One of the unsung British progressive bands of the early 1970s, the Strawbs differed from their more
successful compatriots -- the Moody Blues, King Crimson, Pink Floyd -- principally in that their sound originated in English folk music rather than rock. Their transformation from acoustic bluegrass outfit to progressive folk-rock innovators was an impressive feat, and they hit their stride with gems like 1972's Grave New World and its follow-up, Bursting at the Seams.
Founded in 1964 as a bluegrass-based trio called the Strawberry Hill Boys by singer/guitarist Dave Cousins, the group originally consisted of Cousins, guitarist/singer Tony Hooper, and mandolinist Arthur Phillips, who was replaced in 1968 by Ron Chesterman on bass. That same year, the band --
now rechristened the Strawbs, and doing repertory well beyond the bounds of bluegrass music -- briefly became a quartet with the temporary addition of Sandy Denny, who stayed long enough to record a relative handful of tracks with the group on the Hallmark label before joining Fairport Convention. (The album would be issued several times, under the titles All Our Own Work and Sandy & the Strawbs, among others.) In 1969, the Strawbs were signed to A&M Records, and cut their first album, the acoustic-textured Strawbs, that same year.
For their second album, Dragonfly, recorded and released the following year, the group broadened their
sound with the presence of a group of session musicians, including piano/organist Rick Wakeman. Soon after the release of this record, the Strawbs became a full-fledged band with the addition not only of Wakeman but also Richard Hudson and John Ford, on drums and bass, respectively. These changes, coupled with Cousins' increasing dexterity on electric guitar, gave the Strawbs a much more powerful sound that was showcased on their next album.
Celebrating their 50th anniversary, the group toured America in 2019, then returned with another studio album in 2021's stylistically eclectic Settlement. South African documentary filmmaker Niel van
Deventer, a longtime fan of the Strawbs, was aware of the popularity of "Grave New World" and "Bursting at the Seams" in his homeland, especially among those involved in the anti-apartheid movement. The director approached Dave Cousins about making a movie about the band's international following and their music's significance to their South African fans. Cousins agreed to be part of the project, and 2023's The Magic of It All collected songs he wrote for the film, recorded in Cape Town, South Africa with a studio band of leading South African musicians.
SANDY DENNY AND THE STRAWBS - ALL OUR OWN WORK 1967 (THE COMPLETE SESSIONS REMASTERED) 2010
In 1967, folksinger Dave Cousins heard a young woman named Sandy Denny singing at a club in
London, and was so impressed with her voice that he immediately invited her to join his group, the Strawbs. Before the year was out, Sandy & the Strawbs landed a deal with a small label based in Denmark and recorded an album, though a few months after it was released, Denny parted ways with the Strawbs and joined Fairport Convention, replacing founding vocalist Judy Dyble.
Sandy Denny And The Strawbs – All Our Own Work (The Complete Sessions Remastered)
Label: Witchwood Media – WMCD 2047
Format: CD, Album, Reissue, Remastered Jun 14, 2010
Country: UK
Released: 1967
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Folk
ORIGINAL ALBUM RELEASE
01. On My Way 3:05
Written-By – Cousins
02. Who Knows Where The Time Goes 4:05
Written-By – Denny
03. Tell Me What You See In Me 3:40
Written-By – Cousins
04. Always On My Mind 1:53
Written-By – Hooper
05. Stay Awhile 2:24
Written-By – Cousins
06. Wild Strawberries 1:35
Written-By – Cousins, Hooper
07. All I Need Is You 2:20
Written-By – Cousins
08. How Everyone But Sam Was A Hypocrite 2:45
Written-By – Cousins
09. Sail Away To The Sea 3:22
Written-By – Cousins
10. Sweetling 2:35
Written-By – Hooper
11. Nothing Else Will Do 2:15
Lead Vocals – Dave Cousins
Written-By – Cousins
12. And You Need Me 3:16
Written-By – Cousins
OUT - TAKES & DEMOS
13. Two Weeks Last Summer 2:04
Written-By – Cousins
14. Nothing Else Will Do 2:28
Lead Vocals – Sandy Denny
Written-By – Cousins
15. Tell Me What You See In Me 3:40
Gong – Ken Gudmand
Sitar – Cy Nicklin
Written-By – Cousins
16. Who Knows Where The Time Goes 4:05
Conductor – Sven Lundvig
Written-By – Denny
17. Stay Awhile With Me 2:24
Conductor [With String Section Conducted By] – Sven Lundvig
Written-By – Cousins
18. And You Need Me 3:16
Conductor – Sven Lundvig
Written-By – Cousins
19. I've Been My Own Worst Friend 2:42
Written-By – Cousins
20. Poor Jimmy Wilson 2:35
Written-By – Cousins
21. Strawberry Picking 1:37
Written-By – Cousins, Hooper
PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED DEMOS
22. Pieces Of 79 And 15 2:19
Written-By – Cousins, Hooper
23. The Falling Leaves 2:29
Written-By – Cousins
24. Indian Summer 2:18
Written-By – Cousins
LINE - UP
Vocals, Guitar – Sandy Denny, Tony Hooper
Vocals, Guitar, Banjo – Dave Cousins
Bass – Ron Chesterman
Drums – Ken Gudmand
NOTES
Recorded at Vanløse Bio, Copenhagen July 1967
Flac Size: 420 MB
STRAWBS - THE STRAWBS 1969
The group distinguished itself among the burgeoning school of British folk-rockers by delivering bittersweet folk-rock with a storytelling flavor. Dave Cousins' songwriting was on the sober and occasionally over-earnest side, but nonetheless the record was strong and alluring enough to immediately establish the Strawbs as one of the better first-generation U.K. folk-rock outfits. Some of
these songs had been around for a while, as the presence of some of them on Preserves Uncanned and Sandy Denny & the Strawbs attests. However, the group took big strides from bare-bones folk-rock in the studio by dressing these in arrangements -- sometimes with light recorder, choral backup vocals, and orchestration -- that gave the Elizabethan melodies a pastoral, quasi-classical feel at times, without losing sight of an acoustic base. "The Man Who Called Himself Jesus" and "Where Is This Dream of Your Youth" are among their best and most ambitious songs, and even if the compositions can sometimes take themselves too seriously, the music's never less than respectable.
(By Richie Unterberger)
Strawbs – Strawbs
Label: A&M Records – 5302679, Universal UMC – 5302679
Format: CD, Album, Reissue, Remastered 2008
Country: Europe
Released: 1969
Genre: Rock
Style: Folk Rock, Prog Rock
TRACKS
01. The Man Who Called Himself Jesus 3:53
Written-By – Dave Cousins
02. That Which Once Was Mine 2:49
Written-By – Dave Cousins
03. All The Little Ladies 2:18
Written-By – Dave Cousins, Tony Hooper
04. Pieces Of 79 And 15 3:00
Written-By – Dave Cousins, Tony Hooper
05. Tell Me What You See In Me 5:01
Producer – Strawbs, Stuart Kerrison
Written-By – Dave Cousins
06. Oh How She Changed 2:54
Written-By – Dave Cousins
07. Or Am I Dreaming? 2:25
Written-By – Dave Cousins
08. Where Is This Dream Of Your Youth? 3:06
Producer – Tony Visconti
Written-By – Dave Cousins
09. Poor Jimmy Wilson 2:37
Written-By – Dave Cousins
10. Where Am I / I'll Show You Where To Sleep 3:27
Written-By – Dave Cousins
11. The Battle 6:34
Written-By – Dave Cousins
BONUS TRACKS
12. Interview / That Which Once Was Mine 3:41
Written-By – Dave Cousins
13. Poor Jimmy Wilson 2:28
Written-By – Dave Cousins
14. The Battle 6:09
Written-By – Dave Cousins
LINE - UP
| TONY HOOPER |
Bass – Ron Chesterman
Guitar, Vocals – Dave Cousins, Tony Hooper
Other [Musical Vibrations] – Tony Visconti
Written-By – Dave Cousins, Tony Hooper
Flac Size: 259 MB
STRAWBS - DRAGONFLY 1970
Dragonfly was the second album to be released by the Strawbs, though much other material unissued in
the late '60s that preceded it has since been made available. (In fact, earlier versions of two of the songs, "I Turned My Face into the Wind," and "Josephine, For Better or for Worse," appear on the archival releases Strawberry Music Sampler, No. 1 and Preserves Uncanned, respectively.) Dragonfly was also the only LP the band recorded with cellist Claire Deniz in the lineup.
Strawbs – Dragonfly
Label: A&M Records – 5302680
Format: CD, Album, Reissue 2008
Country: Europe
Released: 1970
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Folk
TRACKS
01. The Weary Song 3:49
Written-By – Cousins
02. Dragonfly 5:32
Written-By – Cousins
03. I Turned My Face Into The Wind 2:36
Written-By – Cousins
04. Josephine For Better Or For Worse 3:16
Written-By – Cousins
05. Another Day 3:01
Written-By – Cousins
06. 'Til The Sun Comes Shining Through 3:30
Written-By – Cousins
07. Young Again 2:51
Written-By – Hooper
08. The Vision Of The Lady Of The Lake 10:46
Written-By – Cousins
09. Close Your Eyes 0:45
Written-By – Cousins, Hooper
BONUS TRACKS
10. We'll Meet Again Sometime 3:13
Written-By – Cousins
11. Forever 3:32
Written-By – Cousins, Hooper
12. Another Day 3:03
Written-By – Cousins
13. We'll Meet Again Sometime 3:09
Written-By – Cousins
LINE - UP
Cello – Claire Deniz
Double Bass – Ron Chesterman
Drums – Bjarne Rostvol
Lead Guitar – Paul Brett
Piano – Rick Wakeman
Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Tambourine, Electric Guitar, Percussion – Tony Hooper
Vocals, Dulcimer, Piano, Percussion, Guitar – Dave Cousins
NOTES
Recorded at Rosenberg Lydteknik, Copenhagen
Additional recording at Morgan Studios, London Mixed at Trident Studios, London.
Track 10: Recorded at the Trident Studios, London in June 1969
Track 11: "A" side on the A&M single: AMR 791
Track 12 and 13: Recorded for John Peel's "TopGear" BBC Radio One Show: 7th september 1969.
Strawbs on Urban Aspirines HERE