Customer Reviews

Unrest

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3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Okay, you're looking at Unrest by Henry Cow. There is a reason you're here, you didn't just stumble across it. Despite the opinions of some, this gem has two distinct sides. One relatively standard in composition, the other purposely experimental. The balance is expertly measured, and pleasing to anyone with a taste for this type of music. I'd venture to say Modern Jazz/Rock has seen few pieces as well defined and pleasantly melodic as "Bittern..", "Half Awake..", "Solemn Music", or "Ruins". As informed as this might have been by the Canterbury or Zappa ethic, it stands alone, especially with the highly listenable experimental half.

Have an open mind, for goodness sakes.

This incredible album was released in 1974 and fuses elements of free jazz and modern classical with progressive rock into an impenetrably dense wall of sound. To the uninitiated, this sometimes chaotic music can be fairly intimidating and could possibly be perceived as icy, distant, and intellectual. All of the musicians are superb and play a wide variety of instruments including several types of woodwinds: Chris Cutler (drums/percussion), John Greaves (bass, piano, voice), Tim Hodgkinson (organ, alto sax, clarinet, piano), Lindsay Cooper (bassoon, oboe, recorder, voice), and Fred Frith (guitar, violin, xylophone, piano). The first three pieces, including the 12'07 Ruins, are traditional in the sense that melodies, harmonies, and rhythms, albeit very sophisticated, are presented in a manner that the contours of each piece take on the shape of rock music. However, starting with the piece Linguaphonie, recognizable structure begins to dissolve and the music becomes more in keeping with the stylistic attributes of modern classical. In short, everything is pretty much thrown out the window and the music becomes a swirl of random sounds, which reaches a peak on the 3'00" Upon Entering the Hotel Adlon. This piece is a furious explosion of bass, drums and woodwind parts without a discernible rhythm or tonal center. In 1975, Henry Cow would merge with the avant-garde outfit Slapp Happy and develop a type of progressive rock even more complex than that practiced by Gentle Giant. This resulted in the remarkable album In Praise of Learning, which is also highly recommended.

With UNREST, Henry Cow moved beyond the jazz-influenced sound of their first recording, LEG END, on to an album with two personalities - the composed pieces are definitely more `studied' in their compositions, and the improvisations feature a technique still evolving within the band, that of using the studio itself as an instrument of composition.The album opens with quite a catchy little number, `Bittern storm over Ulm', written by guitarist Fred Frith - and he gives a nod to `Got to hurry', recorded in the 60s by the Yardbirds and credited to O. Rasputin. The arrangement of this piece is very compact and disciplined - every note sounds as if someone assembling a puzzle placed it there, and the effect is quite powerful. All of the elements play a part - nothing is by chance and nothing is wasted - making this one of the most effective instrumentals I've ever heard.

The recording on UNREST is much clearer than on LEG END, allowing the listener to more fully appreciate the playing of the various group members. In particular, Chris Cutler's drumming, while it never dominates the mix, is much easier to hear. His work is amazing - I can't think of a drummer I've ever heard that I admire more.

`Half asleep; half awake', a John Greaves composition, follows. It begins slowly and quietly, with some beautiful piano work (I'm not sure if it's John or Fred), acquiring more energy as it develops into a chamber music-like work. Lindsay Cooper (a new member as of this album, replacing Geoff Leigh from the LEG END era) does some wonderful work on her bassoon on this track, and throughout the set (she plays oboe and recorder as well). The piece works its way through several changes, ending once again in some achingly lovely piano.

`Ruins' comes next - another Fred Frith composition - and, like `Half asleep; half awake' before it, develops slowly at first - a single, drawn-out note played (I think) by Fred on the violin, shadowed by some work from the wind section and punctuated by chords struck in the high register on the piano. The band then falls into line for some very tasty ensemble playing.

`Solemn music', another (short) Frith work, follows - and the remainder of the album is given to four improvisational tracks. The above-mentioned use of the studio-as-instrument is more apparent on these selections - especially on `Linguaphonie', `Arcades' and `Deluge'. In their early forms here, these techniques were used later on IN PRAISE OF LEARNING, and WESTERN CULTURE in subtler ways - it's very interesting to hear these early experiments with these methods.

The musicianship is excellent throughout this album - and throughout the band's history. Fred Frith has come to be known in the progressive/experimental music world as a respected and challenging innovator - he has since recorded albums of various styles, ranging from quirky quasi-pop songs (GRAVITY, SPEECHLESS, &c) to power-trio work with Massacre, to his more avant-garde recordings. His work with the late Tom Cora (and subsequently with the addition of Zeena Parkins) in the duo/trio Skeleton Crew (NOT to be confused with the current band of the same name) bridged the gap between these styles nicely - these recordings have FINALLY been made available on CD. John Greaves is one of the most fluid, melodic bass players I've ever heard - his work could never be described as simply adding bottom to the arrangements, and his compositions (and his piano work) illustrate this very well. He has recorded some critically acclaimed work with Slapp Happy alumnus Peter Blegvad (most notably their KEW.RHONE recording, a classic of artful creativity). Lindsay Cooper later worked with News from Babel and did a stint, along with Chris Cutler, with a band led by David Thomas (ex-Pere Ubu vocalist). Tim Hodgkinson formed The Work after the demise of Henry Cow, and has continued to compose and perform in various ensembles over the years.

The influences of modern classical composers are more evident on UNREST than on its predecessor - I can hear traces/echoes of Arnold Schoenberg and Alban Berg here and there, but this music is by no means derivative. It stands on its own feet quite nicely. I still have to say that I prefer the composed pieces to the improvised ones - but those are important as well, because that's where many of the ideas for subsequent compositions - and performance methods -- were born. UNREST is a more mature album, I think, than LEG END - and a good indicator of where the band was heading. This is another essential recording from this innovative and intelligent group.

Henry Cow, the most political of the original Rock-in-Opposition bands, had for a motto "radical politics demand radical music." In 1974, _Unrest_ continues this philosophy in the middle ground between the RELATIVELY more conservative _Leg End_ (full of Soft Machine, Zappa, and Bartok influences, among other wonderful things!) with even more modernist structure and harmony, even electronics. along doubt due in part to the addition of Lindsay Cooper, here playing bassoon, oboe, and recorder and some wordless vocals on "Linguiphonie"... she is an awesome performer and composer!! (I highly recommend her solo work, all of it!). So she joins the already phenomenally talented group of Tim Hodgkinson, Fred Frith, John Greaves, and Chris Cutler. I love Henry Cow, and it's always hard to pick a favorite album, and whatever I decided on that at the end of the day, i would say _Unrest_ is probably the most _fun_ to listen to (well, there is _Desperate Straits_ but it's more a Slapp Happy album...). It has a great variety of moods and song types, from strictly composed pieces to more improvised pieces later modified by studio trickery.

This variety is almost a happy accident, as the band came to the studio lacking sufficient composed material to complete both sides of an album. Well, they used "Solemn Music", (Frith's nice duet for oboe and guitar, part of HC's contribution to John Chadwick's "The Tempest"), but otherwise nothing. Fortunately, Henry Cow was no stranger to improvisation or technical innovation, and they created the entire second side, "developing various experimental procedures that combine[d] improvisation, tapework, loops, layering and compositional overdubbing." A common theme in other reviews is derision towards ol' side 2, but i personally really enjoy this side of HC's music. these pieces are simply wonderful and when considered with the similar pieces from _In Praise of Learning_, represent a different side of Henry Cow's genius that one should not reduce in goodness, even if they might generally appeal more to the free-jazz/free-improv fan than the rock fan. "Linguaphonie" sounds like some kind of computer music, with instruments recorded at double- and half-speed and used for quiet noise and clashing mayhem, and with spoken French vocals, shouted vocals, and Cooper's wordless, curious vocals that sound rather confused themselves, A disturbing shriek opening "Upon Entering the Hotel Adlon" gives way to rhythmically confusing, furious jazz-rock. "Arcades" is the band is full chamber music mode, very stark and short. "Deluge" is one of my favorite songs by this band and my favorite on this album. It starts with a very puzzling array of Cutler's pattering drumming, to which various bursts of instruments respond, from broken frithian guitar chords to Cooper's grumbling, processed bassoon. Hodgkinson's spurting sax soloing bridges this with the funereal, dissonant chords of the final measures. Then, when it seems like it will fade out, Greaves enters, playing softly on piano and singing a mellifluous tune for a few bars before it suddenly ends. amazing. if this piece does not make you fight tears, you are not human.

Side one, all composed, is also excellent and gives the album great balance. Frith's "Bittern Storm over Ulm", the short opener, is peppy jazz-rock that starts rather consonantly, almost like a different band entirely. But with Ivesian craft he puts this alongside his own dissonant, free-time soloing. the song is in very good spirits, with the band's ironic handclaps and Frith's fiery improvising. Frith also composed the longest piece on the album, "Ruins", a 12-minute monster of incredibly complex and subtle structure. much of its initial passages are set up with the complex interplay of evocative melodic themes and thorny, angular RIO. A furious solo by Frith is the peak of tension before a complex section where a recurring theme of dissonant chords exchanges with passages of violin solos, proggy xylophone, mournful bassoon, and cheerful clarinet-violin duos. The music seems to calm down through a complex web of four different melodies, then it goes into a furious rock-out. The last few seconds are short and tragic, like life after the civilization is riven and all that's left is ruins. There is also the excellent "Half-Asleep, Half-Awake", a much happier song on the whole. Jazz solo piano opens and closes the piece, which is replete with beautiful and complex melodies developed at first, then furious solos and freaked-out jamming that would probably completely lose you but for Greaves who somehow always manages to hold down a tight-yet-complex groove.

So that's it. Nothing I say will ever convey how good this album is though. If you check out this album, and you should because it is a "classic-in-field", prepare for a unique, dauntingly complex masterpiece like few others. And you will never hear a guitarist like Fred Frith or a drummer like Chris Cutler.

Without dumbing-down the music, Henry Cow's "Unrest" is a marked improvement over their previous effort "Leg End" which is quite a challenge to listen to, although it is certainly not without it's merit. "Unrest" as well as most of Henry Cow's ouvre is typically catagorized in the "rock-in-opposition" sub-genre, breaking the boundries of rock, almost having more in common with 20th century art and avant-garde music.

The highlights of "Unrest" are the rather odd take of the Yardbirds "Got To Hurry" titled "Bittern Storm Over Ulm" and the epic "Ruins" which features some beautiful interplay between Fred Frith's guitar and violin work, Tim Hodgkinson and Lindsay Cooper's winds and Chris Cutler's percussion. For avant-garde music this album is extremely easy to listen to, in fact I had a cassette of this album (with Amon Duul II "Phallus Dei" on the other side) in my car for weeks on end and never once found it to be a bit disrupting or distracting.

all i have to say is hear the CD for a week all the time and you realise how good they are

I was never really sure if Henry Cow is the name of the band or the guy, but whatever it is, it doesn't really matter now does it? Not when quality songwriting and unique instrumental jams dominate their spectacular albums.

I haven't got a single clue what the bands later albums sound like, but boy oh boy, these early ones sure do something special. Maybe it's the challenging way these guys put a song together, or maybe I just love their way of experimenting with different styles and blending them together wonderfully.

"Ruins" sounds like Camel and classical elements combined. Maybe a little bit of plumpy night girls-era Caravan too.

I don't know guys- some of these songs sound like typical early King Crimson improve jams, while other times you hear some really nicely-written songs. Whatever Henry Cow tried to be, they succeeded at it. And with that my friends, I'm out of here. Peace.

Whilst not everyone's cup of tea, Unrest represents a major milestone in prog-rock/avant-rock/rock-in-opposition. It provides a remarkable synthesis of intricate construction with free improvisation, combining elements of musique concrete with Zappa, Spontaneous Music Ensemble, the Canterbury School (Soft Machine et. al.) and contemporary classical. For my money, the track "Ruins" is one of the finest examples of left-field modern music, and side one of this album can still bring a lump to my throat. For those who want rock music to be only toe-tapping predictability, avoid this album like the plague.

If you want your prog rock less improvised, definitely go for Henry Cow's other albums (excepting "Concerts").

This is another one of many albums I wasn't ready for in the first hearing. It is 'difficult', perhaps some will say too intellectual. It sounded like nonsensical, indulgent noise at first, but one night I put it on in a perverse mood and just let it play while I went about my business. I ended up letting it play again and again for about a week. It sort of opens up with repeat listenings and now I find it quite beautiful.

I LOVE HENRY COW'S MUSIC . I LOVE THEIRS MUSIC PERSPECTIVE AND SOUND. YOU HAVE TO LISTEN THIS ALBUM , MY FAVOURITE SONGS IN THIS ALBUMS ARE "RUINS", "UPON ENTERING THE HOTEL ADLON" . VERY GOOD ALBUM.