Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Strawbs
Label: Self-released
Release: 2009
Length: 45:20
Rating: 4/5
Strawbs, the legendary standard-bearers of British progressive folk rock, are one of the few bands left from the golden age of this relatively obscure genre that can still deliver a pleasant studio surprise. They proved it nicely with their previous album, the better-than-expected “Broken Hearted Bride” (2008). What on earth drives cult guitarist and singer Dave Cousins and the rest of the old wolves from a far more romantic musical era? Even in this information-saturated millennium, with the music industry going through a full-blown apocalypse, they still manage to make albums that come close to their best work from the seventies in quality. “Dancing To The Devil’s Beat” carries on this Strawbs sonic renaissance, which kicked in after the pale eighties and nineties, when they wandered pointlessly in the dark and searched in vain for their compositional compass.
The key sonic difference between the previous album and this “dance to the devil’s beat” is a somewhat bigger emphasis on the folk rock side of their usual songwriting style, compared to the symphonic-prog leanings. That means more pastoral, salt-sprinkled acoustic arrangements, especially from the two guitarists and main carriers of the band’s sonic continuity, Messrs. Cousins and Dave Lambert. The only significant change in the lineup during this time happened on keyboards, where Oliver Wakeman replaced John Hawken. Oliver is the son of former Strawbs member, the legendary Rick Wakeman (Yes), and in this up-and-comer they got another pure-blooded keyboard master, especially when it comes to creating addictive, ambient orchestral arrangements while also nurturing a genuine piano finesse.
The orchestral arrangements on several tracks are richer than they’ve been in ages and give the feeling of a real, organic orchestra, helped along by the simulated woodwinds. Somewhat surprising, but also commendable, is the unusual amount of hard-rocking passages that pour some much-needed attitude into the faster songs. Every ingredient that has delighted the eardrums of every Strawbs follower over the decades is here: old-fashioned, pastoral melodies following Cousins’ usual melodic recipe, an abundance of Celtic melancholy, layered vocal harmonies, mighty orchestral arrangements and gentle acoustic ballads. The lyrics, as usual, sing about standard folk rock themes like separation, nostalgia for the homeland, lost romance and a critique of senseless war marches. The production is lively and flowing throughout, with a very welcome retro charm that here and there even rocks the listener back, for a moment, into their best creative years.
The excellent opener, the epic “Revenge (Can Be So Sweet”), one of the best Strawbs creations of the last ten years, maybe even the last thirty, announces that this is a particularly inspired album. The epic mood is built on genuine Celtic melancholy, with stirring layered vocals in the melodic chorus and sophisticated orchestral arrangements in the background. Cousins’ crafty autoharp playing adds an extra touch of Celtic folk pastoral. This epic appetizer is followed by the far more complex “Beneath The Angry Sky”, with mysteriously colored acoustic guitar arrangements. Strawbs gradually build an energetic melody that peaks with some hard-rocking passages and a heartfelt vocal performance from Cousins, while Wakeman’s very tasty mini Moog solo adds extra thrills. In recent years Cousins has earned quite a bit of criticism for his increasingly fading voice, which many took as a sign of missing inspiration. This time the vocal decline is barely noticeable across most of the album, partly thanks to his incredible inspiration and the successful help of the other singers in the band.
“Copenhagen” is a pleasant acoustic ballad that turns up at just the right place at just the right time and keeps up the Strawbs tradition of crafting romantic, pastoral melodies from a simple but highly effective combination of guitar chords. Wakeman’s meticulous orchestration delivers plenty of Celtic-spiced violin parts that could fool many into thinking it’s a real violin. Another folk rock bonbon, “Pro Patria Suite”, is, as the name suggests, a critique of excessive war appetites and profiteering, and a brilliant allusion to the notorious affair that has been filling Slovenian newspaper columns for months and embarrassing all the lying scoundrels involved, from their spots at the parliamentary trough. Apart from the cynically colored chorus and the energetic drum transitions, most of the piece rests on elegant, mostly symphonic melodies and on acoustic pyrotechnics. The peak comes in the closing, uplifting chorus with its layered, “comradely” vocals.
There’s considerable doubt, of course, that Strawbs drew their lyrical inspiration from the recent alarming events in the Valley of St. Florian, since they surely don’t waste time on trivial matters like Slovenian politics. If they had, one of the main players in the affair of the same name, the one with the military vehicles, would probably be scratching his thinning, graying neck. That would be after waking up sweaty and screaming from his worst nightmare, lying next to a wife three generations younger, sexually disappointed but materially well provided for. To make matters worse, while the radio alarm clock played “Pro Patria Suite”, he’d have to take special care not to bang his head on the giant emerald-studded cross hanging above the bed.
“Where The Silent Shadows Fall” is a splendid fusion of folk finesse and melancholic symphonics built on piano and acoustic guitar, with a distinctly retro vibe, while the woodwind-heavy orchestral arrangements lift the mighty, almost solemn atmosphere up another notch. One of the bigger surprises is the excellent “The Man Who Would Never Leave Grimbsy”, which is basically a slightly naive ballad, but it’s marked by superb singing from Lambert that at times even veers toward (early) David Bowie, who would surely have liked this one. The hypnotic, pompous orchestral passages just before the chorus do their part too.
The tongue-in-cheek “The Ballad Of Jay And Rose Mary” is a blues experiment that could have ended badly for a band that has never cultivated the blues tradition, but it turns out surprisingly fun. The barroom vibe is soaked in Cousins’ “croaky” singing, saloon-style piano passages and harmonica. The title track is another highlight of the album. With its mix of lively Hammond organ passages, hard-rocking guitar licks and Cousins’ fired-up singing, it’s bursting with energy. This is where Wakeman Jr. finally gets enough room to show off his wizardry on the Hammond, and his bandmates are carried back to their golden creative years by the sheer vibe.
Right at the end of the album sits a newly recorded version of the ancient Strawbs classic “Oh How She Changed”, which can be found on their self-titled debut from 1969. You could say it’s an upgrade of the original in every way, thanks mostly to the mighty orchestral arrangements and a crafty dose of electric guitar, which was often missed in their early years. It might have been better to put this reworked evergreen on some “best of” compilation of re-recorded classics and offer something new in its place, but that doesn’t diminish the quality of the album as a whole one bit.
Inspired from start to finish, “Dancing To The Devil’s Beat” proves that after more than four decades Strawbs are nowhere near ready for the scrapheap, and that they age like wine: the older they get, the better they get. The main strength of this new effort, which will delight all lovers of sophisticated folk rock, is its variety and energy, the kind you wouldn’t expect from a band whose members, with the exception of Oliver Wakeman, have all long since celebrated their sixtieth birthdays. Of course, their classic albums, led by “Grave New World” (1972), “Hero And Heroine” (1974) and “Ghosts” (1975), still stand in a class of their own and set a standard they’ll never match again. Still, you could count on one hand the (progressive) rock bands from the “ancient” era that can combine freshness with a classic, recognizable sound as convincingly today as the Strawbs have been doing lately. The mere fact that they’re the only ones of their generation who can put out a new album a year after the last one and even top it says it all. “Dancing To The Devil’s Beat” is without doubt a winner, in both quality and morality, among the few albums that their generational peers offered in 2009.
Lineup
David Cousins – vocals, guitar, banjo, autoharp
Dave Lambert – vocals, guitar
Chas Cronk – vocals, bass guitar, guitar, keyboards, programming
Rod Coombes – drums
Oliver Wakeman – keyboards, orchestration
Production
Strawbs
Tracklist
1. Revenge (Can Be So Sweet) (5:15)
2. Beneath The Angry Sky (4:27)
3. Copenhagen (4:44)
4. Pro Patria Suite (7:42)
(i) Back Along (We Were Young)
(ii) All For Each Other
(iii) Home Is Where The Heart Was Ever
5. Where Silent Shadows Fall (5:42)
6. The Man Who Would Never Leave Grimsby (4:59)
7. The Ballad Of Jay And Rose Mary (4:14)
8. Dancing To The Devil’s Beat (3:36)
9. Oh How She Changed (4:21)
