STRAWBS

Evergreen

Baroque & Roll is an album credited to "Acoustic Strawbs" and was released at a time when Strawbs had not released anything new for quite some years. As such it could be seen as a welcome sign of life and pointing to a brighter future. But it was probably not what long time fans of the band had been waiting for. The material here was not new, but is rather acoustic re-makes of classic Strawbs songs. Some of these re-makes are better than others and some feel rather unnecessary. However, it is overall a pleasant listen.

The core of the band here is Dave Cousins, Dave Lambert, and Brian Willoughby, but there is also a string section on song songs (and I'm sure I can hear some non-acoustic instruments). The string section makes some parts into what one might perhaps call "chamber Folk".

The most progressive pieces here include striped down renditions of Ghosts and The Riven/Down By The Sea. Evergreen is a beautiful song. Nothing here is essential or better than the originals, but it functions as a nice complement. My advice is to make sure to get the original albums from which these songs were taken before investing in Baroque & Roll. But once you've gotten that far, the present album (along with the similar Painted Sky) is a worthy addition as well.

Just another collection antiques and curios

Painted Sky is a live-in-the-studio recording featuring an all-acoustic set of (mostly) classic Strawbs material. These re-makes are stripped down to their essentials in terms of instrumentation, and even the band itself is reduced to the core trio of Dave Cousins, Dave Lambert, and Chas Cronk. As such, the basic ingredients are simply acoustic guitars and vocals. The odd banjo is also present, but no keyboards or drums.

With the exception of two songs from Deja Fou (the most recent Strawbs studio release at the time of this recording) the selections are taken from the band's "golden era" during the first half of the 70's. Oh, How She Changed is the oldest tune included, going all the way back to the 60's and the band's self-titled debut. One highlight of the disc is the 14 minute, four part The Antique Suite, originally recorded live in 1970 and included on the classic Just A Collection Of Antiques And Curios album.

Listening to this album is actually a very pleasant experience and the new arrangements of these old tunes makes it a worthy addition to a comprehensive Strawbs collection (like my own). However, even if surprisingly good taken for what it is, it is by no means essential and the average Prog fan will probably not need this.

Oh how they changed (the arrangements)

In recent times, (The) Strawbs have divided their live performances and recordings between Electric Strawbs and Acoustic Strawbs. It is the latter who recorded this album, the line up consisting of a trio of Dave Cousins, Dave Lambert and Chas Cronk. Nominally a live album, the set contains extracts of two live in the studio performances in 2004and 2005 with the album title being taken from the studios in California where the "gigs" took place.

A quick glance at the track list reveals that this is not an album of new material, but of new versions of classic songs from the band's history. These songs had at the time of recording been recently added to the repertoire of Acoustic Strawbs, so the opportunity was taken to capture these interpretations for posterity.

Perhaps the first thing to notice is that while the songs were recorded live, there is no audience as such, the recordings benefiting from the studio facilities available to capture the sound. The crystal clear recording of the acoustic instruments brings an unexpected warmth and depth to the album that, despite the limitations of a three man line up, boasts an admirable diversity of moods.

The tracks represent a good if eclectic cross section of the band's work, starting with their first single "Oh How She Changed" and including two of their epic suites. Dave Cousins' voice is as unique and distinguished as ever, his often emotional delivery still sending a quiver down the spine. Songs such as "Grace darling" sound remarkably fresh, and while I don't think they will ever top the symphonic and operatic splendour of the ("Ghosts") original, the version of that song here is superb nonetheless. "Shine on silver sun" is pared back to a slightly melancholy ballad with fine harmonies.

The 14 minute "The antique suite" was only ever available as a live recording, first appearing on "Just a collection of antiques and curios". In reality it is a suite of four unconnected songs which have become four quarters of the greater whole. Highlights here include the Dave Lambert vocal on "We must cross the river". The sublime "Benedictus" is the least different of the songs, since it was primarily an acoustic number anyway, but even here the paring back of the arrangement is evident. I love how the acoustic guitar sings on the intro to "Midnight sun". The gentle, relaxed atmosphere brings out the full beauty of the melody.

Two tracks which appear together, "Cold steel" and "If" were new to the "Deja fu" album released in 2004. As such, they do not really fit well within this collection of otherwise highly familiar songs. Both are fine well performed tracks, although personally I do not feel the former is on a par with its peers. The album closes with the epic "Autumn" from "Hero and heroine". Initially, the piece is barely recognisable, the symphonic opening of the original being replaced by some wonderful picked acoustic guitar. It's only when Cousins' voice breaks in that we settle into the familiar three parts of this magnificent work.

It appears that the track list for this release was subject to a number of changes before it was finalised, with some other classics being omitted. What we have though is a magical journey through some of the Strawbs best songs. I would urge anyone with an interest in the band's music to do themselves a favour and discover them through this wonderful release. To do so will be the first step on a wonderful journey of discovery.

OH THE HUMANITY!

This is an incredible cross-section of, as stated, Strawbs Halceyon Days! Dave Cousins and gang have a folk-rock way of reaching an everyman tone! I definately hear a universal quasi- religious sentiment running through the heart of many of these fine songs. The music collected on this cd compilation is of outstanding quality with amazing lyrics. This was my introduction to The Strawbs and I'm glad it was. Although there are many great studio albums that The Strawbs produced, this is an ideal starting point for The Strawbs novice, which I was at the time. Not only do you get a mess of great songs from most of their early albums, you also get two great solo David Cousins songs in 'Two Weeks Last Summer' and the epic 'Blue Angel'. I just love the latter! Some may find Dave Cousins voice an acquired taste, but I enjoyed it from the start. I still recall my good friend from high school yelling "... The Strawbs..." up to me in our high school auditorium and me summarily blowing him and The Strawbs off. What a fool I was! All of those years spent without The Strawbs music! As John Hiatt would so succinctly say , "oh poor, pitiful me, oh poor pitiful me". Well there are many deeply felt, greatly written and produced songs in this set. I do recommend this to anyone interested in finding out what The Strawbs music is all about. A great place to start. And as stated in the previous critique of this album, I will end with the same phrase, God bless you Dave Cousins and may you continue to write music for the masses! Thanks.

Incredibly decided to buy Hero and Heroine just a few days ago, and after several decades as a fan of the STRAWBS, a decision I delayed mostly because without Hudson and Ford I thought this would be an inferior attempt of Cousins and Lambert to keep the name alive?..Gladly I have to admit it was a big mistake, the album is simply fantastic from start to end, the beautiful voice of Dave Cousins and the magic Mellotron of the former RENAISSANCE keyboardist John Hawken are able not only to keep the magic alive, but to raise the bar even more.

The album is opened by the mini suite . Autumn: Heroine's Theme, Deep Summer's Sleep, The Winter Long blending the ability of the two Daves (Cousins and Lambert) with the acoustic guitar and the wizardry of Hawken in the keyboards, a perfect blend of Acoustic Folk, Gothic Music (understood as late Middle Age) and Symphonic Prog with a heartbreaking Mellotron performance.

But that's not all, around the fifth minute, a beautiful piano passage marks a radical change with a melancholic vocal work, perfectly supported by the rhythm section, along with The Hangman and the the best STRAWBS song.

Sad Young Man is more the kind of music we can expect from the band, pastoral, calmed and melodic with the usual trouvadoresque singing, but again Hawkens caught me by surprise with an outstanding organ solo. But what really impressed m,e is the way in which they play with the contrasts between this song and the faster rock oriented Just Love, by this moment its' obvious for me that we are not before a collection of great songs but in front of a coherent and well balanced album recorded with great taste.

As in the previous tracks, the guys work with the contrast between the folksy and almost acoustic Shine On Silver Sun based in the unique voice of cousins and soft piano complemented by the pompous and impressive Hero And Heroine, an electric and upbeat folk song, that reminds me of the days when Wakeman was in the band, again the STRAWBS hit the nail right in the head.

Midnight Sun and Cousins voice make me think in singer-songwriters like CAT STEVENS or AL STEWART, but of course the arrangements and delicate guitar performances make it unique. A characteristic that is boosted by the radical difference with the more dramatic Out in the Cold, a good song that could had been better with stronger arrangements and avoiding the extra sweet keyboards. Still wouldn't call it a bad track, just a bit.

Round and Round took me by surprise because it's so hard to define, heavier guitars and aggressive keyboards combined with a Folk/Medieval melodic tune, please pay special attention to the perfect interplay between Chas Cronk (Bass) and Rod Coombes in the drums, by this point, the band is working as a well-oiled machine, with each musician doing his part and even more.

The album ends with the unusually heavy Lay A Little Light On Me a track with a spectacular structure, because the intensity and drama go in crescendo to match perfectly with Hero's Theme, creating almost another mini epic that closes the album brilliantly.

Even though my album has two stupendous bonus themes, I will base my review solely in the original songlist, because that's the way the band made Hero and Heroine to be listened, and God.......They made a great job. Until today I used to believe that the excellent From The Witchwood was the peak of the STRAWBS career, but I changed my mind, doesn't matter if I couldn't find names as Hudson, Ford or Wakeman, this new lineup created a musical gem that deserves no less than 5 solid stars.

Yes, Peter and Easy Livin are right when they say this compilation serves as a good introduction to the STRAWBS. This was the first CD I heard (borrowed from library - I guess it was in 1998) and I was immediately interested to hear more. Soon after I bought "Halcyon Days" 2-CD compilation with a long band history, and as I continued with their catalogue this already had fully served its purpose. So let's look back at it and its contents. For the band information it was pretty useless, if I remember right. The tracks are in uncronological order but they concentrate on the best years (1971 - 1974), albums From The Witchwood, Grave New World, Bursting At The Seams and Hero & Heroine.

One of the earliest choices is 'Song of a Sad Little Girl' from the 1970 live album featuring Rick Wakeman on piano. A good example of a less obvious but very fine choice. Mostly this attempts to be "The Best of" -sort of compilation and all the best known songs are included: hits like 'Benedictus', 'Part of the Union' (by the song-writing rhythm section of Hudson & Ford who left after Bursting At The Seams), 'Round and Round', 'Lay Down', etc. Happily Strawbs was never a single-oriented band and so "The Best" can be interpreted with artistic criteria too. And there's hardly a fan who would argue that prog songs such as 'Autum', Hero & Heroine' or 'New World' are some of the very best ones. Those are songs that lift this band among the finest acts in British prog. The rest have a decent balance between easy happy tunes ('Lemon Pie', 'A Glimpse of Heaven') and more serious tracks (the dramatic 'The Hangman and the Papist' about the religious conflict in Northern Ireland, the old music influenced 'Tears and Pavan' or 'Down by the Sea'). Not a perfect compilation but quite close, being a single CD set. Mainly for newcomers, because for more serious Strawbs listeners it will become fairly useless. No rarities or anything like that.

Bless this album. No doubt about that!

"Grave New World" is a great album, though probably not as much as the previous "From The Witchwood". The style of the band remains approximately the same: the album consists of quite simple and mainly acoustic songs, however, compared to "From The Witchwood" the electrical equipment begins timidly to be used by the band. Another difference between the two albums is that Wakeman has been replaced by Blue Weaver: instead "Merlin The Magician" the new keyboardist use mellotron much more.

Listening to the album is very pleasant, certainly undemanding, with the nasal voice of Cousins in evidence in songs like Benedictus or New World, an excellent song features a redundant mellotron arrangement and the use of winds.

Tomorrow is the most "proggy" song of the album, with amazing changes of moods and rhythm, no doubt another highlight of the album. Anothew winner is the beautiful, but unfortunately too short, Hey Little Man, an acoustic song with Cousins on vocals, divided into two parts. Heavy Disguise is one of my favorite Strawbs songs ever: the style reminds me something of Tull and Beatles, with an excellent winds arrangement . Interesting the intro of Queen Of Dreams played in reverse.

The rest is still good, though perhaps not at the same level. Compared to the songs of "From The Witchwood" is most commonly a lower desire to experiment: The Flower And The Young Man and On Growing Older are nice but a little obvious. Oh Me, Oh My is funny but a bit out of place.

In any case this is a great album, less courageous than "From The Witchwood" but probably more pleasant to listen, because it does not demand much attention. If you are intrigued by the band and f you are searching for an album to start with, this is for you.

Final rating 7/10.

Best song: New World

`Deep Cuts' is a mixed bag of styles and genres arranged in an accessible and easy to listen format, a collection of shorter and more concise pieces with slight progressive elements throughout. It's full of the usual charm and character of their previous albums, with rich and detailed lyrics and a feeling of sweet sentimentality. It's sophisticated and elegant pop/prog/folk with the expected country leanings and some rockier moments too, with a great balance of acoustic and electric guitar playing.

The album begins with `I Only Want My Love To Grow In You', a poppy foot-tapper with pleasant group harmonies, uplifting lead electric guitar lines and a catchy melody that's very easy to like. The power-pop sound carries on with the harder `Turn Me Round' with treated soaring guitar breaks and those gravelly but sweet lead vocals from Strawbs main man David Cousins. Gorgeous Mellotron and a wistful vocal on the charming `Hard, Hard Winter'. A reflective lyric and those typical Byrds-like dreamy group harmonies are superb on this one! `My Friend Peter', in contrast, is an angry heavy stomper with a spitting and bitter vocal from Cousins and a terrific searing heavy guitar solo in the middle! It ends far too early on an abrupt fade out, when another tough guitar solo would have been perfect! Sounds like nothing else the band ever did! `The Soldiers' Tale' is probably one of the slightly more substantial pieces on the album, with a strong narrative lyric, noisy guitar, urgent vocals, driving drum-work and eerie Mellotron breakouts.

Side B's `Simple Visions' has a very upbeat spiritual lyric and positive vocals from Cousins. It's full of gorgeous melodic guitar runs and uplifting Mellotron, but the whole band gets terrific moments throughout this one - I especially love the bass and keyboards! The slightly cheesy `Charmer' has that same power-poppy sound from the first side, loud snappy guitars with a frantic and catchy repeated chorus. It's very lightweight, but effortlessly pleasant. (`Wasting My Time) Thinking Of You' is an occasionally schmaltzy and breezy ballad, with a playful vocal that might rub some listeners the wrong way. It's very pretty, kind of cute, but also very slight and a little sickly. I'm really back and forth over that one! Spectral Mellotron opens `Beside The Rio Grande', which tells a lyrically rich and dramatic story, with a heavy atmosphere aided by confident lead vocals. It's the most instrumental heavy track on the album, with funky bass, urgent percussion and hot wah-wah guitar weaving throughout the track. Very sudden ending though, which is a real shame. `So Close...' is an affectionate and romantic predominantly piano/vocal piece with restrained bass and ghostly Mellotron. With a warm and majestic guitar solo, it ends the album is a very grand and epic way - if only it had been a little longer!

I doubt this album will ever be considered among the better albums from this band, but I find it an undemanding and restrained collection of smart pop/folk with occasional progressive moments to keep the more forgiving of listeners happy. The heartfelt and longing human elements are really pleasing to me on this one too.

Perfectly intelligent and approachable background music, and a sweet album that might really touch your heart.

I've picked up a few Strawbs albums over the last year or so, and it's been a bit of a shock to discover that they all sound wildly different from each other! From the rough-around-the-edges medieval pomp of `Antiques...', to the near power pop and angry stomp of some of `Deep Cuts', I really haven't known what to expect with each new album - except plenty of musical variety, inventive playing, evocative lyrics and charmingly wounded vocals full of character.

On it's first play, what a frustrating and wildly inconsistent album `Bursting At The Seams' is! It all comes across as a bit of a mess of country, psych, folk and prog-rock, with a pinch of honky-tonk novelty rock and even a childrens sing-along choir thrown in! Don't worry too much, if you have the patience to give it a few plays, the albums reveals quite a lot of fragile charm and beauty.

Side A begins with `Flying', which sounds very much in the style of the spacey psychedelic country of the later Byrds album. If that band's music from that period was as consistently good as this, those albums would be more fondly remembered! Warm country harmonies, with Dave Cousin's instantly recognizable voice singing a drifting melody. Terrific acoustic and dramatic middle enhanced by smatterings of Mellotron and commanding drum-work, and outstanding group vocals all round. Very accessible and catchy track, a real Strawbs classic. That same late Byrds vibe is present again on `Lady Fuscia', with a psychy country and folk feel, effective low-key sitar and lovely lyrics. Gorgeous multi-tracked harmonies, with a melodic electric guitar solo in the middle of this dreamy and hazy romantic piece. `Stormy Down' is upbeat country rock that's a bit lightweight, but pleasant enough. `Down By The Sea' has a moody electric intro and washes of choir Mellotron, then lots of feedback and angry moments with unhinged vocals, back and forth between acoustic passages and electric aggression. There's also a grand and pompous stirring string drenched finale. `The River' is a reflective acoustic and string driven lament, with orchestration and a passionate final verse. Shame about the very abrupt ending! All up, the first side of the album is really rather good!

Side B starts badly with the hideous novelty rock of `Part Of The Union'. A stomping beat, it tries to be a sing-along, but it's cheesy and inane, with a crowd singing the chorus in the background. Probably clever lyrics, but I certainly don't relate to any of it. Worst track by far on the album! `Tears and Pavan' has a moody percussive intro, very majestic Mellotron waves throughout, with longing and haunted vocals from Cousins that become comforting in the second half. There's a tasteful electric guitar melody throughout the whole track. A medieval middle and end section, with some baroque acoustic guitar and warm handclaps, it's a very romantic section, on an evocative and moody piece. `Winter and the Summer' has sweet vocals from Dave Lambert, with some wonderfully pretty and heartfelt lyrics without being schmaltzy. Warm acoustic guitar and gentle percussion, with a strangely plugged in moment during the second half that kind of ruins the mood! `Lay Down' has an upbeat stomping beat to it, very Byrds-like with ragged but warm chorus harmonies, a life-affirming Mellotron choir in the third verse, before a energetic and clean electric guitar on the fade-out. Deeply spiritual lyrics on this very accessible and catchy pop-rocker, if a little repetitive, but sure to get your foot tapping in approval. Then the album crashes with the awful gospel track `Thank You', sung by a wonky kids choir backed by piano. Lovely gesture, but...why?! The lyrics themselves on the album sleeve are nice, though.

Hugely underwhelming at first, before repeated plays show how good most of the material on `Bursting At The Seams' is. There's a few missteps along the way, but the majority of the album features heartfelt vocals, warm playing and simple but sophisticated accessible folk/country rock with intelligent progressive elements. It also shows a very admirable humanity.

Three and a half stars really!

In purchasing this remake of a mythical album, I was led by the premise that even if it's a carbon facsimile of the 1974 original , how could I be pissed off at another copy? In my proggy travels throughout the decades, I have not budged an instant in hailing 'Hero and Heroine' as a masterpiece of music, rating it no1 or 2 in my gargantuan collection. This seminal work has healed many wounds on a myriad of occasions, bringing a"Little Light on Me" when I felt like a "Sad Young Man" and "Out in the Cold". These familiar tracks were pure panacea ("Just Love") and I am happy to report that the revisit is just as enthralling today with subtle little sonic changes that make this a lovely companion as the "Midnight Sun" settles on the "Autumn" of my life. I guess David Cousins feels the same way, marshaling Dave Lambert and Chas Cronk along for the ride with added complicity from long-time associate Tony Fernandez on drums and keyboard virtuoso John Young (ex- Greenslade, John Wetton, Asia, Fish, Qango etc..). There are some radical differences between this and the celestial mother ship, mostly in Cousins' nasally twanged voice which has obviously morphed in the intervening 36 years, as well as a less symphonic keyboard delivery from Young in some places while Lambert is slicker and less raunchy than before. In a way, 'In Ascencia' is a bluesier effort, less anguished and freer wheeling, yet keeping close tabs on the original structures. On the title track, the comparisons become more acute, Cousins finds himself now less controlled and the mellotron is buried deeper in the mix. Nowhere do the new tracks outshine the past glories, a rather impossible mission anyway and that is clearly not the purpose. In fact, it should be seen as an acknowledgement from David and the band that 'Hero and Heroine' has always been considered by the prog world to be an iconic offering, superior in symphonics to the equally delicious 'Ghosts' and the legendary 'Grave New World'. The lyric sheet alone is well worth the adulation, the pristine production, the stellar melodies and finally, the ideal cover art for a bright prog rock album. The rework will never trump the icon. If you do not have the original Hero and Heroine, you are missing out on a plethora of various delights ("I could scarcely believe all the pleasures inside")

While the original is an "untouchable" of unmitigated proportions, 'In Ascencia' counts as a welcome reworking of the masterpiece, so how does one go about rating this? Well the white dove of 1974 will remain a 5 jeweled crown and this can ease in at 4. Round and Round we go