We continue our look back at the music of 50 years ago…….
One of the pleasures of listening to LPs in the 70’s were the liner notes on the LP cover. There is something massively lost when you have a CD or MP3 or streaming service where that information is not available. And when you look at the liner notes to the Lp “From The Witchwood”, the fourth album from the English band The Strawbs, two things pop out.
Any band that features instruments like the dulcimer, recorder, autoharp, celeste, melotron, sitar and harpsichord, is not going to have the sound of a traditional rock band. This isn’t Led Zep or Deep Purple…think more Fairport Convention, Renaissance or even Jethro Tull (sans the flute). English folk music of the time period had a signature sound. Lots of acoustic music that would not been out of place in Merlin’s time. Lyrics that harken back to a time of misty moors and deep forests. And a style that features soft vocals and close harmonies. Dave Cousins, the leader of this band delivers that.
The other thing that set The Strawbs apart is the singular talent of Rick Wakeman. This is the last LP he did with the band before joining Yes and recording ‘Fragile” later in the year.
Wakeman stands out on a number of cuts including “The Hangman and The Papist” (see what I mean about subject matter).
There are a few uptempo numbers on the record including “Sheep” which leads off side 2 and the album closer “I’ll Carry On Beside You”, featuring some great harmonies and Wakeman’s acoustic piano, sounds like a hit to me.
I know that stuff like this isn’t massively popular. It had it’s moment. The band morphed into a more straight ahead rock band as the decade progressed. A friend of mine saw them as an opener for J. Geils Band in Oshkosh. That had to be weird for both the audience and the band.
Brew some Earl Grey or pop open a Guinness and let your mind drift back….
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