The best of Henry Cow
lexo-2 | 12/01/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Anyone who'd only heard Henry Cow's intricate and occasionally twiddly studio albums could never guess that onstage they could be a seething rock beast, yet such is the case, as this generous double album proves. Actually only about two-thirds of it is genuinely live; the first enormous medley comes from a BBC session, and features the swooningly wonderful Dagmar Krause in full voice about the evils of capitalism, plus some exceptionally nasty guitar from Fred Frith. There's a wonderful duet between Dagmar and Robert Wyatt at a live gig in London, with a surging cover of Wyatt's Little Red Riding Hood Hits The Road that crushes the original version like a grape. Lots of inimitable collective improvisation, and a generally punchy and muscular sound. Certainly the place where those who've never listened to the Cow should start."