DÉJÀ FOU

Order this album direct from Witchwood records off the Strawbs website and with a little luck you will get an acoustic sampler thrown in too. That was a nice surprise especially the acoustic version of ' Golden Salamander' off Nomadness. Deja Fous marks all new material which is a pleasant surprise with the classic line up of Hawkens/Cousins/Coombes/Cronk and Lambert. Primarily though Cousins and Lambert are the main influence with Chas Cronk taking more of a back seat for a change. It is not a bad album at all. Cousin's voice understandably not as strong as it was in his heyday. The best tracks for me are the more acoustic sets like the opener ' Riviera Del Flori' and ' Face Down In The Well' but ' Barren Land' and ' If' are also very strong. The only weak track for me being ' Under a Cloudless Sky'. Check out also the last track ' NRG' which marks a complete change in direction ( eastern influences).So we have a new Strawbs album in 2004. Will it be their last? I for one hope not.