Assembled over 15 years, this is part TWO of a multi-box collection, which gives for the first time some idea of the breadth & depth of Henry Cow's work. Always very much a live band, performance was their metier, and a concert might range far - always driven by an intense dialogue between tightly knit compositions and radically open improvisation. The officially released LPs tell at best only half this story, and one purpose of this definitive collection is to set the work back into its broader context. These are all previously unreleased recordings, that include many compositions and improvisations new to anyone who only knows the official releases, documentation of a number of one-off projects/events and-where different or remarkable enough to justify inclusion-live versions of parts of the LP repertoire. Many of these recordings are high quality radio transcriptions taken directly from the original masters. Others are less hi-fi, but important for their historic/ musical quality. All of it carefully transferred and re-mastered by Bob Drake to the best audio quality that current technology allows, without interference or tampering, and a million times better than the terrible bootlegs that are swimming around. Altogether, the 9 CDs (4 in this box) embody some extraordinary & occasionally prescient music. Taken together with the officially released albums, it is possible at last to get some impression of the extensive ground Henry Cow covered in its 10 short years. Finally, there is the DVD: 80 minutes of the 1976 Cow (w/ Georgina Born & Dagmar Krause) performing many unreleased pieces + Living in the Heart of The Beast, Beautiful as the Moon, etc. This is the only known video recording in existence (professionally made, multi camera) and had not been recovered since its original broadcast (just scour U-Tube, HC is conspicuous by its total absence). Last but not least, there is a great deal of written & photographic documentation in the included 60 pg color book.

Additional Details

Label: Rer Megacorp

Genre: Progressive Rock

Language: English

Run Time: 300 mins

Region: 0

Release Date: 03/04/14

UPC: 752725026321