Strawbs is an English institution. Ever since the band’s humble beginnings as The Strawberry Hill Boys in 1964, David Cousins has been there, guiding the band through highs and lows, and also through numerous line-ups and musical genres.
The fact that the band is still going at this point is incredible. Nobody dared say loudly that the previous album The Ferryman’s Curse (2017) would be the last one, but with band members starting to push into their 70s even at that point, you have to regard every new release as a bonus. That that they still have the itch to produce new material in the 2020s is praiseworthy in itself. The fact that the material holds such a high standard is above and beyond anything we could dare dream of.
Settlement is easily the best Strawbs album in decades.
The current line-up is unchanged since 2015, and is the same band that recorded The Ferryman’s Curse. In addition to Cousins (lead vocals/guitar/banjo), it includes Dave Lambert (vocals/lead guitar/e-bow/various strings), Chas Cronk (bass), Dave Bainbridge (keyboards) and Tony Fernandez (drums).
Whatever the musical focus of the band has been at any given time, it has always been a natural development from what has been before. In their early days they were a folk band, which at one point even included Sandy Denny. They moved towards a more electric folk hybrid around the time Rick Wakeman entered their line-up. We later saw them move towards a rock expression with increasingly intricate progressive arrangements, helped by John Ford and Richard Hudson. As other stalwarts like Dave Lambert and Chas Cronk joined, they continued to release a string of albums that were as diverse and interesting as their long history would indicate.
Summarising the band’s long and varied history beyond that short description is nigh on impossible within the boundaries of a mere album review. The band’s history does play into this album though. I feel it is stylistically self-referencing several of their eras as well as containing contributions from former members, underlining – at least from a fan perspective – the feeling of family and friendship that has been predominant for some time.
When Strawbs toured the US in 2019 as part of their 50th anniversary celebration, a special weekend of celebrations was held in Lakewood, New Jersey which included several former members as well as special guests/friends (Annie Haslam, Eric Bazilian, Larry Fast, Tony Visconti, and Cathryn Craig among others). Several of the band’s former incarnations played material from their era, guests popped up with the main band and performed on “their” songs, people got to see associated member’s side projects and solo spots, etc. It was recorded for a DVD release which is still being worked on.
The feeling of unity that the weekend embraced has extended into the new album, which also features contributions from Blue Weaver (keyboards and production), John Ford (vocals/bass), Cathryn Craig (vocals), and Schalk Joubert (bass).
The album was recorded from May to November 2020 in complete self-isolation. The Covid pandemic would impact how all musicians had to interact and work. In case of Strawbs, the most impressing thing about the album is that it sounds organic and natural. Isolation does not seem to have affected the band feel at all. It sounds like it always does, and a lot of credit has to go to the album’s producer Blue Weaver, who assembled parts and put them together from his studio in Germany. He is another former member (having had several sporadic stints as the band’s keyboard player between 1971 and 2004) who understands the band well and knows how to get the best out of them.
The new album is extraordinary stylistically. As David Cousins said, “I can’t think of another band who can go from metal grunge to the lilt of an Irish ghost story – or from a song in 6/8 time to singing in 4/4 over a 5/4 backbeat – in half an hour.” The general trend seem to be to let the heaviest electric guitars take a back seat on this album, which predominantly contains tracks with a bedding of acoustic guitars, with various keyboard-based sounds and gentle band arrangements embellishing. These type of arrangements frequently make me think back to the early “electric folk”-days of the early 1970s.
The album starts with Settlement – the title track – and the sound of two acoustic guitars weaving an ominous melody rings in the ceremony. A mellotron sound adds interesting layers in the background. The song builds carefully, with as much attention on instrumentation and overall ambience as the powerful delivery of the lyrics. And, as always, the lyrics are front and centre. Settlement is a genuine protest song, with Cousins showing his anger. “What the autocrats are selling you is Sturm und Drang” [i.e. turmoil] he sneers, making this song into a somewhat hardened, yet enticing, start to the album.
The in-your-face opening number is followed by Strange Times, which is a much more mellow, relaxing folk number. This takes me back to the classic Grave New World album (1972) where Benedictus was followed by Hey, Little Man… Thursday’s Child in very much a similar manner.
Strange Times is melancholically reflecting on the times we live in without getting specific about pandemics, personal situations, or anything else. While we all have an idea what might have inspired that song, it is universally appliable. The lyrics are, as usual, really lovely and poignant.
Memories flow in endless streams
Tears a-plenty, damaged dreams
Don’t deny the die is cast
Footnotes from a fractured past
Songbirds sing their sad laments
Ancient wisdom, dark events
Reaching out to touch the veils
Footprints follow hard-fought trails
David Cousins is my favourite lyricist. Stuart Adamson from Big Country is also up there for me, but Cousins is ultimately more consistent if the two are evaluated over the course of their full careers. No one else is close to those two. Even on the few Strawbs albums I found to be on the lean side musically (well… they do exist), I have always been able to rely on the lyrics as shining beacons of quality. As always, on Settlement Cousins shines yet again on the lyric side.
Moving on, Judgement Day picks up the pace a bit yet is more anthemic in scope. At well over seven minutes, the song takes its time to slowly establish itself and in delivering its messages. The sound of an e-bow guitar part is immediately apparent, appearing at various points during the song and always giving it a most wonderful lift. When it steps back, usually Bainbridge will be right there with an enticing organ part, carrying the melody onward. Schalk Joubert’s wonderful African fretless bass can clearly be heard towards the end of the song, which really suits the song wonderfully. Throughout, Fernandez’ drums are on point, delivering one of the punchiest and most solid beats on the album. It should contrast the more ethereal instrumentation in the song, but it actually complements it greatly, somehow pinning it all down.
The overall instrumentation quiets down when Cousins comes in with a vocal track, The vocals feel world-weary on this track, which although musically lovely and uplifting is lyrically dark. The protagonist is suffering involuntary isolation from those around him. Others avoid him and he is clearly feeling depression. It’s sad, touching, and powerful.
Former Strawbs bassist/vocalist John Ford guests on Each Manner of Man, which he also has a writing credit for alongside Cousins. The two of them rarely co-wrote with each other when they were bandmates previously, so this is a rare collaboration with Ford providing the music to Cousins’ lyrics. It feels really great to hear Ford sing on a Strawbs song again. The melodic structure and vocal melody of this track does bear all the usual Ford trademarks.
This is without question one of the highlights on the album. It really is a melodic gem of a song – it’s just incredibly strong. Stylistically similar to tracks like Keep the Devil Outside of the From the Witchwood-era, I find myself realising that I’ve really been missing these baroque electric folk moments. A harpsicord can even be heard in the background, and a lovely dual guitar solo from Lambert to boot. Pure delight from beginning to end!
The Visit is the first of two back-to-back contributions from Dave Lambert. This is a new recording of a track from Lambert’s 2004 album Work In Progress, so the faithful will know this one already. It takes the shape of an old folk song, tenderly sung, with lots of interesting (and largely organic-sounding) layers to it. David Cousins has got the banjo out, and Bainbridge plays what sounds like (but probably isn’t) a pump organ. The song tells the story of how a woman came knocking one day, looking for someone she met long ago who had lived in the village. She tells the story of their encounter, they talk for a while, and after she leaves he never managed to forget her. It is a touching and sweet song with a melancholic flair.
The instrumental Flying Free follows immediately after. On the aforementioned Work In Progress album, this is the last instrumental section of The Visit, here separated out into a separate track. This version of the music has more in-your-face staccato acoustic guitar rhythm pattern, and is more organic without the original drum machine and keyboard layers. Instead, Lambert has sprinkled several interesting layers of guitar on top. A banjo, bass and percussion joins in as the tune gather up some momentum halfway through.
Quicksilver Days is yet another one of the more mellow and short tracks that bring back memories of the band’s earlier days as a folk band with electric influences. Starting with acoustic guitars and piano, the mellotron enters the picture halfway through to provide a lovely bedding. The song laments moments, people and places that are lost in time. The track transitions into the next track, which again transition into the following track, meaning the last three tracks have the feel of a mini-suite of sorts.
We Are Everyone is a striking song vocally, thanks to Cathryn Craig’s wonderful harmonizing alongside Cousins who is also very much on point with this song, adding a voice which mixes emotional power with a sense of urgency. There are so many layers in this largely acoustic-based track that you can miss the fact that there are no drums propelling it on. The song builds its own inner urgency through percussive acoustic guitars that quietly pushed it onward from behind. Lambert chimes in with electric lead guitar lines and even sustained chords/notes at times that beef up the backing track quite a bit. Towards the end, a bass guitar and keyboards with orchestration elements add a lot of momentum until it quietens down again towards the very end.
The final track on the ordinary album is the instrumental Chorale by bassist Chas Cronk. A percussive rhythm track on acoustic guitar lays the bedding of this song, which also have several keyboard parts adding harmony. Lambert adds dual electric lead guitar lines which interchange with an organ solo, and somewhere along the way the drums creep into the picture as well. The song builds up a lovely climax that brings it all home. They add the kitchen sink towards the end with a church organ and choir sounds which carry more than a passing nod to the classic track Grace Darling. Whether intentional or not, that works for me!
And so the album is over – at least if you listen by way of streaming platforms, downloads, or the LP. The CD audience are the winners this time around, as there are no less than three bonus tracks on the disc: Champion Jack, Better Days, and Liberty. These form a nice encore to the main set.
Champion Jack starts off with a bouzouki and harmonium, immediately reminding me of the intro to Led Zeppelin’s The Battle of Evermore although it goes in a different direction after that. The song is personal, spinning the tale of Cousins’ step father Jack Cousins and his adventures before, during, and after World War 2. The longest song on the album at 7:20, his story is told across numerous verses and becomes a musical and lyrical tour de force. A powerful track with lovely instrumentation, in particular by Dave Bainbridge who creates several layered keyboard parts that really add to the soundscapes of the song. Lambert also has a lovely guitar solo set against swirling keyboard layers and choir. Clearly the best track of the extras, it really would have deserved an inclusion amongst the main track list.
The last two tracks are solidly in the “good, not great” category, but a good track is still a good track. Better Days (Life Is Not A Game) opens with trumpets and retains a Brazilian carnival feel throughout, which is relatively new in Strawbs context. It suits this rose-tinted look at all those things that make up life, though. There is more of a vintage rock feel in Cronk’s final contribution and closing track Liberty. A straightforward rock track at its core, with the band adding a lot of interesting parts along the way.
We are reminded of the passage of time in the liner notes, which tells us that the album is dedicated to Tony Cooper who passed in 2020. He was one of the founding members of Strawbs back in the 1960s, and it was a big blow to the entire Strawbs community to lose him. He would be proud of the dedication, and it is only fitting to see it on an album which has so many acoustic-based and folk-tinged moments, which represents his version of the band well.
This is the kind of album where it is hard to pick favourites because it flows so great as a whole (especially the nine-track basic version, although as mentioned, Champion Jack would also have stood proudly on the main album). Special mention has to go to Each Manner of Man which is a pure melodic gem of an electric folk song, to Judgement Day for its lovely ambience and e-bow guitar parts, and finally to We Are Everyone for its wonderful vocal delivery. An album that flows like water from start to finish. And you’d do well to whip out that lyric booklet, too.
Svein Børge Hjorthaug
Norway, May 2021
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