DEEP CUTS

Fortunately this CD is available as a digital download, because the various reissues and imports I've been able to find have are all quite expensive and (as it turns out) probably not worth the cost of admission.

I only recently discovered this record; I knew it existed but thought it was nothing more than a promotional-type issue of obscure outtakes and early material. Turns out that's not the case; these were all new, original tunes for the band in 1976. Dave Cousins and Chas Cronk had developed a rhythm of cranking out short, mostly pop-tinged songs by this time and in fact most of the tracks here are collaborations credited to the two of them.

In looking over the liner notes I had a pretty good idea what was in store before even playing the thing. Cousins (or more likely Oyster Records executives) had brought in some young guns to produce the thing in the form of Jeffrey Lesser and Rupert Holmes. Lesser made his name helping the contrived British group Sailor get their fifteen minutes of fame in the mid-seventies with the sugary pop hits "Glass of Champagne" and "Girls Girls Girls", while Rupert Holmes would set feminism back a generation with his misogynistic mega-hit "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)" a couple years after this album released. This did not portend well for the band.

But to be fair this isn't a bad album and the signature Strawbs sound does come through often, though as expected it is for the most part wrapped in heavily-massaged studio sheen, pop hooks and lyrics that are fairly shallow compared to most of the band's earlier material. I would compare this stuff musically to some of the more commercial stuff contemporaries like Al Stewart and Steve Winwood were cranking out around the same time. Not quite sugary, but clearly intended to be not much more than fodder for Top-40 radio.

That said, the musicianship is quite good and the band works in a fair amount of guest brass instrumentation and keyboards despite not having a permanent keyboardist or horn player of any sort. Most of the keyboard work is synthesized which is not surprising for 1976, but any serious Strawbs fan will wax nostalgic for the richness of their early Mellotron, Moog and piano sounds. The real emphasis is on electric guitar (and a bit of acoustic although even this is mostly amped), again not surprising given three of the four members at this point were primarily guitarists. The opening "I Only Want My Love to Grow in You" is a perfect example of where the Strawbs were by this time, a well-groomed blend of lead and rhythm guitar, assembly-line percussion and preteen-approved, heavily-mixed and highly-repetitive lyrics that for the most part simply repeat the song title as both verse and chorus. Clearly intended as a single, and in fact it was released as such in numerous markets though didn't chart in any of them. Actually the Strawbs would never have another hit single or album following 'Deep Cuts', though they would continue to release records sporadically well into the new century.

"Turn Me Round", "My Friend Peter" and "Charmer" are in much the same vein as the opener, and the latter was also released as a non-charting single. "So Close and Yet So Far Away" was the other single for the album, this one a slower tune with electric piano from long-time band associate Robert Mealing and glossy backing vocal harmonies.

The closest the band comes to a classic Strawbs sound is with the anti-war anthem "The Soldiers' Tale" which was probably written about five years too late given there weren't a lot of egregious wars to be protesting in 1976. Cousins voice is spot-on and the various keyboard forays give a depth to the song that most of album is lacking. Overall this one comes off as a shorter and slightly more-accessible "Forgotten Sons" but without quite the same level of passion. Musically "Beside the Rio Grande" is similar and also a decent tune but once again not quite up to the level of complexity of the better parts of the deep Strawbs catalog.

In the end I have to say this is a decent album though certainly not on the level of the more well-known Strawbs material. Three stars seems fair, and for anyone who thought the band was finished 'Deep Cuts' should convince them that Cousins and his cronies could still crank out forty minutes of decent material. Not much here for the 'greatest hits' collections, but a pretty good album considering time and circumstance.

peace