BURNING FOR YOU

"Burning For You" is the eleventh studio album of Strawbs and was released in 1977. As with the two previous studio albums "Nomadness" and "Deep Cuts", all tracks are short and timed with less than five minutes, their folk/rock roots and their progressiveness has gone, the line up is the same and also continue the absence of a full time keyboardist.

So, the line up on the album is Dave Cousins (vocals and acoustic guitars), Dave Lambert (vocals, acoustic and electric guitars), Chas Cronk (backing vocals, bass guitar and acoustic guitar) and Rod Coombes (drums). The album has also the performance of two of the guest musicians who participated already on their previous studio album "Deep Cuts", Robert Kirby (piano, electric piano, synthesizer, Mellotron, clavinet, acoustic guitar and orchestral arrangements) and John Mealing (piano, harpsichord, synthesizer,Mellotron, organ, tubular bells and orchestral arrangements).

"Burning For You" has ten tracks. The first track "Burning For Me" written by Dave Cousins and John Mealing is, without any kind of doubt and by far, the best song on the album. This is a great opening track and the only highlight on the album. It's a very emotional song, very well constructed, very calm and very enjoyable to listen to. Sincerely, I think there had been already some time the group hadn't been so musically inspired, indeed. The second track "Cut Like A Diamond" written by Dave Cousins and Chas Cronk although isn't as good as the opening track, it still is a great song. And it's also, in my humble opinion, the second best song on the album. It's a very catchy harder rock song, very well constructed and very well arranged. This is, probably, the most aggressive song ever composed by the band with great distorted guitar sound and fantastic aggressive vocals. The third track "I Feel Your Loving Coming On" written by Dave Lambert is a good and pleasant song to hear, well composed and performed. It's a mellow ballad, very pop, very simple and with very conventional musical orchestral arrangements, but with great backing vocals. This is a very decent song. The fourth track "Barcarole (For The Dead Of Venice)" written by Dave Cousins and Chas Cronk is almost an acoustic song with nice and calm vocals. It's also one of the few songs on the album that includes a touch of Mellotron. Like the previous song, this is also, in my humble opinion, a very pleasant and decent song to hear. The fifth track "Alexander The Great" written by Dave Cousins and Dave Lambert is, for me, the first really weak song on the album. I don't have the same opinion of some of you who consider it a good song. It's true this is a rocking electric song with an energetic tune, but sincerely, I think it doesn't represent a good musical and creative moment of them, but above all, it hasn't anything to do with the usual musical vein of the band. The sixth track "Keep On Trying" written by Dave Cousins and Chas Cronk is, in my humble opinion, a vulgar and uninspired song with a very oriented pop tune. It represents another weak point on the album, disconnected, and with nothing interesting to add to this album. The seventh track "Back In The Old Routine" written by Dave Cousins, Chas Cronk and Dave Lambert is another weak song on the album that represents, unfortunately, more of the same. It's a song composed and performed in the cabaret style, and it's also like the previous song, a vulgar an uninspired song, really. This is probably the worst song on the album. The eighth track "Heartbreaker" written by Dave Lambert isn't, fortunately, a bad song. It's like their first song "Cut Like A Diamond", a harder rock song and despite isn't as good as that song is, it still is a very decent and interesting song. This is also a very well constructed and very well arranged song, and it's also one of the most aggressive songs ever composed by the band. The ninth track "Carry Me Home" written by Chas Cronk, represents, unfortunately, another weak point on the album. This is a very vulgar pop ballad, once more with nothing positive to offer to the album, and it's also completely out of the musical style of the band. The tenth track "Goodbye (Is Not An Easy Word To Say)" written by Dave Cousins doesn't represents, unfortunately, a very good way to end this album. It was usual and traditional Strawbs finish their albums with great songs. From what I can remember this is, probably, the weakest end of a Strawbs' album. Although it isn't a bad song, isn't enough to satisfy. It represents, without any doubt, a very weak way to say goodbye to the album.

Conclusion: I decided to rate "Burning For You" with the same 3 stars of "Nomadness" and "Deep Cuts". For me, "Nomadness" is an album that deserves 3 or 3,5 stars and "Deep Cuts" is an album that deserves only 3 stars. "Burning For You" is, in my humble opinion, the weakest Strawbs album from the three. So, as a question of personal coherence and because of that reason it only deserves 2,5 or 3 stars. So, my first impression was to rate it with only 2 stars. However, I think it has some good and interesting musical moments. It has an excellent song "Burning For Me", a great song "Cut Like A Diamond" and it has also some other good songs, such as, "I Feel Your Loving Coming On", "Barcarolle (For The Dead Of Venice)" and "Heartbreaker". However, this isn't definitely a good introduction to the band. To can be introduced to the best and great music of Strawbs, you must check their albums from 1970 to 1975.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

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