ART BEARS

What can I say about this record? The setting is perfect; the intention is clear (or in this case obscure); the whereabouts are well known; the where? is the mystery. I had to suffer like hell to overcome the horrible "arty" voice of Dagmar Krauze to enjoy the astounding environment this guys had painted. One perfect case of first image association with later criteria. The voice-less/music; as the art-cover is austere, dimmly lit promising all kinds of thrills that in time will be delivered. So;. it is hard to review an astounding musical effort when one of its elements is organically rejected by my own body and the other half not... ( That is one of the main reasons I turned towards electronic-prog; they rarely sing over there; less have Main Vocalist!) Art Bears: "Hopes and Fears" is the perfect 4 Star album for people who are not pissed off with this kind of impossing type of singing; and also like early obscure post-Henry Cow; Frith. Hodgson or Cutler efforts. I wish I was one! But I can´t!....If you have a karaoke player 3.5; if you are like me; 3... towards; "how would it have sounded in an only instrumental environment?..... Great!; I, suppose. Not being the case... 3 bottom stars.

Actually, I find this album hard to rate. Given the fact that there are obvious talents and visions behind the madness, I still find ot hard to digest. At least that is true to a certain extent. While the music IS challenging, it is also strangely accessible in it's inaccessibility.

After listening to it several times I do see a pattern. Somewhere. A lot of the songs on the album are quite literary insane. Not to an extent where the melody is totally absent but rather hard to follow. On top of it all are the strange noises from electronic gadegets, as it would seem.

For me, personally, there are two tracks in particular standing out. The first one is "The hermit" which seems almost like a folk song and the second being "The skeleton". The latter is eerie and haunting while the first is very beautiful. "Haunting" is actually a word fit to describe most of the music on here. It seems to me that the lasting impression of "Winter songs" is a record of horror-like soundscapes, given verbal wings by a mad woman. (All meant in the most affectionate and loving way.)

In conclusion I could say that this kind of prog is not my cup of tea, still I find it intriguing and not all that distant to my usual taste. I could well, and will do, return quite often to the Art Bears and find reward in their music. It is weird but endearing and brave. Original and daring. Maybe that is really what prog is all about?

What a nightmare! I fail to acknowledge that the noise and wailing produced by Art Bears has anything to do with music! And undeservedly high rating for this album may be very misleading to the unprepared listener, such as myself. Based on what I heard about them I expected it to be weird, but not as unlistenable as it turned out to be... I wonder how other people manage to find any value in this, you cannot all pretend that this is really a masterpiece.

Unfortunately the lowest I can put is one star, so here it is, but really it is 0/5 You've been warned!

I didn't always think highly of this album, but time has caused it to grow on me. The various phases of this extended lineup - from Henry Cow to Slapp Happy/Henry Cow to Art Bears to News from Babel to...is in large part one of continual progress. Henry Cow was a great band, but that incarnation was only the beginning. The songwriting here is more mature, less "scatter-brained" than your typical Henry Cow affair (minus Western Culture, which was written around the same time) - all of the diverse elements of jazz, folk, rock, and chamber music are still present, but they are employed towards writing interesting music, where Henry Cow would sometimes lose itself in a jumble of brief, interchangeable jam sessions that were complex but ultimately uninteresting.

This record is rather uninviting to initial listening for several reasons. The first is the RIO love of atonality and dissonance; the second is the sparse instrumentation, compared with the busy approach of traditional progressive rock and previous efforts by the band; the third is the fact that the instruments were recorded in the studio at separate times and before the songs themselves were completed, so the pieces were composed without an initial cohesion between all of the members. Nevertheless, not all music has to be warm and fuzzy, and if you penetrate the austere veneer, there are a couple songs that are strikingly emotional (On Suicide and Piers being my favorites).

The record is not without flaws. There is one track in particular, In Two Minds, that I see as an utter failure. Everything is bad about it - it drags, its melodies are overwrought and pretentious, its lyrics are laughable (and you thought LIving in the Heart of the Beast was stupid...). It tries to pick things up with a Who-sounding piano bridge, but Dagmar's voice is just not suited to what is going on at all - her acrobatics come off as desperate, and she can't hold the song together. Some fine instrumental work near the end does come close to salvaging it. This is the album's only real low point - other flaws in the record are rather minor (such as the lyrics to "Joan," which sound like something off the worst 80's metal cheese - yuck).

Other than those minor pitfalls, this is for the most part great stuff. It's still not as good as News from Babel, nor the Cutler/Krause/Glandien collaboration, Domestic Stories, but it's certainly a league above the early RIO of the 70's.

This album is one of the toughest albums to review. The words are well written, although most of the people will disagree with them in some way. The composition isn't for every one, and not always melodic. From the start of the album till its end, it's not hard to understand what they are trying to say, and the music helps with passing the message to us. From the tracks, a picture of a corrupted world is what we see, and the lyrics uses metaphors that are identified with England to show that a change is needed. All the tracks stand out, different from each other, and as relevant today as they were back at the 1980s if not more. But if I have to point some, they will surely be those: Truth shows cynicism at its best, with stoppages at words like truth, and Eden. The song of the martyrs shows great pain, and the last track is anything but melodic. Overall, this is not an easy album, but it's an album that shows RIO at one of its highest points. 4.5 out of 5.

An excellent album that should not be heard by everyone and especially not on every occasion!

The debut album from Art Bears is merely a continuation of the already well established Henry Cow sound. The story goes like this - Hopes And Fears began as a Henry Cow album but the early sessions in Switzerland split the band due to some members dislike for a vast amount of song-oriented material. A compromise was reached when the members agreed upon splitting the material into two different releases. The song-oriented material was released under a new moniker, Art Bears, while the instrumental compositions would make up the final Henry Cow studio album.

This basically means that Hopes And Fears is as close to a Henry Cow record as one could ever get. Besides the fact that the band was comprised of Chris Cutler, Fred Frith and Dagmar Krause, we also get noteworthy contributions from Tim Hodgkinson, Lindsay Cooper and Georgie Born. The music is dominated by Dagmar Krause's haunting vocals and the instrumental arrangements which often remind me of the Residents due to their minimalistic approach that exists all throughout the album.

The most notable track out of this very mixed bunch comes right towards the end of side one with the 8+ minute thought-provoking suite called In Two Minds. It's difficult for me to understand how such a long composition can be almost entirely built around one chord but Art Bears completely nail that format and show that excellent music can come in all shapes and forms. Plus, the Pete Townshend-sounding guitar chords towards the chorus turn this tune into a complete masterpiece for me!

In Two Minds is an easy album to get into for beginners but it will take a while for it to expand beyond those initial stages of excitement and right into the excellent album I consider it today. There are definitely certain mood requirements for these kind of releases which make it strenuous to hear in passive receptive state. This is a perfect example of an active-listening album experience that should be an obligatory part of any Avant-Prog music collection!

***** star songs: In Two Minds (8:35) The Dance (5:08) The Pirate Song (1:10)

**** star songs: On Suicide (1:26) The Dividing Line (4:13) Joan (3:07) Maze (5:15) Terrain (3:54) The Tube (3:02) Labyrinth (2:20) Riddle (2:50) Moeris, Dancing (5:20) Piers (2:10)

While I strongly disagree with the lyrics here I find this a very interesting album, and certainly this particular record influenced many Rio / Avant bands that would follow. I have the remastered version which was done by Bob Drake. So we have Dagmar Krause on vocals, Fred Frith on keyboards, guitars and violin. He also composed all the music. Chris Cutler on drums and percussion and he wrote all the lyrics. I prefer "Winter Songs" to this one but there's something about this that fascinates me. It's melancholic and depressing anti-pop that's filled with intrigue. It's like looking at the world through someone else's eyes and while the view is not the same as mine I want to look. To be honest i'm glad I don't see things this way.

"The Song Of Investment Capital Overseas" is a downer with vocals, piano, bass and drums standing out. "Truth" has this cool rhythm with vocals.The vocals stop but the rhythm continues with keyboards. "Freedom" has double tracked vocals with piano and drums. She screams after a minute and it goes on and on. Insane but good. "(Armed) Peace" is a reserved but chaotic track. "Civilisation" sounds so good with the powerful atmosphere and floating organ. Vocals after 1 1/2 minutes. Eerie stuff.

"Democracy" is bombastic with vocals."The Song Of Martyrs" features vocals,floating organ and piano early on.The tempo picks up after a minute then settles back without vocals. It picks back up after 3 minutes with vocal expresssions."Law" puts the focus on the vocals and piano. "The Song Of Monopolists" is a good one as she sings "That's the way of the world alright" over and over. "The Song Of The Dignity Of Labour Under Capital" is brighter with piano and vocals. Discordant piano late. "Albion Awake !" is pretty much the opposite of melodic and it's also somewhat haunting.

Barely 4 stars but because of it's influence I feel it deserves the four stars.

This is ART BEARS second album.It was originally released on THE RESIDENTS "Ralph Records" label. It's been remastered by Bob Drake and re-released on the ReR label. They're a trio with Dagmar Krause on vocals, Fred Frith on guitar / violin / keyboards and Chris Cutler on drums. Chris also wrote the lyrics that "Tell political allegories through medieval-tinged stories." My biggest surprise with this album was at how dark it was, then add Dagmar's often creepy vocals and it makes the cover art seem ironic.

"The Bath Of Stars" is dark with the organ floating in the background as these creepy vocals slowly come and go. Cool song. "First Things First" opens with vocals only then these dark,sparse piano lines join in. Drums and guitar after a minute. "Gold" again opens with vocals only. Piano and other sounds join in. Eerie stuff. "The Summer Wheel" is led by drums and piano as vocals join in. This is almost normal sounding. Love the drumming. He's busy yet restrained. Bass like sounds after 2 minutes. "The Slave" sounds really good. It settles after a minute as the organ floats in with almost spoken vocals. It kicks back in with violin after 2 minutes. Guitar follows. Nice. "The Hermit" opens with vocals followed by violin and drums. Contrasts continue. I like this one a lot. "Rats And Monkeys" features aggressive vocals as the violin screeches. Intense is the word here. A crazy ending to this one too.

"The Skeleton" opens with organ and drums.Vocals and piano around a minute. Guitar before 2 minutes. "The Winter Wheel" is led by drums and vocals early.Great sound after 2 1/2 minutes as it has gotten much fuller. "Man And Boy" has a crazy intro.It's dark and ominous as the almost spoken vocals with piano join in. A very avant-garde tune. "Winter / War" is slow paced with vocals and piano. It picks up 1 1/2 minutes with guitar and drums. "Force" is uptempo with vocals as the guitar joins in. "Three Figures" has some excellent vocal arrangements on it and I really like the overall sound. "Three Wheels" opens with vocals. Piano arrives as it calms down. Reserved vocals join in. Amazing sound as it gets fuller. Love the atmosphere.

4.5 stars for this one. A must for Rio / Avant fans.

This is one of the most difficult albums to listen to in my collection. And that is not a bad thing. Sometimes music should challenge the ear. While I'm not much of a fan of Dagmar Kraus (I find her vocals usually detract from the music she is singing with), I can still enjoy the underlying music. Most of the time. There is a bit too much of Kraus' Lotte Lenya impression with only guitar behind it for my taste. It is when the musicians play together that this album shines.

Just remember, pleasant sounds is not what rock in opposition is about.

Really, there's not much more to say that other reviewers haven't said already. But, mainly out of love for the genre, this is the second shift in this great revolving doorway that came out of Henry Cow.

I, for one, enjoy this even more as it is so much focus on composition, and by god, Dagmar absolutely is now in her element. The stripped down arrangements are magical and yet hard hitting. The Rock element is also in full swing on a few tracks, and this is why I love these performers - they do what the music calls for, regardless of expectations or prejudices.

As this (and HC) introduced me to my first taste of RIO (which I now can't get enough of!) I am still stunned every time I listen to this masterwork. The Art Bears box is worth pursing if you haven't any of these, or what the definitive mastering of the gifts from these talented individuals.

I appreciate the disclaimer that pops up when giving 5 stars on Progarchives, but I must give it the High Five!

Long live RIO in this purest form.