A lack of appreciation for a 'missing' Strawbs album.
Rockfall on Heartbreak Hill
Tag: 1970s
Dave Cousins: poetry in lotion
Earlier this month, singer-songwriter Dave Cousins died. There are many obituaries out there. I will not add to those. This, instead, is an attempt to explain how and why his work became vital to my spiritual searching, my creative impetus, my imaginary plundering and my psychological balance.
Long Liv Love
In memoriam of ONJ on her birthday.
Guttering
Dave Cousins and I disagreed over the worthiness of the Strawbs album Nomadness (see my earlier post Rehanging the Gallery), but I think we would be in harmony regarding Burning for You. He says in his autobiography “'Burning for You' is my least favourite Strawbs album.”1 It is my least favourite too, at least of … Continue reading Guttering
Deep Cuts and shallow scars
The previous three pressings had an autumnal or winter feel to them. This album always sounds like summer, even when the song is a tragic or sad one, or even about the prospect of a hard, hard winter. Many of the tracks were written quickly during the warmer months of what in the UK was … Continue reading Deep Cuts and shallow scars
Rehanging the Gallery
A wander through Nomadness When I told singer-songwriter Dave Cousins that Nomadness was one of my favourite albums he cringed. It had been recorded at a difficult time. The Strawbs' popularity was waning, even on the far side of the Atlantic where it had recently burgeoned. They had parted company with keyboard player John Hawken … Continue reading Rehanging the Gallery
Angels and needles
Listening to Ghosts Dark the night, not a soundDamp and cold, frosty groundAbove your head the lion screamsTo tear you from your moonlit dreams.Dave Cousins, Ghosts lyric Throughout 2021 I’m reflecting on the first tranche of Strawbs albums (including Dave Cousins' solo album Two Weeks Last Summer) in the order that they were released. This … Continue reading Angels and needles
The Hero in Autumn
I sense Autumn coming onThe mist has hung low all day He senses autumn coming on, says my literary hero (yes – literary - hero) at the start. So true. The mighty track that opens the ninth album to be released with Dave Cousins at the tiller summons the fall season magnificently. It also heralds … Continue reading The Hero in Autumn
Bursting at the Seams
This is where it all began for me. This album spawned a life-long love and addiction, but it germinated far more than that. This was the mystical key. This was the ledger that unlocked the cauldron of creativity, this was the testament that told of the way to traverse the path through pain and pleasure, … Continue reading Bursting at the Seams
Two Weeks Last Summer
A solo album is almost never a solo enterprise, and the musicians that are assembled here is one of the best kept open secrets of the prog-rock heyday. On board were Miller Anderson from The Keef Hartley Band; Rick Wakeman from Yes; Roger Glover from Deep Purple, and Jon Hiseman once of John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers.
uneasywords 