blue angel
| Format | CD |
| Country | UK |
| Recorded | 2003 |
| Issued | 2003 |
| Label | Witchwood Records |
| Cat no. | WMCD 2008 |
| Playing time | 59:15 |
| Reviewer | Sven Eriksen |
| STRAWBS blue angel |
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Strawbs’ first studio offering since Ringing Down The Years in 1991 (if you don’t count solo stuff, acoustic records, live records etc.). Everything here is not new either, the title cut Blue Angel was first issued on Dave Cousins’ solo album Two Weeks Last Summer in 1972, but here, this long, wonderful song gets its definitive treatment with Cousins’ emotional voice, Blue Weaver’s Mellotron flutes and Brian Willoughby’s stinging guitar work in forefront.
The line-up is rather loose, with several guest musicians and quite a few previous band members, but the nucleus is the already mentioned musicians plus Chas Cronk on bass, and Richard Hudson and Tony Fernandez on drums. A novelty is to include Mary Hopkin on vocals on seven of the twelve tracks.
The rest of the material does not match the standard of the title track, There Will Come The Day is a fine song, although not standard Strawbs with its programmed drums, The Plain is the band in traditional epic folk style, and Sealed With A Traitor’s Kiss is Cousins at his most delicate and subdued. On the negative side, we have a completely unnecessary version of Lay Down which does not add anything to this otherwise fine song, and Strange Days Over The Hill which is pure country. As a bonus track, we have an older recording where the band is joined by Maddy Prior and Rick Kemp of Steeleye Span – and these two artists put their mark on the song in such a manner that it sounds more like a Steeleye Span song than a Strawbs song.
Altogether an average Strawbs record, but a record where the title track alone is reason enough to purchase the CD.
© 2003 Tarkus Magazine