Finding distribution on the Residents' Ralph Records label, the Art Bears' second album consists of 12 songs of various tensions: rest vs.
speed, improv vs.
pulse, space vs.
density, Dagmar Kraus's vocals vs.
everyone else.
As usual, Chris Cutler's lyrics tell political allegories through medieval-tinged stories: slaves, castles, and wheels of fortune (and industry) dominate.
Fred Frith explores discordance through his guitar, and European folk figures through his always enjoyable violin.
Though not as confrontational as their other work, the centerpiece has to be the frantic "Rats and Monkeys" with three minutes of teeth-gritting, out-of-control insanity as all three players are plugged into a wall outlet and let rip.
A guaranteed lease breaker if played often enough.
[Winter Songs was included in the Art Box box set along with Hopes & Fears and The World as It Is Today -- with all three in remastered form -- released by ReR in 2004.].
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Bath of StarsChris Cutler, Fred Frith | The Art Bears | Play | 01:45 | 4 MB | 8 MB |
| 2 | First Things FirstChris Cutler, Fred Frith | The Art Bears | Play | 02:46 | 6 MB | 13 MB |
| 3 | GoldChris Cutler, Fred Frith | The Art Bears | Play | 01:41 | 3 MB | 7 MB |
| 4 | The Summer WheelChris Cutler, Fred Frith | The Art Bears | Play | 02:41 | 6 MB | 17 MB |
| 5 | The SlaveChris Cutler, Fred Frith | The Art Bears | Play | 03:33 | 8 MB | 21 MB |
| 6 | The HermitChris Cutler, Fred Frith | The Art Bears | Play | 02:53 | 6 MB | 14 MB |
| 7 | Rats and MonkeysChris Cutler, Fred Frith | The Art Bears | Play | 03:09 | 7 MB | 23 MB |
| 8 | The SkeletonChris Cutler, Fred Frith | The Art Bears | Play | 03:05 | 7 MB | 17 MB |
| 9 | The Winter WheelChris Cutler, Fred Frith | The Art Bears | Play | 03:03 | 6 MB | 21 MB |
| 10 | Man and BoyChris Cutler, Fred Frith | The Art Bears | Play | 03:18 | 7 MB | 22 MB |
| 11 | ForceChris Cutler, Fred Frith | The Art Bears | Play | 00:47 | 1 MB | 5 MB |
| 12 | Three FiguresChris Cutler, Fred Frith | The Art Bears | Play | 01:43 | 3 MB | 9 MB |
| 13 | Three WheelsChris Cutler, Fred Frith | The Art Bears | Play | 03:35 | 8 MB | 20 MB |
| 14 | Winter-War | Art Bears | Play | 03:05 | 7 MB | 16 MB |
| 37 mins | 85 MB | |||||
| 37 mins | 220 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Art Bears | Primary Artist |
| 2 | Chris Cutler | Composer, Drums, Member of Attributed Artist, Percussion |
| 3 | Fred Frith | Composer, Guitar, Keyboards, Member of Attributed Artist, Violin, Xylophone |
| 4 | Dagmar Krause | Member of Attributed Artist, Vocals |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |