2009-09-08
The Strawbs were one of my favorite bands in the 1970’s. It was easy to classify their music at that time as progressive folk. During the next decade the Strawbs became one of England’s finest rock bands that dared to touch on political issues of the day. In 2009 this band has come together 40 years after their first release with a CD I would classify as one of the finest art rock discs of the past decade. David Cousins who actually founded the band in 1964 is joined by long time alumni Dave Lambert who joined the band in 1972 and drummer Chas Cronk who has been involved with the band since the early 1990’s. Oliver Wakeman the eldest son of Rick Wakeman who was part of the Strawbs in the 1970’s before joining Yes. This CD will certainly appeal to fans of the early non commercial Genesis sound. David Cousins still brings current political issues into the music such as climate change, greed and corruption. The Strawbs have gone through many changes over the last 40 years but the quality of the music on “Dancing to the Devil’s Beat” shows a band that has many great years ahead of them. Reviewed By: Gregg SaurThe opinions expressed in these reviews are those of the individual volunteers that submitted the article and do not necessarily reflect the views of WYCE or GRCMC; nor its staff, donors, or affiliates.