NY '75

Recorded live on December 4, 1975, at the Calderone Theatre on Long Island, this captures the Strawbs when they were at the peak of their popularity in the U.S.; in fact, this was their first tour of the country as headliners. That coincides with perhaps their most progressive rock-oriented period, and the band was particularly full-sounding at this juncture, having recently added John Mealing and Robert Kirby (the latter now noted as having contributed arrangements to Nick Drake's early recordings) as keyboardists. If only the sound were a little better, this 68-minute disc would qualify as perhaps the definitive mid-'70s live document of the Strawbs. However, the fidelity, though OK and far above the bootleg norm, is a little thin and brittle, sounding as if it's perhaps been taken from a tape of a radio broadcast. Nonetheless, the band performs effectively on a 12-song set that draws heavily from their mid-'70s albums Hero and Heroine, Ghosts, and Nomadness (the last of which was their most recent LP at the time they gave this performance). For what's it worth, this marks the first occasion on which three songs from Nomadness appear on a live Strawbs album, those being "The Promised Land," "To Be Free," and "Hanging in the Gallery." The Strawbs are at their hardest-rocking here, and though that might disappoint those who prefer their folkier phases, for those who do like the harder stuff, the attack is dense and crunchy, even sounding a touch like King Crimson or Yes in its artiest passages. It's not something for the casual fan, but Witchwood Media's products are targeted toward serious Strawbs collectors, many of whom will appreciate the chance to get a decent-sounding (if imperfect) recording of the band in this incarnation. ~ Richie Unterberger|