Prog rockers of the world, unite! This little trip down memory lane involves Henry Cow, a progressive outfit whose inspiration appeared to be Frank Zappa and Karl Marx. They were originally a band that, like other Canterbury bands Soft Machine or Hatfield and the North, mixed fusion with avant-garde. "In Praise of Learning" is unique not only for its Seriously (with a capital "S") communist bent, but also because it merged Henry Cow with Slapp Happy, an avant-garde trio that featured Dagmar Krause on the thickest German vocals this side of Lotte Lenya. (Couldn't they have then named the band "Cow Slapp"?) The end result was an album that can infuriate or find its mark, but it will not evoke a passive response from the listener.

The personnel for this album was: Chris Cutler, drums and radio; Fred Frith, guitar, violin, xylophone, and piano; John Greaves, bass and piano; Tim Hodgkinson, organ, clarinet, and piano; Dagmar Krause, vocals; Peter Blegvad, guitar, clarinet, and voice; Anthony Moore, piano, electronics and tapework; Lindsay Cooper, bassoon and oboe. Geoff Leigh, soprano sax, mongezi feza, and trumpet, and Phil Becque, oscillator are also featured.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2002 Year Book Volume 1 at  garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2001-and-2002.