Tears And Pavan (An Introduction To The Strawbs)

For a onetime folk band, the Strawbs really hit their stride when they discovered their inner prog rockers. It certainly helped Dave Cousins blossom as a writer, having the instrumental backing to do justice to grander themes. Drawn from the four albums that made up their very fertile first-half-of-the-'70s period, Tears and Pavan: An Introduction does stand as an excellent introduction to the band at their best. "Witchwood," for example, is heavily embellished by Rick Wakeman's keyboards, but not to the point of overkill; the song itself still shines through. "New World" still stands as an epic track, one of the best to come from Cousins' pen, and their single "Lay Down" captures the spirit of the band in a most commercial way. In a nod to the American market, "Down By The Sea" is included; never big in England, it received substantial airplay in the U.S. The two big focal points are the ambitious "Where Is This Dream Of Your Youth," from Just a Collection of Antiques and Curios, which served as a signpost to where they were going, with a much rockier sound, and the title track, taken from Bursting at the Seams. You can nitpick (there's no "Benedictus," for example), but the truth is, there's simply not room on a single disc for everything that could be included. As it is, this stands as a good testimony to what the Strawbs wanted to be in this period. Sometimes they were more, sometimes a bit less -- but this is the essence. ~ Chris Nickson|