PROG FOLK

Demos for "The Man Who Called Himself Jesus" and "Martin Luther King's Dream" actually sound fresher and more dynamic to me than their later studio and live versions found on the "first" Strawbs' album from 1969 (Sandy And The Strawbs was not released in any form until 1973), and the live Antiques And Curios album from 1971, respectively.

There are few bluegrass style banjo and guitar instrumentals that are not my cup of tea, but do show what a virtuoso banjo player Cousins was. It also shows what a good guitarist Hooper was to keep up with Dave's manic picking. Demos for more epic songs like "The Battle" and "Where Is the Dream of Your Youth?" pale in comparison to their heavily produced studio counterparts, but still demonstrate just how completely put together these songs were before all the bombast was added in their studio incarnations.

What is most impressive about this compilation is the great sound quality of these old recordings. Mr. Cousins always seems to produce quality sounding archival material that really sounds if it was recorded yesterday. Preserves Uncanned is strictly for diehard fans but lucky are those fans that can enjoy these wonderful sounding old recordings. 3 stars.

As with all releases from this label this is in a nice gatefold which maintains the original front and rear of the vinyl release (1000 pressed), along with plenty of information about the band and the context of this album. Sadly for me, this is all in Norwegian so makes no sense to me at all so I had best concentrate on the music. They are widely compared with Camel, and one can certainly hear why as there is the same languorous approach with some lovely Latimer-style guitars, and it certainly does not come across as being self-recorded in their own studio. It has also aged well in that while one would guess this as possibly being from the late Seventies as opposed to early Eighties, it is still incredibly enjoyable. This is not a difficult album to listen to, and the use of female vocals in certain places gives the music a very different feel indeed, as does the move to acoustic guitar at times. Folk prog is probably a good place to categorise this album, with gentle flute certainly adding a certain ambience. It is an album to be savoured and enjoyed, to be relaxed into.

I don't believe I have heard any of their other albums, the most recent of which was released only a few years ago, but I am intrigued to know if they have kept with this style as this is certainly very pleasant and pastoral, yet with nice proggy elements as well. All power to those who funded this reissues as this has been quite a discovery for me.

Two older once departed bandmates Richard Hudson on drums and Tony Hooper on acoustic guitar and backing vocals are onboard for this outing, with the superlative Brian Willoughby on lead guitar (replacing the great Dave Lambert who was reported to have been a ski instructor in Switzerland after his retirement from the music business). On bass and keyboards are new members Rod Derick and Chris Parren. All of the above are hold overs from the previous Don't Say Goodbye album.

If I have one big compliant against this album is its late 80s sounding production with loud cracking snare drums and muted bass, along with some new wave sounding synths, generally dragging the songs down. The two remakes, "Tell Me What You See In Me" and "Grace Darling" are especially affected by this as the new arrangements might have worked better in a more 70s production style. We'll never know. One song that does work well with the new wave accoutrements is the lead off track "Might As Well Be On Mars', which is a cover of a song of an obscure (to me) Canadian new wave group called the Pukka Orchestra. No wonder. "Afraid To Let You Go" is the better of two songs written by Parren/Hudson/Willoughby. The other being "Taking A Chance". The former sung by Parren and sounding similar to Dave Lambert, the second sung by Hudson. This does add a bit of continuity to the group's sound, whatever that's worth. As others might overlook the album's production I think that 3 stars is sufficient. Just don't look for any prog here.

Blue Weaver, keyboardist during Strawbs' most successful period in the UK and producer of the excellent "Settlement" in 2021, has returned as producer and keyboardist, while Cathryn Craig offers welcome vocal relief. Both do help with continuity but this still feels like a Dave Cousins solo album where he indulges his varied tastes in everything but rock, folk and prog for the most part. Hard to believe the album is actually decent, but not one that will win many new fans.

The most enjoyable tracks are those that generally do adhere to Strawbs' templates of the distant and near past, chiefly the middle eastern influenced opener "Ready", which is one of only 2 rockers, the wistful and autobiographical "The Magic of it All" with its shades of JADE WARRIOR in the instrumental section that probably could not have risen from Dave Lambert's picking, and the anthemic folky "Our World".

As for the other 6 tunes, the better ones are actually those that do branch out, chiefly "All Along the Bay" in which Cousins' voice adapts to a talking style reminiscent of the Irish master CHRISTY MOORE in a shuffled sax heavy number, and the Cajun-styled "Slack Jaw Alice" which might be a tribute to Gertrude Stein's spouse, she of the famous hash brownies recipe. Ironically, "Everybody means something to someone" and "Wiser Now" are similar to some of his work on "Deep Cuts" and "Burning for You" that never really moved me and still don't, but at least "Wiser Now" maintains his high poetic standards.

Of the two bonus tracks, "Lady of the Night" is more of the same, while "Christmas Ghosts", written and sung by John Ford, sounds wonderful but is ill timed and a bit too optimistic perhaps, but not the action oriented optimism of a "We Have the Power", but one reserved for believers if you will. In all, they don't affect the overall score here.

Strawbs' final performance was at FAIRPORT CONVENTION's Cropredy festival in August, as Dave Cousins' declining health precludes further touring. This may or not be their last album. It's nowhere near as strong as the 2 preceding releases but is still reflective and heartfelt, just too mellow and eclectic for its own good. But Mr Cousins has earned the right to do as he pleases. It's a real head scratcher how a mildly successful group has survived and thrived for 50+ years, even if he has been the only founding member since 1972. And that perhaps is the real magic of it all.

The more recent deluxe rereleases of Stand Up has resorted to a different live recording to spruce up its offer (a 1969 performance), leaving this orphaned - but never fear, the band put it out as a standalone release for Record Store Day. It's a solid performance from a year when Tull were absolutely on fire onstage - the Nothing Is Easy live release of their Isle of Wight Festival appearance, or the two live appearances from Chicago and Tanglewood which made their way onto the recent deluxe release of Benefit, are proof positive of that. This has some moments of weak sound, but otherwise further documents a rich era for the group. Worth it if you can't get enough of 1970-vintage Tull, and given how fine that year was for them there's probably a good many people that description applies to.