New Strawbs album due Feb. 2021.
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Topic: New Strawbs album due Feb. 2021.
Posted By: SteveG
Subject: New Strawbs album due Feb. 2021.
Date Posted: December 05 2020 at 12:19
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A new Strawbs studio album has been recorded and will be available on Feb. 26/2021. The album is titled Settlement and features Dave Cousins, Dave Lambert, Chas Cronk, Tony Fernandez and Dave Bainbridge from Iona. ------------- This message was brought to you by a proud supporter of the Deep State. |
Replies:
Posted By: Snicolette
Date Posted: December 05 2020 at 12:35
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It sounds interesting, indeed, looked at their site and what Cousins had to say about it. ------------- "Into every rain, a little life must fall." ~Tom Rapp |
Posted By: SteveG
Date Posted: December 05 2020 at 12:40
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Yes, I heard rumors for months but saw nothing on their website until now. Very cheeky. ------------- This message was brought to you by a proud supporter of the Deep State. |
Posted By: kenethlevine
Date Posted: December 05 2020 at 13:33
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John Ford and Cathryn Craig will be guesting on the album. Amazing how they put it together. Let's hope the product is half as amazing
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Posted By: SteveG
Date Posted: December 05 2020 at 13:45
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Yes, the way things are going music wise with this virus, I'll take a half good album. ------------- This message was brought to you by a proud supporter of the Deep State. |
Posted By: kenethlevine
Date Posted: March 01 2021 at 16:25
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well I have to say this is a really good album. It may not have anything as majestic as "When the Spirit Moves" but it also doesn't have anything as dire as the title cut to Ferryman's Curse. Blue Weaver's production also seems clearer than Chris Tsangarides', and Dave Bainbridge's keyboards are more succinct and suited to the classic Strawbs sound this time around. There is a very folky number sung by Dave Lambert to banjo and dulcimer accompaniment and two beautiful instrumentals, one of which is almost the second part of that folky number. John Ford sings lead on another highlight track. Cousins' voice is a bit weaker still but I'll still take whatever he can give us. I have just been listening on spotify which is basically the LP tracklist, the CD having 3 additional tracks that I haven't heard. Any other comments?
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Posted By: SteveG
Date Posted: March 02 2021 at 06:06
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^ Still waiting for mine to come in the post, as I still dig physical product. I was bit underwhelmed by the two advance tracks released so far, so I hope your thoughts on the rest of the songs are correct.
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Posted By: kenethlevine
Date Posted: March 02 2021 at 11:34
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Steve, the title track and "Judgement Day" are both growers. For the former, Cousins' angry voice can be a bit grating but the music is great...I just wish his "we're nobody's fools" had only been used a couple of times rather than 4! But of the 9 tracks on the streaming/vinyl, Cousins only sings in 5 which is good. With "Judgment Day", it's really just a very long groove that they play in with interesting time signature. Unusual for Strawbs. But when you put it all together as a package it works well.. I only have heard the streaming version which doesn't include the bonus tracks but I think it's as good as Ferryman's curse, possibly a bit better, but time will tell. Nice to see a positive review by Heart of the Matter today. Brief but hits the nail on the head
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Posted By: SteveG
Date Posted: March 03 2021 at 05:28
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Yeah, I'm not jumping the gun until I hear it all the way through. Chas Cronk doing a vocal sounds interesting. And I just looked at the review by Heart Of The Matter and he seemed more impressed by the songwriting then the songs, lol, but again, we'll see.
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Posted By: Heart of the Matter
Date Posted: March 03 2021 at 06:39
Not easy to get your signature on paper! 
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SteveG wrote:Posted By: SteveG
Date Posted: March 03 2021 at 06:44
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Posted By: Heart of the Matter
Date Posted: March 03 2021 at 07:11
| Sorry, that's surely not an English expression. It means you reserve your opinion (on the album) to the last possible moment. I'm glad you and Ken enjoyed the review! |
Posted By: SteveG
Date Posted: March 03 2021 at 07:25
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Ha ha that's perfect for me. I'm always sceptical of these old prog acts initially but sentimentality always drives me in the end. ------------- This message was brought to you by a proud supporter of the Deep State. |
Posted By: kenethlevine
Date Posted: March 03 2021 at 07:27
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One of the things I got out of Eduardo's review, which I agree with, is that we aren't going to get another Grave New World thru Ghosts. It is impossible for a variety of reasons, including the time period in which they were released which can never be duplicated, and, yes, also the fact that that was their creative peak, 45-50 years ago! But it's still a good album with gusts to great, which is more than enough, 45-50 years later. I do feel that the biggest improvement over Ferryman's Curse is in the keyboards. Bainbridge had quite a few writing credits on that album, and I am not a fan of his composing style. He did some beautiful stuff on the two instrumentals, but he cannot or will not "close the loop". To me that ability to tie up the melody with a nice bow has always been Strawbs' strength. On this album he plays more in that old style - I wonder if it's because he has been too busy to contribute more of his own ideas lately, and that has worked to our benefit IMO. The two instrumentals here are far better, serving as codas to the previous songs rather than intros to the next songs. Also, having Lambert, Ford and Cronk each sing a song means less Cousins, who was overexposed on Ferryman's Curse. Yes he overemotes on the otherwise fantastic title track here, but it's the price we pay for getting another Strawbs album, and it's well worth it.
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Posted By: SteveG
Date Posted: March 03 2021 at 07:44
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Posted By: kenethlevine
Date Posted: March 03 2021 at 07:46
| ^ bits and pieces of these thoughts will no doubt appear when I finally write the review, which may not be for a while as I haven't ordered the CD or heard the bonus tracks |
Posted By: SteveG
Date Posted: March 03 2021 at 08:07
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Posted By: Heart of the Matter
Date Posted: March 03 2021 at 17:21
| While waiting for Ken's review, I was just listening to In Amongst The Roses, and it's a fact: those were the times... |
Posted By: kenethlevine
Date Posted: March 03 2021 at 20:17
| ^yep |
Posted By: SteveG
Date Posted: March 04 2021 at 04:09
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Posted By: moshkito
Date Posted: March 06 2021 at 09:33
Hi, Just heard one song from the album last night (on Space Pirate Radio!!!), and it was a pretty good rocker. It's making me want to hear more of the album and I will get to it this week. The only thing that I am thinking is that Dave Cousins, now only does the "meaningful" song, in his words, and that's that ... and while he has always done that, his emotional feel seems to have gotten a bit bitter in time (more than before), when you could hear different stories before. I like his previous album and the song about the nails is "MASSIVE", but I think that the wording is getting people to turn left and leave ... to me, it is a real strong dig at a lot of music that has little meaning, and while he can appreciate BS, in the end, he is finding a lot of his music hollow, I think! ------------- Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told! www.pedrosena.com |
Posted By: kenethlevine
Date Posted: March 07 2021 at 15:32
| I agree he is only doing story or topical songs these days, but it seems to me he is doing what he wants now, and luckily has the support of Cherry Red to do it. I think where Strawbs lost their way somewhat in the late 1970s was when they stopped being true to that voice. They have always had that gift for melody but everything became somehow lightweight. That helped contribute to their decline in popularity. At this point they seem to be playing mostly for themselves and their existing fan base and, while they are probably gaining few new fans, I would guess that the sales of even the recent albums would be the envy of many of today's prog groups. Because they are not, nor have they ever been, strictly a prog group |
Posted By: moshkito
Date Posted: March 08 2021 at 12:58
Hi, A lot of the "breaks" in the band were on account of Dave going back to doing his job in developing FM radio in England (I might have not described it quite right!), and then in between ... folks wanted some more Strawbs. All in all, I think it hurt, and I agree with you, that it might have made it difficult to be true to his voice, but he explains ... I had to pay for the house ... and a car! Financially it was a disaster for him, and my thoughts were/are that he did not own his early music ... and was not gaining a nickel from it at all ... which, of course would not help, even if it was small, but a month's rent would have been nice, no? I have not been able to write a good review of the book, because of that duality ... they just seems to at odds with each other ... and I still have not seen what I would imagine is "the real Dave Cousins" ... as his lyrics are fleeting ... and some of the songs, seem to not be exactly "attached" to the words, even if he can accentuate them well enough to make it look like the song is fine! I think that something has been lost during his time ... though I still like the albums, but the last 2 or 3 have become just about 2 or 3 songs ... and the rest felt somewhat forgetful. ------------- Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told! www.pedrosena.com |
Posted By: Snicolette
Date Posted: March 08 2021 at 13:13
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I tend to agree with you, Moshkito....the duality of the autobiography was difficult for me, as well. At least, for him, his work in FM was somewhat connected still to music, rather than being a CPA or something, but I didn't find that as interesting as his viewpoint on his band, etc. And I felt that in some ways, he was guarded, as well. Wondering if others felt that way, reading it? I have always found something to love with almost every release, Strawbs or Cousins or collaborations, btw, just don't have this one in hand yet.
------------- "Into every rain, a little life must fall." ~Tom Rapp |
Posted By: SteveG
Date Posted: March 08 2021 at 13:51
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I think it's impossible to listen to a song like Benedictus or Lay Down and not conclude that Cousins was and is a deely spiritual person. I wish that he would have touched on that in his bio. I agree with you Nickie, half a book about a man's life in radio had no attraction for me. ------------- This message was brought to you by a proud supporter of the Deep State. |
Posted By: kenethlevine
Date Posted: March 10 2021 at 16:50
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Good points all. It sounded like in the 1970s Cousins was paid by the management company, I'm guessing a salary with potential bonus, because he does mention in the autobiography that he depended on the money from management to pay his way as well as wives and children from a couple of marriages, so he had to go into radio and probably accumulated most of his wealth during those 20 years. I skipped over a lot of that part of the book as the details of it don't interest me much. What was just as disappointing was that he barely mentions the minimal band activities during those 2 decades, and does not even mention the two albums released in 1987 and 1991. I happen to think "Don't Day Goodbye" is better than any album after Ghosts released up to that point, but Cousins is so stuck on "Deep Cuts" as being a great album. It's like he was ashamed of those albums or sees them as not even a footnote. He has always skirted around the religious issue but clearly that is an important part of who he is and also has contributed to some of his most authentic songs, like the ones you mention as well as "A Glimpse of Heaven" and, even recently, "When the Spirit Moves". On the subject of the album, at least the streaming version plays well several times through due to its diversity. There are several tracks where Cousins' voice is rather detracting, in this case the softer numbers. On "Ferryman's Curse", Tsangarides kept it from ever reaching this stage, but of course he is 3 years older and of advanced age, so we will never know if the late Chris could have still helped. Yes the vocal on the "Ferryman's Curse" track is dire but that is mostly the fault of the song, while in the new album all the songs are good but his voice fails in several. Oh well! |
Posted By: Snicolette
Date Posted: March 10 2021 at 17:24
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And oddly, or maybe not, "Deep Cuts," is one of my lesser loved Strawbs LPs, although I do like a few individual tracks. ------------- "Into every rain, a little life must fall." ~Tom Rapp |
Posted By: kenethlevine
Date Posted: March 10 2021 at 18:19
the only one I think is weaker than "Deep Cuts" is "Heartbreak Hill", even though it's much proggier than Deep Cuts. It's prog yes but it's poor. But yes, a song like "Simple Visions" is going to elevate any album it's on
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Posted By: Snicolette
Date Posted: March 10 2021 at 18:31
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Yes, that's a beauty! ------------- "Into every rain, a little life must fall." ~Tom Rapp |
Posted By: SteveG
Date Posted: March 11 2021 at 06:20
 But I really don't know how to balance that one when an artist's vocals were so much a part of the musicality of their songs. A tough one that I'll continue to grapple with, I'm afraid.
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Posted By: kenethlevine
Date Posted: March 11 2021 at 07:48
| I think it's hard for a singer to admit that their voice is weakening and it's hard for people around them to be honest with them as well. It's a rare voice like John Ford's who sounds as good at 70 as he did at 23 |
Posted By: SteveG
Date Posted: March 11 2021 at 08:03
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Posted By: SteveG
Date Posted: March 12 2021 at 18:43
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Ok, got the CD and listened to it twice. My first impression is thiat it's good but doesn't come close to as good as The Ferryman's Curse, which to me, is almost a 5 star album. There's nothing on it as clever as The Nails From The Hands Of Christ or as majestic as When The Spirt Moves. The album also lacks the dynamics of The Ferryman's Curse, but that may be down to it's hodge podge piecemeal home recordings cobbled together by Blue Weaver, and not the loss of Tsangerades as producer. But it does have great clarity as a trade off. More thoughts will be forthcoming, naturally. Stay tuned. ------------- This message was brought to you by a proud supporter of the Deep State. |
Posted By: kenethlevine
Date Posted: March 13 2021 at 09:20
| I think that's all true, Steve. It's the clarity that I noticed right away, but I doubt there will be anything as huge as those 2 tracks when all is said and done. Also, the bonus tracks are not at the level of the rest of the album. "Champion Jack" is the best of the 3 but Cousins' voice is lacking and it only really takes off in the last couple of minutes. But the remaining tracks seem more consistent to me, as I wasn't a fan of "Ten Commandments" or the title track from Ferryman. |
Posted By: SteveG
Date Posted: March 13 2021 at 10:34
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Just did another listen and I'm struck by the haunting slow burn of these songs as they do grow on me. And it's really cool to have another Strawbs album after all these years. Something that also struck me about Settlement is that it's not a deliberate throwback to past albums in order to satisfy old fans, regardless of how much Banbridge channels John Hawken and Rick Wakeman. It is it's own beast, which I do appreciate. ------------- This message was brought to you by a proud supporter of the Deep State. |
Posted By: kenethlevine
Date Posted: March 13 2021 at 13:04
Like I said, I much prefer Bainbridge's work here, much more in Strawbs tradition. I suspect it's because he had less input to the arrangements and clearly had a minor hand in the songwriting. Have you noticed the similarity between the title track and "Here Today Gone Tomorrow" from Deja Fou? I think I prefer the new one slighlty
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Posted By: Snicolette
Date Posted: March 13 2021 at 13:17
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I heard "We Are Everyone," today and quite liked it, I have a CD on the way. ------------- "Into every rain, a little life must fall." ~Tom Rapp |
Posted By: SteveG
Date Posted: March 13 2021 at 13:28
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Posted By: SteveG
Date Posted: March 13 2021 at 15:06
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Ok, I've ignored the bonus tracks up until now, and they are hard to take. How to reconcile these tracks in a review is going to be tough. Lol. ------------- This message was brought to you by a proud supporter of the Deep State. |
Posted By: kenethlevine
Date Posted: March 13 2021 at 18:46
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^ you could base the review just on the non bonus tracks, but then you have to factor in that it's only a 39 minute album. , It's weird that the last song, sung by Cronk, seems to be well liked even by critics that aren't big into the album, but it doesn't do anything for me, at least not yet. But "Better Days" is truly dreadful. When Strawbs try to do Brazilian, rather than reflecting their eclectic interests it sounds like a parody
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Posted By: SteveG
Date Posted: March 14 2021 at 18:25
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Posted By: kenethlevine
Date Posted: March 18 2021 at 18:45
| very good review Steve! Captures the key points succinctly |
Posted By: Heart of the Matter
Date Posted: March 18 2021 at 21:43
| I'm here enjoying Steve's review while listening to the album and thinking that 39 minutes can be enough, if they are well used (which is the case). |
Posted By: SteveG
Date Posted: March 19 2021 at 05:31
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Thanks my friends. As I stated before, the CD bonus tracks were a problem as they couldn't be ignored. ------------- This message was brought to you by a proud supporter of the Deep State. |
Posted By: SteveG
Date Posted: March 21 2021 at 10:30
Excellent review Ken. It really hits on all the key points!  ------------- This message was brought to you by a proud supporter of the Deep State. |
Posted By: kenethlevine
Date Posted: March 21 2021 at 17:15
Thanks Steve...it occurred to me after that I barely talk about the lyrical strength of the album, but when I went back it didn't seem like there was a good place to put it
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Posted By: Heart of the Matter
Date Posted: March 21 2021 at 21:34
A great review indeed Ken, full of detail and understanding of the band's career! 
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Posted By: SteveG
Date Posted: March 22 2021 at 07:57
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Posted By: kenethlevine
Date Posted: March 22 2021 at 08:19
| and the lyrics are, as expected, quite poetic, even if at times vague as you say |
Posted By: SteveG
Date Posted: March 22 2021 at 09:18
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Very true about the poetic lyrics. Perhaps Dave is getting more cerebral in his old age. Lol ------------- This message was brought to you by a proud supporter of the Deep State. |