THE HENRY COW LEGEND [AKA: LEGEND OR LEG END]

Henry Cow was formed in the summer of 1968, soon after two Cambridge University students, Tim Hodgkinson and Fred Frith, met in a blues club. The two quickly found they shared common approach to music and started performing as a duo. In a short time, they were joined by a few other musicians and after various personel changes Frith and Hodgkinson recruited a bassist John Greaves, who would stay in the band for a longer period of time. It was around 1971, when Henry Cow started functioning as a proper band, playing at numerous music festivals and taking part in John Peel's "Rockortunity Knocks" contest, for instance. The band took their time to observe ever-changing musical trends and constantly learn. By and by, the quartet was joined by Geoff Leigh on woodwinds and Chris Cutler on drums. In 1973, the quintet signed a deal with Virgin to record their debut, which they called Legend (or Leg End as it is often called).

Legend comprises diverse musical styles including "the new thing" avant-garde jazz of Ornette Coleman, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, and Eric Dolphy, 20th century classical music of Arnold Schoenberg or Bela Bartok, as well as some material of their contemporaries - Soft Machine, Gentle Giant, King Crimson or Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention. Henry Cow's music is demanding and complex throughout, full of exceptionally clever detailing. The band's sound is rich in countless free sections, odd time signatures, reocurring themes, unconventional arrangements, and unusual sounds overall.

All of the previously mentioned characteristics are executed in possibly the best imaginable way. Virtually every musician appearing on Legend is a multiinstrumentalist. Tim Hodgkinson handles most keyboard parts, including glorious Farfisa organ, and can be often heard playing clarinet and saxophone. And very proficiently, I might add. This becomes evident on Hodgkinson-Leigh sax duel (or is it an affair?) on the opening track "Nirvana For Mice." Fred Frith's guitar tone varies from being wild and fuzzy, to the point of being almost synthesizer-like, to polite and glassy à la Chet Atkins. Frith also plays violin, which is an important element of the band's music, giving it a feel, which slightly reminds me of Bartok's violin concertos. Geoff Leigh lais down saxophone, flute, clarinet, and recorder parts, presenting himself as a virtuoso on most of the instruments. John Greaves on the low strings is capable of forging fantastic, yet complex grooves, while Chris Cutler's drumming is characterised by astonishing precision combined with unusual ease. With all of that in mind, without a shade of doubt, the musicians of Henry Cow present phenomenal musicianship and musical know-how throughout the whole work. The sounds of the so-called "toy instruments" such as a pixiphone, played by the guest musician Jeremy Baines, are not uncommon and enrich the album, giving it even more of a unique sound.

Legend opens dynamically with "Nirvana For Mice", which, as the time proved, has become one of the band's most memorable and loved pieces. The elaborate instrumental arrangement in shifting time signatures already proves the excellent compositional and musical skill since the very beginning. A mellow "Amygdala" follows, highlighting Geoff Leigh's celestial flute, Tim Hodgkinson's beautiful Farfisa organ sound. The latter's composition is filled with beautiful melodies and contrasted motifs. Next piece, "Teenbeat Introduction" opens with an atonal free-jazz-inspired mayhem, in the vein of Peter Brötzmann. The loose instruments seem to find common ground and, joined by the blurry choir of Cathy Williams, Maggie Thomas, and Sarah Greaves, create a tense build-up climaxing in the sophisticated "Teenbeat." Side two opens with a reprise of the first piece, this time played just on electric guitar by Fred Frith. "Extract from 'With the Yellow Half-Moon and Blue Star'" with a somewhat Eastern European folk-y feel to it shifts between jazzy and classical influences, once again showcasing Frith's unbelieveable compositional skill. The full version of the track was, according to notes on the 40th Anniversary Box Set, commissioned by the Cambridge Contemporary Dance Group under Liebe Klug. It was named after Paul Klee's painting "Avec la demi-lune jaune et l'étoile bleue." When the tension of the composition is at its highest, it is released on "Teenbeat Reprise" - a rapid jazz-rock jam with Fred Frith's saturated guitar in the foregroud. When the piece starts to grow a bit quieter, it suddenly turns into "Tenth Chaffinch", a music-less experimental recording described as "a conversation between Ligeti's choir on LSD and drunk Buddhist monks" in Will Romano's book Prog Rock FAQ. Then comes the last, and, in my opinion, the most interesting track the band has ever produced - "Nine Funerals Of Citizen King." It does not have any static time signature, nor a key, but derives its musical influence from European folk music. The progression is incredibly difficult to follow, while the lyrics intelligently reffer to dadaism, William Shakespeare, king Louis Philippe I and the story of the second French revolution, as well as a conspiracy theory regarding the "Citizen King" and an English poet William Wordsworth working together. The track is closed with a dark woodwind sound, resembling a diving fighter plane.

All things considered, Henry Cow's debut album is a consistent and a very mature work. Borrowing from many different genres, Legend sounds like no other record. Flirting with, but never quite becoming progressive rock, jazz-rock or Canterbury scene - Henry Cow occupy a strange territory of their own. Experimental, complex, vigorous, original, eclectic, extremely intelligent, mature, and one-of-a-kind, in short - a beautifully twisted masterpiece, five stars.