DRAGONFLY

[My 900th review.] The second album by the STRAWBS offers pastoral, elegant folk rock with charmingly personal, in a way "worn-out" sound. It was produced by Tony Visconti (before his fame as a top producer), who had made some arrangements for the band. He favoured for more stripped down approach in the studio and encouraged Dave Cousins to compose in a classical style to fully utilize the cello playing of Claire Deniz, a full member who sadly departed before the album even came out. That noble instrument is central right from the beginning, on the intimately calm songs such as 'The Weary Song' and 'Dragonfly'. The latter features Visconti on recorder. One could compare the rurally folky sound to bands like FOREST or INCREDIBLE STRING BAND.

The beautifully melancholic 'I Turned My Face into the Wind' was familiar to me from the 2CD compilation Halcyon Days. 'Josephine, For Better or Worse' continues the general calmness of the album, and the cello really sounds nice. 'Another Day' has a happier, almost sing-along kind of spirit, and one could think it dates from the 60's folk era. Acoustic guitar and cello blend harmonically on the next pretty little track. 'Young Again' gives vocal duties to guitarist Tony Hooper and has some recorder but remains unremarkable as a song. Isn't there any edge coming on this album, one may wonder at this point. Is it just lame prettiness?

The prog appeal of this album would be radically smaller without the nearly 11-minute epic 'The Vision of the Lady in the Lake'. First and foremost it is "epic" in the folklore meaning of the word, ie. the lyrics are long and story-like, but the listener's patience is rewarded. On the fifth minute the rock drums enter and the whole performance suddenly has unexpected electricity and energy. Cousins shows his blooming ability to load his vocals with passion (comparable to the likes of Fish and Peter Gabriel). On keyboards: Rick Wakeman, before his virtuoso stardom. Well, the key parts could have been more 'Wakemanesue' in this intensive composition.

Delicate, acoustic miniature 'Close Your Eyes' ends the album. My cd (2008) contains four bonus tracks. The cheerful 'We'll Meet Again Sometime' (from 1969) has vitality that is quite absent on Dragonfly album. 'Forever' is a very nice single A-sider with orchestral arrangement and vocal harmonies, reminding of the late 60's Moody Blues. And finally BBC / John Peel radio recordings dating from September 1969, 'Another Day' and 'We'll Meet Again Sometime'.

Three stars without any doubt for the pastoral charm, but remember, this album is still very far from the progressive grandness that Strawbs were gradually heading at.