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String Driven Thing - String Driven Thing CD (album) cover

STRING DRIVEN THING

String Driven Thing

 

Prog Folk

3.17 | 24 ratings

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

Sean Trane
Special Collaborator
Prog Folk
3 stars 3.5 stars really!!!

After some years of trying to achieve some kind of success, SDT expanded from their trio into a quintet, as Mannion did not continue. Joining in is a future familiar figure of Graham Smith (future VdGG) on violin, and so are bassist Colin Wilson and drummer Bill Fairley (although not yet a full member on this album). So they found the Charisma label, home of many prog groups (Genesis, Audience, VdGG etyc..) and they were the second folk rock group to be signed with Newcastle Geordies of Lindisfarne. Graced with a strange and insanely baroque artwork depicting a freak show in a pub, the album is definitely one of interest for the site.

The album releases a strong pastoral mix somewhere between folk, country and good old RnR, giving birth to an acid-sounding electric folk dominated by Smith's violin work. Although not yet really progressive, this album has many excellent moments that will please the progressive folkhead. Starting off with the single Circus (which received wide acclaim and a price of single of the year), and the rather sweet Fairground, the rocky Hooked On The Road, the album sinks deep into the subject with the superb Easy To Be Free, the haunting Jack Diamond and the raunchy but poignant Let Me Down. The album seems to take a bit of a rest with Last Blue Yodell, but the typical raunchy folk of My Real Hero brings it back to life, even if the prog element is not present and the line "God does not play in a RnR band" repeated endlessly, while the Regent St Incident does not bring more prog. The album ends on a jazzy (slightly Dixie due to the banjo) song that is a bit out of context from the rest of the album.

While the album is not quite as good as its follow-up, it remains a good album and although not essential, it is worth a few spins.

Sean Trane | 3/5 |

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