Strawbs - From The Witchwood (1971) NZ 1st Pressing - LP/FLAC In 24bit/96kHz
Strawbs - From The Witchwood
Vinyl | LP Cover (1:1) | FLAC + cue | 24bit/96kHz | 900mb
Label: A&M Records/SAMLZ-934437 | Released: 1971 | Genre: Progressive-Rock
A1 A Glimpse Of Heaven 3:50
A2 Witchwood 3:20
A3 Thirty Days 2:50
A4 Flight 4:25
A5 The Hangman And The Papist 4:10
-
B1 Sheep 4:15
B2 Canon Dale 3:40
B3 The Shepherd's Song 2:50
B4 In Amongst The Roses 3:45
B5 I'll Carry On Beside You 3:10
Design, Art Direction – Roger Saunders
Engineer – Alan Harris, Bill Price, Chris Michie, John Punter
Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Autoharp, Tambourine – Tony Hooper
Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Dulcimer, Recorder – Dave Cousins
Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Bass Guitar – John Ford
Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Drums, Sitar – Richard Hudson
Piano, Organ, Celesta [Celeste], Mellotron, Synthesizer [Moog], Clarinet – Rick Wakeman
Producer – Tony Visconti
Notes
Released in a textured gatefold cover on a mustard A&M label.
The first cat # is on the label and the second is on the sleeve back and spine.
Vinyl | LP Cover (1:1) | FLAC + cue | 24bit/96kHz | 900mb
Label: A&M Records/SAMLZ-934437 | Released: 1971 | Genre: Progressive-Rock
A1 A Glimpse Of Heaven 3:50
A2 Witchwood 3:20
A3 Thirty Days 2:50
A4 Flight 4:25
A5 The Hangman And The Papist 4:10
-
B1 Sheep 4:15
B2 Canon Dale 3:40
B3 The Shepherd's Song 2:50
B4 In Amongst The Roses 3:45
B5 I'll Carry On Beside You 3:10
Design, Art Direction – Roger Saunders
Engineer – Alan Harris, Bill Price, Chris Michie, John Punter
Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Autoharp, Tambourine – Tony Hooper
Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Dulcimer, Recorder – Dave Cousins
Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Bass Guitar – John Ford
Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Drums, Sitar – Richard Hudson
Piano, Organ, Celesta [Celeste], Mellotron, Synthesizer [Moog], Clarinet – Rick Wakeman
Producer – Tony Visconti
Notes
Released in a textured gatefold cover on a mustard A&M label.
The first cat # is on the label and the second is on the sleeve back and spine.
Strawbs - From The Witchwood (1971) NZ 1st Pressing - LP/FLAC In 24bit/96kHz
Strawbs - From The Witchwood (1971) NZ 1st Pressing - LP/FLAC In 24bit/96kHz
Strawbs - From The Witchwood (1971) NZ 1st Pressing - LP/FLAC In 24bit/96kHz
This Rip: 2013
Cleaning: RCM Moth MkII Pro Vinyl
Direct Drive Turntable: Marantz 6170
Cartridge: SHURE M97xE
Amplifier: Sansui 9090DB
ADC: E-MU 0404
This LP: With the gentle sponsorship from valanion, thanks!
LP Rip & Full Scan LP Cover: Fran Solo
Password: WITHOUT PASSWORD
A glimpse of heaven indeed
"From the Witchwood" marked the start of the Strawbs transition in earnest from a primarily acoustic folk based band, to a prog rock orientated band with strong folk influences.
The album represents Rick Wakeman's last venture with the Strawbs, before he was headhunted by Yes. In retrospect, his keyboard skills whilst apparent, were somewhat suppressed in the Strawbs, with only brief displays of his virtuosity such as those on "Sheep" and "Glimpse of heaven". It was perhaps inevitable that when the opportunity arose, he would move on to a band where he would be afforded more room to exercise his skills. Rick Wakeman and Dave Cousins have however remained firm friends, collaborating more recently on the Strawbs flavoured "Hummingbird" album.
Wakeman does manage to add some wonderfully dramatic effects to "From the Witchwood", particularly with the menacing organ on "The hangman and the papist". The song is an incredibly powerful story of a hangman finding his next victim is to be his brother, who is to be punished for his religious beliefs. You can almost touch the raw emotion as Dave Cousins sings "forgive me God we hang him in thy name".
The opening track, "A Glimpse of heaven" has a hymnal quality to it, with church like organ and choir like vocals on the choruses. The brief keyboard solo has some effective phasing, something of a forgotten art these days.
The band's folk influences come to the fore on tracks such as "Witchwood", and "In amongst the roses", while "Cannondale" and "The shepherd's song" have a deeper, more haunting structure. "Sheep" is an out and out rocker, with a great If brief organ solo by Wakeman, leading into a reflective ending. Surely one of the only songs ever written about an abattoir?
The closing track "I'll carry on beside you" is a great sing-a-long, which especially lends itself to participation after a few beers!
In all, superb album, which finds the band exploring new pastures and starting their migration to a major prog folk band. Well worth seeking out.progarchives.com
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