In Praise of Learning
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.
Content
In Praise of Learning was Henry Cow's most overtly political album. 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" 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 (1994).
"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.[3] 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.[3][4]
Chris Cutler's lyrics on "Beautiful as the Moon – Terrible as an Army with Banners" were the first song texts he had written,[5] 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.[3]
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
- Bonus track on 1991 CD re-issue
- "Lovers of Gold" (Henry Cow, Slapp Happy, Cutler) – 6:28
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
Guests
Sound and art work
- Henry Cow – producer
- Slapp Happy – 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 Hodgkinson) 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).[6]
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).
See also
References
Footnotes
External links
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