Henry Cow

Box 2: The Road: Volumes 6-10 with DVD

Label: Recommended Records Country: UK

"The 4 full-length CD's + 1 DVD in Box 2 cover the Cow's career from roughly 1976 to the band's demise, with an emphasis on the later era. Nobody knew that this 75-minute concert broadcast of the band existed, so the DVD is a real boon, and has spectacular versions of "Beautiful As The Moon", "Living In The Heart Of The Beast", "March", "Erk Gah", "No More Songs" and a great, improvisational piece. The music discs are also excellent, and include as highlights the original version of "Joan", as well as a 12 minute, hitherto unreleased piece by Lindsay Cooper, and great versions of "Erk Gah and "Viva Pa Ubu". There's also some immaculate improvising, including a 17 minute foray from the original RIO Festival, and Fred's "Waking Against Sleep" from the Western Culture sessions - and all that's just the tip of the iceberg. The hefty, 60-page booklet is chock-full of historic information and exclusive photos. And everything has been carefully transferred and re-mastered by Bob Drake to the best audio quality that current technology allows without interference or tampering."-ReR