PROGNOSTIC

Well Mr. Cousins, you've got me scratching my head on this one. While I applaud the inclusion of the killer live prog tracks "Heartbreak Hill" and "Starting Over" from the Strawbs' 40th Anniversary Vo. 1CD (an absolute must have album for Strawbs' fans) as these tracks are even more vibrant than the original studio versions from the initially aborted Heartbreak Hill album from 1978, the rest of the material leaves me puzzled.

"Something For Nothing" from the original Heartbreak Hill studio masters is a good tune but not heavily prog, and "Aphrodite's Eyes" from the 2008 album The Broken Hearted Bride is a laborious dirge. The inclusion of the Cousins and Conrad High Seas album track "Deep In The Darkest Night", despite Rick Wakeman's lovely piano, sounds very out of place due to the song's synthesized bass and programed drums. The album would have been better served with the Strawbs' own version of "Deep In The Darkest Night" from the Broken Hearted Bride.

The live version of "The River/Down By The Sea" and the remastered versions of "Tomorrow" and the Hero And Heroine In Ascenia album coda "Lay A Little Light On Me/Hero's Theme/Round and Round Reprise" come off as little more than album filler. The lone exception being the inclusion of of Cousins' epic "Blue Angel" from 1972 solo album Two Weeks Last Summer. But that song's inclusion is not enough to help, unfortunately.

Prognostic was a great opportunity for the Strawbs to showcase their better latter day prog outings. For an example, the "Pro Patia Suite" followed by "Silent Shadows Fall" from 2009's Dancing To The Devils' Beat would have made this compilation almost mandatory for Strawbs' fans. As would the inclusion of "Autumn" from Hero And Heroine In Ascencia as it's arguably Strawbs finest prog song. For prog fans who want a quick rundown on the Strawbs' more acoustic outings Prognostic is a great album. But these songs removed form the context of the albums they were culled from seems to cast them adrift somehow. And a few later day prog gems are missing. 3 stars.