By this point
Henry Cow consisted of guitarist
Fred Frith, drummer
Chris Cutler, bassist
John Greaves, keyboardist
Tim Hodgkinson, and, of particular importance to the band's sound at this point, bassoonist
Lindsay Cooper. As is so often the case with avant-garde rock & roll, it's the composed pieces that work best, and the fact that
Frith is responsible for the majority of them is significant.
"Bittern Storm Over Ulm" is an absolutely brilliant demolition of
the Yardbirds'
"Got to Hurry," while the brief but lovely
"Solemn Music" unfolds in a stately manner with atonal but pretty counterpoint between
Frith and
Cooper. The improvised material succeeds in a more spotty way.
"Upon Entering the Hotel Adlon" demonstrates how fine the line can be between bracing free atonality and mindless cacophony. The unsettling but eventually gorgeous
"Deluge," on the other hand, shows how well
Henry Cow could walk that line when they tried; in this piece, random guitar skitterings, scattershot drum clatter, and pointillistic reed grunts are eventually snuck up on and overtaken by softly massed chords and
Cooper's gently hooting bassoon. The effect is startlingly moving. Overall, this is one of
Henry Cow's better efforts. ~ Rick Anderson
