My take on Bursting At The Seams: Well its a good album, but a bit hit and miss for me. Part Of The Union (Hudson/Ford) was a huge hit but to me smacks of not much more than a novelty song -a shame it represents their commercial peak. And yet we also get a classic (and easily a top 5 Strawbs song for me) Tears & Pavan. This song (well 2 songs actually) has everything I love about the Strawbs -dark, hypnotic and beautiful. The fun and catchy Stormy Down is pleasant and always welcome. And some think it's too commercial, but I love Lay Down. The River makes for a nice dark intro for Down By The Sea (ordered as intended), but honestly neither is a favorite of mine (although the mellotron bridge in 'Sea" is excellent). I like the 2 b-sides and they do add some value to the remaster Backside as a slap at David Bowie and Will You Go -a rearrangement of Wild Mountain Thyme (and a good one too). Lady Fuchsia and Flying are pop songs that I find inoffensive, if not too engaging (perfectly nice). The Winter and Summer is pretty cool, a nice collaboration. And "no thank you" for Thank You -not a strong closer. So, all in all, a must-have for Strawbs fans, but I like the preceding and following albums more.
Bowie and Dave Cousins were old friends, Cousins had interviewed him on radio several times and they'd often shared the same bill. I don't think there was anything particularily venomous going on.
'Oh Me Oh My' (a 1968 out-take from the first incarnation of the first LP) was included, unaltered, to give Tony Hooper some representation on the record apparently. He was MIA from the sessions, and left shortly the band shortly afterwards.
It's the area as well as possibly the pub. Strawberry Hill is only a mile or so from Twickenham. The big music pub in Twickenham is The Cabbage Patch, which has an excellent events room, where various incarnations of Strawbs have played many times over the years. I've sadly not played it myself, but my Mrs. did last year (on the drums). I was very impressed and a proud man!
My take on Bursting is similar to that of Pete Puma, above. "Tears and Pavan" is one of my favorite Strawbs tracks ever, and I really enjoy "The River/Down By the Sea." But the rest of the album to me ranges from mediocre to downright insufferable ("Part of the Union"). The album cover looks like a generic rush job for a live album by a random hard rock act, which may color my reaction to the whole thing. So I'm not a fan of the overall album, but the best tracks would be essential to a quality compilation.
That makes sense! Tony Hooper was never utilized vocally as much as he might been on those early albums. Excellent voice and a nice counterpoint to Dave Cousins.
Bursting is where I came on board originally back in that day. Loved everything about it. I had just finished reading the Gormenghast trilogy so 'Lady Fushia' was particularly inviting. 'Tears and Pavan' and 'Down By the Sea' were so emotionally wrought and moving. I never minded 'Part of the Union', added some contrast and got them noticed. Nothing wrong with that. It was a real coming of age record for me and still takes me back there when I play it.
Ditto to everything you said chum. Easily my favourite Strawbs album. ‘Flying’ is a wonderful starter. ‘Winter And The Summer’, if pushed, is probably my favourite Strawbs song. The LP is better for the lightness of Ford & Hudson’s songs. ‘Union’ rightly deserves its place on that great album. It was also the last ‘band’ album. Once Hud and John had gone, Cousins’ dominance was more pronounced than ever. I love him as a songwriter. It’s rightly his band, but I don’t think he ever gives the supporting cast enough writing space on any product they release.
All Our Own Work - 1973. Recorded with Sandy in 1967, but not released until 1973 after the Strawbs scored UK chart hits, this gem of album is really in a musical universe of it's own with it's Mammas and Pappas styled folk pop. It's been re-released with slightly different songs and alternate mixes in the 90s and again (remastered) in 2011. Sandy with Cousins, Hopper and Chesterman.
Tried REALLY hard over the years to like 'Sweetling'. I can't. It's very awful (yet I love Tony's voice generally).
I’d go along with that. The ‘big band’ version is no better. Generally great LP though, with some brilliant moments. Shame it wasn’t released at the time it was recorded. Dave Cousins makes some heavy statements in his book, and in sleevenotes, about Sandy being poached by Joe Boyd for Fairport. I’m just not sure the time frame works though. Sandy had quit The Strawbs in November/December 1967. She was certainly gone before mid-December as by that point they’d gigged with Sonja Christina on vocals. At that point Fairport had only just released their first 45 and were making the first Polydor LP. Judy Dyble wasn’t fired until end of April/beginning of May 1968. Joe has claimed he knew nothing about Sandy auditioning for Fairport until she had (he was apparently out of the country) and at the time he expressed concern that Sandy would be too strong a character for the band. It didn’t work out like that.
The bottom line is that Sandy left Dave and he never got over it, I'm afraid. Then Wakeman left and you know that saga.
Hero And Heroine - 1974. A perfect album, imho. Only Lambert's It's Just Love sounds out of place but it's one of his best rock songs that goes over better live. Autumn is the epitome of prog folk and Round And Round is out of this world. The line up is Cousins and Lambert now joined by Rod Coombs on drums, Chas Cronk on bass and the great John Hawken on keys.
Hero and Heroine is a good listen one of my favorites by the band. I would rate the albums in order of most favored to this point: Grave New World Witchwood Hero and Heroine Just A Collection of Antiques and Curios Bursting Out Dragonfly S/T The songs: Autumn 5/5 -about as proggy as they get. I love this gloomy mood piece Sad Young Man 5/4 -a beautiful song, not remarkable, but always nice to hear Just Love 2.5/5 -too generic to get much 'love' from me Shine On Silver Sun 4/5- a beautiful anthem, good arrangement too Hero and Heroine 4/5 -a jig that harkens back a bit to their roots Midnight Sun 3/5 -nice enough, perhaps a bit Strawbs by-the-numbers Out In The Cold 5/5 -Some of the best lyrics DC ever penned IMO Round and Round 4/5 -segues perfectly after OITC. Lay A Little Light On Me 2/5 -not a favorite, too precious for me Hero's Theme 4/5 a great closer! The themes of addiction, loneliness and helplessness permeate this album. Not much as far as uplifting material.
I'm falling behind.. I have been losing in my never ending battle against idleness. Anyway, Bursting At The Seams The Strawbs become pop stars. Who'da thought it? In fairness, this album doesn't sound like a desperate stab at the charts at all. Essentially, it's business as usual, even if it does contain possibly the worst thing they ever committed to vinyl. The gloriously dreamy Flying opens proceedings with some lovely folk rock banjo before settling down into a tale of lost love and opportunity. I've never decided whether the enigmatic lyrics are hopeful or desolate. The out-of-place-but-it-works instrumental break in the middle is terrific. Hudson & Ford's Lady Fuschia follows. In the liner notes to my CD edition, Dave Cousins describes this as the best song the duo brought to the band. I'd argue that point (it would be Heavy Disguise, for me) but it's certainly a winner. More folk-rock. Sitar infused this time, and a gorgeous lilting melody that belies another grim story. Not surprised Cousins rates this one. If I hadn't seen the credits, I would have assumed it was one of his. Stormy Down is partially inspired by a hill situated between Swansea and Cardiff which is my neck of the woods. It's a short, sharp rocker with excellent barrel house piano and a rootsy glam feel. Imagine T Rex doing a Faces cover. Side one finishes with two linked songs: The River and Down By The Sea. I believe these were the other way round on the original vinyl but this is the order, apparently, that they were envisaged to be. They certainly make sense this way round and provide a magnificently epic end to the first half of the album. The former has a stunning string arrangement courtesy of Robert Kirkby and the latter opens with a brooding riff (which I'm sure was later appropriated by a metal band but I've racked my brains and I can't come up with the song) before developing into a prog behemoth. I can imagine a young Derek W. Dick sitting by his eight track thinking "that's the sort of music I want to make!" Side two open with a song many Strawbs fans seem to abhor, Part Of The Union. Of course, it was a massive hit and about far from the band's prog side musically as you can get. However, from record one, they've always written pop songs alongside the epics and, to my ears, at least, it's a corker. It was the Dark Ages politically in the UK at the time (literally, with all the power cuts) and the song is a lampoon of the stereotypical trade union strong arm type like Jack Jones who played an important part in looking after their members but who occasionally could became as oppressive as the Establishment. It's a great singalong and always goes down a treat when someone plays it down the pub. Curiously, Hudson & Ford intended it as a duo single under the name of The Brothers but Dave C. saw its potential and persuaded them to give it to the band. Do I wish people were more familiar with The Hangman & The Papist and its ilk? For sure but Part Of The Union helped them sell a lot of records and was probably many people's entry point for the band. In any event, POTU is followed, by one of the afforementioed well loved epics, Tears And Pavan. It's rightly regarded as a classic. One of the band's best! Dave Lambert then introduces himself with his first writing contribution, The Winter & The Summer. Again, Cousins rates this highly and once more, he's correct. DL's songs sometimes get short shrift from the fans but I've always found them solid enough and this is a particularly good example. It's mostly simple and folky, like something Steve Tilston or Steve Ashley might have recorded at the time but with brisk rhythms and effective organ stabs. The change of pace on the bridge works well. Up next is the album's other hit single, Lay Down. Anyone who can get a song based on one of the Psalms into the upper reaches of the charts is alright by me and that chorus will stay with you for weeks. It was all going so well and then *shudder* Thank You is committed! Suddenly we have a proto St Winifred's School choir blaring out of the speakers with words seemingly written by an harassed Year 2 teacher for an assembly she's forgotten she's taking. The tune is pretty enough, I suppose but it's buried by those horrible voices. If I had the album on vinyl, I would be applying the hot chisel to this one. However one wrong step - and an easily avoidable last track one at that - cannot derail what has been one of the band's finest set of songs. In many ways. I wish this line-up had continued. However, subsequent albums remain strong and we have the bonus of Hudson Ford's duo albums so I suppose it all worked out for the best in the end.
I've read and heard enough interviews with Cousins that say if they'd all had calmer heads they'd have worked through 'band' issues. This version still had so much to say. By the end I'm speculating that DC probably already had a few proto-Hero And Heroine numbers up his sleeve. Would have loved to see how they'd have played out with Blue, Hud & John. Also, which 'Nickelodeon' songs would Hudson & Ford have brought to the next album? What would Cousin & Lambert have added to them? We'll never know.....
There is a rare B-side for Shine On Silver Sun that can be found on the UK version of Halcyon Days in a different form (I couldn't find it on YouTube to link). Why And Wherefore is a construct of 2 song parts ("Why" and "Wherefore") The "Wherefore" section was the b-side. Why is a riff-rocker and Wherefore is the mellotron bridge and some funky guitar and rollicking piano sections. A good song worth hunting down. Shine On Silver Sun is the last UK single 'hit' the Strawbs had -peaking at #34.
I love the way they join together. Fantastic. It’s clearly one song. Don’t understand the reason for splitting them in the first place. Would have fit nicely on the next album, ‘Ghosts’. Too good to be ‘mere’ b-sides.
A very rare near perfect album. I have a feeling that if these songs were sung by Bowie it would be considered up there with Hunky Dory. The Strawbs never quite got their due respect, I think it unfortunately had a lot to do with a band not being perceived as cool. The Monarch first US press sounds really wonderful. Five dollars will not get you a better record. They sold buckets of this album in Canada where the band was the most popular.
I have Ghosts and Bursting At The Seams but this is an overall essential album in my opinion. Strawbs – Hero And Heroine Label: A&M Records – VPCD 3607 Format: CD, Album
Ghosts - 1975. Less focused than Hero And Heroine but almost as good with title track a rival to Autumn. Lemon Pie should have been a UK hit. Perhaps it was released there. Starshine/Angel Wine, The Life Auction, Remebering, You And I (When We Were Young) and Grace Darling are outstanding too. The line up again is Cousins, Lambert, Hawken, Cronk and Coombes.
