Henry Cow Box

Henry Cow Box is a seven-CD limited edition box set by English avant-rock group Henry Cow. It was released in December 2006 by Recommended Records and comprises the six original albums Henry Cow released between 1973 and 1979, including those recorded with Slapp Happy. A bonus 3" CD-single was given to advance subscribers of the box set which contains previously unreleased material taken from live performances in Europe by the Orckestra, a merger of Henry Cow, the Mike Westbrook Brass Band and folk singer Frankie Armstrong in 1977. The two bonus CD Orckestra tracks were later reissued on the 2019 Henry Cow Box Redux: The Complete Henry Cow bonus CD, Ex Box – Collected Fragments 1971–1978.

The CDs featured here are the 1998 to 2006 reissues by Recommended Records and contain the original LP mixes. (Remixed versions of Legend and In Praise of Learning were issued in 1991 by East Side Digital Records.) Concerts and Western Culture include the bonus tracks present on their respective CD reissues. The box set's album covers are CD-sized cardboard replicas of the original LP covers.

Cover art

The album cover art work was by artist Ray Smith and was originally used on Henry Cow's debut album, Legend (1973).

Track listings

Disc 1: Legend

Contains all the tracks (the US/Japanese vinyl mixes) from the Henry Cow LP Legend (1973).

Disc 2: Unrest

Contains all the tracks from the Henry Cow LP Unrest (1974).

Disc 3: Desperate Straights

Contains all the tracks from the Slapp Happy/Henry Cow LP Desperate Straights (1975).

Disc 4: In Praise of Learning

Contains all the tracks (the original mixes) from the Henry Cow/Slapp Happy LP In Praise of Learning (1975).

Discs 5 and 6: Concerts

Contains all the tracks from the Henry Cow double LP (with Robert Wyatt) Concerts (1976), plus the Henry Cow tracks on the double LP Greasy Truckers Live at Dingwalls Dance Hall (1973).

Disc 7: Western Culture

Contains all the tracks from the Henry Cow LP Western Culture (1979).

Bonus 3" CD-single: "Unreleased Orckestra Extract"

Contains previously unreleased material taken from live performances in Europe by the Orckestra in March–May 1978. Given to advance subscribers of the box set.

Personnel

Henry Cow

• Fred Frith – guitars, violin, viola, xylophone, piano, voice
• Tim Hodgkinson – organ, piano, alto saxophone, clarinet, Hawaiian guitar, voice
• John Greaves – bass guitar, piano, voice
• Chris Cutler – drums, piano, voice
• Geoff Leigh – saxophones, flute, clarinet, recorder, voice
• Lindsay Cooper – bassoon, flute, oboe, soprano saxophone, sopranino recorder, piano, voice
• Dagmar Krause – voice, piano
• Georgie Born – bass guitar

Slapp Happy

• Dagmar Krause – voice
• Peter Blegvad – guitar, voice, clarinet
• Anthony Moore – piano, electronics and tapework

The Orckestra

• Henry Cow
  • Fred Frith – guitar
  • Tim Hodgkinson – organ, alto saxophone
  • Chris Cutler – drums
  • Lindsay Cooper – bassoon
  • Dagmar Krause – vocals
  • Georgie Born – bass guitar
• Mike Westbrook Brass Band
  • Mike Westbrook – piano
  • Kate Westbrook – euphonium
  • Dave Chambers – soprano saxophone
  • Paul Rutherford – trombone
  • Phil Minton – vocals, trumpet
• Frankie Armstrong – vocals

See also

• The 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box Set (2009)