Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Strawbs
Label: A&M Records / Interscope
Released: 1969
Running time: 38:04
Rating: 3/5
British prog folk rock pioneers The Strawbs have come a long way from their humble beginnings in 1964, when they were born as an obscure bluegrass band called Strawberry Hill Boys, which is pretty hard to believe today. Despite those modest early prospects, by the mid-sixties they were already writing their own material and surprising people with their talent for blending rock with traditional folk arrangements, thanks to the charismatic guitarist and singer Dave Cousins, the most recognizable and constant figure of this legendary group.
The first lineup of The Strawbs also included the legendary singer Sandy Denny (1947-1978), who left before the recording of their self-titled debut to join Fairport Convention. Lead vocal duties thus fell to Cousins, who always relied on a unique vocal approach, which was one of the keys to their wider recognition. After a failed attempt to release a collection of songs on the Danish market, recorded together with the tragically deceased Denny (which did eventually come out as a sampler, »Strawberry Musical Sampler No. 1«, 1969), Strawbs got lucky when Gus Dudgeon (1942-2002), one of the most esteemed producers of the seventies (best known for his long collaboration with Elton John), heard about them. Without him their self-titled debut would surely have sounded quite different, and not in a good way.
In their original phase, Strawbs swore exclusively by acoustic instruments, and there was no sign of a proper drummer yet. Ron Chesterman played double bass instead of bass guitar, while Cousins and Tony Hooper relied on the pastoral sound of the acoustic guitar. Guest musicians helped out too: the legendary John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin) on bass guitar, Nicky Hopkins on piano (he played with a whole host of legendary names), while the Scottish actor Richard Wilson provided the narration. A group of unnamed Arab musicians also guested on the track »Tell Me What You See In Me«.
Despite some beginner’s mistakes and occasional naivety, The Strawbs’ debut boasts a string of lovely acoustic arrangements, an inventive use of traditional instruments, and a fluid blend of folk melody, symphonic touches and rock-seasoned rhythmic nuances. They weren’t the first to do this, of course, since folk rock pioneers Fairport Convention and Pentangle, for instance, had already made some of their best work around that time. Even so, Cousins and his crew showed from the very start that they could conjure up vivid and varied, mostly ethereal moods.
Take the opener »The Man Who Called Himself Jesus«, also released as a single, which begins with the narration of the aforementioned Scottish actor and is marked by a cheeky acoustic melody led by a solemn chorus. Right there the listener can sense Cousins’ knack for telling tense ‘stories’. The lyrics tell of a village oddball who was convinced he was Jesus, which became not only a favorite Strawbs lyrical theme, but also common practice among Slovenian political bumpkins. »That Which Once Was One« is a lovely pastoral ballad with a romantic ‘Tudor’ Renaissance arrangement that carries the listener back to some distant age of knights and court ladies. »All The Little Ladies« is a simple, almost childlike little tune with a playful acoustic guitar melody and lyrics that couldn’t be more typically English.
The slightly psychedelic but no less pastoral »Pieces Of 79 And 15« features Hooper in the lead vocal role and a nice sequence of acoustic arrangements that slowly build an ethereal atmosphere. »Tell Me What You See In Me« is saturated with oriental percussion and, as a result, pentatonic rhythmic scales courtesy of those unnamed Arab musicians, which makes it a relatively atypical Strawbs creation, where the Anglo-Saxon and Celtic ambience mostly sits in the background to make room for a whiff of the Middle East. »Oh How She Changed«, the first single of their career, is a contemplative Celtic lament with nostalgic symphonic arrangements and effective percussion courtesy of Hooper. He once again tries his hand as lead singer here and contributes significantly to the overall melodrama.
»Or Am I Dreaming?«, one of the better moments on the album, is a pleasant little pastoral tune with ethereal acoustic-symphonic arrangements and a dreamy ambience. »Where Is This Dream Of Your Youth?« is a kind of conceptual continuation of the previous track, with choral vocal harmonies, acoustic guitar melodies and complex percussion rhythms, while you can even detect a slight jazzy pulse thanks to the ‘barroom’ piano. »Poor Jimmy Wilson« again has a distinctly pastoral-medieval mood thanks to simple acoustic arrangements, while Cousins tells the story of an unlucky former school friend.
That’s followed by a two-part suite, »Where Am I?« and »I’ll Show You Where To Sleep«. The first part is a gentle ballad in Hooper’s vocal domain, while the second, under Cousins’ vocal direction, is a successful fusion of folk and psychedelia. The closing folk rock epic »The Battle«, over six minutes long, with its interesting lyrics about a medieval battle between an archbishop and a king, offers a nice glimpse of the more ambitious Strawbs experiments to come. The rhythmic intensity here, helped along by the branching pastoral arrangements, is even more pronounced than on most of the album, while Cousins once more puts his theatrical storytelling voice to work on old legends.
The Strawbs’ debut was a thoroughly solid start to the long and successful career of these eternal prog folk rock innovators, but it was still relatively far from the depth and polish of their best work, once they finally discovered the magic of electric guitar and drums and joined the ‘top league’ of those who successfully fused rock, folk and symphonic music. With the arrival of the legendary Tony Visconti as producer before the recording of the next album, their musical development went steadily nowhere but up over the next few years, all the way to the mid-seventies.
Lineup
Dave Cousins – vocals, backing vocals, guitarTony Hooper – vocals, backing vocals, guitar
Ron Chesterman – double bass
GUEST MUSICIANS:
John Paul Jones – bass guitar
Nicky Hopkins – piano
Richard Wilson – spoken word
A group of Arab musicians appears on the track “Tell Me What You See in Me”
Production
Gus Dudgeon
Track list
1. The Man Who Called Himself Jesus
2. That Which Once Was Mine
3. All the Little Ladies
4. Pieces of 79 and 15
5. Tell Me What You See in Me
6. Oh How She Changed
7. Or am I Dreaming?
8. Where is this Dream of Your Youth?
9. Poor Jimmy Wilson
10. Where am I? / I’ll Show You Where to Sleep
11. The Battle
