In Praise of Learning
Encyclopedia
In Praise of Learning is an album by British
avant-rock groups
Henry Cow
and Slapp Happy
, recorded at Virgin Records
' Manor studios
in February and March 1975. It was the second of two collaborative albums by the two groups and was released in May 1975.
The album cover art work was by artist Ray Smith and was the last of the three "paint socks" to feature on Henry Cow's albums.
's quote "Art is not a mirror – it is a hammer", and the Tim Hodgkinson
16-minute composition, "Living in the Heart of the Beast
" made explicit Henry Cow's left wing political leanings, with Dagmar Krause
's powerful voice adding a new dimension to their music. The album opener, "War" (Moore
/Blegvad
) had been recorded the previous year during the making of the first Slapp Happy/Henry Cow collaborative album, Desperate Straights
(1975). "War" was covered by The Fall in 1993 for a BBC radio session and on Middle Class Revolt
.
"Living in the Heart of the Beast" began as an unfinished instrumental that Hodgkinson presented to the group, which was cut up and performed live in 1974 with improvisational sections added. One such performance, Halsteren was recorded in Halsteren
in September 1974, and appears in Volume 2: 1974–5 of The 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box Set
(2009). After the merger with Slapp Happy, Hodgkinson commissioned Blegvad to write lyrics for the piece for Krause to sing. But after several attempts, Blegvad admitted that he was "out of [his] depth", and Hodgkinson wrote the lyrics himself.
Chris Cutler
's lyrics on "Beautiful as the Moon – Terrible as an Army with Banners" were the first song texts he had written, and the song was the first writing collaboration between Cutler and Fred Frith
that later grew into Art Bears
. The song also became the longest lasting "building block" the band used in subsequent live performances.
Side two
Bonus track on 1991 CD re-issue
) of In Praise of Learning on CD with one extra track, "Lovers of Gold" (an alternate version of "Beginning: The Long March" created by Chris Cutler
).
In 2000 Recommended Records
and East Side Digital issued a remastered version of In Praise of Learning on CD with the original mixing restored and the bonus track omitted. The "Lovers of Gold" bonus track would later reappear on the Cow Cabinet of Curiosities disc in the The 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box Set
(2009).
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
avant-rock groups
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
Henry Cow
Henry Cow
Henry Cow were an English avant-rock group, founded at Cambridge University in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson. Henry Cow's personnel fluctuated over their decade together, but drummer Chris Cutler and bassoonist/oboist Lindsay Cooper were important long-term members...
and Slapp Happy
Slapp Happy
Slapp Happy was a German/English avant-pop group consisting of Anthony Moore , Peter Blegvad and Dagmar Krause . The band formed in Germany in 1972. The band members moved to England in 1974 where they merged with Henry Cow, but the merger ended soon afterwards and Slapp Happy split up. Slapp...
, recorded at Virgin Records
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
' Manor studios
The Manor Studio
The Manor Studio was a recording studio in the manor house at the village of Shipton-on-Cherwell in Oxfordshire, England, north of the city of Oxford. It was the first residential recording studio in the UK...
in February and March 1975. It was the second of two collaborative albums by the two groups and was released in May 1975.
The album cover art work was by artist Ray Smith and was the last of the three "paint socks" to feature on Henry Cow's albums.
Content
In Praise of Learning was Henry Cow's most overtly political album. Printed on the back of the album cover is filmmaker John GriersonJohn Grierson
John Grierson was a pioneering Scottish documentary maker, often considered the father of British and Canadian documentary film. According to popular myth, in 1926, Grierson coined the term "documentary" to describe a non-fiction film.-Early life:Grierson was born in Deanston, near Doune, Scotland...
's quote "Art is not a mirror – it is a hammer", and the Tim Hodgkinson
Tim Hodgkinson
Tim Hodgkinson is an English experimental music composer and performer, principally on reeds and keyboards. He is best known as one of the core members of the British avant-rock group Henry Cow, which he formed with Fred Frith in 1968...
16-minute composition, "Living in the Heart of the Beast
Living in the Heart of the Beast
"Living in the Heart of the Beast" is the title of an extended song written and composed by Tim Hodgkinson in 1975 for the English avant-rock group Henry Cow...
" made explicit Henry Cow's left wing political leanings, with Dagmar Krause
Dagmar Krause
Dagmar Krause is a German singer, best known for her work with avant-rock groups like Slapp Happy, Henry Cow and Art Bears. She is also noted for her coverage of songs by Bertolt Brecht, Kurt Weill and Hanns Eisler...
's powerful voice adding a new dimension to their music. The album opener, "War" (Moore
Anthony Moore
Anthony Moore is a British experimental music composer, performer and producer. He was a founding member of the band Slapp Happy, worked with Henry Cow and has made a number of solo albums, including Flying Doesn't Help and World Service .As a lyricist, Moore has collaborated with Pink Floyd on...
/Blegvad
Peter Blegvad
Peter Blegvad is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and cartoonist. He was a founding member of the avant-pop band Slapp Happy, which later merged briefly with Henry Cow, and has released many solo and collaborative albums...
) had been recorded the previous year during the making of the first Slapp Happy/Henry Cow collaborative album, Desperate Straights
Desperate Straights
Desperate Straights is an album by British avant-rock groups Slapp Happy and Henry Cow, recorded at Virgin Records' Manor studios in November 1974...
(1975). "War" was covered by The Fall in 1993 for a BBC radio session and on Middle Class Revolt
Middle Class Revolt
Middle Class Revolt is an album by The Fall, released in 1994 on Permanent Records. It spent one week on the UK album chart at number 48, a marked contrast to the top 10 debut of their preceding album The Infotainment Scan. The album's full title is Middle Class Revolt A/K/A The Vapourisation Of...
.
"Living in the Heart of the Beast" began as an unfinished instrumental that Hodgkinson presented to the group, which was cut up and performed live in 1974 with improvisational sections added. One such performance, Halsteren was recorded in Halsteren
Halsteren
Halsteren is a village in the Dutch province of North Brabant. It is located in the municipality of Bergen op Zoom, about 1 km north of that city. Halsteren has an old church from 1457 and a new church, built in 1919...
in September 1974, and appears in Volume 2: 1974–5 of The 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box Set
The 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box Set
The 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box Set is a nine-CD plus one-DVD limited edition box set by English avant-rock group Henry Cow, and was released by RēR Megacorp in January 2009. It consists of over 10 hours of previously unreleased recordings made between 1972 and 1978 from concerts, radio...
(2009). After the merger with Slapp Happy, Hodgkinson commissioned Blegvad to write lyrics for the piece for Krause to sing. But after several attempts, Blegvad admitted that he was "out of [his] depth", and Hodgkinson wrote the lyrics himself.
Chris Cutler
Chris Cutler
Chris Cutler is an English percussionist, composer, lyricist and music theorist. Best known for his work with English avant-rock group Henry Cow, Cutler was also a member and drummer of a number of other bands, including Art Bears, News from Babel, Pere Ubu and Gong/Mothergong...
's lyrics on "Beautiful as the Moon – Terrible as an Army with Banners" were the first song texts he had written, and the song was the first writing collaboration between Cutler and Fred Frith
Fred Frith
Fred Frith is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer and improvisor.Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow. Frith was also a member of Art Bears, Massacre and Skeleton Crew...
that later grew into Art Bears
Art Bears
Art Bears were an English avant-rock group formed during the disassembly of Henry Cow in 1978 by three of its members, Chris Cutler , Fred Frith and Dagmar Krause...
. The song also became the longest lasting "building block" the band used in subsequent live performances.
Track listing
Side one- "War" (MooreAnthony MooreAnthony Moore is a British experimental music composer, performer and producer. He was a founding member of the band Slapp Happy, worked with Henry Cow and has made a number of solo albums, including Flying Doesn't Help and World Service .As a lyricist, Moore has collaborated with Pink Floyd on...
, BlegvadPeter BlegvadPeter Blegvad is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and cartoonist. He was a founding member of the avant-pop band Slapp Happy, which later merged briefly with Henry Cow, and has released many solo and collaborative albums...
) – 2:25 - "Living in the Heart of the BeastLiving in the Heart of the Beast"Living in the Heart of the Beast" is the title of an extended song written and composed by Tim Hodgkinson in 1975 for the English avant-rock group Henry Cow...
" (HodgkinsonTim HodgkinsonTim Hodgkinson is an English experimental music composer and performer, principally on reeds and keyboards. He is best known as one of the core members of the British avant-rock group Henry Cow, which he formed with Fred Frith in 1968...
) – 15:30
Side two
- "Beginning: The Long March" (Henry CowHenry CowHenry Cow were an English avant-rock group, founded at Cambridge University in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson. Henry Cow's personnel fluctuated over their decade together, but drummer Chris Cutler and bassoonist/oboist Lindsay Cooper were important long-term members...
, Slapp HappySlapp HappySlapp Happy was a German/English avant-pop group consisting of Anthony Moore , Peter Blegvad and Dagmar Krause . The band formed in Germany in 1972. The band members moved to England in 1974 where they merged with Henry Cow, but the merger ended soon afterwards and Slapp Happy split up. Slapp...
) – 6:26 - "Beautiful as the Moon – Terrible as an Army with Banners" (FrithFred FrithFred Frith is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer and improvisor.Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow. Frith was also a member of Art Bears, Massacre and Skeleton Crew...
, CutlerChris CutlerChris Cutler is an English percussionist, composer, lyricist and music theorist. Best known for his work with English avant-rock group Henry Cow, Cutler was also a member and drummer of a number of other bands, including Art Bears, News from Babel, Pere Ubu and Gong/Mothergong...
) – 7:02 - "Morning Star" (Henry CowHenry CowHenry Cow were an English avant-rock group, founded at Cambridge University in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson. Henry Cow's personnel fluctuated over their decade together, but drummer Chris Cutler and bassoonist/oboist Lindsay Cooper were important long-term members...
, Slapp HappySlapp HappySlapp Happy was a German/English avant-pop group consisting of Anthony Moore , Peter Blegvad and Dagmar Krause . The band formed in Germany in 1972. The band members moved to England in 1974 where they merged with Henry Cow, but the merger ended soon afterwards and Slapp Happy split up. Slapp...
) – 6:05
Bonus track on 1991 CD re-issue
- "Lovers of Gold" (Henry CowHenry CowHenry Cow were an English avant-rock group, founded at Cambridge University in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson. Henry Cow's personnel fluctuated over their decade together, but drummer Chris Cutler and bassoonist/oboist Lindsay Cooper were important long-term members...
, Slapp HappySlapp HappySlapp Happy was a German/English avant-pop group consisting of Anthony Moore , Peter Blegvad and Dagmar Krause . The band formed in Germany in 1972. The band members moved to England in 1974 where they merged with Henry Cow, but the merger ended soon afterwards and Slapp Happy split up. Slapp...
, CutlerChris CutlerChris Cutler is an English percussionist, composer, lyricist and music theorist. Best known for his work with English avant-rock group Henry Cow, Cutler was also a member and drummer of a number of other bands, including Art Bears, News from Babel, Pere Ubu and Gong/Mothergong...
) – 6:28
Personnel
- Tim HodgkinsonTim HodgkinsonTim Hodgkinson is an English experimental music composer and performer, principally on reeds and keyboards. He is best known as one of the core members of the British avant-rock group Henry Cow, which he formed with Fred Frith in 1968...
– organ, clarinet, piano - Fred FrithFred FrithFred Frith is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer and improvisor.Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow. Frith was also a member of Art Bears, Massacre and Skeleton Crew...
– guitar, violin, xylophone, piano - John GreavesJohn Greaves (musician)John Greaves is a British bass guitarist and composer, best known as a member of Henry Cow and his collaborative albums with Peter Blegvad...
– bass guitar, piano - Chris CutlerChris CutlerChris Cutler is an English percussionist, composer, lyricist and music theorist. Best known for his work with English avant-rock group Henry Cow, Cutler was also a member and drummer of a number of other bands, including Art Bears, News from Babel, Pere Ubu and Gong/Mothergong...
– drums, radio - Dagmar KrauseDagmar KrauseDagmar Krause is a German singer, best known for her work with avant-rock groups like Slapp Happy, Henry Cow and Art Bears. She is also noted for her coverage of songs by Bertolt Brecht, Kurt Weill and Hanns Eisler...
(credited as "Dagmar") – voice - Peter BlegvadPeter BlegvadPeter Blegvad is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and cartoonist. He was a founding member of the avant-pop band Slapp Happy, which later merged briefly with Henry Cow, and has released many solo and collaborative albums...
– guitar, voice, clarinet - Anthony MooreAnthony MooreAnthony Moore is a British experimental music composer, performer and producer. He was a founding member of the band Slapp Happy, worked with Henry Cow and has made a number of solo albums, including Flying Doesn't Help and World Service .As a lyricist, Moore has collaborated with Pink Floyd on...
– piano, electronics and tapework - Lindsay CooperLindsay CooperLindsay Cooper is an English bassoon and oboe player, composer and political activist. Best known for her work with the band Henry Cow, she was also a member of Comus, National Health, News from Babel and David Thomas and the Pedestrians...
– bassoon, oboe
Guests
- Geoff LeighGeoff LeighGeoff Leigh is an English jazz and progressive rock musician, playing primarily soprano sax and flute. He was a member of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow and founded several bands himself, including Red Balune, Random Bob, Black Sheep, Mirage, and Ex-Wise Heads.-Biography:Geoff Leigh's...
– soprano saxophone - Mongezi FezaMongezi FezaMongezi Feza was a South African jazz trumpet player and flautist.-Biography:Feza was born in Queenstown, South Africa in 1945. A member of The Blue Notes, he left South Africa in 1964 and settled in Europe, living in London and Copenhagen. As a trumpeter, his influences included hard bopper...
– trumpet - Phil Becque – oscillator
Sound and art work
- Henry CowHenry CowHenry Cow were an English avant-rock group, founded at Cambridge University in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson. Henry Cow's personnel fluctuated over their decade together, but drummer Chris Cutler and bassoonist/oboist Lindsay Cooper were important long-term members...
– producer - Slapp HappySlapp HappySlapp Happy was a German/English avant-pop group consisting of Anthony Moore , Peter Blegvad and Dagmar Krause . The band formed in Germany in 1972. The band members moved to England in 1974 where they merged with Henry Cow, but the merger ended soon afterwards and Slapp Happy split up. Slapp...
– producer - Phil Becque – producer
- Ray Smith – cover art
- Matt Murman – remastered 2000 CD reissue
CD reissues
In 1991 East Side Digital issued a remixed version (by Tim HodgkinsonTim Hodgkinson
Tim Hodgkinson is an English experimental music composer and performer, principally on reeds and keyboards. He is best known as one of the core members of the British avant-rock group Henry Cow, which he formed with Fred Frith in 1968...
) of In Praise of Learning on CD with one extra track, "Lovers of Gold" (an alternate version of "Beginning: The Long March" created by Chris Cutler
Chris Cutler
Chris Cutler is an English percussionist, composer, lyricist and music theorist. Best known for his work with English avant-rock group Henry Cow, Cutler was also a member and drummer of a number of other bands, including Art Bears, News from Babel, Pere Ubu and Gong/Mothergong...
).
In 2000 Recommended Records
Recommended Records
Recommended Records is a British independent record label and distribution network founded by Chris Cutler in March 1978. RēR features largely "Rock in Opposition" and related music, but it also distributes selected music released on other independent labels.In 1982 Cutler established November...
and East Side Digital issued a remastered version of In Praise of Learning on CD with the original mixing restored and the bonus track omitted. The "Lovers of Gold" bonus track would later reappear on the Cow Cabinet of Curiosities disc in the The 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box Set
The 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box Set
The 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box Set is a nine-CD plus one-DVD limited edition box set by English avant-rock group Henry Cow, and was released by RēR Megacorp in January 2009. It consists of over 10 hours of previously unreleased recordings made between 1972 and 1978 from concerts, radio...
(2009).
External links
- Fred Frith discography..
- "War" lyrics. Handgranat.
- "Living in the Heart of the Beast" lyrics. The Canterbury Website.
- "Beautiful as the Moon" lyrics. Handgranat.