DRAGONFLY

This is the real Strawbs that everyone of us should know - the folk group. Full of delicate harmonies, simple acoustic melodies, but unfortunately not well recorded but nothing shameful either. Dragonfly is mainly two singing acoustic guitars (Cousins & Hooper) and a stand-up bass (Chesterman) and sometimes a cello (although the bassist could have used a bow on his bass) so it sounds very pastoral.

Side 1 has just song format numbers that manages not to bore you but keep your attention, of which the title track is easily the stand out. On the flipside, the highlight is the almost-11 mins Lady Of The Lake that starts as a usual Strawbs folk number like the rest of the album but soon evolves slowly into an epic on which all of the guests announced on the back sleeve appear, not the least the arrival of a drummer (yet another Dane Rotsvold) and Wakeman in his first appearance with the group (he will be much more present in Antiques and Witchwood) to finish this number of epic manner. Even though this "epic" is not a real masterpiece like those of Yes and Genesis' quality, it's definitely a great step forward in Cousin's songwriting. This song will also appear in the bonus track of the remastered version of Just A Collection.

While Dragonfly might not be a real strong album, we finally get glimpses of the prog group they will become soon enough and if you're a fan of the group, you'll eventually pick it up. While this might need confirmation, Dragonfly is the first appearance of Wakeman on a prog record along with Bowie's Space Oddity.

It took me 33 years to finally get my hands on Dragonfly and I was not disappointed. Yes still very much a folk album but it had progressed from their debut album with longer pieces.Of the shorter tracks my favourite would have to be ' I turned my face to the wind' where typically Cousins has that incredible knack of putting you right there on some lonely, gloomy moor in the face of a stiff wind. He is arguably one of the finest lyricists of all time.' Josephine for better or for worse' another beautiful song.' The vision of the Lady of the Lake' undoubtedly the finest track. What is exciting about The Strawbs was their evolution or metamorphosis. Watching them grow or even seeing it in retrospect is a great experience to behold. Dragonfly is a darn good album to have.

Second album by The Strawbs had been most probably their quietest and most acoustic-type one and it was as well the only one with cellist Claire Deniz in the lineup contributing considerably to the overall mellow atmosphere. Though it might appeal more to people preferring acoustic music than their debut I've to say I found it rather less attractive than that one. Most of the songs here are pleasant folk songs, some more in a sorrowful and contemplative, others more in a cheerful mood but in some way not that effective as the mix between ethnic, classical and rock music shown in the best tracks from their first record. The only track that sounds significantly different from the rest is the 10-minute epic "The Vision of the Lady of the Lake" revealing piano play by Rick Wakeman who would soon join the band. But even this one could not fully satisfy my demands unfortunately, moreover it features some quite strange strange sound effects which I found rather disturbing than interesting. I think the better things had been still to come from them those days and I'd like to rate this one as still a solid and fairly good album but certainly not anything worth hunting for.

"Close your eyes and go to sleep, the night will soon be gone. There'll be nothing here when the light goes out, that wasn't here when the light was on"

The Strawbs second album, "Dragonfly" saw the band retreating slightly, into their folk roots. This was not so much a strategic decision as a financial one, the record company declining to invest as heavily in the recording process as they did for the first album.

With the line up having been enhanced by the presence of Claire Deniz on cello (Sandy Denny is not the only female to have graced the band line up), Rick Wakeman was also brought in as a guest on piano on one track (prior to becoming a full band member for the next studio album, "From the Witchwood"). Wakeman, who at the time was a Sunday school teacher in London, was introduced to Dave Cousins by Tony Visconti, a well know American record producer based in London, who worked with the Strawbs on several occasions.

The first side of the LP has 5 well written but conventional folk based songs with lyrics focusing mainly on features of the countryside. Deniz's cello adds a pleasant dimension to tracks such as "The weary song" and producer Tony Visconti also plays recorder on two songs. Dave Cousins introduces the sound of the dulcimer here and there, but the music is based primarily around acoustic guitar.

The feature track is "The vision of the lady of the lake", an 11 minute track clearly inspired by Arthurian legend. It tells, in the form of a 14 (count them!) verse song, the tale of a man who is put through various trials. As his situation deteriorates, the music becomes darker and more disturbing (I won't spoil the ending!). The song is undoubtedly one of Dave Cousins most striking compositions ever, full of drama and passion while telling a damn good tale. The album closes with a very brief lullaby, whose entire lyrics are repeated above.

The strength of "Dragonfly" lies primarily in the potential of the song writing. There are clear indications throughout the album that the Strawbs are on the verge of something really special. There would be further changes to the line up before the next release, but the foundations laid here would be exploited beyond all expectations.

8.5/10 Great

Oh man, what a wonderful album, and the sound Strawbs had at this time...just breathtakingly peaceful and beautiful. I can't get enough of this, and there is too little of it. In my opinion, you will find that Tony Hooper almost takes center stage with this time of the Strawbs career. Tony's vocals are simply wonderful, soft yet powerful, and his sense of harmony and simple melody is just so pleasent I can't help but wish he had done more with the band, or some solo work. This album is not very progressive, and does not reflect the later sound of the band. Instead this is a very folky album, along with the first album, and this will slowly leave the band as Dave Cousins takes more control and leads the band towards his ideas, which happen to be much more prog-like than that of Tony Hoopers. Togther, though, on this album they create a wonderful sound together. All of the tracks on here are enjoyable, nice little folky melodies, with the band hitting some very strong highs on "Till the Sun Comes Shining Through", and some proggish intensity from Dave on the classic "The Vision of the Lady of the Lake". I find "Till the Sun..." to be my favorite track, and just an astounding rainy sunday morning track for nostalgic, emotional folk out there. This one is a tear jerker, even more so when we learn of the soon to be departed Dave and Tony, and how wonderful they sounded together on this masterwork. The recently deceased Ron Chesterman plays just gorgeous cello on this track, with Claire Deniz's cello gliding throughout. Brings me to tears. "Young Again" is another melodic cake for those nostalgic moments, and I love this track just as much, especially with Tony taking lead vocal. The rest of the album is very enjoyable, peaceful music, not for anyone looking for intensity, craziness or proggish innovations. Great stuff here, an important album to me and stays with me very close and emotionally.

Acoustic and more acoustic, in a mellow, very folkish way. Not very exciting, since the album just stands still, revolving around essentially the same structure time after time. The addition of cello is really nice, but can't save the day here. Feels simple, yet touches of delicacy shows up just often enough to keep you interested before it vanishes like a whiff of air. Very frustrating to say the least.

Of the 'standard' songs on this album only two manage to get repeated plays: Another Day - makes me happy with it's kindness and air of hope. The second one is I Turn My Face Into The Wind, which funny enough is quite the opposite of Another Day, with lyrics such as

''I huddled close against a tumbling wall Wrapped in a cloak to shield me from the bitter cold The solitude weighed heavy on my mind As I turned my face into the rain.''

Closing the album is the fantastic The Vision Of The Lady Of The Lake, with one of the greatest build-ups I've experienced in music. Gradually moving from the albums standard acoustic galore, more and more eeriness creeps in behind the guitars until the drums kick in and the song takes a more sinister approach. Electric guitar in the back. 11 rewarding minutes.

2 stars for this, since only eleven out of thirty-six minutes are truly great.

Dragonfly is a classic folk album with its ups (only a few) and downs. It is a collection of peaceful music which sounds too similar to be very exciting I'm afraid. The only above average song from the first part of this album is the melodic Josephine.

The cello work is pleasant and adds a definite value to the whole of this album, but it can't avoid some sort of boredom while one listens to these conventional folk songs. Vocal harmonies are quite decent but the overall mood is too much of a pastoral party to match my taste.

One has to wait The Vision Of The Lady Of The Lake to finally discover an excellent song. A vibrant crescendo song which offers the occasion to discover a more upbeat rhythm and rocking sound. It is by far the best moment of music which is available on this album which doesn't leave a great impression to my ears.

The very short closing number Close Your Eyes (and go to sleep) is the best shortcut to this album. Two stars.

In their early days Strawbs were very much a band that really "progressed". From the almost psychedelic 60's pop of the debut album in 1969 to the symphonic Prog Folk masterpiece Hero And Heroine in 1974 was quite a journey. And the sound and approach changed basically with every album during this creative and turbulent period. It is quite striking how different this album is from the first one. Dragonfly is basically a Folk album with acoustic guitars as the primary instrument. There are occasional drums, cello, recorder, electric guitar and a few other instruments but overall the instrumentation is very simple and almost all acoustic. Rick Wakeman appears on piano on the epic The Vision Of The Lady Of The Lake, but his contribution is minimal and very subtle, it could have been anyone really. Dragonfly is also much darker and there are no humourous songs here.

The Vision Of The Lady Of The Lake is the best song here, and the one closest to what the band would do later on. However, this track is also available as a bonus track on the Just A Collection Of Antiques And Curios live album (in a better version), so don't rush out and try to find Dragonfly for that reason alone. Wakeman also has a much more prominent place on that live album than he is afforded here. Overall, Just A Collection Of Antiques And Curios is a much better point of entry into the early period of Strawbs. At least from a Prog perspective.

I generally prefer Dragonfly over the self titled debut, but both these albums have mainly historical interest now.

Only for fans and collectors and for people who want to study the early historical roots of Prog Folk.

Until "From the Witchwood" came along, "Dragonfly" was the Strawbs album that best captured their uniquely ancient sound. While it was apparently their least selling album ever, this had more to do with a retreat from some of the boldness of their self titled debut into a more pastoral and sentimental outlook. Instead of psychedelic story songs, the group embraced the wonders of the English countryside.

The dual voices of Cousins and Hooper shine separately and in tandem. The greater prominence of Clare Deniz on cello helps to bring about the intended effect on the listener, particularly in the exquisitely dour "I Turned my Face Into the Wind", and the decidedly more contented "Another Day" and "Till the Sun Comes Shining Through". Hints at the surreal are found in "Weary Song", "Dragonfly", and especially the epic "Vision of the Lady of the Lake" featuring Paul Brett's fiery lead guitar. While it sounds a trifle trumped up today, this track begins Cousins' long run through mythological references of love and sin which was resurrected on Strawbs' 2008 release in the form of "Through Aphrodite's Eyes" in a less long winded but equally melodramatic form.

If you have explored the back catalog of Strawbs but not checked out anything prior to "Witchwood", may I plant a bug in your ear and suggest you check out this early and gently buzzing beauty.

This one belongs to the golden triad by the Strawbs. The band was still closely connected to the "folk tradition" and the album has a very acoustic sound.and pastoral feeling that In some ways reminds me of Nick Drake and some other artists on the Island label. This does not mean its not original - no other record sounds like this.

The opener, "The weary song" sets the tone, followed by a string of Dave Cousins classics. It is difficult to choose any favorite since all tunes are fantastic. There is not one weak tune on the album. The epic "The vision of the lady of the lake" shows us were the band was going next - eg. into a more electric sounding band.

I was close to forget to mention the other two records in "the golden triad". They are of course "From the Witchwood" and "Grave New World"

This album is a more striped down affair if you compare it to their first release. There's a more pastoral feeling and it sounds a bit like Nick Drake's first album. Fans of folk music should really love this. The tracks are mostly acoustic and often feature some cello and piano too.

There are no highpoints on the album, since all the songs, written mostly by Dave Cousins, are of highest standard, but if I have to pick a few favorites it will be the melancholy "I Turned My Face Into The Wind", which brings some dark imagery of the moody English countryside, "Josephine" and the jolly, uplifting "Another Day" are also wonderful. "Til The Sun Comes Shining Through" is absolutely gorgeous and I love the title track very much as well.

You won't miss the lengthly 'The Vision of the Lady of the Lake' which combines Dave Cousin's flair for story telling with Arthurian imagery and Catholic morality problems. This one builds up and becomes quite aggressive, with some energetic drumming. It really is English folk rock at its best.

For years, this has not been available and to own this on vinyl would be a valued treasure for me. Unfortunately, such copies have long since gone to ground. Therefore, its release on CD was very welcoming. Dragonfly and their album called just "Strawbs" are vintage classics. The band changed their direction a bit after this, with some more varied influences, more to the attention of prog fans. The music here is still beautiful stuff though, from a truly great period. Four and a half stars.

The Strawbs didn't seem to have been deterred by A&M's disapproval toward the instrumental excesses of their debut release, even when the label demanded some rework and delayed releasing it in the U.S. at all for several years. The band had been expected to provide the label with a legitimate British folk-rock act in their stable, but instead delivered a sometimes pompous affair with more electric guitar and orchestration than the record company had expected, not to mention missing the amazing Sandy Denny who had split between when the group cut their initial demo tracks and the label's signing.

Dave Cousins and company made up for the disappointment somewhat on 'Dragonfly', delivering a much more acoustic record with plenty of folk-inspired lyrics and instrumentation. But despite this the group was continuing down the road of progressive rock sometimes subtle and at other times rather overt. The most well-known track on the album, the epic-length "The Vision of the Lady in the Lake" complete with a Greek-tragedy twist, demonstrated their potential for delivering mildly symphonic and undeniably British prog rock, while most of the rest of the songs managed to fit rather comfortably in the folk- rock mode. In particular the first half of the album including "The Weary Song", "I Turned my Face to the Wind" and the title track are stellar examples of that distinctive late-sixties marriage of folk-tale inspired lyrics, oddly-tuned acoustic instrumentation and vocals steeped with a timeless tone.

As the album wears on though the sounds start to take on a bit more modern tone, beginning on "Another Day" with its pop sensibilities, light-hearted hand percussion and hippy-like lyrics. "'Til the Sun Comes Shining Through" is an all-acoustic offering dominated by two-part vocal harmonies in a style that was widely admired at the time, although from a progressive music standpoint it was a bit of a step back for the group. To a certain extent the same is true of "Young Again" although the Davy Graham/Roy Harper influences come through with an odd acoustic guitar tuning and intricate playing consisting of an easy blend of picking and strumming. Cousins was certainly familiar with Graham's work, and the young guest guitarist Paul Brett had already made a name for himself playing on Harper's 'Sophisticated Beggar' as well as Arthur Brown's as well as with Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera, another band that owed a debt to Harper's unique approach to the instrument.

The other, and more notable, guest was another young up-and-comer, whiz-kid keyboardist Rick Wakeman who would join the band for a time before working his way over to a more lucrative career with Yes. Other than on "The Vision of the Lady in the Lake" his presence isn't strongly felt here, but knowing in retrospect his hands-on attitude toward studio work there's little doubt he was active in setting out this and probably other arrangements on the album.

This is one of the more well-known Strawbs albums, but in my opinion they hadn't quite hit their stride by 1970. That would come over the next couple of years, but in the meantime you could do a lot worse in looking for a well-produced, expertly played collection of folk- rock tunes with hints of progressive influence. Check 'Dragonfly' out if you are even remotely interested in the Strawbs or prog folk in general, then work your way from there to the rest of their early seventies material. I think you'll enjoy the trip. Three stars and trending upwards for the band.

Dragonfly is second studio album from Strawbs. Its a nice melodic folk album. Its even more acoustic than theirs first studio release "Strawbs" but also richer in sound ( thanks to the great cello) and like that its a progression forward. That is " visible " in first two tracks "The Weary Song" and "Dragonfly" which clearly gain another dimension with appearance of cello. "I Turned My Face Into The Wind" its a piano and cello driven song. No matter that is (musically) very simple somehow is typical Strawb song with its mystical lyrics. "Josephine, For Better Or For Worse" is a beautiful acoustic love song. "Another Day" is also worthy of mentioning it's a cheerful little number. " 'Till The Sun Comes Shining Through" and " Young Again " are two weakest trucks on album not considering the last one (which I am not considering at all). They are to simple and bit of a boring with the groovy filing they are sending. "The Vision Of The Lady Of The Lake" is the only song here in which we are treated with a story. Music starts in a similar folksy way as the others track while singing slowly introduces us with a tale. Everything flows normally when after exactly 5 minutes after surprising drumming roll music evolves in much stronger progressive sound. Really great last five minutes of track with strong music and singing full of passion, like band was only showing what are they capable of.

General feeling is that this album could be much more if it was released (or created) later in their more progressive period because songs are very well written and they have very god potential. But in other way maybe this was only a step in progression they had to pass. Anyway. No matter that this is not a prog album music here is still surprisingly fresh and rich and I thing it has more to offer than to collectors and fans only. Non-essential but good.

[My 900th review.] The second album by the STRAWBS offers pastoral, elegant folk rock with charmingly personal, in a way "worn-out" sound. It was produced by Tony Visconti (before his fame as a top producer), who had made some arrangements for the band. He favoured for more stripped down approach in the studio and encouraged Dave Cousins to compose in a classical style to fully utilize the cello playing of Claire Deniz, a full member who sadly departed before the album even came out. That noble instrument is central right from the beginning, on the intimately calm songs such as 'The Weary Song' and 'Dragonfly'. The latter features Visconti on recorder. One could compare the rurally folky sound to bands like FOREST or INCREDIBLE STRING BAND.

The beautifully melancholic 'I Turned My Face into the Wind' was familiar to me from the 2CD compilation Halcyon Days. 'Josephine, For Better or Worse' continues the general calmness of the album, and the cello really sounds nice. 'Another Day' has a happier, almost sing-along kind of spirit, and one could think it dates from the 60's folk era. Acoustic guitar and cello blend harmonically on the next pretty little track. 'Young Again' gives vocal duties to guitarist Tony Hooper and has some recorder but remains unremarkable as a song. Isn't there any edge coming on this album, one may wonder at this point. Is it just lame prettiness?

The prog appeal of this album would be radically smaller without the nearly 11-minute epic 'The Vision of the Lady in the Lake'. First and foremost it is "epic" in the folklore meaning of the word, ie. the lyrics are long and story-like, but the listener's patience is rewarded. On the fifth minute the rock drums enter and the whole performance suddenly has unexpected electricity and energy. Cousins shows his blooming ability to load his vocals with passion (comparable to the likes of Fish and Peter Gabriel). On keyboards: Rick Wakeman, before his virtuoso stardom. Well, the key parts could have been more 'Wakemanesue' in this intensive composition.

Delicate, acoustic miniature 'Close Your Eyes' ends the album. My cd (2008) contains four bonus tracks. The cheerful 'We'll Meet Again Sometime' (from 1969) has vitality that is quite absent on Dragonfly album. 'Forever' is a very nice single A-sider with orchestral arrangement and vocal harmonies, reminding of the late 60's Moody Blues. And finally BBC / John Peel radio recordings dating from September 1969, 'Another Day' and 'We'll Meet Again Sometime'.

Three stars without any doubt for the pastoral charm, but remember, this album is still very far from the progressive grandness that Strawbs were gradually heading at.

Wonderful Music.

This is, to my mind, the best-ever Strawbs album. Of course, I also love GNW, Witchwood, H&H, and Ghosts (among others) but this one is the most special. I think the lower scores here on PA for this album reflect that this is mostly folk, with very little rock (let alone prog), and I think many might be tempted to listen to it only once for this reason. However, folk music in particular requires multiple listens before one can feel its merits. I have been listening to the Strawbs - one of my favourite bands - for over 20 years, and this one has slowly but steadily been rising to the top, beating out the others. It is the one that best stands the test of time. To my ears it is the most musical, and contains some of the most timeless pieces, in their entire collection. While their debut album is very much dated to the sound (and topics) of the mid-late 1960s (including the reaction of the critics - who now would want to ban "The Man Who Called Himself Jesus"?), 'Dragonfly' represents eternal truths. The songs are life-affirming and get at our deeper humanity. So many of the songs - "The Weary Song", "Young Again", "Turned My Face...", "Till the Sun...", these are all songs with which we can all today easily identify, they have lost none of their poignancy. The cello (the only album in which they had a full-time cello player), adds a lot of ambiance to the album, and weight to the songs. The long epic "Vision of the Lady in the Lake" speaks of our inability (as a species) to see an illusion for what it is (lie), particularly when that illusion is something we so want to believe in (and even when we know the truth deep down), and thus hints at our destiny to always repeat history. Dave Cousins voice is so perfectly suited to this tale. The title track, "Dragonfly" is a beautiful study in how utter simplicity sometimes produces the best, most timeless music - one of my very favourite songs (and in the top 3 of Strawbs songs for me). When I rate albums here on PA, I am not thinking of what one might appreciate on first listen, but instead what album one might want to put on after listening to it over many many years. Some albums sound great on first, second, or third listen, but then lose their interest after additional spins. Other albums grow on you slowly, and some of the these just keep getting better with every year. 'Dragonfly' is one of the latter. It is one of the albums I know I will still be listening to in another 20 years (and with every listen you and I will be young again!). I give it 9.5 out of 10 on my 10-point scale - in my top 30 albums of all time.

Review Nº 314

"Dragonfly" is the second studio album of Strawbs and was released in 1970. It's a more restrained album than their debut, probably due to budgetary restraints. Probably this has always been an underrated Strawbs album, certainly not as dynamic as their later works, but possessing a quieter, rich and somber charm. The band was still very much an acoustic group, but already headed in the musical direction of their greatest fame, though they had yet to go to electric.

The line up on this album is the same of their debut album with the addition of Claire Deniz as a new member of the group. So, the line up is Dave Cousins (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, dulcimer, piano and percussion), Tony Hooper (vocals, acoustic guitar and tambourine), Ron Chesterman (double bass) and Claire Deniz (cello). The album had also the participation of Tony Visconti (recorder), Paul Brett (electric guitar) and Bjarne Rostvold (drums). The album marked the first collaboration of Rick Wakeman with the band, but on this album he was only a guest musician.

"Dragonfly" has nine tracks. All tracks were written by Dave Cousins except "Young Again" which was written by Tony Hooper. The first track "The Weary Song" is a conventional and typical folk song. It's an acoustic song and where the blend of Clare Deniz's cello gives to the song a very special feeling and a different musical dimension. The song, with bitter sweet harmonies and along with Dave Cousins' discreet vocals, is a perfect introduction to the mood of the all album. The second track is the title track "Dragonfly". It's a much darker song than the previous one and is also a song with an unusual tune and where the recorder played by Tony Visconti with the dulcimer played by Dave Cousins, gives to the song a modal perfect feeling, for the usual Dave Cousins' poetic lyrics. The third track "I Turned My Face Into The Wind" is basically a piano and cello driven song. It was a song written after a walk in Yorkshire, near Barnsley, and it brings some darker imagery of the English traditional countryside. This is a nice song where Dave Cousins plays piano and Tony Hooper plays quietly and tastefully an electric guitar. The fourth track "Josephine For Better Or For Worse" is another calm and beautiful folk song on the album, but this time, it's basically performed by acoustic guitar and cello. It seems this is a song rescued from the outtakes of the first musical sessions of their debut studio album, and where to this version, it was given an attractive and nice new acoustic treatment. The fifth track "Another Day" is a song with a very happy mood, which makes me joyful and gives to me an air of hope. It deserves special mention the beautiful vocal performance of Dave Cousins and Tony Hooper. This is a song with an Irish folk tinge, very simple and pleasant to hear. The sixth track "Til The Sun Comes Shining Through" is another West Country inspired song, as happened with the previous track, "Another Day". It's a short track with an intricate blend of beautiful guitars and where Dave Cousins and Tony Hooper are in perfect harmony. The seventh track "Young Again" is another short track which gives to us, perfectly and deliberately, the true innocence of the song. Tony Visconti also provides a recorder on this song and he handle with the vocals too. We can hear Dave Cousins playing a child's piano on the instrumental break. The eighth track "The Vision Of The Lady Of The Lake" is clearly a track inspired by the Arthurian's legend. It's the great epic on the album. It's in the same vein of "The Battle", released on their previous eponymous debut studio album "Strawbs". This is a fantastic song that gradually moves in a constantly dramatic growing, which in the end provides to us one of the most build- ups musical experiences I've ever heard. It's by far the best musical moment on the album and it's also, undoubtedly, one of Dave Cousins' most striking musical compositions ever wrote by him. The ninth and last track "Close Your Eyes" is too short, 45 seconds, to have much to say about it. So, I only want to say this is a song entirely performed with the voice and the acoustic guitar of Dave Cousins. This is a nice and a brief way to close this album.

Conclusion: Like their previous eponymous debut studio album "Strawbs", "Dragonfly" is also a typical folk album with very few of progressive music. However, and as happened with "Strawbs", "Dragonfly" has the main lines of the progressive group they will become, very soon, and where "The Battle" of their debut and "The Vision Of The Lady Of The Lake" of this, are the two best and perfect examples of that. "Dragonfly" is, in my humble opinion, a step forward in the musical maturity of Strawbs. It's a more cohesive and uniform work than "Strawbs" is. However, I like both albums. But, for my taste, I think "Strawbs" has some songs more conventional than "Dragonfly" and, due to that, I probably prefer "Dragonfly" to "Strawbs". Still, this is only a matter of my personal taste. By the other hand, "Dragonfly" shows one of the first presences of Rick Wakeman on a progressive rock album, along with the second studio album of David Bowie, "Space Oddity". It's true that his presence isn't strongly felt here and we need to wait to Strawbs' next album, their debut live album "Just A Collection Of Antiques And Curious", to can feel his presence perfectly. However, "Dragonfly" represents, in a certain way, the starting point of his brilliant career as one of the best keyboardists ever.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

Dragonfly is an album that has gotten quite a few 2 and 3 star ratings on PA and frankly, it deserves more stars than that. A very folk based acoustic album, it's main short coming seems to be the lack of symphonic prog found on later albums like Grave New World and Hero And Heroine. In fact there's not a mellotron note to be found on Dragonfly as the Strawbs had not yet progressed that far with this their second album.

The progressive elements found on Dragonfly are subtle and covert despite it's pastoral demeanor. The lead off track "The Weary Song" is a folk gem and is very reminiscent of a Simon And Garfunkel song in both style and execution, with alternate guitar tuning and wonderful harmonizing from Dave Cousins and Tony Hooper. Both vocalists are noticeably toned down as opposed from the belting out both did on Strawbs' previous album, their eponymous debut, and Dragonfly is all the better for it. What sets the song apart is eerie cello accompaniment from new member Claire Neniz, along with treated electric lead guitar and various hand percussion instruments. It's a song that lyrically and musically puts the listener in the singer's brow beaten frame of mind. The title track "Dragonfly" is a song that the Incredible String Band would have envied with it's modal dulcimer, recorder accompaniment (played by producer Tony Visconti), stately cello, backwards cymbal effects, chiming hand instruments and hand percussion. Done in a time signature reminiscent of a medieval court dance, it's case where looking backwards musically is it's progressive edge. The magnificent bowed double bass is played by the Strawbs' forth member Ron Chesterman. (The group still did not have an electric bass player in the group, nor a drummer, at this juncture.)

"I Turn My Face To The Wind" is another introspective Cousins song that conjures up feelings of walking a deserted English moor, feeling lonely, in the cold driving rain. Again, all acoustic with alternate guitar tunings, so in vogue in the world of late 60s British folk music, with Miss Deniz adding mournful cello. A guesting Rick Wakeman (he would not join the Strawbs until after the album was released) adds stately but unassuming piano that really drives home the song's uncompromising melancholy feel. "Josephine, For Better Or For Worse" is a beautiful and moving love song with stellar call and response type vocals form both Cousins and Hooper in the song's lilting chorus along with mournful cello from Miss Deniz.

Breaking the spell of lonesomeness is the gorgeous "Another Day" with an sunshine melody and more wonderful harmonizing from Cousins and Hooper as well as alternating lead vocals. "Till The Sun Comes Shining Through" is another upbeat song that doesn't work quite as well but has it's merits with a wonderfully baroque feel supplied by more recorder. "Young Again" is another of sentimental laments that follows the same acoustic formulas and is almost as good as "Another Day", with Hooper taking a solo lead vocal and it's one of his best on a Strawbs record. "The Vision Of The Lady In The Lake", the album's only true progressive song, is a long narration devoid of the standard verse, chorus, verse, chorus sung structure is quite stunning in it's dramatic unfolding. The song utilizes all of the past noted instrumentation (including the returning electric lead guitar found on the albums' first track) along with the album's only full drum accompaniment. Starting out mellow, as expected, the music becomes more sinister in tone as the bizarre cautionary tale unfolds towards a shocking ending, expertly conveyed by Mr. Cousins in a dramatic but unpretentious fashion. The album's sound mix is quite clumsy at times but that doesn't detract from album's listening pleasure. And that's coming from a retired sound engineer.

All in all, Dragonfly is not very progressive overtly, but it's a fine album that I'm sure most fans of prog folk would absolutely adore given it's stellar and utterly unique folk rock basis. Another plus is the greatly improved songwriting of Dave Cousins, who dropped his whimsical narratives found on the group's debut album and turned to more moving and introspective themes.

The 2008 A&M CD edition has a few bonus tracks with the two featured BBC sessions being quite good. The group reprise the beautiful "Another Day" and it's better than the album cut as the recording is more balanced and less sonically dry with added reverb that is so missing on the entire Dragonfly album. The BBC session version of "We'll Meet Again Sometime", a song the group has been licking around for years, is the group's definitive version due to it's stripped down arrangement. All in all Dragonfly is a fine 4 star album.

"Dragonfly" is the second full-length studio album by UK folk rock/progressive rock act The Strawbs. The album was released in February 1970 through A&M Records. It´s the successor to the eponymously titled debut album from May 1969. The trio lineup who recorded the debut album was joined by a fourth member in cellist Claire Deniz. Rick Wakeman makes a guest appearance playing piano on "The Vision of the Lady of the Lake".

Stylistically the folk rock style with progressive rock elements which the band initiated on the debut album is continued on "Dragonfly". It´s maybe a little more folk oriented than the debut album and the addition of Claire Deniz and her cello provides some of the tracks with a dark melancholic bottom which is quite a significant new element to the band´s sound. The music is predominantly acoustic featuring acoustic guitars (although there is sparse use of electric guitars too), piano, flute, cello, minimal percussion (and even more minimal use of drums), double bass, and dulcimer. Most tracks feature a storytelling singing style, which of course isn´t anything out of the ordinary for a folk rock album. The lead vocals are often layered with harmony vocals and choirs. It´s an organic soundscape.

While The Strawbs are often called a progressive folk rock band, most of the tracks on "Dragonfly" are relatively straight forward folk rock songs, but the 10:44 minutes long "The Vision of the Lady of the Lake" is an exception to the rule (not completely unlike "The Battle" was on the debut album). "Dragonfly" features a well sounding organic production job, which provides the material with the depth and warmth it needs. So upon conclusion it´s a good quality sophomore release by The Strawbs. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.