Strawbs
Band members Related acts
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line up xx I(1974-76) - Rod Coombes --- backing vocals, drums, percussion - Chas Cronk -- backing vocals, bass guitar, synthesizer (replaced John Ford) - Dave Cousins -- vocals, backing vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar - John Hawken -- organ, piano, electric piano, mellotron, synthesizer (replaced
Blue Weaver) electric
guitar
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- Amen Corner (Blue Weaver) - Bees Make Honey (Rod Demick) - The Bunch (Sandy Denny) - Dave Cousins (solo efforts) - Cry No More - Rod Demick and Herbie Armstrong (Rod Demick) - Sandy Denny (solo efforts) - Fair Weather (Blue Weaver) - Fairport Convention (Sandy Denny) - Fire (Dave Lambert) - Forever Amber (John Hudson) - Forthingay (Sandy Denny) - High Society - Hudson-Ford (Richard Hudson - John Ford) - Icarus (John Ford) - If - Illusion - The James Brothers - Juicy Lucy (Rod Coombes) - King Earl Boogie Band (Dave Lambert) - Paul Lamb and the King Snakes - Lambert - Cronk - Locust - Meal Ticket (Rod Denick) - Midnight Flyer - The Monks (John Ford) - Mott the Hoople - Nashville Teens (John Hawkens) - One Eskimo - Renaissance (John Hawkens) - Ruthless Blues - Blue Weaver - Sandy Denny and the Strawbs - The Strawberry Hill Boys - Stealers Wheel - Third World War - Trifle - Velvet Opera - Rick Wakeman (solo efforts - Rick Wakeman and Adam Wakeman - Wakeman & Cousins - The Wheels - Yes (Rick Wakeman)
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Genre: pop Rating: 3 stars *** Title: Hero and Heroine Company: A&M Catalog: SP
3607 Country/State: London, UK Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: -- Available: 1 Catalog ID: 1095 Price: $10.00
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I'll be honest and admit it took me a decade to discover the joys of this Strawbs album. I can remember buying it for a dollar at a local Kemp Mill store and being challenged to fight my way through Dave Cousins' dry voice and the unexpected mash-up of musical styles.
By the time I bought this album, I was already acquainted with The Strawbs catalog (courtesy of a friend with a big record collection - thanks Tom). As such, I guess I was expecting to hear another collection of English folk-rock material, more along the lines of "From the Witchwood", or "Grave New World". While the album reflected traces of the folk-rock roots (check out the title track and 'Out In the Cold'), that was the exception to the rule this time around. Perhaps that shouldn't have been a major surprise given the major personnel changes that wracked the band following the release of 1973's "Bursting At the Seams". Co-produced by Tom Allom and Dave Cousins, 1974s "Hero and Heroine" introduced the revamped rhythm section of drummer Rod Coombes and bassist Chas Cronk, with former Nashville Teens keyboardist John Hawkens also making his debut. Speaking of Hawkens, anyone into mellotron will find this album a must-own since he adds the instrument to most of the album's ten compositions. Musically the album found the band seemingly trying to come up with a way of blending their earlier English folk roots with progressive moves. Perhaps to simplistic a comparison, but the album's always reminded me of mid-'70s Genesis, or late-'70s Peter Gabriel solo efforts. Regardless, it was certainly different and from a marketing perspective, quite daring. With references to John the Baptist, sucking on breasts, and slashed wrists I've always wondered it was intended as a concept piece, though, if it was, the plotline's always been lost on me. Well worth checking out, but one word of warning - with the exception of Dave Lambert's 'Just Love', for anyone looking for a quick blast of pick-me-up rock and roll, this wasn't the place to turn. Dark and thoroughly downtrodden, tracks like '', 'Out In the Cold' and 'Round and Round' were sure to cast a sense of despair on any listener.
"Hero and
Heroine" track listing: 1.) Autumn - 8:27 i.) Heroine's Theme (instrumental) (John Hawken) - Kicked along by John Hawken's mellotron, the album opened with the pretty, instrumental title track. Nice progressive vibe. rating: *** stars ii.) Deep Summer's Sleep (Dave Cousins) 'Deep Summer's Sleep' shifted to Cousins' acoustic guitar and an English folk-rock vibe. rating: *** stars iii.) The Winter Long (Dave Cousins) Pretty piano powered ballad with Lambert on lead vocals. The track aptly displayed the band's knack for soothing harmony vocals. rating: **** stars 2.) Sad Young Man (Rod Coombes) - 4:09 Written by drummer Rod Coombes, 'Say Young Man' has always struck me as having a Peter Gabriel-era Genesis vibe. Since I'm a big fan of that band, this one gets high marks from me. Always loved Hawken's church organ solo, while Dave Lambert turned in one of his prettiest guitar solos on this one. rating: **** stars 3.) Just Love (Dave Lambert) - 3:41 True it didn't seem to fit with the album's overarching feel, but for folks who didn't think the band could handle a conventional rocker, Lambert offered up the blazing 'Just Love'. Yeah, the center section felt out of place, but the rest really did rock. For some reason this one's always reminded me of a Del Amitris tune. And by the way, Lambert had a great voice to boot. rating: **** stars 4.) Shine On Silver Sun (Dave Cousins) - 2:46 I'm no Strawbs scholar, but I believe 'Shine On Silver Sun' had served as an earlier, non-LP single for the band. While 'Shine On Silver Sun' was one of Cousins' prettier compositions, I can clearly remember thinking the guy's voice had all the charm of a heavy coating of dust. True, it grew on you (like dust), but that dry, growl was truly an acquired taste. rating: *** stars
(side
2) If you consider a sea shanty to be a folk song, then the first half of the title track was probably the most folk-ish performance on the album and should a have held major appeal to longstanding fans less enamored with the band's shift towards a more progressive direction. Give it an extra star for what I've always thought to be one of the best anti-drug tunes recorded in the mid-'70s. rating: **** stars 2.) Midnight Sun (Chas Cronk - Dave Cousins) - 3:06 Another pretty acoustic ballad, 'Midnight Sun' has always reminded me of a Cat Stevens effort. rating: *** stars 3.) Out In the Cold (Dave Cousins) - 3:39 The album's most beguiling tune, and also one of the most downbeat and depressing things Cousins ever wrote. rating: **** stars 4.) Round and Round (Dave Cousins) - 4:44 Another surprisingly mainstream progressive-tinged number, opening with synthesizers, pounding bass, and static guitar, you would have been hard pressed to identify 'Round and Round' as a Strawbs effort. Think along the lines of mid-'70s Genesis and you'd get a feel for the tune. A&M tapped it as an American single. rating: **** stars 5.) Lay a Little Light On Me (Dave Cousins) - 3:27 Almost painfully earnest, the stark ballad 'Lay a Little Light On Me' would not have sounded out of place on a Peter Gabriel solo album. And like Gabriel's best solo work, buried in the song was an insidiously catchy hook. rating: *** stars 6.) Hero's Theme (Dave Lambert) - 2;28 Abruptly shifting gears, 'Hero's Theme' sounded like Lambert had been listening to The Fab Four's 'I Want You (She's So Heavy'). Never bothered to try to decipher the backwards tape vocals at the end of the track, though I'm certain someone out there has. rating: *** stars
In addition to the earlier 'Shine On Silver Sun' 45, the album spun off several singles. In the US and Italy A&M released:
- 1974's 'Round and Round' b/w 'Heroine's Theme' (A&M catalog number 1519-S)
In the UK and throughout much of the remainder of the world the singles were
- 1973's 'Shine On Silver Sun' b/w 'And Wherefore' (A&M catalog number AMS 7082) - 1974's 'Hero and Heroine' b/w 'Round and Round' (A&M catalog number AMS 7105) - 1974's 'Hold On to Me (The Winter Long)' b/w 'Where Do You Go' (A&M catalog number AMS7117)
Curiously the album was first released in the States where it attracted supportive review, but proved a middling seller, peaking at # 94 (I remember seeing stacks in the discount bins). Subsequently released in the UK, it hit the top-40 album charts, but was slammed by British critics.
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