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Grave New World
''Grave New World'' is the fourth studio album by English band Strawbs, their fifth overall. It was the first album to be released after the departure of Rick Wakeman, who was replaced by Blue Weaver, late of Amen Corner. Background Tony Visconti influenced Cousins to buy an I Ching book; Cousins used the book to decide what he should do after Wakeman had left the band. The answer was used in the lyrics for the first track on the album, "Benedictus". The songs themselves show the continuation of the movement away from Strawbs' original folk leanings. Founding member Tony Hooper began to be increasingly uncomfortable with this and left after the recording sessions of this album. The original vinyl album had lavish artwork and included a pamphlet showing the lyrics of each track together with details of instrumentation. The front cover is a reproduction of William Blake's ''Glad Day''. The album reached number 11 in the UK Albums Chart. Track listing Side one #"Benedict ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Strawbs
Strawbs (or The Strawbs) are an English rock band founded in 1964 as the Strawberry Hill Boys. The band started out as a bluegrass group, but eventually moved on to other styles such as folk rock and progressive rock. They are best known for their hit "Part of the Union", which reached number two in the UK Singles Chart in February 1973, as well as for "Lay Down", a popular progressive rock hit from the same LP. Strawbs toured with Supertramp in their "Crime of the Century" tour, doing their own "Hero and Heroine" tour, which drew musical similarities and themes. History Early days The Strawbs formed in 1964 as the Strawberry Hill Boys while the founder members were at St Mary's Teacher Training College, Strawberry Hill, London. The name was shortened to 'The Strawbs' for a June 1967 concert in which they wanted to display the band name on stage. Their long-time leader and most active songwriter is guitarist and singer Dave Cousins (guitar, dulcimer, banjo, vocals) (born ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tony Hooper
Anthony Hooper (14 September 1939 – 18 November 2020) was an English folk singer-songwriter and musician. He was best known as a founder-member of Strawbs together with Dave Cousins and double bassist Ron Chesterman. He left The Strawbs in 1972 after their album '' Grave New World'', when it became obvious that the band was moving further away from its folk roots towards rock and progressive rock. He rejoined for a 10-year stint in 1983. Hooper had been the guitarist in the Ceilidh and barn dance band, Pitchfork, since 1986, and was also a member of Misalliance. Hooper died on 18 November 2020, at the age of 81. ''Strawbsweb''. Retrieved 20 November 2020 Discography Albums Strawbs *''[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
On Growing Older
"On Growing Older" is a song by English band Strawbs written by Dave Cousins. The track first appeared on the ''Grave New World'' album, although it was written and recorded a few years earlier. The original recording was later released on the '' Strawberry Sampler Number 1'' album. Lyrical and musical content As befits its place on the album, the song describes "a regret for the waste of my youth" of a middle-aged person who nonetheless realises that they still have time to accomplish some of their ambitions. The imagery is pastoral and natural, similar to "Another Day" from the ''Dragonfly'' album or perhaps "A Glimpse of Heaven" from '' From the Witchwood''. The instrumentation is simple, and the jangling guitar sounds are evocative of The Byrds, of whom Cousins is a fan. Personnel *Dave Cousins – lead vocals, acoustic guitar *Tony Hooper – backing vocals, 12-string guitar *John Ford – bass guitar * Richard Hudson – drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Hudson (musician)
Richard William Stafford Hudson (born 9 May 1948) is an English musician who played drums and sitar for the Strawbs. He later joined forces with bassist John Ford to form a duo, Hudson and Ford, in which he played guitar and sang. Career Richard Hudson was a member of Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera, in which he played drums and sitar and sang. In 1970, he and band-mate John Ford joined Strawbs. Hudson and Ford began to co-write material which appeared to be aiming in a slightly different direction to the compositions of Strawbs' main writer, Dave Cousins. In 1973 after a 52-date tour to promote the album Bursting at the Seams, there were acrimonious exchanges (which both parties now regret). Hudson and Ford left to form Hudson Ford. Hudson at this point switched from playing drums to guitar and sang more lead vocals. The punk era sounded the death knell of many progressive rock acts, including Hudson Ford. Hudson, Ford and Terry Cassidy founded the mock punk group The Monks an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tomorrow (Strawbs Song)
"Tomorrow" is a song by English band Strawbs credited as a band composition with the main idea by Dave Cousins. The track first appeared on the '' Grave New World'' album. Lyrical and musical content In the sleeve notes to the 1998 CD release of '' Grave New World'', Dave Cousins revealed that the lyrics referred to his feelings of disappointment about Rick Wakeman and the way he had left the band, without a proper farewell. They are sung in a bitter almost vitriolic fashion. The music is dominated by electric guitar and organ, Cousins recalls that it was the first time he had played electric guitar on an album and felt comfortable with it. The song ends after an instrumental break; this was reproduced and extended as part of the 1972 live act. Personnel *Dave Cousins – lead vocals, electric guitar * Tony Hooper – acoustic guitar *Blue Weaver – Hammond organ, piano *John Ford – bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Flower And The Young Man
"The Flower and the Young Man" is a song by English band Strawbs written by Dave Cousins. The track first appeared on the ''Grave New World'' album. Lyrical and musical content The lyrics are a veiled reference to a love affair which Dave Cousins had had but did not want to reveal for risk of upsetting his family. The music features the clavioline, an early predecessor of the synthesizer. The song starts with an a cappella verse, followed by a verse sung by Tony Hooper. The chorus parts of the song are instrumental, featuring a heavy use of keyboards. The final verse is similar to the a cappella verse but with harmonium backing. Personnel *Dave Cousins – backing vocals, acoustic guitar *Tony Hooper – lead vocals, acoustic guitar *Blue Weaver – Hammond organ, Mellotron, Clavioline, harmonium *John Ford – backing vocals, bass guitar * Richard Hudson – backing vocals, drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cym ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hey Little Man
Hey or Hey! may refer to: Music * Hey (band), a Polish rock band Albums * ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014 * ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980 * ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the title song, 2009 * ''Hey! Album'', by Marvelous 3, 1998 * ''Hey'', by the Glitter Band, 1974 * ''Hey!'', by the Gruesomes, 1988 * ''Hey'', by Toni Price, 1995 * ''Hey: A Pixies Tribute'', a Pixies tribute album, 2003 EPs * ''Hey'' (EP) or the title song, by Le1f, 2014 * ''Hey!'', by Dzeko & Torres, 2012 * ''Hey!'', by the Regrettes, 2015 Songs * "Hey" (Andreas Bourani song), 2015 * "Hey" (Fais song), 2016 * "Hey" (Flow song), 2011 * "Hey" (Lil Jon song), 2010 * "Hey" (Mitchel Musso song), 2009 * "Hey!" (Masaharu Fukuyama song), 2000 * "Hey", by Alvvays from ''Antisocialites'', 2017 * "Hey", by Bic Runga from ''Drive'', 1997 * "Hey", by Crystal Bernard, 1999 * "Hey", by Gillmor, opening theme for the U.S. sitcom ''Unhitched'', 2008 * "Hey ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New World (Strawbs Song)
"New World" is a song by English band Strawbs written by Dave Cousins. The track first appeared on the ''Grave New World'' album. Lyrical and musical content The song is very much a companion piece of "The Hangman and the Papist" from the previous album '' From the Witchwood''. It tells of conflict and divided families and, like the earlier song, was prompted by the troubles in Northern Ireland. This is perhaps the first song from the band that could be described as progressive in instrumentation and arrangement, in particular the prominent mellotron brass and strings. Release history The song was released as a single in Japan instead of "Benedictus", which was relegated to the B-side. Personnel *Dave Cousins – vocals, acoustic guitar * Tony Hooper – acoustic guitar *Blue Weaver – Mellotron *John Ford – bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument simi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Ford (musician)
John Ford (born 1 July 1948) is an English musician. He relocated to the United States in the mid-1980s and now resides on the North Shore of Long Island, New York. Ford has toured and played with musicians such as Santana, Jimi Hendrix, Ritchie Blackmore, The Eagles, Frank Zappa, Marc Bolan/ T. Rex, Blue Öyster Cult, ZZ Top, RUSH, REO Speedwagon, Steppenwolf, King Crimson, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Billy Preston, Cat Stevens, Roy Harper and Dave Mason. His versatility has let him play a wide range of venues from folk clubs to large scale international rock venues. Biography Ford was born in the South West London district of Fulham and grew up in a household where his father played piano and his four sisters were singers. Ford went to a Church of England school, where church attendance was mandatory, and began singing there. When he was very young, his grandmother bought him a ukulele, then he got an Emenee toy Elvis Presley guitar and a guitar book; by the time he was 9, he had le ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heavy Disguise
"Heavy Disguise" is a song by English band Strawbs written by bassist John Ford. The track first appeared on the '' Grave New World'' album and features just John Ford from the band singing and accompanying himself on the acoustic guitar backed by "The Robert Kirby Silver Band" – i.e. a brass section arranged by Robert Kirby (who later became a Strawbs keyboard player). Ford has said in interview that the song was inspired by the rhythm of a Jethro Tull song he heard on the radio. The lyrical content was inspired by him seeing a news report of a Vietnamese demonstration at the US embassy, but also draws heavily from the situation prevalent in Northern Ireland at the time (in the same way that "New World" does). The song was originally entitled "IRA Meeting Blues". Personnel *John Ford – vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Queen Of Dreams
"Queen of Dreams" is a song performed by English band Strawbs and written by Dave Cousins. The track first appeared on the 1972 ''Grave New World'' album. Musical content The track has a psychedelic quality, due to the first two verses, where acoustic guitar chords were played in reverse order then tape-reversed to provide instrumental backing. The middle section features a solo on a dulcimer played through a fuzzbox, similar to the solo on another ''Grave New World'' Track "Benedictus". There follows a short section of special effects which then leads into a third verse, this time with a backing of conventional acoustic guitars. The song continues with a middle 8 section and an instrumental closing section, leading to a drum solo which fades out. Personnel *Dave Cousins – vocals, acoustic guitar, electric dulcimer *Tony Hooper – backing vocals, acoustic guitar *Blue Weaver – Hammond organ, Mellotron, piano *John Ford – bass guitar * Richard Hudson – drums A drum ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dave Cousins
Dave Cousins (born David Joseph Hindson; 7 January 1945) is an English musician who has been the leader, singer and most-active songwriter of Strawbs since 1967. Career Cousins is a founder member of the Strawbs, which started out as the Strawberry Hill Boys, playing bluegrass music, then moved on to folk, folk rock, and progressive rock. He also performs as an acoustic duo with Strawbs guitarist Brian Willoughby, and as Acoustic Strawbs with Willoughby (until August 2004), Dave Lambert and Chas Cronk (since September 2004). Cousins grew up in Chiswick, and in the 1970s returned to live there, rehearsing in Chiswick's Mawson Arms pub. He holds a degree in statistics and pure mathematics from the University of Leicester, and has also followed a career in radio. He was a producer for Denmark's Radio 1969–1979, was programme controller for Radio Tees (1980–1982), and the managing director of Devon Air in Devon (1982–1990). Since 1991, Cousins has been in charge of St. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |