''The Virgin Years – Souvenir Box'' is a three- CD limited-edition

box set A boxed set or (its US name) box set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box, hence 'boxed', and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

avant-rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, wit ...

group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...

Henry Cow 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, b ...

. It was released in 1991 by

Recommended Records Recommended Records (RēR) is a British independent record label and distribution network founded by Chris Cutler with Nick Hobbs in March 1978. RēR features largely "Rock in Opposition" and related music, but it also distributes selected musi ...

and

East Side Digital Records East Side Digital is a record label and distributor based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. History ESD was started and curated by Rob Simonds (who also created Rykodisc) in 1981 to import and distribute vinyl records on Japanese labels to record stor ...

, and contains three albums Henry Cow made for

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

between 1973 and 1975: ''

Legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess certain qualities that give the ...

'', ''

Unrest Unrest, also called disaffection, is a sociological phenomenon, including: * Civil disorder * Domestic terrorism * Industrial unrest * Labor unrest * Rebellion * Riot * Strike action * State of emergency Notable historical instances of unrest ...

'' and ''

In Praise of Learning ''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 ...

''. Included in the box set is a 24-page souvenir booklet and a Henry Cow fold-out family tree.

Track listings

The CDs in this box set are as released by

in 1991, which include bonus tracks and remixed versions of ''

'' and ''

''.

Disc 1: ''Legend''

Disc 2: ''Unrest''

Disc 3: ''In Praise of Learning''

Personnel

Fred Frith Jeremy Webster "Fred" Frith (born 17 February 1949) is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer, and improviser. Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as a founding member of the English avant-rock group Henry ...

– guitars, violin, viola, xylophone, piano, voice *

Tim Hodgkinson Timothy George Hodgkinson (born 1 May 1949) 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 ...

– organ, piano, alto saxophone, clarinet, voice *

John Greaves John Greaves (1602 – 8 October 1652) was an English mathematician, astronomer and antiquarian. Education Educated at Balliol College, Oxford, he was elected a Fellow of Merton College in 1624. He studied Persian and Arabic, acquired a ...

– bass guitar, piano, voice *

Chris Cutler Chris Cutler (born 4 January 1947) 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, N ...

– drums, piano, voice *

Geoff Leigh Geoff Leigh (born 5 October 1945) is an English jazz and progressive rock musician, playing primarily soprano saxophone and flute. He was a member of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow and founded several bands himself, including Red Balu ...

– saxophones, flute, clarinet, recorder, voice *

Lindsay Cooper Lindsay Cooper (3 March 1951 – 18 September 2013) was an English bassoon and oboe player and composer. Best known for her work with the band Henry Cow, she was also a member of Comus, National Health, News from Babel and David Thomas and th ...

– bassoon, oboe, recorder, voice *

Dagmar Krause Dagmar Krause (born 4 June 1950) 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 ...

– voice *

Peter Blegvad Peter Blegvad (born August 14, 1951) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, writer, and cartoonist. He was a founding member of German/English avant-pop band Slapp Happy, which later merged briefly with Henry Cow, and has released many sol ...

– guitar, voice, clarinet *

Anthony Moore Anthony Moore (also known as Anthony More) (born 13 August 1948) is a British experimental music composer, performer and producer. He was a founding member of the band Slapp Happy, worked with Henry Cow and has made a number of solo albums, i ...

– piano, electronics and tapework

Remixes

Disc 1 is a remixed version of ''Legend'' by

and

at Cold Storage and Red Shop Studios in May/August 1990. The bonus track "Bellycan" is an

outtake An outtake is a portion of a work (usually a film or music recording) that is removed in the editing process and not included in the work's final, publicly released version. In the digital era, significant outtakes have been appended to CD and D ...

from Henry Cow's '' Greasy Truckers Live at Dingwalls Dance Hall'' recording session in November 1973. Disc 2 was not remixed. The bonus tracks "Torchfire" and "The Glove" were derived from raw material recorded during the ''Unrest'' sessions, and were mixed by Hodgkinson at Cold Storage Studios in 1984. A remixed version of "Bittern Storm over Ulm" appears on limited-edition EP '' The Last Nightingale''. Disc 3 is a remixed version of ''In Praise of Learning'' by Frith, Hodgkinson and Martin Bisi at BC studios, New York in April 1985, and at Cold Storage studios by Hodgkinson. The bonus track "Lovers of Gold" is an alternate version of "Beginning: The Long March" created by

. It includes texts by Cutler and sung by Krause near the beginning.

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Virgin Years, The Henry Cow albums 1991 compilation albums Recommended Records compilation albums