Delving into the dark depths of my often embarrassing, but frequently revealing, vinyl vaults I surfaced with Bursting At The Seams by Strawbs. This is an album I purchased in 1973 at the tender age of 15 – 3 full years before being blissfully corrupted by the evil of Punk.
Strawbs began life in the mid 1960s as bluegrass-folkies The Strawberry Hill Boys. Wisely shedding this cumbersome name they gradually evolved to a more Proggy Folk-rock style you hear on this record. The album title proved to be apt since it’s the sound of a band pulling in different directions and heading rapidly towards self destruct.
It contains the two hit singles for which the band are best known. ‘Lay Down’ reworks the 23rd Psalm (‘By still waters I lay down with the lamb’) into a rock anthem and was apparently conceived while under the influence of a magic mushroom laced motorway soup. ‘Part of the Union’ was written by (Richard) Hudson and (John) Ford as an topical comment on the growing power of revolting workers. Lyrically, it’s as subtle as a flying hammer and sickle as well as being one of those dire novelty tunes that gets progressively more irritating the more you hear it.
The power chords of the newly recruited Strawb Dave Lambert which feature so prominently on Lay Down are also well to the fore in the key track on the album – ‘Down By The Sea’. Here you also hear the song writing talents of founder, and leader, Dave Cousins. Like many of Cousins’ best songs, the track is built around contrasting moods rather than settling for the standard verse-chorus-verse structure. It opens and closes in epic style with a wistful mini ballad squeezed in between. The London Symphony Orchestra were recruited for the grand maelstrom finale.
I remember reading an interview with Cousins in which he said he never used the word ‘baby’, feeling it too clichéd. Despite this, he’s not beyond cringe-worthy lyrics like “I hear your heart beat like the wings of the wild goose, I smell your love on me” from Tears And Pavan.
However, he is redeemed by top rate tunes ‘Stormy Down’ and ‘The River’, both of which show his gift for matching emotional turmoil with natural imagery.
Bursting At The Seams isn’t the Strawbs’ best album – that would be a toss up between ‘From The Witchwood’ & ‘Grave New World’ – but it is the one I have a particular soft spot for. They were never a trendy band as their mutton dressed a lamb appearance of Top of The Pops well illustrates.
With the benefit of hindsight, I think I saw something of myself in their gawky lack of style and this is what drew me to them. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it!
