Concerts

Concerts

2006 remastered version, replacing the old ESD version. "Originally released in 1976, this collection offers a snapshot of Henry Cow as audiences would have heard it in the year before. In the chronology, Concerts came between In Praise of Learning and Western Culture -- that is, after Virgin had lost interest in releasing any more Henry Cow studio records and before the band quit to make one of its own. It was also the year of the 'merger' with Robert Wyatt for a series of concerts in which compositions were shared -- the last show, in Rome, was also Robert's last public performance. From its earlier records, the band was known for its rather complex compositional work. This double LP for the first time gave serious space to the improvisations that accounted for maybe a third of any of its lengthy stage performances. When the double LP was reissued as a CD, the Henry Cow side of the long deleted Greasy Truckers album was added -- 5 surprisingly accessible but abstract studio pieces recorded in an afternoon in 1973 -- recovering yet another side of the group's rapidly evolving vocabulary. This new edition, repackaged and carefully re-mastered by Bob Drake, completes our definitive edition of the group's officially released recordings."