Leg End

Henry Cow | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 12, 1999)
• Original Release Date: 1990
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: East Side Digital
• ASIN: B00000GV55
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #112,352 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Nirvana for Mice

2. Amygdala

3. Teenbeat (Introduction)

4. Teenbeat

5. Extract From "With the Yellow Half-Moon and Blue Star"

6. Teenbeat (Reprise)

7. The Tenth Chaffinch

8. Nine Funerals of the Citizen King

Editorial Reviews

The first, 1973, release by Britain's most enigmatic and unclassifiable band. Formed in 1968 by two Cambridge students, Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson, Henry Cow's original influences included the likes of Soft Machine and Frank Zappa. However, in their undying quest to push the boundaries of conventional music, members soon took out their machetes and began hacking a new trail into an unmapped wilderness of sound. The band was thereby also staunchly anti-commercial, never compromising their sound to please anyone but themselves, and it is precisely because of this that they have gone on to influence so many musicians on the outer fringes of rock & roll on both sides of the Atlantic, particularly the NY experimental music scene. Now returned to its original audio mix. Limited audiophile edition of 2000 copies on 180 gram virgin vinyl. Tracks - Side A: 1. Nirvana for Mice 2. Amygdala 3. Teenbeat Introduction 4. Teenbeat Side B: 1. Extract from "With the Yellow Half-Moon and Blue Star" 2. Teenbeat Reprise 3. The Tenth Chaffinch 4. Nine Funerals of the Citizen King --This text refers to the Vinyl edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Radical rethinking of progressive rock, December 1, 2004

By 

Chet Fakir (San Francisco) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Leg End (Audio CD)

Henry Cow's music on this their first album is a rethinking of both progressive rock, its symphonic pretentions, rock and improvised music. It's radical and revolutionary. The Cow mix both incredibly complex composed pieces with stretches of improvised rock and jazz-like interplay that continually challenge the listener. You're taken on quite a wild ride with Geoff Leighs woodwinds, Fred Friths guitar, viola, the unconventional drumming of Chris Cutler, John Greaves nimble bass playing and the keyboards of Tim Hogkinson. The music is difficult and sometimes perhaps overly ambitious, but never boring. The album is almost entirely instrumental. The one piece with vocals is the Nine Funerals of the Citizen King and after hearing that one you'll know why they didn't sing on any of the other tracks. Henry Cow were trying to throw off convention and forge their own path and for the most part are successful with Leg End, their first album. They may have gotten better with subsequent albums such as the superb "Concerts" but this is a wonderful beginning and only gets 4 stars because of what was to come.

This CD, the original mix, is the one to buy. DO NOT BUY THE REMIX. It sucks because the remixers radically changed the dynamics between the instruments and added reverb over everything ruining what is an essential album of early '70s art rock.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Moooo, and then some, December 1, 1999

By 

"lexo-2" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Leg End (Audio CD)

One of the nicer things about the Nineties has been the way so many long-deleted records by bands you were dying to listen to have come back into stock. This is the original mix of Henry Cow's first album Leg End (it's a joke - look at the sock - leg end - geddit?) because the earlier CD version was apparently remixed in a way that fans objected to. The sound here, anyway, is crisp and clean and acoustic, as the delightfully earnest young men of Henry Cow power their way through their deeply unlikely tunes. Apart from some embarrassing lyrics by Tom Hodgkinson (referring to Gertrude Stein as the "mama of Dada" is glib but inaccurate), the playing is great and there's some evil improvising. Highlight is the rousing Teenbeat, perhaps the closest the Cow ever got to having an anthem. Great stuff. Plus a booklet, with some funny photos of this least glamorous of bands onstage.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Splendid Avante-garde Syncopation, March 29, 2000

By 

R. Flamini "flamjam" (Harleysville, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Leg End (Audio CD)

Henry Cow taps into a realm of music often over-looked by the masses. In the tradition of more widely accepted artists such as King Crimson and Frank Zappa, Henry Cow blends a wide variety of instruments into a syncopated, wild, wacky experience for the senses. "Teenbeat" provides the main theme for the disc. The interplay between the woodwinds and the drums is fascinating. Overall, if you appreciate progressive/avante-garde music that is a little "off-kilter", this disc is a must-have.