Henry Cow Discussion

[Mister Triscuits]

Except that, while Parks has Ives's jones for corny musical Americana, he never had the old man's bent for turning that into something utterly bizarro. I don't think Parks had, as a formative musical experience, the sound of two marching bands entering a town square from opposite sides playing the same Sousa march in two keys a minor third apart, in different tempi, and out-of-sync.

I'm not so sure about that. I chose the comparison with Charles Ives intentionally; there are parts of Song Cycle where it feels to me like the melodic line and the orchestration are coming from different universes.

[Steve F.]

I don't think Parks had, as a formative musical experience, the sound of two marching bands entering a town square from opposite sides playing the same Sousa march in two keys a minor third apart, in different tempi, and out-of-sync.

So few of us do.

[Zappathustra]

The loud middle section of Decay of Cities, with brass and electric guitar, scares the shit out of me every time I am listening to it. It is one of the most intense musical moments I can think of.
Inexhaustible richness this Western Culture, always ahead of the listener.

[unclemeat]

From the latest ReR newsletter :
"The 3-BOX Henry Cow set is now out of print and will not be repressed in this form. We hope there will be a reissue later next year, with all 16 CDs in slipcases and a single box, at a reasonable price".

[unclemeat]

Ben Piekut's book, to be published in september 2019 :
https://www.dukeupress.edu/henry-cow/?viewby=title

[Steve F.]

He had contacted me about using some of my personal photos of when I saw Cow that I took, but he never followed it up.

But he's been working on it for some time.

[auxfnx]

anyone else feel like the heavy drums after the intro of "Industry" had an inspiration on the drums when they kick in on 5uu's "Roan"?

[Steve F.]

^^^^^^^

Anything HC is an inspiration to Dave Kerman. I don’t think he would argue with me on that....

[MYSTERIOUS TRAVELLER]

HC escaped me until 30 years ago. I still remember the first time I heard them. Loved the album I heard from day one!

[GuitarGeek]

re: experiencing two marching bands playing simultaneously:

So few of us do.

Not today they don't. Ives grew up in a very different time, and which things like parades and marching bands were a much bigger part of the culture.

Mind you, I imagine Ives wasn't the only person who regularly heard two marching bands playing simultaneously, in different keys and tempi, but only Ives was wily enough to create music with that element built into it. At least, at the time he was, anyway.

I need to dig out my Ives CD's. I've got about three or four of them floating around the house someplace. Or did I leave them in the TARDIS?

[Bob Drake]

anyone else feel like the heavy drums after the intro of "Industry" had an inspiration on the drums when they kick in on 5uu's "Roan"?

It's true that Dave and I had been very inspired by H Cow in the 70's, but we certainly weren't thinking of any particular song or sound when we did Roan or any other recording. Like everything else it was a combination of things - how the drums sounded (and whatever drums or drum-like things we could scrape up for the session), how he tuned and played them, how I recorded and mixed it, what else was going on in the track, etc.

x
BD
www.bdrak.com

[Scrotum Scissor]

I always thought the 5UU's were as "influenced" by Yes as you were by HC. Onw of my grand arguments towards the "prog" folx.

[Zappathustra]

Clearly Led Zeppelin influenced

[Zappathustra]

The troooojan horse is burning, this is genius, full stop.

[Bob Drake]

I always thought the 5UU's were as "influenced" by Yes as you were by HC. Onw of my grand arguments towards the "prog" folx.

Them too. I don't recall if Sanjay had also been into Henry Cow, but like Dave and myself he had been a Yes fan. We were aware it was occasionally quite obvious but to quote Dave: "fuggit!".

BD
www.bdrak.com

[auxfnx]

Them too. I don't recall if Sanjay had also been into Henry Cow, but like Dave and myself he had been a Yes fan. We were aware it was occasionally quite obvious but to quote Dave: "fuggit!".

BD
www.bdrak.com

i love Yes and all but gosh it goes so much further than Yes would have dared, I love it.
There are a few moments on this album that are like Yes GONE WILD
it is the coolest thing.

[unclemeat]

From ReR :
HENRY COW SUBSCRIPTION EDITION

HENRY Cow BOX REDUX: THE COMPLETE HENRY COW [£75] ReRHCGK
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
For those with the original boxes, not to force you to buy the whole set just to get the extra booklet and bonus CD, you will be able to order these separately for £18.
SPECIAL OFFER: BOOK and (sub edition) BOX for £85. Anyone who has already pre-ordered the book can add the box for £65

[Scrotum Scissor]

I always loved this guy:

[unclemeat]

An excerpt from Ben Piekut's forthcoming book :
https://www.dukeupress.edu/Assets/Pu...0466-0_601.pdf
and his recent paper on Henry Cow :
https://people.as.cornell.edu/sites/...0Socialism.pdf

[bondegezou]

From ReR :
HENRY COW SUBSCRIPTION EDITION

HENRY Cow BOX REDUX: THE COMPLETE HENRY COW [£75] ReRHCGK
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
For those with the original boxes, not to force you to buy the whole set just to get the extra booklet and bonus CD, you will be able to order these separately for £18.
SPECIAL OFFER: BOOK and (sub edition) BOX for £85. Anyone who has already pre-ordered the book can add the box for £65

Box and book ordered!

Henry

[Buddhabreath]

Great news on the separate offer and upcoming book. I would say Henry Cow are awesome if the correct and specific meaning of that word hadn’t been destroyed by the fecal-matter-like, brain-dead American popular culture. I didn’t know about this long standing thread - I’ll have to read through it. Smash the Fasch!

[walt]

An excerpt from Ben Piekut's forthcoming book :
https://www.dukeupress.edu/Assets/Pu...0466-0_601.pdf
and his recent paper on Henry Cow :
https://people.as.cornell.edu/sites/...0Socialism.pdf

Thanks for sharing this.

[Scrotum Scissor]

and his recent paper on Henry Cow :
https://people.as.cornell.edu/sites/...0Socialism.pdf

Nice.

Considering the relative obscurity of Henry Cow in the general rock book, the amount of academic (musical and social/cultural) writing on them is getting impressive. A complete anomaly.

[unclemeat]

Another recent paper on the Cow :
https://people.as.cornell.edu/sites/...urselves_0.pdf

[Scrotum Scissor]

^ There was also a Norwegian guy calling himself trondis in here who published a PhD (or MD, I can't remember) on HC about a decade back. I read parts of it and it was highly informative and enlightening.