Strawbs on US television!

I remember seeing this! I met Strawbs fans along the way and it took some time for Strawbs to grow on me. I collected everything on LP in the 1970s and began this habit forming routine of track surfing through their albums . Eventually I appreciated their albums start to finish.

I chatted briefly with David Cousins at the Chesnut Cabaret in Philadelphia...( probably mid 80s), when Strawbs and Steeleye Span were playing there and I believe I bombarded him with Sandy Denny questions ...but nevertheless it was an interesting conversation about her because he was hospitable enough to put up with my fascination with her ...my B.S.

Their early albums such as Strawbs, Dragonfly,From The Witchwood, Antiques and Curios, and Grave New World are somewhat bewitching....somehow they create a mysterious vibe at times .

Bursting At The Seams and Hero & Heroine seemed more Symphonic oriented Prog to me . ...they were still Folk in many ways and Strawbs by that point in time had already been using the Mellotron which altered their sound ..however the aforementioned albums still sounded like a different direction ..but not sure how to define that direction.

They could actually be dark at times , but they didn't give me the impression that they were...yet certain songs were truly creepy...particularly on Ghosts where things start to get strange on specific tracks . They still have a melodic attraction throughout the Ghosts album which is not dark and brings continuity like many of their albums do...but yet they go more distance in darker sounding composition on Ghosts and you could say that it's a bit unusual for them.

They also appeared on Midnight Special a year or so later to perform "Lemon Pie" and "The Life Auction" from Ghosts

Edited by kenethlevine - December 29 2024 at 19:24

let me know if you find it.  I couldn't though I didn't search hard.  I remember wolfman jack saying they were one of wolfwoman's favorite groups lol

  Never saw this Strawbs performance  .  Amazing

Strawbs early albums, ( the first 5), seemed rather obscure in the U.S.   Though I did buy From The Witchwood and Grave New World after discovering YES and making that connection after enjoying Rick Wakeman on Fragile and Close To The Edge.

I remember people searching for Strawbs Live...the Antiques and Curios release because they realized that Rick Wakeman played piano on there. Some people were obviously interested in hearing Strawbs based off the reputation that Rick Wakeman had.

The first Strawbs album featured Sandy Denny. Their second release was thought to be their debut album by many. People were unaware because Strawbs were not promoted enough until around the release of Hero & Heroine.

I collected Sandy Denny albums for years. Also Fairport Convention and Fotheringay.

I never found her party trick amusing such as throwing herself off of a bar stool or down a flight of stairs. Perhaps that style of humor is more accepted in Europe..but the day she died it hit me hard because I was young and had been following her music for years. That was a sad day.

For me she is timeless! It was a real experience to see her on film decades later. Her first two albums...Northstar Grassman And The Ravens and Sandy are monumental...they are impressionable to me. If I recall...she was taken off life support . When she died it ripped my heart.