PRESERVED UNCANNED

If you are an avid Strawbs fan then get this as it has some great tracks with the late Sandy Denny.Sandy Denny and Dave Cousins really got the whole thing going in the mid to late 60's. There are some very early songs here some that made it onto the first Strawbs studio and it is as one would expect very folk based.

This is one of those "borderline" purchases for me. I bought it used for $12, which is a good deal for a 2-CD set. On the other hand, it's basically a bunch of demos and some unreleased tracks from their early folk days. The sound quality is okay, but the damned thing takes up a lot of room in that large format 2-CD box. You see, "size" has become a legitimate determining factor for me, since I'm running out of space for new CD's. This thing takes up as much space as 3 jewel cases, and it's pretty good. Anyway, if you just can't get enough of their early stuff, go for it.

This is where it started. 38 demos and privately recorded tunes covering the birth of the Strawbs. If you own their entire catalogue (like I do), this is essential. From "Coal creek march" to "Song to Alex" this double CD covers the early years of folk-rock and blue-grass that would slowly segue into rock and prog-rock as the 60ies turned into 70ies. Not everything catches fire, but somehow it doesn't matter. There is enough here to enjoy, like "All I need is you", "We'll meet again sometime" and "Tell me what you see in me" as well as quirky ditties like "Jenny O'Brien" and "Sweetling".

3.5/5

Heavy folk based songs, very short and very basic, of their early days. Anything special in this compilation except the good voice of Sandy Denny in some tracks. Just a document of their early sound. Just for collectors.

Contrary to what you may have read/heard, Sandy Denny does not appear on this album, which consists of studio demos from The Strawberry Hill Boys prior to becoming the Strawbs and welcoming Sandy into the fold. In spite of that, or perhaps because of it, this is the historic Strawbs document to own, as it shows their breadth of interests even at a tender age. Among these, are bluegrass, and indeed they are often credited as Britain's first bluegrass band, 1960s pop, Ray Davies styled storytelling and Bob Dylan styled shaggy dog songs.

While the group at one time performed a lot of traditional tunes, here the vast majority are written by Cousins, but some exceptions are highlights, like the sad tale of the "Blantyre Explosion", the banjo rich "Handsome Molly", which explores the intersection of bluegrass and rock and roll, and "Spanish is a Loving Tongue". Interestingly, these are all sung by Tony Hooper. Cousins' can no more interpret another's material than granny could cook someone else's recipe.

Other highlights are the fascinating narratives such as "Jenny O'Brien", in which Cousins uncharacteristically sings from the feminine perspective of a poor young lady being stood up by her boy as she waits and waits for him to show up. "Lawrence Brown" is oddly humourous given the tragic events that befall him and his family, but they reveal a highly developed skill in Mr Cousins, and you may find yourself laughing out loud.

Many of the tracks were to surface once or more on later Strawbs output, but the versions here remaining interesting and sometimes eclipse all subsequent renditions. In particular, "October to May" works better here in full band gear than the a cappella version on Cousins' 1972 solo album, and "How I need you" surpasses the later misguided bluesy version on "Nomadness". Even "Martin Luther King's Dream" seems more punchy than the "Antiques and Curios" product, thanks to session drums.

Finally, several instrumentals show Cousins' sheer talent on banjo which is rarely displayed during later days, even if he does dust it off from time to time.

"Preserves Uncanned" provides a tasty compote for fans who want more and rawer early Strawbs material than the big labels saw fit to release, and is recommended as a starting point over the pasteurized Sandy Denny dominated concoctions.

While rummaging through my album collection looking for a misplaced record, I stumbled upon this antique and curio from the Strawbs. It's a collection of outtakes and demos from the band's formative years up to the recording of the group's first album with A&M records in 1969. A number of songs are demos from the Sandy And Strawbs album from 1967. "Sail Away to the Sea", "On My Way" and "All I Need Is You", all recorded prior to Miss Denny joining the group, are fully formed and very quaint sounding even without Sandy's incredible voice. They don't hold a candle to the all All Our Own Work album recordings made with Sandy, but show just how good a songwriter and arranger Dave Cousins was at that early stage. These songs are fleshed out by founding Strawbs' members Tony Hooper on acoustic guitar and Ron Chesterman on stand up bass.

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.