At one time, the David Cousins led band The Strawbs was one of the most creative bands of what was then called “progressive rock”, mixing English folk and classical with modern themes. At one time Rick Wakeman was the pianist of the outfit, but even later albums were state of the art, with the band at times giving outfits like Yes and King Crimson a run for their musical money.
For the past number of years, The Strawbs haven’t put out too much, but this latest release reminds us of how good they not only were, but are, still creating a musical curry that is as tasty as ever. This latest outfit includes old timers Dave Lambert/g, Chas Cronk/b, Tony Fernandez/dr and Dave Brainbridge/key as well as some alumni like Blue Weaver/key and John Ford/g-voc.
The result is a sound that is close to their halcyon days of Hero and Heroine, Ghosts and Bursting at the Seas, with Cousins gloriously dramatic on “Settlement”. There are lots of misty pastoral moments as well featured on the pleasant “Strange Times” and patented vocal harmonies during the troubadour’d “Each Manner of Man” . Moody keyboards and lush atmospheres like the sky is opening are prevalent on “We Are Everyone” with dark brooding fog hovering on “Quicksilver Days”. There are a few clever ditties as well, with Cousins going salsa on “Better Days (Life Is Not A Game)” Ford bringing back memories of his days with the team on “Liberty” and a gorgeous instrumental “ Chorale”. Creativity that is bursting at the seams.