In Praise of Learning

'In Praise of Learning' documents the intense but brief merger between Henry Cow and Slapp Happy, resulting in the group's most overtly political and musically uncompromising album. The record is defined by complex, often jarring avant-rock compositions, tape manipulation, and the addition of Dagmar Krause's distinctively theatrical, Brechtian vocals which add a new dimension to the band's sound. Tim Hodgkinson's epic "Living in the Heart of the Beast" and the Moore/Blegvad piece "War" anchor the album's Marxist lyrical themes, cementing its status as a landmark of politically-charged experimental music.