In Praise of Learning
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| In Praise of Learning | ||
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| Studio album by Henry Cow / Slapp Happy |
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| Released | 1975 | |
| Recorded | The Manor, Oxfordshire, England, February-March 1975 |
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| Genre | Avant-progressive rock | |
| Length | 37:28 | |
| Label | Virgin Records (UK) | |
| Producer(s) | Henry Cow, Slapp Happy and Phil Becque | |
| Professional reviews | ||
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| Henry Cow chronology | ||
| Desperate Straights (1975) |
In Praise of Learning (1975) |
Henry Cow Concerts (1976) |
| Slapp Happy chronology | ||
| Desperate Straights (1975) |
In Praise of Learning (1975) |
Acnalbasac Noom (1980) |
In Praise of Learning is an album by British avant-garde 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 later that year.
In Praise of Learning was the most overtly political album Henry Cow made. Printed on the back of the album cover is filmmaker John Grierson'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", augmented by Dagmar Krause's Armageddon-like vocals, made it quite clear where Henry Cow's political aspirations lay. Krause's powerful voice had added a new dimension to their music. The album opener, "War" (Moore/Blegvad) had been recorded the previous year during the Desperate Straights sessions.
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.
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
Side One
- "War" (Moore, Blegvad) – 2:25
- "Living in the Heart of the Beast" (Hodgkinson) – 15:30
Side Two
- "Beginning: The Long March" (Henry Cow, Slapp Happy) – 6:26
- "Beautiful as the Moon - Terrible as an Army with Banners" (Frith, Cutler) – 7:02
- "Morning Star" (Henry Cow, Slapp Happy) – 6:05
[edit] Personnel
- Tim Hodgkinson – Organ, clarinet, piano
- Fred Frith – Guitar, violin, xylophone, piano
- John Greaves – Bass guitar, piano
- Chris Cutler – Drums, radio
- Dagmar Krause – Voice
- Peter Blegvad – Guitar, voice, clarinet
- Anthony Moore – Piano, electronics and tapework
- Lindsay Cooper – Bassoon, oboe
[edit] Guests
- Geoff Leigh – Soprano saxophone
- Mongezi Feza – Trumpet
- Phil Becque – Oscillator
[edit] Sound and art work
- Henry Cow – Producers
- Slapp Happy – Producers
- Phil Becque – Producer
- Ray Smith – Cover art
[edit] CD reissues
- East Side Digital issued a remixed version of In Praise of Learning on CD in 1991 with one extra track. The fact that the original tracks had been remixed was not well received by Henry Cow aficionados.
- In 2000 both East Side Digital and Recommended Records reissued In Praise of Learning on CD with the original mixing restored and the bonus track omitted.
