Unrest (Henry Cow album)

Unrest
Studio album by Henry Cow
Released May 1974 (1974-05)
Recorded February–March 1974
Studio The Manor, Oxfordshire, England
Genre Avant-rock, avant-garde jazz
Length 40:08
Label Virgin (UK)
Producer Henry Cow
Henry Cow chronology
Legend
(1973)		 Unrest
(1974)		 Desperate Straights
(1975)

Unrest is an album by British avant-rock group Henry Cow, recorded at Virgin Records' Manor studios in February and March 1974. It was their second album and was released in May 1974. It was their first album including oboe and bassoon player Lindsay Cooper, who replaced saxophonist Geoff Leigh.

The album was dedicated to Robert Wyatt and Uli Trepte.

Content

When Henry Cow began recording Unrest, they found they did not have enough composed material to fill the LP. Because of studio time constraints, they were forced to "improvise" and developed a "studio composition" process that involved improvising to tape, tape manipulation, loops, layering and overdubbing. The balance of the LP (tracks 2 to 5 on side 2) were "composed" in this manner.[1][2] On parts of "Ruins" and "Linguaphonie", the bassoon, alto saxophone, drums and voice were recorded at half or double speed.[1]

For "Ruins", Fred Frith used Fibonacci numbers to establish beat and harmony, after reading about Hungarian composer Béla Bartók's use of the Fibonacci series.[3] Frith said to make "Ruins" "somewhat classical-sounding" he included violin, bassoon and xylophone, but later regretted having played violin "so badly" on the track.[4] Frith remarked, "it would be interesting to have another shot at it with [violinist] Carla Kihlstedt", but added "I doubt if I'll ever have the energy or motivation to go that far".[4]

Frith said that his composition, "Bittern Storm over Ulm" was a "perversion" of one of his favourite Yardbirds songs, "Got to Hurry" (1965) into which he added bars, beats and half-beats. The piece was performed live several times, each time with a different name, for example, "Heron Shower over Hamburg" in London in April 1974, and "Brain Storm over Barnsley" in Amsterdam in December 1977.[5] "Solemn Music" was from Henry Cow's music for John Chadwick's production of Shakespeare's The Tempest, and is the only piece from that suite to be released.[1] The vocal/piano piece at the end of "Deluge" is sung and played by John Greaves.

Cover art

The album cover art work was by artist Ray Smith and was the second of three of his "paint socks" to feature on Henry Cow's albums, the first being on Legend (1973).

CD reissues

In 1991 East Side Digital Records issued a remixed version (by Tim Hodgkinson in 1984) of Unrest on CD with two extra tracks, "The Glove" and "Torchfire" (derived from raw material recorded during the Unrest sessions).[6][7] Another remixed version of "Bittern Storm over Ulm" appeared as "Bittern Storm Revisited" on The Last Nightingale in 1984.

In 1999 Recommended Records and East Side Digital issued a remastered version of Unrest on CD with the original mixing restored and the bonus tracks omitted.

LP reissues

In 2010 Recommended Records released a 180gr. vinyl, limited (1000 copies) edition (RERVHC2LP) of Unrest, mastered from the 1999 CD edition.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
Robert ChristgauA−[9]

In a review at AllMusic, Rick Anderson described Unrest as "one of Henry Cow's better efforts".[8] He called "Bittern Storm Over Ulm" a "brilliant demolition" of "Got to Hurry" by the Yardbirds, and liked the "stately" "Solemn Music" with its "atonal but pretty counterpoint between Frith and Cooper".[8] Anderson felt that the improvised material is "more spotty", but was impressed by "Deluge" and the way it demonstrated how well the group could negotiate the "fine the line ... between bracing free atonality and mindless cacophony".[8]

Track listing

All music composed by Henry Cow except where noted.

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Bittern Storm over Ulm"Frith2:44
2."Half Asleep/Half Awake"Greaves7:39
3."Ruins"Frith12:00
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
4."Solemn Music"Frith1:09
5."Linguaphonie" 5:58
6."Upon Entering the Hotel Adlon" 2:56
7."Arcades" 1:50
8."Deluge" 5:52

Personnel

Henry Cow
Production
  • Phil Becque – recording engineer, mixing engineer (side 1)
  • Andy Morris – recording engineer
  • Mike Oldfield – recording engineer (part of "Ruins")
  • Henry Cow – mixing engineers (side 2), producers
  • Ray Smith – cover art
  • Matt Murman – remastered 1999 CD reissue

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 CD liner notes
  2. ↑ Cutler, Chris. "Henry Cow". Chris Cutler homepage. Retrieved 18 February 2009.
  3. ↑ Cutler 2009, p. 11.
  4. 1 2 Romano 2014, "Chapter 17 | Shock to the System | Henry Cow and Rock in Opposition".
  5. ↑ The 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box Set (Box Set liner notes). Henry Cow. Recommended Records. 2009.
  6. ↑ "Henry Cow: Unrest (ESD version)". ReR Megacorp. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  7. ↑ Ramond, Michel; Roussel, Patrice; Vuilleumier, Stephane. "Discography of Fred Frith". New York Downtown Scene and Other Miscellaneous Discographies. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Anderson, Rick. "Unrest". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
  9. ↑ Christgau, Robert. "Henry Cow". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 25 December 2017.

Works cited

  • Cutler, Chris, ed. (2009). "The Road: Volumes 1–5". The 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box Set (box set booklet). Henry Cow. London: Recommended Records.
  • Romano, Will (2014). Prog Rock FAQ: All That's Left To Know About Rock's Most Progressive Music (e-book ed.). Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-1-61713-587-3.
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