The genesis of these BBC sessions lies in the mid 60’s explosion of folk music in both the UK and USA. After his early days in the folk clubs Strawbs founder Dave Cousins quickly cottoned on to the fact that the band needed to be on the radio to make the impact they deserved. Cousins’ banjo prowess – which was pretty unusual in the UK at that point -put him at the forefront of the UK bluegrass scene and was the catalyst for the beginning of a long and warm relationship with the BBC. To be featured on the BBC, you had to pass a BBC audition. The Strawberry Hill Boys – as the Strawbs were originally named – began appearing on various shows such as Cellarful of Folk and Sounds Of The Seventies and the earliest tracks here are typical of the folk-based repertoire which had replaced their earlier bluegrass sound.
The BBC audition panel was absolutely judgemental and utterly fearsome, so it was quite a coup for Cousins and his merry men. A researcher recently uncovered the panel’s files with their comments and pronouncements. They failed The Rolling Stones outright in 1963, dismissed David Bowie in 1965 as “a singer devoid of personality”, and called Marc Bolan’s Tyrannosaurus Rex “crap and pretentious crap at that”.
Riding the wave of a growing popularity in 1967 they travelled to Copenhagen to record their first album with recently recruited folk goddess Sandy Denny. However the resulting ‘All Our Own Work’ was shelved and Sandy was spirted away to Fairport Convention, frustrated that Cousins had failed to find an outlet for the album. Some months after the split however A & M Records on the back of those recordings signed the band and proffered a substantial advance. After a few false starts they produced a folk rock album that stood out from the crowd and was well received.
On the Top Gear session recorded in 1968 Producer Tony Visconti brought in both Claire Deniz on cello and the great Rick Wakeman on organ to play on the haunting anti war themed ‘The Battle’. These sessions would be the first contact between Cousins and his guests, who would ultimately join the Strawbs and gradually take the band from its folk roots toward being a quasi-classical rock band.
There can be no doubt that The Strawbs musical evolution was greatly assisted by Wakeman who stuck around for 4 albums before defecting to Yes. These recordings also show however that this was very much Cousins’ baby and subsequent recordings demonstrate a unique blend of melody and fiery bombast that work particularly well in concert.
The arrival of guitarist Dave Lambert, bassist John Ford and drummer Richard Hudson heralded a new and commercially successful era for the band. The recordings from In Concert 1973 promoting their recent ‘Bursting At The Seams’ album see a band at the peak of their powers full of confidence and showcasing a new direction that brought 3 hit singles. Sadly this arguably classic line-up had major differences on where to go next culminating in Ford and Hudson leaving the band. Cousins remembered that “ it was crackers to split, we should have patched up our differences and got on with it.”
Hugely successful in America the next album the mellotron drenched ‘Hero & Heroine’ pulled out all the stops and their In Concert performance from 1974 includes breathless performances of material both old and new. A tour de force it was included recently in Rolling Stone’s Top 50 Rock Albums list.
This remastered 5CD and Blu-ray box set features all of the surviving British radio and television appearances by the Strawbs between 1966 and 1984. Essential for die-hards and a great primer for the curious this is a worthy tribute to the musical legacy of the late, great Dave Cousins.
Lyndon Noon
www.cherryred.co.uk
