HENRY COW - Leg End (1973-2015) SHM-CD / FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Political astuteness aside, Henry Cow's Leg End is simply a busy musical trip, comprised of snaking rhythms, unorthodox time signatures, and incongruous waves of multiple instruments that actually culminate in some appealing yet complex progressive rock. Here, on the band's debut, both Fred Frith and woodwind man Geoff Leigh hold nothing back, creating eclectic, avant garde-styled jazz movements without any sense of direction, or so it may seem at first, but paying close attention to Henry Cow's musical wallowing results in some first-rate instrumental fusion, albeit a little too abstract at times. Through tracks like "Amygdala," "Teenbeat," and "The Tenth Chaffinch," it's simply creativity run amok, instilling the free-spiritedness of the late '60s into this, a 1974 album. The techniques are difficult to follow, but the stewing that emerges between the piano, guitar, flute, and percussion is so animated and colorful, it actually sounds pleasant as a whole. Chris Cutler lends his uncommitted, self-governing brand of drumming to the album to help culminate the frenzy, and Leigh's tenor flute does add some extraordinary musical fabric to each of the album's ten cuts. "Nine Funerals of the Citizen King" is one of the easiest pieces to listen to, while the short but amiable "Bellycan" is an excerpt removed from the group's work with the Greasy Truckers, performed a year earlier. In 1974, Henry Cow released Unrest, which contains the same vigor and spontaneity as Leg End, only it didn't receive the same amount of attention. Shortly after, they united with Dagmar Krause and the rest of Slapp Happy to further their unconventional route. by Mike DeGagne
Tracklist  
1 Nirvana For Mice 4:53
Engineer [First Part] – Mike Oldfield
Mixed By [Remixed By] – Fred Frith
Tenor Saxophone – Geoff
Written-By – Frith
2 Amygdala 6:47
Bassoon – Lindsay Cooper
Written-By – Hodgkinson
3 Teenbeat Introduction 4:32
Mixed By [Remixed By] – Fred Frith
Voice – Cathy Williams, Maggie Thomas, Sarah Greaves
Written-By – H. Cow
4 Teenbeat 6:57
Alto Saxophone [Alto On End Of] – Tim
Mixed By [Remixed By] – Fred Frith
Voice – Cathy Williams, Maggie Thomas, Sarah Greaves
Written-By – Frith, Greaves
5 Nirvana Reprise 1:11
Mixed By [Remixed By] – Fred Frith
Written-By – Frith
6 Extract From 'With The Yellow Half-Moon And Blue Star' 2:26
Written-By – Frith
Xylophone [Pixiphone] – Jeremy Baines
7 Teenbeat Reprise 5:07
Mixed By [Remixed By] – Fred Frith
Voice – Cathy Williams, Maggie Thomas, Sarah Greaves
Written-By – Frith
8 The Tenth Chaffinch 6:06
Written-By – H. Cow
9 Nine Funerals Of The Citizen King 5:34
Written-By – Hodgkinson
10 Bellycan 3:19
Tenor Saxophone – Geoff
Written-By – H. Cow
Bonus Tracks
11 Teenbeat 10:19
Voice [Conversation] – Amanda Parsons, Ann Rosenthal
Voice [Conversation], Celesta – Dave Stewart
12 Citizen King 5:21
13 Nirvana For Moles 4:09
Credits
Bass, Piano, Whistle, Voice – John Greaves
Drums, Toy [Toys], Piano, Whistle, Voice – Chris Cutler
Guitar [Guitars], Violin, Viola, Piano, Voice – Fred Frith
Organ, Piano, Alto Saxophone [Alto Sax], Clarinet, Voice – Tim Hodgkinson
Saxophone [Saxes], Flute, Clarinet, Recorder, Voice – Geoff Leigh