Comus (band)
Encyclopedia
Comus is a British
progressive rock
/ folk band which had a brief career in the early 1970s; their first album, First Utterance
, gave them a cult following which persists. They have revived in the late 2000s and played several festivals.
, a masque
by John Milton
and is also from the name of the Greek god Comus
. David Bowie
appreciated them and used them as support band for a 1969 concert at London's Purcell Rooms.
Their first album, First Utterance
, appeared in 1971. The music is largely acoustic
art rock that blends elements of Eastern percussion, early folk and animal-like vocals. The music evokes many feelings, but the most dominant are fear, confusion, despair, with occasional passages of tranquil beauty such as can be found in "The Herald". The lyrics are dramatic, involving violence, murder, and mental disorder. The group disbanded after this album, but reunited with new members for their second album, which was to be their swansong, To Keep from Crying, in 1974.
In 2005, a complete box set was released which featured both studio albums, their only single, "Diana", and a previously unreleased track called "All the Colours of Darkness". The liner notes feature an exclusive interview with some members of the band. They reformed for the Mellotronen Festival in Sweden
in March 2008. According to their website, they have reformed and are working on new material.
On 21 March 2009 the Equinox Festival
announced that Comus will perform for the first time in the UK in 37 years, during its three day festival in June.
Wootton also appears on some recordings by Slapp Happy
. Reed player Jon Seagroatt is also a member of free improvising
trio Red Square
. Seagroatt and singer Bobbie Watson married in 2003.
singer and songwriter Mikael Åkerfeldt
used a part of a sentence from "Drip Drip" for the title of the album My Arms, Your Hearse
. The full line was "As I carry you to your grave, my arms your hearse".
Another nod to Comus was given on the 2005 Opeth album, Ghost Reveries
. The second track "The Baying of the Hounds" was derived from a line in the song "Diana" which reads "And she knows by the sound of the baying, by the baying of the hounds".
English experimental
band Current 93
covered the song "Diana" from First Utterance on their studio album Horsey. Musically this version is considerably different from the original, with David Tibet
singing the lyrics
in an agonizing fashion and constructing most of the song from a loop
based around a vertiginous violin arrangement from the original.
Also by Current 93, the early album Earth Covers Earth was conceived as a less bizarre (although still unique by Current 93’s standard) sequel to First Utterance, sometimes referred as 'Second Utterance'.
Comus' song "Song to Comus" from First Utterance
has been licensed by surrealist painters and animators the Hive of Dukes for use in their upcoming production Living Evil.
Live Albums
Box sets
EPs
Roger Wootton solo single
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
/ folk band which had a brief career in the early 1970s; their first album, First Utterance
First Utterance
First Utterance is the debut album of the British progressive rock band Comus. It was released in 1971, with the opening song "Diana" being released as a single....
, gave them a cult following which persists. They have revived in the late 2000s and played several festivals.
History
The band was named after ComusComus (John Milton)
Comus is a masque in honour of chastity, written by John Milton. It was first presented on Michaelmas, 1634, before John Egerton, 1st Earl of Bridgewater at Ludlow Castle in celebration of the Earl's new post as Lord President of Wales.Known colloquially as Comus, the mask's actual full title is A...
, a masque
Masque
The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment which flourished in 16th and early 17th century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio...
by John Milton
John Milton
John Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...
and is also from the name of the Greek god Comus
Comus
In Greek mythology, Comus or Komos is the god of festivity, revels and nocturnal dalliances. He is a son and a cup-bearer of the god Bacchus. Comus represents anarchy and chaos. His mythology occurs in the later times of antiquity. During his festivals in Ancient Greece, men and women exchanged...
. David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
appreciated them and used them as support band for a 1969 concert at London's Purcell Rooms.
Their first album, First Utterance
First Utterance
First Utterance is the debut album of the British progressive rock band Comus. It was released in 1971, with the opening song "Diana" being released as a single....
, appeared in 1971. The music is largely acoustic
Acoustic music
Acoustic music comprises music that solely or primarily uses instruments which produce sound through entirely acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means...
art rock that blends elements of Eastern percussion, early folk and animal-like vocals. The music evokes many feelings, but the most dominant are fear, confusion, despair, with occasional passages of tranquil beauty such as can be found in "The Herald". The lyrics are dramatic, involving violence, murder, and mental disorder. The group disbanded after this album, but reunited with new members for their second album, which was to be their swansong, To Keep from Crying, in 1974.
In 2005, a complete box set was released which featured both studio albums, their only single, "Diana", and a previously unreleased track called "All the Colours of Darkness". The liner notes feature an exclusive interview with some members of the band. They reformed for the Mellotronen Festival in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
in March 2008. According to their website, they have reformed and are working on new material.
On 21 March 2009 the Equinox Festival
Equinox Festival
The Equinox Festival was a media arts festival dedicated to contemporary spiritual discovery and mystical traditions. Founded by Raymond Salvatore Harmon the festival provided a platform for the discussion of transcendental thought, expanded consciousness, and alternate thinking about the role of...
announced that Comus will perform for the first time in the UK in 37 years, during its three day festival in June.
Wootton also appears on some recordings by Slapp Happy
Slapp Happy
Slapp Happy was a German/English avant-pop group consisting of Anthony Moore , Peter Blegvad and Dagmar Krause . The band formed in Germany in 1972. The band members moved to England in 1974 where they merged with Henry Cow, but the merger ended soon afterwards and Slapp Happy split up. Slapp...
. Reed player Jon Seagroatt is also a member of free improvising
Free improvisation
Free improvisation or free music is improvised music without any rules beyond the logic or inclination of the musician involved. The term can refer to both a technique and as a recognizable genre in its own right....
trio Red Square
Red Square (band)
Red Square is a pioneering free improvising band originally from Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England that formed in 1974 and broke up in 1978, before reforming again in 2008 as a result of renewed interest in their music...
. Seagroatt and singer Bobbie Watson married in 2003.
Influence
In 1998, OpethOpeth
Opeth is a Swedish heavy metal band from Stockholm, formed in 1990. Though the group has been through several personnel changes, singer, guitarist, and songwriter Mikael Åkerfeldt has remained Opeth's driving force throughout the years...
singer and songwriter Mikael Åkerfeldt
Mikael Åkerfeldt
Lars Mikael Åkerfeldt is a Swedish musician who achieved fame as the lead vocalist, guitarist and songwriter of progressive death metal band Opeth as well as the lead vocalist of death metal band Bloodbath. He was the vocalist and guitarist for the band Sörskogen and the guitarist of the band Steel...
used a part of a sentence from "Drip Drip" for the title of the album My Arms, Your Hearse
My Arms, Your Hearse
My Arms, Your Hearse is Opeth's third studio album, released in 1998. This album marks a large stylistic change from their previous release, Morningrise, especially production-wise...
. The full line was "As I carry you to your grave, my arms your hearse".
Another nod to Comus was given on the 2005 Opeth album, Ghost Reveries
Ghost Reveries
-Notes:# "Ghost of Perdition" is included in the soundtrack for the video game Saint's Row 2 on the radio station Krunch 106.66.# "The Baying of the Hounds" is partially inspired by lyrics from the song "Diana" from Comus's album First Utterance. The lyrics are "And she knows by the sound of the...
. The second track "The Baying of the Hounds" was derived from a line in the song "Diana" which reads "And she knows by the sound of the baying, by the baying of the hounds".
English experimental
Experimental music
Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...
band Current 93
Current 93
Current 93 is an eclectic British experimental music group, working since the early 1980s in folk-based musical forms. The band was founded in 1982 by David Tibet .-Background:Tibet has been the only constant in the group, though Steven Stapleton has appeared on...
covered the song "Diana" from First Utterance on their studio album Horsey. Musically this version is considerably different from the original, with David Tibet
David Tibet
David Tibet is a British poet and artist who founded the music group Current 93, of which he is the only full-time member. He had earlier collaborated with Psychic TV and 23 Skidoo...
singing the lyrics
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
in an agonizing fashion and constructing most of the song from a loop
Music loop
In electroacoustic music, a loop is a repeating section of sound material. Short sections of material can be repeated to create ostinato patterns...
based around a vertiginous violin arrangement from the original.
Also by Current 93, the early album Earth Covers Earth was conceived as a less bizarre (although still unique by Current 93’s standard) sequel to First Utterance, sometimes referred as 'Second Utterance'.
Comus' song "Song to Comus" from First Utterance
First Utterance
First Utterance is the debut album of the British progressive rock band Comus. It was released in 1971, with the opening song "Diana" being released as a single....
has been licensed by surrealist painters and animators the Hive of Dukes for use in their upcoming production Living Evil.
Personnel
- Roger Wootton – acoustic guitar, lead vocals
- Andy Hellaby – fender bass, slide bass, backing vocals
- Bobbie Watson – lead and backing vocals, percussion
- Glenn Goring (1969–72, 2008–present) – 6-12 acoustic guitar, electric guitar, slide, hand drums, backing vocals
- Colin Pearson (1969–72, 2008–present) – violin, viola
- Rob Young (1969–71) – flute, oboe, hand drums
- Gordon Coxon (1974) – drums
- Keith Hale (1974) – keyboards
- Jon Seagroatt (2008–present) – flute, oboe, hand drums
Discography
Studio albums- First UtteranceFirst UtteranceFirst Utterance is the debut album of the British progressive rock band Comus. It was released in 1971, with the opening song "Diana" being released as a single....
(1971) - To Keep from CryingTo Keep from CryingTo Keep from Crying is the second album by progressive folk band Comus, released in 1974. It featured a notably different lineup from their other releases, with the violin/viola and woodwind spots replaced by keyboards and a conventional drum kit...
(1974)
Live Albums
- East of Sweden: Live at Melloboat Festival 2008 (2011)
Box sets
- Song to Comus: The Complete Collection (2005)
EPs
- "Diana / In the Lost Queen's Eyes / Winter is a Coloured Bird" (1971)
Roger Wootton solo single
- "Fiesta Fandango" / "New Tide"