My favourite band of all time is The Strawbs which is a bit unfortunate in that they are mainly remembered for the naff, and untypical 'Part of the Union'. I however as a 13yr, long haired, fustrated romantic loved their folk to glam to prog career from 1969 on. In 1972 I had that gleefull experience when a band you've liked for ages 'makes it'. When I first heard the riff in the middle section I knew they'd cracked it - Of course it all went tits up within a year as 'artistic differences' while touring the US split the band. I spoke to the lead singer Dave Cousins a year or so ago, he had some great stories. Always a very well behaved bunch. The only damage caused when they had the big split in a hotel room row was a cracked glass ashtray. They played support to Salvidore Dali (in a french circus) and Marlene Dietrich in the USA during the 60s!
I was lucky enough to see the Strawbs live in 1971, just before Rick Wakeman left to join Yes. Brilliant stuff.
Barsteward About 5 years ago I caught them on tour with Oliver Wakeman, Rick's son. He looked and, god help me, played just like his dad. Adam, another son, has also played with the Band on occasion. He's a good keyboard player, but Oliver is the dog's bollocks. Here's Rick sealing his exit from the band by using a paint roller to play keyboards on TOTP 1971.
I bought Grave New World when it first came out, and my brother liked it so much that he almost demanded that I give it to him [sibling power - never heard of buying his own copy, of course]. Anyway, he eventually offered me CSNY Deja vu, which he'd been given, and of which a bit has already been said on here, and Matthews Southern Comfort Second Spring, as a swap. Reluctantly, but slightly gleefully [it was two albums for one], I relented. So I had about a month of some good listening to The Strawbs and I never went back their way again. It was just not meant to be. I've always felt that I got the better deal too. please log in to view this image = please log in to view this image + please log in to view this image
One of my favourite bands of the last 15 years or so are The Shins. They hail from Portland, Oregon and produce well crafted, intelligent and melodic songs. James Mercer is a very interesting lyricist and is the only constant in the history of the group. This one is of of their debut album, Oh Inverted World...
These are off of the third and best selling album so far, Wincing The Night Away...I love the first song's video which is like the best school play ever enacting Joan of Arc, The Conquistadors and The Donner Party... This one has very interesting lyrics which I believe is broadly about Bush's war on terror in search for oil...
And this last one is of of the current album, Heartworms...It is a touching song about Mercer's late teenage years growing up on an RAF base...
Robert Lee (common enough name for a Southern gentleman, but a Southern black gentleman?) Burnside never really needed a band, when he could a tune like this out of an old Danelectro and a portable amp...
Am in Hyde Park today to see Tom Petty, Stevie Nicks and support...sun is shining, beer is flowing, will be a cracking day of music
Watched them (now the "Acoustic Strawbs" last night at the New Forest Folk Festival. Songs great, playing still awesome, vocals a little like Dylan now (how they miss Sandy) but it was nice catching up with them after!
There have been a fair few bands where I initially liked them a lot and then I went off them, for various reasons. As mentioned before, Deep Purple, because Led Zeppelin came on the scene and made them sound second rate [to be fair, they did that to several]. But I went off Pink Floyd for a combination of two things. 1] I remember the comment a band member made in Live at Pompei - we do it for the money, which to an impressionable teenager was not what I wanted to hear. And 2] the music started to become a self indulgent dirge. So I tend to love anything from Meddle and earlier, and gradually less so afterwards until I couldn't ****ing stand them. Maybe I just missed Syd Barrett's influence more and more. Yes are another example. Trapped in an era of their own making, they became more and more self indulgent, but I was still willing to cut them some slack. Until Jon Anderson revealed that the mind boggling, if entertaining, lyrics had been all the time what I had begun to suspect - complete bullshit. The thing is, some of the purity of both Pink Floyd and Yes was gone, and I didn't have to try to like them anymore. But one thing I can't forget is the musicianship, the sound, and the memories. Here's Roundabout from that stonking album Fragile. I chose this because it was probably the first Yes track to blow me away. I remember my mates were still listening to The Sweet and Middle of the Road, for example, and this pulled them out of their slumbers. The other reason is you may know that I whistled it while walking away from Rick Wakeman after not giving him a single iota of recognition and unnecessary adulation:
For you then, @TheSecondStain Amongst a very talented bunch, a true genius. And amongst some real crazy cats (it was the sixties), a true eccentric.
I love The Madcap Laugs, Terrapin is one of the more sensible ones on the album too and that's saying something.
I found The Final Cut very self indulgent but enjoyed Momentary Lapse of Reason and the Division Bell when he'd gone. Strangely though I prefer Waters solo stuff to Gilmours (except the opera he did, not my cup of tea really).
