Hopes and Fears | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 15 May 1978 | |||
Recorded | 15– 29 January 1978, Switzerland 15–18 March 1978, London | |||
Studio | Sunrise, Kirchberg, Switzerland Kaleidophon, London | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 48:25 | |||
Label | Recommended (UK) | |||
Producer | Art Bears Etienne Conod | |||
Art Bears chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Christgau's Record Guide | B [2] |
Hopes and Fears is the debut album by the English avant-rock group Art Bears. It comprises tracks by Henry Cow, Art Bears's predecessor, recorded at Sunrise Studios, Kirchberg in Switzerland in January 1978, and tracks by Art Bears, recorded at Kaleidophon Studios in London in March 1978.
Hopes and Fears began as a Henry Cow album, but after the first recording sessions in Switzerland, some of the members of the band were unhappy about the predominance of song-oriented material. As a compromise it was agreed that two albums would be made: the songs would be released by Fred Frith, Chris Cutler and Dagmar Krause as Art Bears, and the instrumental compositions would be released later by Henry Cow. The newly formed Art Bears recorded four more tracks in London to complete Hopes and Fears, which was released in May 1978. Henry Cow returned to Switzerland in July that year to record additional instrumental pieces for what was to be their last album, Western Culture (1979). [3]
Henry Cow bassist Georgie Born tweeted in 2021, "Time the myths around Hopes and Fears ended: it was a Henry Cow album but arguments among the boys meant it ended up as 'Art Bears': wrong, unjust, writes Lindsay [Cooper], Tim Hodgkinson and I out of the creative process." [4]
Because of Henry Cow's presence on this album, Hopes and Fears is considered by some to be "the lost Henry Cow album". [5] But the predominance of songs makes the album a bridge between Henry Cow and Art Bears, a move away from Henry Cow's usual intense compositions, and the beginnings of Art Bears's music, fully realised on their next two albums. It also shows Frith experimenting with eastern European folk music on "Moeris Dancing", [6] which he explored further on some of his subsequent solo albums, particularly Gravity (1980) and Speechless (1981).
"Joan" and "On Suicide" had been performed live by Henry Cow in 1977 and appear on Volume 7: Later and Post-Virgin of The 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box Set (2009). This version of "Joan" differs from the earlier live recording in that it is shorter, and the lyrics are different. Cutler wrote the original lyrics for "Joan" and Tim Hodgkinson's "The Pirate Song", but Henry Cow were unhappy with them, and the songs were withdrawn from their repertoire. "Joan" was only performed a few times, and "The Pirate Song" not at all. Prior to the Hopes and Fears recording session, Cutler rewrote the lyrics for "Joan" as a homage to Joan of Arc, [7] and those for "The Pirate Song", but once again there were objections from the feminist faction within Henry Cow. Krause, however, supported the new lyrics and both songs were recorded at Sunrise Studios with the revised texts. [8] [3]
Stewart Mason wrote at AllMusic that the album's longest track, "In Two Minds" is the closest Art Bears came to playing "conventional rock music". [1] When Cutler was asked in an interview in 2004 whether the song was a "homage" to the Who, he replied, "It would be hard to deny the connection. It is so obviously a reference. I was certainly directly influenced in my youth by The Who – and in particular by Keith Moon." [9]
Hopes and Fears derived its name from the following conversation between Charion and Hermes in Satirical Sketches: Charon Sees Life by Lucian of Samosata (quoted in the booklet accompanying the CD release of the album): [10]
Charion | All I can see is a complicated muddle – a world full of utter confusion. Their towers are like beehives in which every bee has a sting of his own and uses it against his neighbour – and some are like wasps, preying on the weaker members of the community. But what are those dim shapes flying around them? |
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Hermes | Hopes and Fears, Charon... |
Recorded by Henry Cow at Sunrise Studio, Kirchberg, Switzerland, 15–29 January 1978; and by Art Bears at Kaleidophon, London, 15–18 March 1978.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Artist | Length |
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1. | "On Suicide" | Brecht, Eisler | Henry Cow | 1:26 |
2. | "The Dividing Line" | Cutler, Frith, Cooper | Henry Cow | 4:11 |
3. | "Joan" | Cutler, Frith | Henry Cow | 3:05 |
4. | "Maze" | Cutler, Frith | Henry Cow | 5:05 |
5. | "In Two Minds" | Cutler, Frith | Henry Cow | 8:45 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Artist | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
6. | "Terrain" | Frith | Art Bears | 3:49 |
7. | "The Tube" | Cutler, Frith | Art Bears | 3:05 |
8. | "The Dance" | Cutler, Frith | Art Bears | 5:09 |
9. | "The Pirate Song" | Cutler, Hodgkinson | Henry Cow | 1:28 |
10. | "Labyrinth" | Cutler, Hodgkinson | Henry Cow | 2:15 |
11. | "Riddle" | Cutler, Frith | Henry Cow | 2:49 |
12. | "Moeris Dancing" | Frith | Henry Cow | 5:08 |
13. | "Piers" | Cutler, Frith | Art Bears | 2:10 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Artist | Length |
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14. | "Collapse" | Cutler, Frith | Art Bears | 4:03 |
15. | "All Hail!" | Cutler, Frith | Art Bears | 4:48 |
16. | "Coda to Man and Boy" | Cutler, Frith | Art Bears | 7:12 |
Art Bears were an English avant-rock group formed during the disassembly of Henry Cow in 1978 by three of its members, Chris Cutler, Fred Frith and Dagmar Krause. The group released three studio albums between 1978 and 1981, and toured Europe in 1979.
Henry Cow were an English experimental rock group, founded at the University of Cambridge in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson. Henry Cow's personnel fluctuated over their decade together, but drummer Chris Cutler, bassist John Greaves, and bassoonist/oboist Lindsay Cooper were important long-term members alongside Frith and Hodgkinson.
Dagmar Krause is a German singer, best known for her work with avant-rock groups including Slapp Happy, Henry Cow, and Art Bears. She is also noted for her coverage of songs by Bertolt Brecht, Kurt Weill and Hanns Eisler. Her unusual singing style makes her voice instantly recognisable and has defined the sound of many of the bands with whom she has worked.
Chris Cutler is an English percussionist, composer, lyricist and music theorist. Best known for his work with English avant-rock group Henry Cow, Cutler was also a member and drummer of other bands, including Art Bears, News from Babel, Pere Ubu and (briefly) Gong/Mothergong. He has collaborated with many musicians and groups, including Fred Frith, Lindsay Cooper, Zeena Parkins, Peter Blegvad, Telectu and The Residents, and has appeared on over 100 recordings. Cutler's career spans over four decades and he still performs actively throughout the world.
The Henry Cow Legend is the debut album of British avant-rock group Henry Cow. It was recorded at Virgin Records' Manor studios over three weeks in May and June 1973, mixed in July 1973, and released in September 1973.
Unrest is an album by British avant-rock group Henry Cow, recorded at Virgin Records' Manor studios in February and March 1974. It was their second album and was released in May 1974. It was their first album including oboe and bassoon player Lindsay Cooper, who replaced saxophonist Geoff Leigh. American critic Glenn Kenny said Cooper's presence on the album grounded the band in European art music.
In Praise of Learning is a studio album by British avant-rock group Henry Cow, recorded at Virgin Records' Manor studios in February and March 1975, and released in May 1975. On this album, Henry Cow had expanded to include members of Slapp Happy, who had merged with the group after the two had collaborated on Desperate Straights in 1974. The merger ended after recording In Praise of Learning when Peter Blegvad and Anthony Moore from Slapp Happy left the group.
Western Culture is a studio album by English avant-rock group Henry Cow, recorded at Sunrise Studios in Kirchberg, Switzerland in January and July–
The World as It Is Today is the third and last album by English avant-rock group Art Bears. It was recorded at Sunrise Studio in Kirchberg, Switzerland between 24 August and 7 September 1980, and was first released in 1981.
Gravity is a 1980 solo album by English guitarist, composer and improviser Fred Frith from Henry Cow and Art Bears. It was Frith's second solo album and his first since the demise of Henry Cow in 1978. It was originally released in the United States on LP record on the Residents's Ralph record label and was the first of three solo albums Frith made for the label.
Winter Songs is the second album by English avant-rock group Art Bears. It was recorded at Sunrise Studio in Kirchberg, Switzerland between 22 November and 5 December 1978, and was released in 1979. It was Art Bears' first album to be recorded on their own, the bulk of their first album, Hopes and Fears (1978) having been recorded as Henry Cow.
The Art Box is a six-CD box set by English avant-rock group Art Bears. It contains all Art Bears album and single releases, plus new material, including live and unreleased Art Bears tracks, and unreleased remixes and reworkings of Art Bears material by other musicians. The box set also contains a book of photographs, artwork, articles, interviews and commentary on the CD tracks, the work process, the band and their tour of Europe in 1979. The Art Bears material was recorded between 1978 and 1980, while the work by other musicians was recorded between 1998 and 2003. The box set was released in 2004 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the band's formation. A double-CD entitled Art Bears Revisited containing Discs four and five of the box set was released later in 2004.
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The 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box Set is a nine-CD plus one-DVD limited edition box set by English avant-rock group Henry Cow, and was released by RēR Megacorp in January 2009. It consists of almost 10 hours of previously unreleased recordings made between 1972 and 1978 from concerts, radio broadcasts, one-off projects, events and the studio. Included are new compositions, over four hours of free improvisation, and live performances of some of Henry Cow's original LP repertoire.
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