First Album In Eight Years Confirms This Band’s Sparkling Remarkable Staying Power

Their first studio album in eight years brings continued nuance and intensity to a band that has existed since 1964. There has been downtime but solo albums, live albums and best of albums have always kept this preeminent prog rock band by way of folk & bluegrass still in the forefront and being quite eccentric. Strawbs doesn’t necessarily run with the high gloss rock pack. Legendary English folk singer Sandy Denny had a tenure in this group before she joined Fairport Convention and progressive rock band Yes keyboard man Rick Wakeman was first a Strawbs employee. The classically-oriented rock band Renaissance (the early inception with Keith & Jane Relf) – had a keyboardist John Hawken (Nashville Teens) who also performed during Strawbs’ most productive era.

This was a band who used a mellotron to great melodic effect. For their effort, it was a musical instrument and not a special effect. There are moments on this new album that sound as if they dusted off the mellotron and it may be there…maybe.

Strawbs slowly developed and metamorphized into a band that was folk-progressive rock (if you can believe that term, even today). Yet, those who were dedicated followers knew exactly what that was because Strawbs always managed that terrain better than many. While lead singer Dave Cousins had an attractive peculiar voice – close to the young Cat Stevens for many of my friends who loved Cat during his days when he recorded songs like “18th Avenue.” These fans always were drawn to Cousins’ similar material. But the only competition Strawbs had musically was Jethro Tull. But, Tull worked another side of the street.

I picked up Strawbs’ “From the Witchwood,” – so many years ago and it’s an album that was uplifting, positive, filled with love. Songs that were emotional — much the same as The Moody Blues. This album featured sitars and banjo and I don’t believe they ever duplicated that effort. They touched upon it but never to that level. I don’t find any rock band achieved that level of optimism and storytelling — some tried — such as the folk-rock bands Magna Carta and Dando Shaft. Even the production approached Broadway levels in the choral-like vocals. This was a band that was interesting, with poetic lyrics and strong melodies. The balanced vocals between masterful songwriter Dave Cousins and original members John Ford and Richard Hudson were exhilarating. Ford (acoustic guitars) and Hudson (who was a wonderful, creative drummer) always lent a lighter side to the Strawbs repertoire. Sometimes I miss that balance between Cousins’ voice and the silkier Hudson-Ford showcase. I guess it’s the same wonderful contrast that was evident with early Procol Harum who had Gary Brooker’s very blues-based baritone set against the angelic choirboy voice of organist Matthew Fisher. Well, nothing lasts forever.

My favorites during this time were “Thirty Days,” and “I’ll Carry on Beside You,” (catchy tunes and probably one of this band’s most beautiful of songs). The music at times on this early LP had a light medieval and Asian approach to folk music. It set the band apart from other rock bands. This band was not a pop band, not a hit-making machine or show-offs. They weren’t a dance band, or folk band no longer in the truest sense. They were what they are: Strawbs.

Jethro Tull was more rural England and rustic. The Band had the same affect — rooted in deep Americana, old South, the Delta (despite their Canadian roots). Procol Harum was more novelistic, historical and steeped in the blues by way of the classics. These were…. ambitious bands. Bands that had signatures, identities and they carved out a style that was uniquely their own. Strawbs was among these.

Whatever map they followed it was the right one for them. Longevity does not lie. Strawbs were not as medieval as Amazing Blondell (who used traditional antiquated instrumentation for authenticity). But, Strawbs seemed to have the balanced ability to play with old flavor yet modernize the recipe they provided — with highly polished rock textures. Was it diluted? No. One listens to the likes of “Turn Me Round,” (“Deep Cuts” album) and they would understand. On any given night these musicians could deliver a knockout punch on stage.

Cousins always weaved compelling tales as well – “Vision of the Lady of the Lake,” – on an earlier album “Dragonfly.” It was long and a little rambling but when that sudden crisp snap of the snare drum comes in the song shifts gears dramatically. It startles the ear because it’s not expected. This was stunning stuff for a folk group. This was a progressive rock with a dash of Dylan. I was hooked. If the Moody Blues were a package tied with a bow of ribbons, Strawbs was a knot of hemp. What every good boy wants to rock his socks off…intelligently.

Instead of writing a short history of the band (it’s all online) I will jump ahead to their new album – “The Ferryman’s Curse.”  What is to be appreciated here is that Strawbs maintains its high-quality songwriting, musicianship, and performance throughout – despite the years and the expected rust. There is no rust. This is a well-lubricated machine. Maintained by engineers of music that love and respect their equipment.

When this band is beautiful, melodic and poignant they are hard to beat. When they are in their Moody Blues-Barclay James Harvest gear they are contenders and quite frankly — they don’t need a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame to confirm their place. In the 70’s with the incredible “Grave New World,” Dave Cousins managed to straddle the world of the Moody Blues (with the stunning “Benedictus”) and skin-peeling pre-heavy metal classic (“Tomorrow”) with a proficiency that is hard to explain. Dave Cousins and his crew — just rip it from its bones.

How these musicians can be so diversified, versatile and still maintain an iota of their “sound” throughout the differing genres is remarkable. And they have been doing this for decades. That was a brilliant album and so was “Bursting at the Seams.”

It was always my contention that Strawbs knew how to produce these melodies just shy of what progressive rock was hated for: bombastic performances, overblown musicality and pretentious lyrics. These pitfalls were avoided by Strawbs — this is what made them special. A Bob Dylan fan may avoid progressive rock. Wouldn’t be caught dead with a Genesis, Pink Floyd. ELP or Yes album – but a Bob Dylan fan might listen to Strawbs because Dave Cousins was that good a writer and musician. His instincts were sharp and none of their material has dated.

With the departure of Hudson-Ford to a successful career as a duo — Strawbs recruited an incredible guitarist in Dave Lambert – a lead guitarist I respect and admire. To this day Lambert is somewhat unsung and deserves more acclaim. Guitarists in the know are familiar with this man’s expertise and sound. He reshaped the band from that time the way Martin Barre re-shaped Jethro Tull’s guitars. Is he a pivotal member? He has been for years so that’s not a viable question. Lambert’s sound is so unique at times I still believe the great guitarist Alan Parker duplicated it, was influenced by it, applied it — on Scott Walker & The Walker Brother’s “No Regrets.” For a long time, I swore his brilliant guitar solo on that song was Lambert’s lead guitar. It sounded so Strawbs’ like in tone and melody. It was a solo that was not showboating but chilling.

Nevertheless, Dave was quite an addition. The perfect addition. He too, released a solo album in the 70’s (featured The Who’s John Entwistle) and one track became a hit for Eddie Money – “Take a Little Bit of My Life,” — I believe Money actually copped Lambert’s singing style for it – that restrained, pushing the envelope rock and roll voice. Listen to Dave Lambert’s original and then Eddie Money’s – tell me what you hear. I hear a good rock singer influenced by a Strawbs lead guitarist.

The personnel in Strawbs, like Procol Harum & King Crimson, has changed over the years. But, every incarnation has had its riches. Even their somewhat weakest album “Heartbreak Hill,” had some jewels. It always sounded like a bunch of good potential songs that weren’t sufficiently produced or finished. The reason this is their “weakest” album is simple. Strawbs had so many intense and classic albums that a good one simply can’t hold up. “Ghosts,” “Hero and Heroine,” “Grave New World,” “Bursting at the Seams,” – just too overwhelming. Too many good ideas, arrangements and moments. Listening closely, like on “Simple Pleasures,” (“Deep Cuts” LP) — you hear instruments you didn’t hear the first time being whittled like a piece of wood quickly. Guitar? Synth? Whatever…. all intricate beauties.

With “The Ferryman’s Curse,” Cousins revisits “The Vision of the Lady of the Lake.” As stated earlier, Lambert’s lead guitar bites and soars and the “mood” of the track is all fog, mist, chills, and manifestations. All the music in this collection is layered precisely. These are musicians still interested in producing the best they can for the sake of the entity they created. Cousins has lost none of his drama and storytelling ability. Despite its 8 minutes, it never bores. The Tony Fernandez drums are thunderous, Dave Bainbridge’s wall of sound keyboards stretch the boundaries of modern-day progressive rock laced lightly through a folk melody. Dave Cousins is at his finest when he explores the outer reaches of these types of tales. He doesn’t push. Drama? There is drama. Is there as much as his “Round and Round,” on “Hero and Heroine?” No, there’s no sledgehammer to the chest words like: “I drew the blade across my wrist to see how it would feel…”  But this is not then…this is now.

The first track on this new collection is the instrumental “In the Beginning,” — somewhat similar to the short musical interludes peppered through earlier albums. This track features Bainbridge and in the Strawbs tradition, it becomes a disquieting intro to what is to come. Tony’s drums are tight as the skin that surrounds an apple. A segue into the dense and smoking performance of “The Nails from the Hands of Christ.”

With typical Strawbs intensity the lyrics from Cousins have hints of moments on “From the Witchwood,” and similar excursions taken on “The Broken-Hearted Bride.” But this one reminds me of the songs of the New York band The Nails (“Darkness Comes Uncivilized,” “Jesus Calling Jesus,” “88 Lines About 44 Women” & “Home of the Brave”) — who’s deep-toned lead singer/writer Marc Campbell often explored these religious regions with bite and grit the way Dave Cousins does here. This would be quite a pairing Strawbs and The Nails.

“Lay A Little Light on Me,” (from “Hero and Heroine”) was also steeped in religious imagery. Why? Religious imagery is a strong image. A great story. It also leaves a listener to interpret. This new song has so many sounds weaved through its tapestry. Lambert’s melodramatic lead and Tony’s steady clink on cymbals set up the necessary essence of charm in the gloom. “She found a junk shop bargain, competitively priced, he told her they were kosher, the nails from the hands of Christ….”  Want to know where progressive rock resides today? Strawbs.

Paced wonderfully, the band slides into a slow “Song of Infinite Sadness,” with what sounds like a harpsichord and flutes (but probably all Bainbridge’s keyboards). Some may not have the patience for this type of melancholy but Dave Cousins’ fans know this is part of his repertoire and he is an expert in writing a lyric the way no other does. It doesn’t sound like something Dylan would write, or Tom Waits or even Joni Mitchell. The intertwine of acoustic guitars: beautiful. “The Familiarity of Old Lovers,” with a hint of the old musical world’s mellotron seeps through. This is the thinking man’s lyric as Cousin narrates: “the familiarity of old lovers, as intimate as thieves, a secret to be treasured, the guest who never leaves…” The only other artist to come close to words like this was the late Leonard Cohen. Dave Cousins is not copying – Dave has been writing lines like this for decades. In need of a Cohen fix? I would recommend the songs of Dave Cousins – even on his solo albums — works of art.

Why other singers who do not write their own material have not mined this songbook for sparkling tunes is beyond me. “Grace Darling,” from “Ghosts,” is stunning work. One of the most beautiful melodies I have ever heard and I keep coming back it and it’s a true story told briefly only the way Dave Cousins and Strawbs could. And now here on this new tune, Dave Lambert, as always, lays down some wonderful leads throughout “The Familiarity,” playing beside equally good leads by Dave Cousins. A real spine-chilling exchange of melodic lead guitars.

“When the Spirit Moves,” with its classic Strawbs sound begins the song and drops back from powerful chords to gentle soft focus acoustic guitars. Cousins’ is in fine voice. Judging from the lyrics short lines, Cousins manages to milk the most wonderful lines out of short sentences. Nothing is wordy or ponderous. Yet the lyrics are far above the average capability of a rock band. The album is quite spiritually influenced – more so than any other previous album. Cousins is vague but we know what he’s talking about: “have you heard the news? He’s coming back…right on time…on a one way track…when you see his face…look him eye to eye…’padre Mio padre…crowds will multiply…”  

Not as directly religiously inspired as those 80’s Bob Dylan albums, but the hints Cousins lays down are gentle enough for anyone with any religion to appreciate. The song goes to another level as “brass” (perhaps Bainbridge again) weaves its way powerfully to a conclusion and Lambert’s lead guitar soars at the end.

“The Ten Commandments,” is a Dave Lambert original. Layered in the blues and ingenious. Lambert’s lead throbs and I am sure it’s Lambert who sings the lead. Again, there are many words, but they are short and to the point with no word trickery. In the past, Dave Cousins lyrics could get wordy the way Joni Mitchell did. “We can negotiate a contract…” — is pretty damn good lyric, very Rolling Stones-in flavor. Probably Lambert’s best since 1979’s “Take a Little Bit of My Life,” or his “Just Love,” from around the same time.

“Hero and Heroine” (listed in Rolling Stone Magazine as one of the 50 best Prog Rock albums of all time) — shines through again in “The Reckoning,” another instrumental. This has that “Round and Round,” power and “Down by the Sea” mystique. It has that seagull effect from the opener of “Hero’s” instrumental – the mysterious and throat tightening “Autumn,” that soars above and out of your speakers. It seems there are moments where Dave is hiding remnants from his great melodies from past albums. The new album could easily be placed side by side with “Hero and Heroine,” or “Ghosts.”

A nice strong bridge between songs and the progressiveness is fresh and dynamic. The title track follows and Dave reaches back to his “Dragonfly,” days to the lady of the lake. This new track is chilling but the uninitiated maybe a revisit to the original long track of the lady of the lake would be wise then follow it up with this sequel. Dave Lambert’s lead sidewinds like a snake through the melody. The track is long but it’s like having someone with a creepy voice read some late-night Edgar Allan Poe. This is to be savored.

A little more upbeat: “Bats and Swallows,” that also contains the Strawbs-patented guitars.  Not everything performed by Strawbs is ever doom, gloom, and melancholy. They have their moments of brilliance and beauty. Cousins’ has a way of narrating his lyrics and making it all sound interesting. I like that he doesn’t rely on clichés and basic words. Dylan and Cohen may be rock’s poets but there are men like Dave Cousins who share that stage – and he is worthy. His wordplay at times is even more clever than Dylan and Cohen: “On Growing Older” – an example: “….and if sometimes I feel in retrospect…a regret for the waste of my youth…then I pause to reflect that I still have time…before growing long in the tooth…to achieve all the things that I should have achieved…when idleness led me astray…and being aware of what I have missed…I’m extending my use of the day.”

The finale comes with all of Strawbs’ muscle fully flexed in 2017 – lead guitars, drums, keyboards and Dave Cousins’ voice – firing it up in the progressive rock style with folk lyrics and music. “We Have the Power,” is inspiring. Though it may be more firmly rooted in the 1970’s the band reminds us that everything old is new again. This doesn’t sound dated whatsoever.

The album is 51 minutes and it takes its place alongside another great band’s new album released earlier this year which was also inspiring and rooted in their original inception: Procol Harum’s “Novum.” Another progressive rock band from the early 60’s and still recording and performing with vigor. When I was younger I always played Jethro Tull, the Moody Blues, with my Procol Harum, Van der Graaf Generator, and Strawbs. It just made life…tolerable.

This year I managed two new albums in the same year — by Harum and Strawbs (sounds like an attorney firm). Life is good.

While I am undecided exactly where this new album’s songs fall in the discography of Strawbs albums I will admit it’s one of their strongest. I guess only time will tell, but it will be fun shaping that opinion…a few years from now. On this new collection, there are no “commercial” attempts melodically. No, the pop-oriented attempt at a hit like “I Only Want My Love to Grow in You,” or their more light-hearted novelty-oriented semi-serious attempt at a Union song in “Part of the Union” (which was actually a Hudson-Ford production if I remember correctly).

But, Strawbs, in my opinion, was never that type of band nor needed to be. Their fan base was loyal, solid and Strawbs had a reputation that was gold. Bands don’t last as long as this if they don’t have the support. Joni Mitchell once said an artist is lucky if their career lasts four years. Strawbs has the admirers that keep them in one form or another – on the road and sparkling well beyond four years.

I was fortunate to have seen Acoustic Strawbs privately one year at a pub in New Jersey (of all places) – Krogh’s. They were all marvelous. Spoke briefly with Dave Cousins and Dave Lambert after the show and was thrilled that they were approachable, gentlemen and a pleasure to have seen them do what they do best. I have never seen a bad Strawbs performance.

Maybe somewhere down the road on their next album – some old-timers associated with Strawbs can make guest appearances on record: Mary Hopkin, Hudson and Ford, John Hawken, Rick Wakeman and maybe even some other musicians who are admirers.

The album was produced by Chris Tsangarides. The CD has a lyric booklet and was designed by Rod Green.

Strawbs are Dave Cousins (vocals, acoustic guitars, electric guitar, dulcimer, autoharp), Dave Lambert (lead and acoustic guitars, backup vocals, Ebow), Tony Fernandez (drums, percussion), Dave Bainbridge (keyboards, acoustic guitars, Hammond organ, bouzouki). There is also the ever-reliable and long-standing bassist Chas Cronk who also played 12-string acoustic guitar, and lent his vocals.

Website: http://www.strawbsweb.co.uk/

Strawbsweb: http://www.strawbsweb.co.uk/ix_feat.asp

FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/strawbs/events/

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this review/commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of No Depression. All photography is owned by the respective photographers and is their copyrighted image; credited where photographer’s name was known & being used here solely as a reference and will be removed on request. YouTube images are standard YouTube license.

John Apice / No Depression / December 2017