The Art Box | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Box set by | ||||
Released | 2004 | |||
Recorded | 1978–1980, 1984, 1998–2003 | |||
Genre | Avant-rock | |||
Length | 281:33 | |||
Label | Recommended (UK) | |||
Producer | Art Bears and others | |||
Art Bears chronology | ||||
| ||||
Art Bears Revisited | ||||
2xCD album containing Discs 4 and 5 of the box set. |
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. [1] A double-CD entitled Art Bears Revisited containing Discs four and five of the box set was released later in 2004.
Discs one, two and three are remastered versions (by Bob Drake) of the first three Art Bears albums, Hopes and Fears (1978), Winter Songs (1979) and The World as It Is Today (1981). Discs four and five, entitled Art Bears Revisited, contain remixed and reworked Art Bears pieces by various musicians, plus two Art Bears singles and an unreleased Art Bears track. Disc six contains more remixed and reworked Art Bears pieces by various musicians, including a 1984 cover of "The Song of Investment Capital Overseas" by Duck and Cover, plus five live Art Bears tracks, four of which were never officially released before.
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | |
Pitchfork Media | 9/10 [2] |
Dave Lynch at AllMusic described Art Bears' music as "an adventurous mix of avant rock experimentalism, smatterings of noise and dissonance, British folk flavors, medieval imagery, and leftist, anti-corporate politics". [1] He said that The Art Box "is a comprehensive document of a band that represented what the best rock music should be: utterly uncompromising". [1] Dominique Leone wrote in Pitchfork Media that Art Bears made music "almost as ahead of the curve today as it did twenty years ago", and said that they deserve the "deluxe reissue treatment" of a 6-CD box set. [2] In a review at BBC Music, Peter Marsh wrote that Art Bears "recorded some of the most carefully crafted (and indeed timeless) music you're ever likely to hear". [3] He added that while he felt that many of the remixes "seem unnecessary at best", he liked the live tracks where Art Bears perform songs "never meant to be performed". [3] Marsh particularly liked Fred Frith's guitar solo on "Coda to Man and Boy". [3]
Contains all the tracks from the original release of the first Art Bears album, Hopes and Fears (1978)
No. | Title | Artist | Length |
---|---|---|---|
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 |
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 |
Contains all the tracks from the original release of the second Art Bears album, Winter Songs (1979)
All tracks composed by Fred Frith and Chris Cutler.
No. | Title | Artist | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "The Bath of Stars" | Art Bears | 1:45 |
2. | "First Things First" | Art Bears | 2:50 |
3. | "Gold" | Art Bears | 1:41 |
4. | "The Summer Wheel" | Art Bears | 2:47 |
5. | "The Slave" | Art Bears | 3:38 |
6. | "The Hermit" | Art Bears | 2:59 |
7. | "Rats and Monkeys" | Art Bears | 3:24 |
8. | "The Skeleton" | Art Bears | 3:11 |
9. | "The Winter Wheel" | Art Bears | 3:06 |
10. | "Man and Boy" | Art Bears | 3:21 |
11. | "Winter/War" | Art Bears | 3:05 |
12. | "Force" | Art Bears | 0:54 |
13. | "Three Figures" | Art Bears | 1:51 |
14. | "Three Wheels" | Art Bears | 3:35 |
Contains all the tracks from the original release of the third Art Bears album, The World as It Is Today (1981)
All tracks composed by Fred Frith and Chris Cutler.
No. | Title | Artist | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "The Song of Investment Capital Overseas" | Art Bears | 2:38 |
2. | "Truth" | Art Bears | 2:56 |
3. | "Freedom" | Art Bears | 3:25 |
4. | "(Armed) Peace" | Art Bears | 2:30 |
5. | "Civilisation" | Art Bears | 4:52 |
6. | "Democracy" | Art Bears | 2:22 |
7. | "The Song of the Martyrs" | Art Bears | 4:09 |
8. | "Law" | Art Bears | 0:51 |
9. | "The Song of the Monopolists" | Art Bears | 1:48 |
10. | "The Song of the Dignity of Labour Under Capital" | Art Bears | 2:27 |
11. | "Albion, Awake!" | Art Bears | 4:08 |
Contains remixed and reworked Art Bears pieces by various musicians, plus two Art Bears singles (tracks 17–18)
No. | Title | Artist | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "The Violin in Winter" | Jon Rose | 3:49 |
2. | "Tranne Lacrimae (Bar Tears)" | Ossatura | 4:12 |
3. | "On Suicide" | Otomo Yoshihide/Ground Zero | 5:49 |
4. | "Artico & Baci" | Massimo Simonini | 3:37 |
5. | "The Tube" | When/Lars Pedersen | 2:44 |
6. | "Rats and Monkeys Remix" | Warrick Sony/Kalahari Surfers/DJ Ballard | 3:15 |
7. | "Time/Bye" | John Oswald | 5:01 |
8. | "Three Bears Room" | Chris Cutler | 4:49 |
9. | "The World as it Hopes in Winter" | Roberto Musci/Giovanni Venosta/Massimo Mariani | 3:55 |
10. | "The Bath of Stars"/"The Skeleton" | The Residents | 4:51 |
11. | "Tokusa-No-Kandakara (91 Pieces Of 'C')" | Yasushi Utsunomiya | 3:02 |
12. | "The Skeleton" | Herb Heinz | 2:59 |
13. | "Long Winter" | Martin Archer | 5:03 |
14. | "Winter/War/Force" | Jon Leidecker/Wobbly | 4:09 |
15. | "Everything Again" | Fred Frith | 4:14 |
16. | "Coquelicot" | Jocelyn Robert | 7:17 |
17. | "Collapse" (Cutler, Frith) | Art Bears | 4:51 |
18. | "All Hail" (Cutler, Frith) | Art Bears | 4:08 |
Contains remixed and reworked Art Bears pieces by various musicians, plus an unfinished Art Bears piece, completed for the box set (track 18)
No. | Title | Artist | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Armed Peace Remix" | Roger Kleier | 2:36 |
2. | "Song of the Monopolists" | Bob Drake | 1:16 |
3. | "The Three Wheels Remix" | Andrea Rocca | 2:45 |
4. | "Gold" | Vitor Rua | 1:27 |
5. | "The Fourth Wheel" | Brian Woodbury | 4:10 |
6. | "The Three Figures" | Chris Cutler | 1:06 |
7. | "First Things First : The Mix That Should Not Be" | Bob Drake | 2:56 |
8. | "Monopolists Democracy" | Stevan Tickmayer | 4:24 |
9. | "All is Encompassed in the Night (part 1)" | Annie Gosfield | 1:35 |
10. | "All is Encompassed in the Night (part 2)" | Annie Gosfield | 1:35 |
11. | "All is Encompassed in the Night (part 3)" | Annie Gosfield | 1:37 |
12. | "The Summer Mix (part 1)" | Biota | 4:08 |
13. | "The Summer Mix (part 2)" | Biota | 2:47 |
14. | "The Summer Mix (part 3)" | Biota | 4:10 |
15. | "The Summer Mix (part 4)" | Biota | 3:09 |
16. | "Democracy Remix" | Thomas Dimuzio | 4:26 |
17. | "Some Truth" | Christian Marclay | 4:51 |
18. | "Carved in Stone (Rebirth)" (Cutler, Frith) | Art Bears | 1:46 |
Contains remixed and reworked Art Bears pieces by various musicians, plus five live Art Bears pieces (tracks 4–7,11)
No. | Title | Artist | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "And the Comedy Bears" | Bob Drake | 0:42 |
2. | "The Song of Investment Capital Overseas" (Cutler, Frith) | Duck and Cover | 3:42 |
3. | "Summer/Freedom" | John Oswald | 2:48 |
4. | "The Riddle" (Cutler, Frith) | Art Bears | 2:21 |
5. | "First Things First" (Cutler, Frith) | Art Bears | 1:55 |
6. | "March From the Dance" (Cutler, Frith) | Art Bears | 1:05 |
7. | "The Hermit" (Cutler, Frith) | Art Bears | 2:47 |
8. | "The Winter Mix" | Biota | 4:35 |
9. | "Wheels" | Fred Frith | 3:12 |
10. | "Tokusa-No-Kandakara II" | Yasushi Utsunomiya | 3:37 |
11. | "Coda to Man and Boy" (Cutler, Frith) | Art Bears | 7:17 |
Discs 4 and 5 above were also released in 2004 on a double-CD entitled Art Bears Revisited.
Jeremy Webster "Fred" Frith is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer, and improvisor.
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.
Timothy "Tim" George Hodgkinson is an English experimental music composer and performer, principally on reeds, lap steel guitar, and keyboards. He first became known as one of the core members of the British avant-rock group Henry Cow, which he formed with Fred Frith in 1968. After the demise of Henry Cow, he participated in numerous bands and projects, eventually concentrating on composing contemporary music and performing as an improviser.
Concerts is a live double album by English avant-rock group Henry Cow, recorded at concerts in London, Italy, the Netherlands and Norway between September 1974 and October 1975. Sides one and two of the LP record consist of composed material while sides three and four contain improvised pieces.
Western Culture is a studio album by English avant-rock group Henry Cow, recorded at Sunrise Studios in Kirchberg, Switzerland in January and July–August 1978. It was their last album and was released on Henry Cow's own private label, Broadcast, in 1979. Later editions appeared on Interzone in the US and Celluloid in France. Only the UK Broadcast pressing used the custom label artwork design.
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.
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.
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.
Prints: Snapshots, Postcards, Messages and Miniatures, 1987–2001 is a 2002 album by English guitarist, composer and improvisor Fred Frith, and his first album of songs since Cheap at Half the Price (1983). It comprises four tracks taken from previously released compilations that Frith had contributed to between 1987 and 1997, seven tracks that were "created spontaneously" in the studio in 1997 and 2001, and one live guitar improvisation in 2001. The album was released on CD in 2002 on Fred Records and was the second release in Frith's archival release program on the record label.
Rivers and Tides: Working with Time is a soundtrack by English guitarist, composer and improvisor Fred Frith, of the 2001 Anglo-German documentary film, Rivers and Tides by Thomas Riedelsheimer about the British landscape sculptor Andy Goldsworthy.
Clearing is a guitar solo album by English guitarist, composer and improvisor Fred Frith. It was Frith's first solo guitar recording since Live in Japan (1982) and his first solo guitar studio recording since his landmark 1974 album Guitar Solos.
The Science Group were an avant-rock group founded in France in 1997 by English drummer Chris Cutler from Henry Cow and Yugoslav contemporary classical composer and keyboardist Stevan Tickmayer. They released A Mere Coincidence, an album of songs on science related topics in 1999, and an instrumental album, Spoors in 2003.
Henry Cow Box is a seven-CD limited edition box set by English avant-rock group Henry Cow. It was released in December 2006 by Recommended Records and comprises the six original albums Henry Cow released between 1973 and 1979, including those recorded with Slapp Happy. A bonus 3" CD-single was given to advance subscribers of the box set which contains previously unreleased material taken from live performances in Europe by the Orckestra, a merger of Henry Cow, the Mike Westbrook Brass Band and folk singer Frankie Armstrong in 1977. The two bonus CD Orckestra tracks were later reissued on the 2019 Henry Cow Box Redux: The Complete Henry Cow bonus CD, Ex Box – Collected Fragments 1971–1978.
Volume 6: Stockholm & Göteborg is a live album by English avant-rock group Henry Cow, and is disc 6 of the 10-disc 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box Set. It was released in September 2008 by RēR Megacorp as a free-standing album in advance of the box set release in January 2009.
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.
The Virgin Years – Souvenir Box is a three-CD limited edition box set by English avant-rock group Henry Cow. It was released in 1991 by Recommended Records and East Side Digital Records, and contains three albums Henry Cow made for Virgin Records between 1973 and 1975, Legend, Unrest and In Praise of Learning. Included in the box set is a 24-page souvenir booklet and a Henry Cow fold-out family-tree.
Dead Son Rising is the sixteenth solo studio album by English musician Gary Numan, released on 15 September 2011 by Mortal Records.
All Is Always Now – Live at The Stone is a 2019 three-CD box set of live improvised music performed by English guitarist Fred Frith with other musicians, including Theresa Wong, Ikue Mori, Pauline Oliveros and Laurie Anderson. It was recorded between 2007 and 2016 at The Stone in New York City, and was released in March 2019 by Intakt Records in Switzerland.
The Henry Cow Box Redux: The Complete Henry Cow is a seventeen-CD plus one-DVD box set by English avant-rock group Henry Cow; it was released by RēR Megacorp in November 2019. The box set comprises the previously released 2006 Henry Cow Box and the 2009 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box Set, totalling over sixteen hours. A bonus CD: Ex Box – Collected Fragments 1971–1978 was given to advance subscribers of the 2019 Box Redux, and contains newly recovered and previously unreleased recordings, plus the contents of the 2006 box set bonus CD-single: "Unreleased Orckestra Extract". The 2019 Box Redux plus the Ex Box bonus CD contains all the officially released studio and live recordings of Henry Cow.