Legend (Henry Cow album)
| Legend | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by Henry Cow | ||||
| Released | August 1973 | |||
| Recorded | May–June 1973, The Manor, Oxfordshire, England | |||
| Genre | Experimental rock, progressive rock, avant-garde jazz | |||
| Length | 43:33 | |||
| Label | Virgin (UK) | |||
| Producer | Henry Cow | |||
| Henry Cow chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Piero Scaruffi | (7/10)[2] |
| Robert Christgau | (B)[3] |
The Henry Cow Legend (often referred to as Legend or Leg End [nb 1]) is the debut album of British avant-rock group Henry Cow. It was recorded at Virgin Records's Manor studios over three weeks in May and June 1973, mixed in July 1973, and released in August 1973.
The album cover art work was by artist Ray Smith and was the first of three "paint socks" to adorn Henry Cow's albums.
Contents |
[edit] Content
With the exception of "Nine Funerals of the Citizen King", which the whole group sings, and background voices on "Nirvana for Mice" ("Sweet mystery of life I will remember"), "Teenbeat" and "The Tenth Chaffinch", this is an instrumental album. The jazzy Canterbury sound on some of the pieces shows Henry Cow's beginnings, although they quickly moved on to establish their own unique sound.[5]
With the Yellow Half-Moon and Blue Star is a Fred Frith composition that was commissioned by the Cambridge Contemporary Dance Group under Liebe Klug, and was named after a painting by Paul Klee ("Avec la demi-lune jaune et l'étoile bleue").[6] Only an extract appears on this album, but the full 16-minute version of the suite is included in The 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box Set (2009). Parts of "Teenbeat" began in With the Yellow Half-Moon and Blue Star and parts of it were later incorporated into "Ruins" on Unrest (1974).[7] "Nine Funerals of the Citizen King" was Henry Cow's first overt political statement.
[edit] Track listing
[edit] LP and 1998 CD releases
- Side one
- "Nirvana for Mice" (Frith) – 4:53
- "Amygdala" (Hodgkinson) – 6:47
- "Teenbeat (Introduction)" (Henry Cow) – 4:32
- "Teenbeat" (Frith, Greaves) – 6:57
- Side two
- "Extract from 'With the Yellow Half-Moon and Blue Star' " (Frith) – 3:37
- "Teenbeat (Reprise)" (Frith) – 5:07
- "The Tenth Chaffinch" (Henry Cow) – 6:06
- "Nine Funerals of the Citizen King" (Hodgkinson) – 5:34
[edit] 1991 CD release
- "Nirvana for Mice" (Frith) – 4:53
- "Amygdala" (Hodgkinson) – 6:47
- "Teenbeat (Introduction)" (Henry Cow) – 4:32
- "Teenbeat" (Frith, Greaves) – 6:57
- "Nirvana (Reprise)" (Frith) – 1:11[nb 2]
- "Extract from 'With the Yellow Half-Moon and Blue Star' " (Frith) – 2:26
- "Teenbeat (Reprise)" (Frith) – 5:07
- "The Tenth Chaffinch" (Henry Cow) – 6:06
- "Nine Funerals of the Citizen King" (Hodgkinson) – 5:34
- "Bellycan" (Henry Cow) – 3:19
[edit] Personnel
- Geoff Leigh – saxophones, flute, clarinet, recorder, voice
- Tim Hodgkinson – organ, piano, alto saxophone, clarinet, little bells, voice
- Fred Frith – guitars, violin, viola, piano, voice
- John Greaves – bass guitar, piano, whistle, voice
- Chris Cutler – drums, toys, piano, whistle, voice
- Lindsay Cooper – bassoon (on 1991 CD re-issue only)
[edit] Guests
- Jeremy Baines – pixiphone on "Yellow Half-Moon"
- Sarah Greaves, Maggie Thomas and Cathy Williams – chorus on "Teenbeat"
[edit] Sound and art work
- Tom Newman – recording engineer
- Mike Oldfield – recording engineer (first part of "Nirvana for Mice")[nb 3]
- Henry Cow – producer
- Ray Smith – cover art
[edit] CD reissues
In 1991 East Side Digital issued a remixed version (by Tim Hodgkinson, May/August 1990) of Legend on CD. It included a bonus track, "Bellycan", which was an outtake from Henry Cow's Greasy Truckers Live at Dingwalls Dance Hall recording session in November 1973. On the remix of "Amygdala", Lindsay Cooper, who was not yet a member of the group at the time of the LP recording, played bassoon (recorded August 1990) and replaced Geoff Leigh's saxophone, which Hodgkinson felt was "too jazzy".[9]
In 1998 Recommended Records and East Side Digital reissued Legend on CD with the original mixing restored and the bonus track omitted. The original master tape having been lost, this CD edition was transferred from a mint condition Japanese vinyl copy.
[edit] See also
- The Virgin Years – Souvenir Box (1991)
- Henry Cow Box (2006)
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ The original LP release was entitled The Henry Cow Legend, with the name appearing only on the spine of the record sleeve. The 1991 CD edition was retitled Legend, and the 1998 original mix remastered CD edition was retitled Leg End.[4]
- ^ "Nirvana (Reprise)" is included in "Extract from 'With the Yellow Half-Moon and Blue Star' " on the LP and 1998 CD releases and not listed separately.
- ^ When Henry Cow arrived at The Manor for their first recording session, the recording engineer, Tom Newman was "under the table", and Mike Oldfield undertook the recording duties for the first session.[8]
[edit] References
- Cutler, Chris, ed. (2009). The Road: Volumes 1–5 (book from The 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box Set). Recommended Records.
- ^ DeGagne, Mike. "Leg End". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r9248. Retrieved 2011-06-15.
- ^ Scaruffi, Piero. "Henry Cow". The History of Rock Music. http://www.scaruffi.com/vol3/henrycow.html. Retrieved 2011-06-15.
- ^ Christgau, Robert. "Henry Cow". Robert Christgau. http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?id=579&name=Henry+Cow. Retrieved 2011-06-15.
- ^ "Henry Cow - The Henry Cow Legend". Discogs. http://www.discogs.com/Henry-Cow-The-Henry-Cow-Legend/master/65994. Retrieved 2010-06-01.
- ^ Kelman, John. "Henry Cow: The 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box Set". All About Jazz. http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=31544. Retrieved 2009-01-14.
- ^ Cutler 2009, vol. 1–5, p. 7.
- ^ Cutler 2009, vol. 1–5, p. 6.
- ^ Cutler 2009, vol. 1–5, p. 3.
- ^ Cutler 2009, vol. 1–5, p. 4.
[edit] External links
- Fred Frith discography
- "Nine Funerals of the Citizen King" lyrics. The Canterbury Website.
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