Not quite where I came in. That would be 'Bursting'. But I heard them doing GNW numbers when I saw them in '73 so I knew I wanted to hear it. I did eventually, months later, but not through a listening booth in a shop. I was dating a girl who was from a big church-going family. I went with her as support in any church activities they did. Helped setting up stalls etc. One time, in a local community centre, one of her friends brought some LPs in to play. I rushed across the room immediately when I recognised the vocals. It was the first time I'd seen the open-out triple sleeve. Whoa! Deep. It was no 'Bursting' but contained some stunning tracks. Hard sell to my more 'rocky' friends though, so it became a solitary album for me. Here's some photos I took of the GNW reunion show at the Turk's Head, Twickenham. A Strawbs without Lambert is unthinkable, but I do miss Tony Hooper. Nice that they included Brian Willoughby too.
Its truly sad how the dynamics are squashed on the A&M remaster (and yes, hard on the ears after about 20 minutes). Check out the dynamic range comparison with the Halcyon Days compilation: Benedictus: DR7 (DR12 on US Halcyon Days) Queen of Dreams: DR7 (DR13 on US Halcyon Days) New World: DR6 (DR11 on US Halcyon Days) Heavy Disguises: DR6 (DR12 on US Halcyon days) On Growing Older: DR6 (DR12 on UK Halcyon Days) As you would suspect, when I want to hear these 5 great tunes its Halcyon Days for me every time.
Wow! It looks like it was in someone's home. Those are some great photos. Turk's Head must be a very small venue.
It was just a pub gig. I think historically it probably held some significance for the band. Or the area did. Maybe. I didn't overthink it. I was just overjoyed to be able to see a past reincarnation of my favourite band. More than worth the 400 miles round-trip. It was an amazing night for me. Emotional . The harmonies that evening were on fire. Love to hear tapes from the event. Thought something from the night might have turned up on the 'A Taste Of Strawbs' set as it was such a special occasion, but nothing did.
I've never quite been able to settle on which Strawbs album is my personal favorite, but it's either Grave New World or Hero and Heroine. The biggest argument in favor of GNW for me is the three song run of "Queen of Dreams"/"Heavy Disguise"/"New World": All three are just outstanding. As with most Strawbs albums, there's some less interesting (to me) material mixed in among the classics, mainly on the second side. The album has my favorite Strawbs cover artwork as well (with the trifold inside adding an additional benefit). It's one of the better adaptations of pre-existing (and somewhat famous) art for an album cover.
Grave New World is definitely one of the greatest albums of all time IMO ... and has one of the greatest album covers too. I have a few versions ... the early Japanese D18Y4118 is probably the best on CD AFAIK.
The 1972 single Lay Down has a B-side that seems to take the p!ss out of David Bowie for some reason. Backside by Ciggy Barlust (and The Whales From Venus) is a pretty cool song that certainly fits in with the other songs on Bursting... Its available on the UK version of Halcyon Days and as a bonus track on Bursting. The boy stood on the burning stage, his back against the mast He did not dare to turn around 'til David Bowie passed The stardust painted round his eyes was really fading fast Oh but I think I'm going to come again Oh but I think I'm going to come again The spiders from Uranus were climbing up the walls With such a spacy oddity, his fey libido calls But people in the front row can only see his smalls Oh but I think I'm going to come again Oh but I think I'm going to come again
Lots of lovely Mellotron on this album (and many other Strawbs albums). See the excellent Planet Mellotron site to point out on which tracks it features: Planet Mellotron Album Reviews: Strawbs
Still digesting it but yes it's a good 'un. A couple more spins and I'll go into a bit more detail! Reminds me I haven't given an opinion on Grave New World either. Must get that done too.
I don’t have the SHM cds, but the dynamic ranges listed online are a big improvement over the remasters from the 90s. Except for the bonus tracks appear to be the same compressed ones from the remasters.
Did Bowie try this after Wakeman became a full-time member of the Strawbs in 1970? I read recently a funny story in another thread about an encounter between, Bowie, Adrian Belew and Frank Zappa. Frank was quite pissed at Bowie for enticing Adrian away and repeated "F-you Captain Tom". demoting him in the process.
Been going through some of my old Strawbs stuff. Lot of fun. Unearthed some 80s Strawbs Office mail-outs. Here's one where I've put ticks against names to indicate that I'd had contact with most of these other supporters. Where have they all gone I wonder...? . Happy days. Addresses blocked out for data-protection legalities. Wonder if all these guys & gals got what they were looking for?
Bursting At The Seems - 1973. The Strawbs' most commercially successful album in the UK with the UK pop chart hits Laydown and Part Of The Union. I ignore the latter song, not because it's pop but just because I feel that it's not up with the quality of this album. Lady Fuchsia, Tears And Pavan, The Winter And The Summer, The River/Down By The Sea are my favorites on this one. Gone is Hooper who was replaced by Dave Lambert. The rest are still Cousins, Weaver, Hudson and Ford. There's still lots of good mellotron on this one.
Grave New World Classic Strawbs! One of their very best. The switch from Rick Wakeman to Blue Weaver feels seamless. Indeed, if anything Blue seems to be a better fit for the band. Benedictus is a tremendous opener, stately and epic. This was the song that got me interested me in the band when I heard the Baroque And Roll version on the radio and it remains one of my favourites. There's a little bit of a lull then, for me. Hey Little Man is a pleasant enough piece of fluff but I've never quite manged to get my head around Queen Of Dreams. The noisy bit in the middle just interrupts the flow too much, I reckon. It's there, it's loud and it adds nothing. From here though we're back up to Benedictus levels again, for pretty much the rest of the record. Heavy Disguise is just marvellous. In the sleevenotes to my CD, Dave Cousins suggests that it's John Ford's best Strawbs song and I tend to agree with him. Acoustic guitars, impassioned vocals and melodramatic brass arrangement. Stunning! Speaking of melodrama, New World is packed full of it. The strings pack a real punch here, elevating what is already a massive song right into the stratosphere. After, another Hey Little Man excerpt allows us to catch our breath, Side two opens with The Flower And The Young Man, a delightful folk pastiche which starts with a massed bank of choral vocals before Tony Hooper takes the lead and leads us wistfully through an allegorical year. The instrumental parts with Richard Hudson hitting seven bells out of his drums under what sounds like a delicate synth oboe, are remarkable. From the folk side of the band to the prog with the heavy - in every sense - Tomorrow . Dave spits out the lyrics with real venom pouring invective and ire all over erstwhile band mate Mr Wakeman. To further cock a snook in the Yes man's direction, the track is dominated by Blue Weaver's organ (as it were!). The reflective On Growing Older comes next, a lovely lilting tune and a lyric far too full of regret for a writer who is not yet thirty. One can only hoe it wasn't autobiographical! Opinions differ on whether Oh Me Oh My, a rare enough Tony Hooper composition, is a charming piece of whimsy or a rancid piece of.... well, you get the picture. I'm in the former camp. It's fun, it fits the concept and it doesn't even last thirty seconds! What not to like? (Please note this question is rhetorical! ). The album winds down with a pair of short, quiet songs that contemplate taking that final step towards the edge of the perch, Richard Hudson's Is It Today, Lord? and Dave's beautiful piano led The Journey's End. A gentle conclusion to an emotional roller coaster.
I never picked-up on the Wakeman reference in Tomorrow. I had been aware that the line in Benedictus "All those who cause us pain" was a dig at Rick. For appreciating Queen of Dreams more I suggest ignoring the bridge that irritates you and focus on some of the best lyrics Cousins ever put to music -that and the lovely mellotron flute.
That's a fair point about Queen Of Dreams. There's certainly lots to like on the track. My searing insights into Dave Cousins' lyrical targets come from the man himself from the sleevenotes of my CD. Apparently it wasn't so much that Rick left the band as the way he did it, with no personal contact.