Newly published "Kew.Rhône" book - can there be a better Xmas present ?!

[Kavus Torabi]

I too have my copy. Its really lovely.

[Steve F.]

I too have my copy. Its really lovely.

It's really weighty. I have not read something with this many cross references and footnotes since college....

[Kavus Torabi]

I'm currently just 'dipping in' fairly randomly. I'll cover-to-cover it once all this Christmas bullshit is out of the way.
I was pleasantly surprised to see a Tim Smith lyric quoted at the head of the publisher's chapter, mind.

[walt]

Been reading it back to front.Chapter 14 is a hoot.

[frippster]

Steve, will Wayside be stocking this or should I just order direct from the link above?

[Steve F.]

hi

thanks for asking. Just order from the UK. Too difficult for me to try and source for Wayside and books are usually a problem for us.

[frippster]

Will do. Just wanted to give the home team first crack.

[Jay.Dee]

Oooooh I envy you, youre in for a journey
I might sound like a broken record by now, but two favourites of mine from the Cow family, in the vein of News from Babel etc-

Goebbels and Harth - Goebbels Heart (the only thing available by them on CD, unfortunately. If you have vinyl option - get all the albums by this duo) including guests like Dagmar Krause etc.

Domestic Stories - again the same suspects, Dagmar at her best, Alfred Harth on sax, cutler on drums and lyrics, this time Lutz Glandien responsible for composition.

Both Blegvad's and Greaves' solo careers are quite brilliant, but the astounding aspect of the Kew. Rhone-project was its one-off singular concept of extremely detailed stylistic coherency. I don't think anyone even considered repeating it; it came out just as uniquely unified and whole as it was supposed to. [...] There's nothing to change or "improve" on this. There must be about a hundred or so post-Cow titles that I really cherish, but this is quite possibly the very icing on the grand cake.

OK, I have done my homework leaving a nice sum in ReR's cash-drawer and here are the results.

5. Goebbels/Harth - "Hommage/Vier Fäuste Für Hanns Eisler & Vom Sprengen Des Gartens": both albums got re-released together as a double-CD package and it is all good stuff. Maybe not consistent enough to hold the attention throughout each disc, but there are many inspired moments and good compositions. I definitely need to check a live recording of this duo.

4. Lindsay Cooper - "Rags/Golddiggers": two strong soundtracks, but "Rarities Vol. 1" collection had stolen the thunder for me. Aesthetically-wise both cover similar territory, but the recent collection offers more adventurous performances, some of them in a live setting where the music surpasses compositional boundaries and begins to live its own life. Frankly speaking, I can't wait to see more rare gems of hers released.

3. Greaves/Blevgad - "Kew. Rhone.": ok, a concept album, exquisitely arranged and meticulously performed. That's what prog bears love the best, don't they? I like it a lot, but for the moment it does not live up yet to its legendary status.

2. Culter/Glandien - "Domestic Stories": uh, that's a monster. Mysterious, dark and disturbing music for midnight pondering over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore. An instant classic in my collection.

1. News From Babel - "Work Resumed on the Tower" & "Letters Home": what can I say? These are freakin' masterpieces that I inexplicably overlooked some decade ago, when I first entered the Cowian universe. Their music seems to me sooooo heavenly beautiful... that I have even started to question my sanity.

When I shared my new found fascination with a Norwegian pal who had come to visit me and spend his hard-earned kroner on an indie-rock spring festival held in Barcelona, his reply was: "Is it still music? These are random sounds, where is the melody?" And the guy is pretty much well versed in rock music's history and its variety, although with the focus on the alternative/indie rock of the last three decades. However in his opinion News from Babel was not music in its traditional sense, but some far-out avantgarde experiments.

Well, Chinese used to say that going on meant going far, and going far meant returning. Sometimes I feel that I have strayed really really far from the safe confines of the society and a possible return is going to take a longer while...