THAT'S WHEN THE CRYING STARTS

After the mediocre -- well, pretty weak when compared to the classic albums just a few years before -- album Deadlines (1978), the British folk prog band Strawbs had their longest period of inactivity during which the frontman Dave Cousins did some solo stuff to almost deaf ears. To cite All Music Guide: "That might have been the end of the group's history, if it hadn't been for an invitation to play the 1983 Cambridge Folk Festival. The Strawbs responded, in the guise of Cousins, Hooper, Hudson, Ford, Weaver, and Willoughby, and the response was so favorable that a tour was scheduled, which in turn led to their return to America in the mid-'80s. The group followed this up with two new studio albums released in Canada." The first of those two albums was Don't Say Goodbye (1987). It was somewhat disappointing if one was expecting them to sound like in their prime time, but as a pop album of the mid-80's, it isn't bad at all. This single has two songs from it.

'That's When the Crying Starts' is a ballad about a breakup in a relationship. Musically it's more or less in the same field to me as some ballads that e.g. Dire Straits or Paul McCartney did at the era: well produced and suitably emotional but not too sentimental. Actually it's easily likeable for a Strawbs listener, if nothing more.

'We Can Make It Together' is a pop rock song with a faster tempo and a heavily repeated chorus. But there are also some soloing, nice arrangement details and a C part (is that a correct term?) to compensate the average songwriting. This might be a three star single on a pop site but let's stick to two stars here.