Skip to main content

Strawbs - Hero and Heroine

The Strawbs were an English group that dabbled in tasty genres like folk, progressive and glam rock. They are a band that I want... No! I need to dig into more.

Rick Wakeman played with them before departing for Yes in 1970. Not nearly as technical as other prog bands, The Strawbs incorporated the softer sounds of fantasy and psychedelic pop. Melody was at the forefront of their songs, unlike groups like King Crimson or ELP who were more invested in musical gymnastics. At times, vocalist David Cousins can sound like early Peter Gabriel, which I like.

There is nothing quite like the punch of mellotron combined with bombastic drums and wizard-like vocals. And that's what The Strawbs' "Hero and Heroine" delivers! Are you game for adventure? Suspend your scabbard from your baldric and bring along a flagon of wine. Here is the map for your journey. Click play and take the first step of your quest.



Comments

Trending Tracks

Sweet - Love Is Like Oxygen

I've always loved glam rock -- Bowie , The New York Dolls , Mott The Hoople ,  Queen , T. Rex . The flamboyant and gender-bending style. The attitude, sparkly and swagger. The first time I heard Sweet was Fox On The Run . It was my favorite song on the Dazed and Confused Soundtrack. I think it was the swirling, bubbling synthesizer that drew me in. At the time I had no idea that Sweet was a part of the 1970s glam world. Later, I found out that they sang Ballroom Blitz . That's the same band? Then, in college, I bought Action and fell in love with tunes like Lady Starlight and the title track . As I pieced together their discography (in a pre-Internet age), I noticed that the band's sound inexplicably wavered between hard rock, glam and bubble-gum pop. I could never put my finger on what Sweet was all about. I just loved a lot of their songs. This week, I picked up a copy of their 1977 album, Level Headed . The album is anything but steady (as the title would have yo...

Chilliwack - My Girl (Gone, Gone, Gone)

Imagine if the Beach Boys grew up in Vancouver and had a love affair with Hall & Oates at a Pablo Cruise party in Malibu. That's what Chilliwack sounds like to me. This is their biggest single, My Girl . According to my friend, Aaron from Toronto, this is a "classic from (his) youth." I picture Canadian kids in the early 80s cruising around at malls, eating poutine and wearing Chilliwack shirts. I know this is a total fabrication of my non-existent memory that is mostly rooted in watching Rush's video for Subdivisions one too many times. C'mon, let me have my dream. Meanwhile, you get your dose of Chilliwack. Are you hooked on Chilliwack? Go behind the scenes with them in this "decent" interview on American Bandstand. Why is Dick Clark giving Brian MacLeod such a hard time? Plus, the band records their albums on boats!!!!