CD-Charts Position 1
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Leg End

by: Henry Cow

Release Date November 16, 1998
I've never heard anything like this. Really incredible. An almost entirely instrumental album (with the exception of the masterpiece nine funerals of the citizen king, which contains very skilled vocals indeed) which displays a wealth of intelligence.

Beware: not for normal idiots who like commercial music. Only for freaks hehe.

CD-Charts Position 2
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Stockholm and Goteborg

by: Henry Cow

Release Date October 13, 2008
This CD is the first instalment in ReR's hugely ambitious 9CD box set of unreleased live recordings by this seminal 70's band.

Henry Cow were one, if not the most radical musical outfit to exist in the heady days of 70's rock. Though lumped together under the progressive rock banner, Henry Cow were never part of that movement. Their music was too extreme, too exploratory and unique. They treaded a very individual path, which very few journeyed. Only groups like Univers Zero or Magma worked in such a systematic, isolated manner. Like mid 70's King Crimson, they existed as separate entities within the studio and in a live setting. Only the "Concerts" recordings hint at what the band achieved when let loose in a live environment.
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CD-Charts Position 3
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In Praise of Learning

by: Henry Cow

Release Date March 20, 2000
I can think of no other album that re-shaped my musical head.
I can still remember the thrill of hearing the first track - War - after a friend lent me his elder brother's copy.
War sets the tone for the whole record - angry, complex, layered - sung with manic intensity by Dagmar, balanced by Peter Blegvad's calm urging to "tell of the birth, tell how war appeared on Earth".
Having been aurally aaasalted from the start, the rest of the album delivers revolutionary music go along with the revoolutionary lyrics and song titles - the only dated aspect of this mid 70s masterpiece. I'd never heard anything like this before and to this day, I still haven't. Some people hated the merging of the two bands - Henry Cow and Slapp Happy ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 4
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Concerts

by: Henry Cow

Release Date October 16, 2006
This is probably the most representative recording of what Henry Cow were about. Part composition, part improvisation. The recordings presented here are for me the band shown at their very best. The performances are exhilarating, especially Fred Frith whose guitar manipulations are extraordinary. The first 5 pieces are taken from a BBC session and is a truly wonderful medley, each track seamlessly flowing into the next. A beautifully recorded session, with Bob Drakes wonderfully detailed and sympathetic mastering bringing out all the nuances in the performance, especially Chris Cutlers dynamic cymbal work. For me the highlight of the album has always been the live version of Fred Friths "Ruins". Not only brilliantly played by the band, this version ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 5
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Unrest

by: Henry Cow

Release Date June 28, 1999
As an avid devotee of Henry Cow, I never found this album to be as exhilariting as the others. But as the years have rolled on, I've found more and more to like about it.
It was Henry Cow's second record, and features for the first time the bassoon of Lindsay Cooper - an instrument which instantly sets the tone for this whole record. John Greaves' piano, especially on the classic Half Asleep Half Awake, also characterises it, as does the barely composed tracks on the final 4 tracks ( a result, so legend has it, of limited studio time necessitating group improvisation). Perhaps the hurriedness of the last 4 tracks were a detraction for me, but listening to the barely composed Deluge again now, I can see what's so great about this group - it builds ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 6
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Western Culture

by: Henry Cow

Release Date January 28, 2002
This is a stupendous and solid work From Henry Cow. It presents us with a blitz of musical artistry. Good tunes, mind altering arrangements and twisted aural soundscapes all the way. Fred Frith stands out for me, with a broad showcase of his highly original guitar style.
Overall an intense and sometimes difficult but well paced and expertly deployed album. A perfect adjunct to "LegEnd"

CD-Charts Position 7
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Concerts

by: Henry Cow

Release Date October 17, 1995
I bought the original in 1976 unheard, based on the NME review, and grew to love this record. The first side-and-a-half is densely packed with fantastic tunes set to dense jazz textures. As the record progresses the mood drifts into ethereal with long 'floating' sections. Some of the between-tune wig-outs put you in mind of Roni Size's live show, being both totally out of control and perfectly under control at the same time. I hope the on-stage gatefold shot is preserved for the CD, the band look exactly the bunch of Socialist Worker students that they sound. There is no point wondering why there is no music like this now, when people like this no longer exist.

CD-Charts Position 8
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Unrest

by: Henry Cow

Release Date May 20, 2002
I bought the original in 1976 unheard, based on the NME review, and grew to love this record. The first side-and-a-half is densely packed with fantastic tunes set to dense jazz textures. As the record progresses the mood drifts into ethereal with long 'floating' sections. Some of the between-tune wig-outs put you in mind of Roni Size's live show, being both totally out of control and perfectly under control at the same time. I hope the on-stage gatefold shot is preserved for the CD, the band look exactly the bunch of Socialist Worker students that they sound. There is no point wondering why there is no music like this now, when people like this no longer exist.

CD-Charts Position 9
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Western Culture

by: Henry Cow

Release Date March 12, 2002
I bought the original in 1976 unheard, based on the NME review, and grew to love this record. The first side-and-a-half is densely packed with fantastic tunes set to dense jazz textures. As the record progresses the mood drifts into ethereal with long 'floating' sections. Some of the between-tune wig-outs put you in mind of Roni Size's live show, being both totally out of control and perfectly under control at the same time. I hope the on-stage gatefold shot is preserved for the CD, the band look exactly the bunch of Socialist Worker students that they sound. There is no point wondering why there is no music like this now, when people like this no longer exist.

CD-Charts Position 10
Average Rating:

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Unrest

by: Henry Cow

Release Date July 08, 2002
I bought the original in 1976 unheard, based on the NME review, and grew to love this record. The first side-and-a-half is densely packed with fantastic tunes set to dense jazz textures. As the record progresses the mood drifts into ethereal with long 'floating' sections. Some of the between-tune wig-outs put you in mind of Roni Size's live show, being both totally out of control and perfectly under control at the same time. I hope the on-stage gatefold shot is preserved for the CD, the band look exactly the bunch of Socialist Worker students that they sound. There is no point wondering why there is no music like this now, when people like this no longer exist.