Strawbs - From The Witchwood (1971, remastered 1998)
Review by Bruce Eder
This album was originally the weak link in the transition of the Strawbs from an acoustic folk-rock outfit to a progressive-folk band, being neither fish nor fowl and suffering from an anemic mix. The 1998 British reissue (A&M 540-939-2), however, solves some inherent problems that plagued both the original vinyl edition and the first CD reissues. The new remastering toughened up the bass sound, and brings out more of the sheer power of Rick Wakeman's organ and synthesizer playing, accenting the harder side of the group's sound that was obviously there in the studio but lacking in the analog mix. "A Glimpse of Heaven" and "The Hangman and the Papist," in particular, benefit from the remastering, and "Sheep" finally has the musical fury to match its lyrics. Dave Cousins' voice also comes off as really close, and the effect is to make this a much more potent album than it previously seemed. Overall, it's now far easier to visualize this recording as the step leading to full-blown progressive rock releases such as Grave New World, which followed. The disc includes one bonus track, John Ford's "Keep the Devil Outside," which has an acoustic opening and a hard rock break and finale, which was cut at these same sessions, and which turned up months later as the B-side of "Benedictus," a single drawn from the next album.
Tracklisting
01 A Glimpse Of Heaven
02 Witchwood
03 Thirty Days
04 Flight
05 The Hangman And The Papist
06 Sheep
07 Cannondale
08 The Shepherd's Song
09 In Amongst The Roses
10 I'll Carry On Beside You
11 Keep The Devil Outside
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