Henry Cow
's third album, originally released in 1975, found them expanded to an eight-piece ensemble after a guest session on another group's record.
absorbed
Slapp Happy
into their lineup after appearing on
's
Desperate Straights
album. It was a tenuous relationship (lasting only long enough for this release, and with
crumbling after
Dagmar Krause
decided to stay on with Henry Cow), but one that produced some stunning results.
Anthony Moore
and
Peter Blegvad
's "War" has enormous proportion and power that would have been beyond the scope of a relatively quiet trio. The sheer ambition of this work is bracing. Intricately composed and arranged pieces, rife with lyrics that meld poetry with politics, give way to extended improvisations. While that had always been the
recipe, it was never given such dramatic sweep. No one has ever, before or since, sounded like this incarnation of
. ~ TiVo Staff