HERO AND HEROINE

In 1979 I first heard this album not knowing a thing about the band. I do not believe they are like Genesis, Yes or Crimson; Strawbs is a band that Dave Cousins remained the only constant member of. Other than a few members attempting to turn the band into a pop group (see below), they have landed between folk, rock and prog since their years adapting to electric instruments. They are unique. The group picture on the back of this album made me think these guys came from Fairyland! Being a big Genesis, Yes, Rush, etc. fan (prog rock), I was impressed on the first listen. Is this an in-your-face blowout of prog genius? Not really but it is a good album. For the Strawbs it is my favorite along with Ghosts; both have great tracks and ones a little too folksy to me. .

After having done a great deal of reading up on the band and listening to other albums, this one and "Ghosts" are the best and the ones that most closely resemble prog rock in my opinion. I am not into folk music so their past stuff and things they have done recently are not to my liking much. The album before this one was "Bursting At The Seams" and having heard "Part Of The Union" I wondered how on earth this could be the same band! Rick Wakeman had since come and gone joining Yes. Richard Hudson and John Ford formed a writing team and in a 2006 interview with many of the past members, Ford, Cousins and Lambert all agreed that it was a matter of serious musical differences which caused the split.

Hudson / Ford wanted pop songs and hit singles and Cousins being the only original member and leader did not want to sell out. Dave Lambert who joined the group on that album ended up siding with Cousins and Lambert was brought in to take Strawbs from, their folk roots to a more hard rock style. It is funny to note Lambert was a long haired hippie who was known for resembling one of his favorite guitarists, Pete Townshend though Lambert is a far more gentle soul. He was the peacemaker trying to keep the band together. Hudson / Ford wanted to kick out Cousins and steal the name but that went over like sick in a space suit and they were out along with Blue Weaver (keys).

So in came Rod Coombs (Stealers Wheel) on drums, Chas Cronk on bass and John Hawkin on keys. Hawken had only been a piano player and had tried to walk out of the business but the Daves knew what they wanted. He did reluctantly embrace synths and the mellotron and by the time he left after "Ghosts" he had a love for the machine. This band immediately clicked musically and in personality. All members contributed to the music and the results was this album. It is not perfect but it is for sure a great album with the songs that take it beyond the pop realm.

Autum is a great beginning starting out instrumentally well and I love the mellotron. Coombs wrote "Sad Young Man" which is okay. I did like "It's Just Love" strangely enough. It is a Lambert penned song (lead vocals too) and I do like the upbeat rhythm and the middle is a wonderful surprise as it suddenly takes it into a dramatic, soft shift just to come back into the beat. I like his voice better than Cousins but Strawbs would not be Strawbs without Cousins' voice. The song that was supposed to be the hit single was "Shine On Silver Sun" and it perhaps my least favorite. It has a bit of a twangy country guitar and really is the most awkward song in the mix.

Side 2 starts out strong with one of the best songs they have ever penned, "Hero & Heroine". I love the prog sound in this one and the songs on both sides of it again just do not fit and that is what makes the album not as good as it could have been. "Midnight Sun" is just not at all a song that should have been on the same album as "Hero.." "Out In The Cold" also leaves me cold.

From there the rest of the album ends well with "Round & Round followed by "Lay A Little Light On Me" which starts out slow but drops into a prelude into the last track "Hero's Theme" which is an instrumental. So "Autum", "Hero & Heroine", "Lay A Little Light On Me" & "Hero's Theme" are the prog entries and "It's just Love" is the pop song that is best.

Strawbs has to have their folksy stuff on each album but it is great to see this band really pout out some solid music in the prog. I think that the songs on "Ghosts are more consistent but this album is definitely one of their best. This lineups 2 albums are on my opinion are the best.