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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 making of their first collaborative album, Desperate Straights (1975). Chris Cutler's lyrics on "Beautiful as the Moon - Terrible as an Army with Banners" were the first song texts he had written.[1]
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.
[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 (credited as "Dagmar") – Voice
- Peter Blegvad – Guitar, voice, clarinet
- Anthony Moore – Piano, electronics and tapework
- Lindsay Cooper – Bassoon, oboe
[edit] Guests
[edit] Sound and art work
[edit] CD reissues
- East Side Digital issued a remixed version of In Praise of Learning on CD in 1991 with one extra track, "Lovers Of Gold".
- 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.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links