

It's not a concert, they're just announcing that their sock is being released as an NFT.

And you don't get the sock, just the right to smugly say you own it.

Especially the red sock.

the fork in the road not taken

What's the cliché about one becoming less radical as one gets older. Being a red at college and more right wing as one faces life.

So these have gone from radical leftist politics to selling NFTs for profit?
Gosh all my dreams shattered, like.

Better go and listen to some of their more idealistic selves.

Do hope if this is a live performance the comment is only temporary. They are getting older but would be nice to see them at sometime.
Oh yeah saw that the one off is in Italy. Remembered that one disc of the 75 live thing with Wyatt was an Italian date. Also that VDGG were particularly popular down there so wondered if The Cow were too. Though not hearing the influence as much on Italian Prog bands as I am with VDGG. Though maybe I'm just listening to bands that would be too early.

Itallian thing from 75 I was referring to is this In The Name of A Freedom
https://i.discogs.com/jLg_LmksdwhMLe6GDuCd33q40Wo380daQRnMY-DRQkI/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:297/w:300/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9SLTM1OTMy/MDEtMTMzNjYwNDQz/NS0xNjgxLmpwZWc.jpeg
https://www.discogs.com/release/3593201-Henry-Cow-Featuring-Robert-Wyatt-In-The-Name-Of-A-Freedom

Other 2 discs are 1 London, 1 Paris
not sure if having an Italian gig here represents any level of popularity or not. Do definitely hear a lot of VDGG in the early 70s Italian Prog so presumably were somewhat open to avant influences from british bands.

I think Halfway was joking about the NFT thing.

Just found this interview with Frith from a couple of months ago in which he talks about the reunion (spoiler alert, he doesn't call it a reunion):

RR: Let's talk about the Henry Now gig coming up later this year in Italy. A reunion?

FF: Not really. We are all in contact in various ways, and have been since the group’s demise. Chris and Tim and I have played together in many different contexts and guises, and I’ve joined forces with John here and there too, Chris and John are in several ventures together. Plus we try to follow each other’s work, which is tough because all of us have been endlessly busy with all kinds of projects in all kinds of contexts.

RR: A one-off?

FF: Well, there was a gig that was cancelled because it’s Italy and they never know until the last minute if the funding will come through, or the venue, or whatever. But our friend Max is not one to take that, so he organized his own concert in Piacenza. Right now it’s a one-off, but who knows?

RR: Old songs? New material?

FF: No old songs, no new material, it will be improvised. But the point of Henry Now, is that it could develop into whatever we feel like and with whomever is available. So anything could happen in the next period as long as we’re all still here!

https://rickrees.substack.com/p/fred-frith-interview

Do I genuinely need to point out that I wasn't taking that overly seriously?

Shame if this is absolutely a one off since teh players must be getting on a bit and in the wake of the pandemic people's temporality or mortality. So opportunities may turn out to unitentionally be the last one. Hope taht is recorded both audio and visually.

Do I genuinely need to point out that I wasn't taking that overly seriously?

― Stevolende

yes please, i'm neurodiverse and have trouble parsing sarcasm

THink I didn't finish a sentence there that people's temporality and mortality must be things that one needs to be conscious of. i.e by the time another opportunity arose may be less participants still around.

Also what goes into preparation for an event like this, is there rehearsal or is people's previous playing together enough for tehm to be familiar with each other's styles and means of instrumental communication . If there is rehearsal one would think that one would benefit from playing another couple of days at any juncture when people could actually get together. Like if there is a space in a diary for one get together one would think one would look into doing a few more when one had the chance or if one had the chance. Though getting older may mean drop in stamina which would mean one could do less concerts in a given time without needing to get energy together. I think David Crosby was talking about that in a documentary I saw on Sky Arts a few weeks ago and he's in the same rough age range.

Crosby's quite a bit older I think?

I had to check. Crosby - born in 1941. Fred Frith - born in 1949.

Huh, I didn’t know Frith was that “young.”

the core of HC were all actual real students when they first played together in like 68 iirc

also lol: "in October 1969 philosopher galen strawson auditioned for the band"