HERO AND HEROINE

This is probably my second favourite STRAWBS album after "Grave New World", but to be honest nothing i've heard from this band can quite compare to that one.The picture of the band in the edition I have is startling and not in a good way. Yikes ! I have an older A & M Records cd.

"Autumn" is definitely a top three track with the wondrous mellotron and I love the bass / drum intro too. From 5 minutes on it's not that great but this song has it's moments for sure. "Sad Young Man" is a top three as well for me. It's mellow with fragile vocals to start. It turns fuller rather quickly as contrasts continue. I like the guitar here. Nice organ later. Cool song. "Just Love" is uptempo with vocals. It settles before 2 minutes with piano and mellotron then kicks back in. "Shine On" is a ballad.

"Hero And Heroine" is a fan favourite. A Country flavour to this one though that i'm not fond of. The organ and mellotrn sections are good. "Midnight Sun" features strummed guitar with percussion and reserved vocals. "Out In The Cold" has some good intricate guitar to start. Harmonica and drums join in. Vocals a minute in. "Round And Round" is the other top three for me. I like how this builds and sounds. Vocals before 1 1/2 minutes. Spoken words before 3 1/2 minutes. "Lay A Little Light On Me" is ballad-like early. I like the expressive vocals that follow. "Hero's Theme" has a BEATLES vibe to it.

I get the feeling with this release that they tried to do something different, more of a Progressive Rock thing. And because of that (I suppose) I keep hearing things that remind me of other bands. That kind of bugs me but in reality this is a very good album. 3.5 stars.