The Strawbs - Live At NEARfest 2004

Although their commercial peak was some thirty years ago, the Strawbs, one of England’s most beloved folk-rock bands, continues to packs the houses on every tour, pulling in established fans and newcomers alike. Since reforming in 2001, the band’s appeal – based on intelligently-crafted lyrics; intricate, mesmerizing music and instrumental virtuosity – not only stretches across generations, but also across genres to include both folk-rock aficionados and prog-rock fanatics alike.

Live At NEARfest 2004 captures the band’s lively performance at the annual New England Art Rock Festival, held in eastern Pennsylvania. Featuring the mid-70s Strawbs line-up of singer/songwriter/guitarist David Cousins, Dave Lambert on lead guitar, keyboardist John Hawken, bassist Chas Cronk and drummer Rod Coombes, this is the band that recorded the classic Strawbs albums Hero And Heroine (1974) and Ghosts (1975). Given the honor of performing the festival’s final set, the band thrilled the sold-out audience with masterful renditions of some of their most well-drawn songs.

The magic at the heart of the Strawbs’ music lies in the tension and the creative dichotomy created by the band’s acoustic-folk roots and tendency towards electric-rock experimentation. The band’s best songs obviously come from the same sort of British folk tradition as Fairport Convention or the Incredible String Band, but they aren’t afraid to venture into territory that could well be considered as “progressive rock” as it was being defined during the ‘70s.

The band’s words are sheer poetry masked as rock lyrics, exploring universal themes of a spiritual and personal nature, and they’re often just as relevant today as they were thirty years ago. As singer and main songwriter David Cousins points out in a recent interview, “the most important thing about our band is the fact that the lyrics are equally as important as the music, and an awful lot of people identify with those lyrics.”

The song selection on Live At NEARfest 2004 provides a wonderful trip down memory lane for the Strawbs fan, the album drawing most of its songs from the band’s prolific five-year creative and commercial peak, 1972-1977. “Round And Round,” a definite fan favorite, allows keyboardist John Hawken to shine, his inspired synth washes priming the canvas for the rest of the band to embellish upon. The grand, almost orchestral arrangement proffered “Hero And Heroine” serves as a wonderful counterpart to Cousins’ madcap vocals.

“Down By The Sea” features some of Dave Lambert’s most awe-inspiring fretwork, fluid notes flying off right and left through the mix. Lambert’s incredible tone sits well alongside Hawken’s majestic keyboards, the pair creating a larger-than-life soundtrack behind the vocals. The rhythm section of Chas Cronk and Rod Coombes are as solid a duo as a band could hope for, providing a strong foundation for each song, sometimes deceptively adding a little magic to the mix, such as when Cronk’s bass echoes Hawken’s synth on “Round And Round,” or Coombes’ drum fills compliment Lambert’s lead on “New World.”

“New World,” from 1973’s Grave New World, is placed in a haunting new perspective, Cousins tying the song’s theme of civilization’s fall and redemption to the tragic events of September 11, 2001 with no little compassion. The band supports the song with lush instrumentation, and Cousins’ vocals are driven by the passion of a man trying to reinvent a better world for his children. One of the few newer songs here, “This Barren Land,” showcases Cousins’ unique, wizened vocals alongside Lambert’s six-string wizardry, each note well-placed to enhance the overall impact of the song. Most of the Strawbs’ songs evoke an emotional atmosphere as much as a musical one, a thick tapestry of sound punctured, often starkly, by Cousins’ enchantingly creaky vocals.

I must lodge a minor complaint about the album’s production, however. Although the sound quality is excellent throughout, somebody wasn’t paying attention to the song indexing. When Cousins delivers his introduction to “Burning For Me,” it is indexed as that song rather than an intro, while the real “Burning For Me” is listed as “New World.” Ditto for the introduction to the real “New World,” which is listed as the “Autumn” suite…taken altogether, this oversight throws off the tracklisting across the entire album. This isn’t a problem for those listeners familiar with the material, but for new audience members it could be quite puzzling.

That minor cavil aside, overall, Live At NEARfest 2004 offers up a spirited performance of timeless songs by one of the most underrated of ‘70s British bands. Ripe for “rediscovery” by the rock punditry, the Strawbs enjoyed close to a 15-year run during their halcyon days, recording eight strong albums of enduring quality during their first seven years of existence. From the sound of this 2004 performance, however, it seems like they’re having more fun today than they ever had back then! (Witchwood Records)

The Reverend's interview with David Cousins on Associated Content

(Click on the CD cover to buy Live At NEARfest 2004 from Amazon.com)