SETTLEMENT

This new album by Strawbs has been being celebrated short on arrival as a revival of their halcyon days, like shown in (let's say) Grave New World. There's a good measure of truth in such assertion, but not in the more obvious sense: the source from which came Benedictus, and The Flower And The Young Man, has delivered great materials this time, but not gems of THAT beauty.

The resurgence of their classic sound is more in the quality of the songwriting and in the band's musicianship to be found. A good taste of this you can have it in the opener, where, on a hard & symphonic setting, you get the unique vocals by Dave Cousins, a fantastic organ solo courtesy of Dave Bainbridge, and Dave Lambert providing spirited electric guitar. The style of the album is however diverse: there's also the calmer times, brought by the folk tunes that every Strawbs fan has the aquired right to expect, there's the more convoluted vocal arrangements, and there's also the occasional touch of classical complexity.

A nice and welcomed surprise. I think we have to seize this kind of offering while it's still coming.

From John Barlass' review on At The Barrier:

"Settlement is dedicated to the memory of Tony Hooper, a founder member of Strawbs who was with the band from their earliest days in 1964 until August 1972, and again between 1984 and 1993. Tony died in November 2020 at the age of 81."

By necessity, this will be a short review. Settlement, the Strawbs' new album, is very good not withstanding a few caveats. The album was recorded by the band members individually at their home studios and compiled by former member and album producer Blue Weaver, due to UK's endless Covid lockdown. Dave Cousin's songs reflect the dreariness and isolation of the lockdown both musically and lyrically, with the other Strawbs adding just the right touch to fill out the songs' themes. The big difference between this album with other recent Strawbs' albums is the self-conscious desire of the band not to make another album that tries to emulate the glory days of past albums, as the Strawbs have been want to do with their last four studio albums. Its stand alone style still has all the familiar Strawbs musical motifs and, of course, Dave's recognizable voice which is quite good for his age. In fact, this album is the most acoustic guitar driven since the band recorded Dragonfly back in 1970. It's new found recording clarity, thanks to Weaver's mixing and mastering, suits this "new" style of sound most excellently.

That's not to say that the songs don't rock out at times because they most certainly do, especially on the title track once it shifts gears away from Dave's maniacally sounding acoustic strums and Dave Bainbridge's eerie mellotron like strings. In fact, Bainbridge seems to channel the style of all the past Strawbs keyboard alumni of Weaver, Rick Wakeman and John Hawken. Sometimes paying homage to all three in the course of one song. The other standout tracks are "Strange Times", "Judgment Day" and "Each Manner Of Man" (co written and well sung by ex member John Ford), as well as "The Visit", a folky Celtic tinged song (written and sung by guitarist Dave Lambert), before Cousins takes center stage again on the excellent "Quicksilver Days" and "We Are Everyone/Chorale".

If the CD version of the album ended there, it would be stupendous, but the three CD bonus tracks "Champion Jack", "Better Days" and "Liberty" are much lesser works and probably wouldn't be missed by most if they were never included. So, we have an almost great album from the venerable Strawbs, and 4 stars seems like an appropriate rating given the bonus tracks. However, what's good on this album is absolutely great.

Locked down and separated from each other by seas and continents, STRAWBS could have gone out as winners on the strength of their 21st century output, particularly "Ferryman's Curse" from 2017, which gained accolades across the prog, folk and prog folk realms. It certainly invited comparisons to the band's 1971-1975 commercial and artistic peak, and Chris Tsangarides production swan song made the most of DAVE COUSINS singular voice which, it must be admitted, has lost some range in its 75+ years. It wasn't perfect to be sure. The meandering keyboard style of the brilliant DAVE BAINBRIDGE didn't always "close the loop", which their prior keyboard players seemed to recognize as a pivotal strength of the group. The centerpiece title track spun a riveting tale as only Cousins can, but it was delivered as a monotonal dirge. Moreover, only one song was actually sung by someone other than Cousins, making it a less balanced deliverable than most of the back catalogue.

Why do I say all this? Because, while "Settlement" may not have a "Nails from the Hands of Christ" or a "When the Spirit Moves" or even a "Bats and Swallows", it has addressed each of these weaknesses and sounds more coherent than any geographically dispersed group of musicians has any right to be. The 39 minutes of the vinyl, streamable version sans bonus tracks are as consistent and artfully sequenced as any Strawbs album since "Ghosts", and I rarely want to listen to it only once. Yes, Cousins' strains to meet the unorthodox demands of the exquisite ballad "Strange Times"; he shouts disturbingly 4 times during the brilliantly grungy "Settlement" when maybe once or twice would have been enough - I mean he only screamed "May you Rot" once in "New World" which somehow made it all the more emphatic. Bainbridge's keys are much more succinct here, with echoes of former Strawb Blue Weaver, who produced this album from his home in Germany, in "Settlement", John Hawken in "Strange Times", and Rick Wakeman in "Quicksilver Days"; ex Strawb John Ford gifts us his ageless vocal on the most catchy number, the nonetheless substantive "Each Manner of Man", and Dave Lambert's "The Visit" mainlines the group's early folk sound not far removed from their brothers and sisters of that bygone scene, FAIRPORT CONVENTION and STEELEYE SPAN, in part thanks to Cousins' use of banjo and dulcimer. Even "Judgement Day", at first seeming monotonous, affixes a groove with its unusual meter and breezes through its nearly 7 minutes in a manner simultaneously Strawb like and like nothing they have ever done before. "We are Everyone" is both uplifting and creepy in the best ways, and the addition of erstwhile associate Cathryn Craig on both lead and backing vocals was a casting coup. The two accomplished instrumental numbers serve as codas for "The Visit" and "We Are Everyone" and are suitably rootsy and symphonic respectively.

That leaves the bonus tracks. I give some props to "Champion Jack" for its use of bouzouki and its mellotron rich coda, but unfortunately, emotional although it is, it arrives a little late. "Better Days" is certainly the weakest number, plying an unconvincing Bossa Nova style which, rather than highlighting the group's eclectic interests, comes off as parody. It's not even catchy. The finale, the first Strawbs track featuring Chas Cronk as lead vocalist, seems to be a favourite among those critics who don't have much time for Strawbs. His voice is fine but the song doesn't seem to start, proceed, or finish anywhere.

While this may not be their most prog oriented effort, Strawbs have always existed outside such labels, perhaps to their commercial detriment but definitely to their fans' delight. I can't imagine "Settlement" being turned down by any long term listener who appreciates all eras of the group.