Strawbs - Live at BBC, Volume One In Session
SKU
15-Universal 532 050
"This first volume has tracks recorded for the BBC (Top Gear, Peter Starstedt, Sounds of the Seventies, Sequence) from 1968 through 1973. Occasionally there is a bit of chat from the DJ, but its not overly intrusive-rather it gives more of a feel for the times all those years ago. The music ranges from the groups earliest recordings as a more acoustic guitar/folk orientated band on through to progressive music with the addition of keyboards, drums, and more percussion. Band members during this time included Dave Cousins, Ron Chesterman, Tony Hooper, John Ford, Richard Hudson, Rick Wakeman (who changed the band's sound into something approaching progressive music), and Blue Weaver, and others who only Strawbs occasionally. For anyone who likes relatively early Strawbs, this is a real find. While some of these tracks, for the most part, which showed up on their first studio album (s), aren't radically different, there's a feel of a live recording, which gives these tracks their own identity. Early Strawbs were fondly remembered as one of the original English folk groups, who went on to become one of the better progressive sounding bands in later years. With songs like "The Battle", "We'll Meet Again Sometime", "The Hangman and the Papist", "Witchwood", "New World" (in two versions a year apart), "Benedictus" (from 1971 where the band begins to head more toward a progressive sound thanks to Blue Weaver's keyboards, and Hudson's drums), "New World", and "The Winter and the Summer", the band's early folk/progressive years are well represented. Dave Cousins' worn, sometimes fragile sounding voice anchors the songs no matter if its folk or a more progressive sound later."-Stuart Jefferson