Henry Cow - Cow Box Redux (50th Anniversary Box) [2019] (17 x CDs)

HENRY COW

Henry Cow - Cow Box Redux (50th Anniversary Box) [2019] (17 x CDs)

Henry Cow were an English experimental rock group formed in Cambridge in 1968, active until 1978. Founded by Fred Frith and Chris Cutler, the band became known for a radical approach that blended rock, free improvisation, and contemporary composition. Rejecting conventional song structures, they emphasized collective authorship, complex ensemble writing, and musical exploration.

Closely associated with the Rock in Opposition movement, which they helped initiate, Henry Cow combined artistic ambition with a strong ideological stance against commercial constraints. Though their audience was limited during their lifetime, their influence has been lasting, and they are now regarded as one of the most uncompromising and innovative groups to emerge from British experimental music.

The Henry Cow Cow Box Redux Box was released by ReR Megacorp in late 2019 to coincide with the group’s fiftieth anniversary. The set gathers extensive studio and live material recorded between 1971 and 1978 across multiple discs, accompanied by detailed booklets and documentation that frame the band’s work as a unified and historically significant body. It revisits one of the most uncompromising catalogues to emerge from British experimental music, reframed as a unified body of work rather than a sequence of isolated releases. Henry Cow’s output has always resisted easy categorisation, sitting somewhere between rock, free improvisation, modern composition, and political statement. Presented in box form, the music gains a new sense of continuity, allowing the band’s restless intelligence and collective discipline to unfold over extended listening.

What becomes immediately apparent is the group’s commitment to structure within freedom. Even at their most abrasive or abstract, Henry Cow operate with intent. Themes recur, dissolve, and reappear in altered form, and the tension between composed material and open improvisation remains central throughout. Heard in this context, the music feels less confrontational than purposeful, demanding attention but rewarding it with depth and coherence.

Rather than flattening the material into a historical document, the track ordering allows shifts in approach to feel organic. Early recordings carry a raw urgency, while later material reveals increasing sophistication in ensemble interaction and compositional thinking. The transitions between studio pieces, live recordings, and improvisational passages highlight the band’s refusal to draw firm boundaries between formats or intentions.

The Redux presentation reinforces the sense of Henry Cow as a collective rather than a vehicle for individual expression. Multiple voices and ideas coexist, sometimes uneasily, but always in dialogue. This friction is part of the music’s character, reflecting a group more interested in process than polish. The material invites repeated listening, not for comfort, but for clarity, each return revealing new relationships between parts.

As a whole, The Henry Cow Box Redux functions as both archive and statement. It offers a way to engage with Henry Cow’s music on its own terms, patient, demanding, and intellectually charged. Exploration is essential here. The reward lies in giving the music time to unfold, allowing its complexity and conviction to emerge through sustained attention rather than immediate impact. (B)

Please thanks CPT. HATEMONGER for this great box set.

from Cpt. Hatemonger's personal collection, and he hopes you all have a wonderful time listening☺️

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Track lists

CD01

01 Henry Cow - Nirvana for Mice 4:56

02 Henry Cow - Amygdala 6:57

03 Henry Cow - Teenbeat Introduction 4:32

04 Henry Cow - Teenbeat 6:47

05 Henry Cow - [silence] 0:16

06 Henry Cow - Extract from "With the Yellow Half-Moon and Blue Star" 3:37

07 Henry Cow - Teenbeat Reprise 5:04

08 Henry Cow - The Tenth Chaffinch 6:04

09 Henry Cow - Nine Funerals of the Citizen King 5:34

CD02

01 Henry Cow - Bittern Storm Over Ulm 2:19

02 Henry Cow - Half Asleep 7:59

03 Henry Cow - Ruins 12:11

04 Henry Cow - [silence] 0:15

05 Henry Cow - Solemn Music 1:11

06 Henry Cow - Linguaphonie 5:31

07 Henry Cow - Arcades 1:58

08 Henry Cow - Upon Entering the Hotel Adlon 3:04

09 Henry Cow - Deluge 5:25

CD03

01 Slapphappy; Henry Cow - Some Questions About Hats 1:51

02 Slapphappy; Henry Cow - The Owl 2:17

03 Slapphappy; Henry Cow - A Worm is at Work 1:52

04 Slapphappy; Henry Cow - Bad Alchemy 3:06

05 Slapphappy; Henry Cow - Europa 2:48

06 Slapphappy; Henry Cow - Desperate Straights 4:14

07 Slapphappy; Henry Cow - Riding Tigers 1:43

08 Slapp Happy; Henry Cow - [silence] 0:14

09 Slapphappy; Henry Cow - Apes in Capes 2:16

10 Slapphappy; Henry Cow - Strayed 1:54

11 Slapphappy; Henry Cow - Giants 1:57

12 Slapphappy; Henry Cow - Excerpt From "The Messiah" 1:49

13 Slapphappy; Henry Cow - In the Sickbay 2:09

14 Slapphappy; Henry Cow - Caucasian Lullaby 8:25

CD04

01 Slapphappy; Henry Cow - War 2:31

02 Slapphappy; Henry Cow - Living in The Heart of the Beast 16:12

03 Slapphappy; Henry Cow - [silence] 0:14

04 Slapphappy; Henry Cow - Beginning: The Long March 6:00

05 Slapphappy; Henry Cow - Beautiful as the Moon; Terrible as an Army with Banners 7:02

06 Slapphappy; Henry Cow - Morning Star 6:03

CD05

01 Henry Cow - Industry 6:57

02 Henry Cow - The Decay of Cities 6:55

03 Henry Cow - On the Raft 3:58

04 Henry Cow - [silence] 0:15

05 Henry Cow - Falling Away 7:38

06 Henry Cow - Gretel's Tale 3:58

07 Henry Cow - Look Back 1:20

08 Henry Cow - Half the Sky 5:08

CD06

01 Henry Cow - Beautiful as the Moon; Terrible as an Army with Banners 5:40

02 Henry Cow - Nirvana for Mice 5:30

03 Henry Cow - The Ottowa Song 4:15

04 Henry Cow - Gloria Gloom 4:13

05 Henry Cow - Beautiful as the Moon [Reprise] 3:11

06 Henry Cow - Bad Alchemy 2:54

07 Henry Cow - Little Red Riding Hood Hits the Road 5:49

08 Henry Cow - Ruins 16:29

09 Henry Cow - Groningen 8:53

10 Henry Cow - Groningen Again 7:26

CD07

01 Henry Cow - Oslo 1 5:37

02 Henry Cow - Oslo 2 3:15

03 Henry Cow - Oslo 3 3:23

04 Henry Cow - Oslo 4 3:00

05 Henry Cow - Oslo 5 3:00

06 Henry Cow - Oslo 6 1:45

07 Henry Cow - Oslo 7 4:54

08 Henry Cow - Oslo 8 4:01

09 Henry Cow - Off the Map 8:22

10 Henry Cow - Caf  Royal 3:20

11 Henry Cow - Keeping Warm in Winter / Sweet Heart of Mine 9:58

12 Henry Cow - Udine 9:39

CD08

01 Henry Cow - Pre-Teenbeat I 1:45

02 Henry Cow - Pre-Teenbeat II 1:28

03 Henry Cow - Rapt in a Blanket 5:06

04 Henry Cow - Came to See You 6:43

05 Henry Cow - Amygdala extract [pre-Legend demo] 3:35

06 Henry Cow - Teenbeat 10:19

07 Henry Cow - Citizen King 5:21

08 Henry Cow - Nirvana for Moles 4:09

09 Henry Cow - With the Yellow Half-Moon and Blue Star: Intro 0:46

10 Henry Cow - With the Yellow Moon and Blue Star: Invocation 2:08

11 Henry Cow - With the Yellow Moon and Blue Star: Demi-lune Jaune 2:10

12 Henry Cow - With the Yellow Moon and Blue Star: Three Little Steps 2:13

13 Henry Cow - With the Yellow Moon and Blue Star: Red Riff 1:49

14 Henry Cow - With the Yellow Moon and Blue Star: Chorale Flautando 1:51

15 Henry Cow - With the Yellow Moon and Blue Star: Cycling Over the Cliff 4:08

16 Henry Cow - With the Yellow Moon and Blue Star: First Light 0:51

17 Henry Cow - Guider Tells of Silent Airborne Machine: Olwyn Grainger 2:24

18 Henry Cow - Guider Tells of Silent Airborne Machine: Betty McGowan 6:12

19 Henry Cow - Guider Tells of Silent Airborne Machine: Lottie Hare 1:18

CD09

01 Henry Cow - Introduction 1:52

02 Henry Cow - Ruins I 6:35

03 Henry Cow - Half Asleep, Half Awake 4:11

04 Henry Cow - Ruins II 1:00

05 Henry Cow - Heron Shower Over Hamburg 2:28

06 Henry Cow - Nix 0:07

07 Henry Cow - Halsteren 1:08

08 Henry Cow - Halsteren: Solo 1 1:08

09 Henry Cow - Halsteren: Solo Extension 1 2:21

10 Henry Cow - Halsteren: 2 1:24

11 Henry Cow - Halsteren: Extension 1 0:17

12 Henry Cow - Halsteren: 3 0:52

13 Henry Cow - Halsteren: First Suspension 4:28

14 Henry Cow - Halsteren: Extension 2 2:58

15 Henry Cow - Halsteren: Extension 3 1:19

16 Henry Cow - Halsteren: Solo 2 1:20

17 Henry Cow - Halsteren: Extension 2 2:32

18 Henry Cow - Halsteren: 4 0:17

19 Henry Cow - Halsteren: Second Suspension 2:34

20 Henry Cow - Halsteren: Extension 4 1:58

21 Henry Cow - Halsteren: Solo 3 0:49

22 Henry Cow - Halsteren: Solo Extension 3 3:17

23 Henry Cow - Halsteren: 5 1:21

24 Henry Cow - Living in the Heart of the Beast I 1:30

25 Henry Cow - Living in the Heart of the Beast II 1:01

26 Henry Cow - Living in the Heart of the Beast III 1:36

27 Henry Cow - Living in the Heart of the Beast IV 1:48

28 Henry Cow - Living in the Heart of the Beast V 1:06

29 Henry Cow - Living in the Heart of the Beast VI 2:48

30 Henry Cow - Living in the Heart of the Beast VII 1:10

31 Henry Cow - Living in the Heart of the Beast VIII 0:59

32 Henry Cow - Living in the Heart of the Beast IX 1:55

CD10

01 Henry Cow - Fair as the Moon 5:59

02 Henry Cow - Nirvana for Rabbits 4:48

03 Henry Cow - Ottawa Song 3:41

04 Henry Cow - Twilight Bridge 2:04

05 Henry Cow - Gloria Gloom 2:17

06 Henry Cow - Hamburg 1 4:15

07 Henry Cow - Hamburg 2 3:27

08 Henry Cow - Red Noise 10 3:16

09 Henry Cow - Hamburg 3 5:31

10 Henry Cow - Hamburg 4 2:41

11 Henry Cow - Hamburg 5 5:25

12 Henry Cow - Terrible as an Army with Banners 3:34

13 Henry Cow - A Heart 9:03

14 Henry Cow - Little Red Riding Hood Hit the Road 5:12

15 Henry Cow - We Did it Again 6:29

CD11

01 Henry Cow - Trondheim I (pt 1) 7:07

02 Henry Cow - Trondheim I (pt 2) 2:24

03 Henry Cow - Trondheim I (pt 3) 4:53

04 Henry Cow - Trondheim I (pt 4) 4:59

05 Henry Cow - Trondheim I (pt 5) 4:46

06 Henry Cow - Trondheim I (pt 6) 7:16

07 Henry Cow - Trondheim I (pt 7) 3:50

08 Henry Cow - Trondheim I (pt 8) 7:45

09 Henry Cow - Trondheim I (pt 9) 4:54

10 Henry Cow - Trondheim I (pt 10) 0:28

CD12

01 Henry Cow - Trondheim II (pt 1) 6:11

02 Henry Cow - Trondheim II (pt 2) 1:13

03 Henry Cow - Trondheim II (pt 3) 10:05

04 Henry Cow - Trondheim II (pt 4) 4:45

05 Henry Cow - Trondheim II (pt 5) 2:54

06 Henry Cow - Trondheim II (pt 6) 6:43

07 Henry Cow - The March 6:26

CD13

01 Henry Cow - Stockholm 1 6:37

02 Henry Cow - Erk Gah (aka Hold to the Zero Burn) part 1 3:29

03 Henry Cow - Erk Gah (aka Hold to the Zero Burn) part 2 2:55

04 Henry Cow - Erk Gah (aka Hold to the Zero Burn) part 3 2:27

05 Henry Cow - Erk Gah (aka Hold to the Zero Burn) part 4 6:17

06 Henry Cow - Erk Gah (aka Hold to the Zero Burn) part 5 1:59

07 Henry Cow - A Bridge to Ruins 5:08

08 Henry Cow - Ottawa Song 3:27

09 Henry Cow - G teborg 1 6:07

10 Henry Cow - G teborg 2 8:20

11 Henry Cow - Goteborg 3 2:27

12 Henry Cow - No More Songs 3:35

13 Henry Cow - Stockholm 2 6:13

14 Henry Cow - The March 4:12

CD14

01 Henry Cow - Joan 5:28

02 Henry Cow - Teenbeat 2 8:05

03 Henry Cow - Would You Prefer Us to Lie? 4:28

04 Henry Cow - [Untitled Piece] 11:31

05 Henry Cow - Chaumont 1 9:01

06 Henry Cow - Chaumont 2 2:14

07 Henry Cow - March 7:00

08 Henry Cow - Brain Storm Over Barnsley 3:23

09 Henry Cow - Teenbeat 3 6:45

10 Henry Cow - Post-Teen Auditorium Invasion 3:56

11 Henry Cow - Bucket Waltz 4:26

12 Henry Cow - On Suicide 3:42

CD15

01 Henry Cow - Armed Maniac / Things We Forgot 11:54

02 Henry Cow - Van Fleet 1:49

03 Henry Cow - Viva Pa Ubu [Instrumental Extract] 4:35

04 Henry Cow - The Big Tune Begins 0:45

05 Henry Cow - The Big Tune Continues 2:11

06 Henry Cow - The Big Tune Ends 1:30

07 Henry Cow - March 3:46

08 Henry Cow - Bremen 1 9:40

09 Henry Cow - Bremen 2 6:20

10 Henry Cow - Bremen 3 4:40

11 Henry Cow - Bremen 4 10:09

12 Henry Cow - Erk Gah Instrumental Extract 1 3:37

13 Henry Cow - Erk Gah Instrumental Extract 2 5:15

14 Henry Cow - Erk Gah Instrumental Extract 3 7:48

CD16

01 Henry Cow - Joy of Sax 3:49

02 Henry Cow - Jackie-ing 1:15

03 Henry Cow - Untitled 2 1:32

04 Henry Cow - The Herring People 2:07

05 Henry Cow - RIO I 6:05

06 Henry Cow - RIO II 4:25

07 Henry Cow - RIO III 4:14

08 Henry Cow - RIO IV 2:25

09 Henry Cow - Half the Sky 5:05

10 Henry Cow - Virgins of Illinois 2:13

11 Henry Cow - Viva Pa Ubu 2:17

CD17

01 Henry Cow - Pre-Virgin Demo 1 (Mostly Frith) 4:00

02 Henry Cow - Pre Virgin Demo 2 (Mostly Hodgkinson) 1:08

03 Henry Cow - Unidentified Improvisation 1 1:31

04 Henry Cow - Unidentified Improvisation 2 5:43

05 Henry Cow - Unidentified Late Composition 2:10

06 Henry Cow - Exploded Amygdala: Teen Introduction 3:46

07 Henry Cow - Lovers of Gold 6:35

08 Henry Cow - Hamburg 6 5:33

09 Henry Cow - Ruins Extract 8:24

10 Henry Cow - Hamburg 7 9:53

11 Henry Cow - Half the Sky 5:07

12 Henry Cow - Extract from "The Glove" 2:18

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Music weaves itself into the fabric of our emotions, dances through the corridors of memory, and whispers to the soul of who we are. Sharing these stories deepens the connection, turning the experience into something timeless and profound.

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