I have had a strange relationship with the band Strawbs for many years now. I came into them late, around 1977, and the first song I heard and liked a bit, sounded nothing like anything before it. Over the years, there always seemed to be Strawbs records in the collections I'd purchase and I'd usually pull out the "Nomadness" album since it was the record that introduced me to the band. And while I didn't mind it, I never loved it enough to dig deeper. That song I liked, "Little Sleepy," does nothing for me now.
As time went on, more collections came through with more Strawbs records, and it was the earlier folkier stuff that intrigued me. I especially loved the album with Sandy Denny, "All Our Own Work," as well as "Hero & Heroine" and "From The Witchwood." The Sandy Denny record is pure British folk, but then the band started to dip their toes into the prog world and the fact that they didn't go all in, at least to my ears, kept their records far more interesting than say a full blown prog epic from bands like E.L.P. or P.F.M..
Yesterday, I read a short tribute written by Rick Wakeman for his friend David Cousins, the leader of Strawbs who had just passed away. It was time for me to pull out those Strawbs records again. Both "All Our Own Work" and "From The Witchwood" hit the spot.
I don't have a serious attachment to the band or to Cousins, the way I do with other artists, so I won't attempt to write a heartfelt obit, or one of those social media bandwagon tributes that always begin with "I was lucky enough to..." and have an accompanying blurry pic of the writer and the recently deceased standing outside a concert hall holding an album cover and a Sharpie. I will simply say that the first five or six Strawbs records are filled with some truly lovely music and most of it was courtesy of Dave Cousins.
10 comments:
I just want you to know I cued up the weekly reggae record for listening later. It is not an entirely neglected feature of the blog.
thanks for the Cousins post; I wouldn't have known he passed otherwise. my friends and i had a game we would play listening to free form radio in Oxford OH in 1974 - is it Strawbs or Genesis? because we knew neither of them and couldn't tell their singers apart. I didn't really start liking Genesis until Gabriel left, but "Hero and Heroine" became one of my favorite prog albums. They did it more with atmosphere and weird vocals than sharp licks. They never really stopped as a working band and their last few albums, including "Broken Hearted Bride" and "The Ferryman's Curse," retain that unsettling effect of good english folk/prog.
Thank you for this! I'd always dismissed both Sandy Denny and Strawbs, not because I didn't think they were great at what they did, but simply because I'd never heard anything from either that clicked with me. But hearing "All I Need Is You" here prompted me to pick up that album, and I'm really digging it. Thanks again!
I was a Fairport and friends fan in 1974. I knew about Sandy Denny and Rick Wakeman's involvement with Strawbs, but never got there. I made time for Steeleye Span instead. I'll probably like them now.
"Flight" is pretty great. OK. More old records to look for.
My first introduction to Strawbs was their album Ghosts, some of the music has a "Yes" feel to it and strangely enough one (Lemon Pie) favors some of Cat Stevens work.
Ha, I always thought the Strawbs were like a B-list version of the Raspberries. My bad! I like the tracks you posted, eager to listen to more. Not a huge British folk fan, but in the right mood it can really hit the spot. Thanks once again for turning me onto something. Bruce H
Bruce,
Might you be thinking of The Sherbs as the b-list Raspberries?
I think I was just confusing my berry bands. Bruce H.
Cousins' passing is news to me too. I saw Strawbs live multiple times, largely because they were under billed with the band I paid to see. Saw them first in 1972 when Hooper was still in the band. I guess it was the Grave New World tour. I went to the show with this really interesting guy I met at the Dead's one-off Hollywood Bowl show. He was from Chula Vista, dealt pot by the kilo and was planning to buy a ranch in Escondido. At least he had goals. I went to visit him on weekends and he often took me to see Tom Waits at a San Diego coffee house. My friend was really high on Waits. They went to the same high school. He was definitely a cosmic cowboy. long hair, stetson and puca shells. He loved what came to be known as "outlaw country." Thus he bought us tickets to see Michael Murphey at the Whisky. His debut had come out recently and, like my new beau, I thought it was out-fucking-standing. The concert was a lot of fun. What a bunch of great songs he had and real good backing band. Murphey was excellent at tranferring the different emotions of each song into his audience.
Incongruently, the Strawbs opened for Murphey. I was surprised at how well they went down. Cousins had a great sense of humor. It was off the wall and sometimes self-deprecating. He may not hsve been a charismatic frontman, but he was a great musician. And likable. Hudson's drum solo was also pretty hilarious. They did a lot of stuff from their latest record, Grave New World, which I didn't have yet. Picked it up used soon after. Strawbs records heavily populated the used bins. I didn't buy a single one of their records new. They were easy to get and not top priority. But, as long as it's not the Moody Blues, I'm a sucker for mellotron. Anything from "Witchwood," to "Nomadness" is pretty good. After that I lost interest.
VR
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