SANDY DENNY AND THE STRAWBS: ALL OUR OWN WORK

Very first album recorded from this group although it didn't get released until the early 70's, All Our Own Work was recorded in Copenhagen as the Strawbs were touring and some one asked them if they would record. No sooner said, it was done on a two-track equipment, over the month of August 68. OK, the band had been together for a year and had hung around London as a quartet (Cousins, Hooper, bassist Chesterman and Sandy, no drums) and for the need of this album they were joined by Danish session drummer Gudmand.

Although this was released as a double vinyl (and now only one Cd), under the name of "Early Strawbs", this album comes across as not too long and even offers three bonus of excellent calibre and complementing tracks, well within the scope of the album.. Even at this early stage, Strawbs's music was coming mostly of Cousin's guitar, rather than Hooper (who signs 3 tracks) and Denny (just one, but it's a classic). The music is nothing worth waking your grandpa, just normal folk rock (all originals) that ranges from inventive (How Everyone Was A Hypocrite ) West-Coast (Tell Me What you See In Me) to traditional (Wild Strawberries) to conventional (And You Need Me, Always on My Mind) and uninteresting (Stay A While, Own Worst Friend). And sometimes not as the two obvious tracks are Sandy's "who knows where time goes" and Cousin's "Two week slast summer.

Not much longer after recording this album, Sandy Denny would leave Strawbs and join Fairport Convention and she'd be on her way to stardom and her ultimate destiny. As mentioned above, this just one more folk rock album cluttering your shelves, but it should get the occasional spin, since most progheads like to hear Sandy's voice. Nothing essential and reserved for Strawbs unconditional fans.