Ok now back to the good stuff.
Hero and Heroine - The Strawbs - 1974
Personell:
Dave Cousins - Lead vocals, Rhythm Guitar, Backing vocals.
Dave Lambert - Lead Guitar, Backing vocals, Lead vocals.
John Hawken - Organ, Piano, Electric Piano, Mellotron, Synthesizer.
Chas Cronk - Bass, Backing vocals, Synthesizer.
Rod Coombies - Drums, Percussion, Backing vocals.
with
Claire Deniz - Cello on "Midnight Sun".
Now within the world of prog, these guys stuck out in a weird way, they're often put into the prog folk category but unlike groups like Jethro Tull, Comus and Renaissance, they had a distinctive country based sound, though they still implemented a lot of british folk and classical influences as well. They're also known for their very Birds-ish vocal harmonies.
The Strawbs started out as a bluegrass/folk group, and eventually evolved into a progressve folk group which briefly included Rick Wakeman before he joined Yes, in 72 Lambert joined the group, from here they began to embrace more rock, pop and country influences while still maintaining their british folk roots. After their successul and very country-ish Bursting at the Seams album, longtime members Blue Weaver, John Ford and Richard Hudson left the group, with a new lineup they turned out this more ambitious album.
This is one of those albums that british folk purists loved to hate. But yeah, purists are stupid. Evolution is natural for any band and this was The Strawbs at their most ambitious and yet most accessible as well. English gothic folk, synth heavy prog, baroque pop, power chord rock and country, there's a little something for everyone here.
I just hope you don't mind too much that band frontman Cousins kinda sounds like Phil Collins.
Autumn: This one is seperated into 3 segments. The intro is excellent, it starts with a repetitive synth bass beat followed by some psychedelic guitar and mellotron, the 2nd segment is an acoustic guitar/mellotron based ballad and a very good one, has a very Moody Blues-ish vibe to it. The final segment is almost like a church hymn. A great opening track with that murky opening/uplifting ending dynamic that is very common in prog.
Sad Young Man: A lovely little somber ballad, with some great jangly guitar from Lambert and Procal Harum-ish organ flourishes.
Just Love: This is Lamberts sole songwriting contribution to the album, which breaks from the more somber mood of this album by just being a straight up rocker, and a pretty good one at that, I quite like it even though it doesn't really sound like The Strawbs at all.
Shine On Silver Sun: This one has a very Birds vibe to it, with some nice piano, pretty good but there's not much to say about it beyond that.
Hero & Heroine: The title track is undoubtably the best moment on the album as well, pure country prog with Tolkenish lyrics and vocals, gothic mellotron and guitar that almost makes you want to square dance, it's like King Crimson meets Charlie Daniels. Awesome.
Midnight Sun: Another real highpoint. Beautiful acoustic guitar work here with some bongo work, I also love the woodwind sounding mellotron and Cousins lovely tenor vocals, a really beautiful song.
Out in the Cold: Another lovely country/folksy song, this one has some mouth harp and pedal steel guitar work, I really love the folksy atmosphere here, though there's this one obvious sexual lyric that leaves very little to the imagination and is at the very least a little unsettling.
"Sucked on your breasts, your legs opened wide
I could scarcely believe all the pleasures inside"
No comment. o_O
Round and Round: Here things are much more close to the prog sound, it opens with a really catchy synth line and some Fripp-ish guitars, it's a rather upbeat sounding song even though it's about suicide. Once againt they decided to rawk out a little more with this one. Another great track.
Lay a Little Light on Me: I really think Cousins is a brilliant songwriter when it comes to ballads and this is one of his best, the kind that is a bit depressing but also something to get the cigarette lighters out for, my second favorite song after the title track. There's a one part of the song which introduces a musical motif which then becomes the basis for the closing track.
Heroe's Theme: A pretty great way to close the album, it's based around a repetitive guitar riff and has an almost proto-doom metal vibe to it dare I say, which then segues into an a capella of Bird-ish vocal harmonies drowned in delay effects, a very strange closer indeed.
For fans of british folk rock like Traffic, Tull and Fairport, this is a band totally worth checking out and a great album to start with, though some Strawbs fans prefer earlier material and they're not a bad start either.
One reason I dislike indie folk so much is because I always like my folk to have a little mysticism to it, and The Strawbs certainly provide it, though with a more commercial sound than guys like Comus. They have a sound that I like to describe as being moth angelic and gloomy at the same time, one of the most underrated bands of the 70s for sure.
This is certainly not a band for everybody, but I quite dig em and you might too.