FROM THE WITCHWOOD

Rare enough to actually mention, this album has an unchanged line-up compared to its predecessor Antiques And Curios. One of the things this album achieves clearly is to confirm/consolidates the transit stage of the group from a folk unit to a rock group and the good thing about it is that they are very progressive about it, not just in the speed of the change.

With this album, the three recruits that came in become even better established even if Wakeman will leave after this one, the other two will provide the rhythm section for all of the classic (IMHO as it ends with Grave New World) Strawbs album.

Certainly the most endearing track is the folky title track with its absolutely marvellous and magic ambiances, while the follow-up 30 days uses a lot of sitar but unfortunately this makes the track rather aimed at 60's psych/folkheads rather than us progheads. Flight seems to be coming from a Jefferson Airplane or Spirit album. And guys, this is a bloody compliment!!! Hangman and The Papist is one of the cornerstones of Strawbs and maybe the best example on how Wakeman was able to transform this group into something really special - while they left him a chance to because you can feel him being restrained with his organs just mixed a tad too low to stop him from stealing the show. Its rather war-march beat in close to a bolero and simply awesome providing the listener with all of the drama/tension that you wish would become their signature, but alas it was not to be!). Wakeman just explodes in the following Sheep and clearly what we had seen in Antiques was now all too clearly evident, raw talent just waiting to be exposed. Again in Canon Dale his KB are being purposely under-mixed and by the time the sitar comes in, the track is unfortunately lost even if Rick does attempt to bring it back and almost succeeds a tour-de-force. Shepherd's Song is yet another excellent moment (again greatly aided by Wakeman's gorgeous piano and hints of mellotrons in the ending crescendo too) of folk meeting rock. Roses is rather musically unspectacular but shines in its own folk harmonics way. Just too bad the album ends with such a down such as the country-ish (this is relative but it is striking with the rest of the album) Beside You. Not that bad, but clearly out of context on this album.

Curios, this album and the following Grave New World being the three key albums from Strawbs, I would suggest starting out with this one if you are new to them. Be sure to take the remastered version (the sound quality is not immediately obvious to the ears, but the booklet gives added info (but sadly not the lyrics), but the bonus track "Keep The Devil Outside" is also very worthy even if not quite up to the best tracks of the album, it fits quite nicely along.

Rightly so Wakeman being at the top of his game with his inspirations clearly being kept down by the rather too tight-walled sound of Strawbs, he will leave for Yes and its Fragile and CTTE masterpieces and will reach the apex of his career with his first stupendous and superlative solo album (only the fourth or fifth of his young career), where he shines brighter than the sun. Soon however, the man will find a stardust-sprinkled cape, buy himself an over-inflated ego and acquire one of the tackiest tastes around that brought shame on prog for decades to come with his stupid symphonic journeys/epics and his ridiculous prog-on-ice shows. A superfast shooting star shining like the sun and exploding into a supernova all into two years time; whoever said that time stood still?