Taste of Strawbs [Import]

Strawbs | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 6, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 4
• Format: Import
• Label: Witchwood Records
• ASIN: B000I6AFQU
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #364,455 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. The Grey Hawk [#]

2. The Cruel Wars (Higher Germanie) [#]

3. You Don't Think About Me [#]

4. Not All the Flowers Grow [#]

See all 19 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Tomorrow [#]

2. New World [#]

3. Here It Comes [#]

4. See How They Run [#]

See all 19 tracks on this disc

Disc: 3

1. The Merchant Adventurer [#]

2. Blue Angel [#]

3. Goodbye [#]

4. Deadly Nightshade [#]

See all 17 tracks on this disc

Disc: 4

1. Ringing Down the Years

2. Further Down the Road [#]

3. Heartbreak Hill [#]

4. Extravaganza on a Theme of Strawbs [#]

See all 17 tracks on this disc

Disc: 5

1. The Happiest Boy in Town

2. Draught Raga

3. Ways & Means

4. The Rip It off Blues

See all 16 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

4CD BOXSET. Inc bonus 5th CD with first 1000 pressing.This is the 25th Anniversary of the band. Disc1 BBC TRACKS 1966-71. Disc2 - singles and album tracks 1972-74. Disc3 1975-1988 live recodings, collaborations,solo tracks. Disc4-1990-2006 25th anniversary concert tapes inc the Chiswick house gig and other concerts from around the globe. Disc 5 rare and unreleased recording. Features 48 page colour book. Witchwood media 2006

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Just A Taste, Rather A Banquet, February 26, 2008

By 

Kurt Harding "bon vivant" (Boerne TX) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Taste of Strawbs (Audio CD)

If nothing else, A Taste of Strawbs is one of the most ambitious and eclectic musical compendiums I have ever had the pleasure to hear. Far from being a mere "taste" of the band, it is instead a sumptuous musical banquet that will satisfy the most ravenous glutton.

Those lucky few who have been Strawbs fans from the start will find a bewildering array of material they are unlikely to have heard before. Those who were just casual fans at one point or another in the band's career may often find themselves wondering whether or not they are listening to the same band as the music runs its course. There is something almost everyone can enjoy here and that speaks volumes about both the depth and breadth of bandleader Dave Cousins' talent. You will hear folk, prog-folk, bluegrass, country, pop, commercial rock, neo-classical, straight-ahead prog and even a little jazz. Listeners must come to this sprawling set with a very open mind and those that do will come away with their musical lives greatly enriched.

I was a lukewarm fan of the Strawbs back in their progressive rock heyday, my favorite Strawbs album at the time being Hero and Heroine. Beyond that, I liked Ghosts and Grave New World then kind of lost track of them until this decade when Deja Fou renewed my interest in the band. When I played A Taste of Strawbs through for the first time, I was astonished by the variety of styles Cousins and his bandmates have mastered. No listener could ever tire of the box set precisely because there are so many styles presented.

The four discs that comprise the main set run just over five hours total. Tack on another seventy minutes with the bonus disc and you get more than a quarter of a day's worth of enjoyable listening. In addition, you get a very attractive and informative booklet that features the history and discography of the band along with a slew of pictures and a song-by-song rundown on the four core discs. Most of the songs are alternate versions or demo takes on songs from Strawbs albums and related albums featuring Dave Cousins. Others are entirely new. But unless you have lived and breathed Strawbs music for the past forty years, chances are that you will never have heard ninety-five percent of what is here!

Obviously, I really like this box set. Here are some of the highlights:

Disc 1)Oh, How She Changed, The Battle, RMW, and Sheep.

Disc 2)Tomorrow, New World, and the medley of Out In the Cold/Round and Round.

Disc 3)Blue Angel, Deadly Nightshade, Armada, The Hangman and the Papist, and Evergreen.

Disc 4)Heartbreak Hill, Hero and Heroine, Canada, and Here Today, Gone Tomorrow.

Bonus Disc) Andalucian Express, If, Cold Steel, and the medley of The River and Down By the Sea.

No matter whether you are just a casual Strawbs fan or a die hard, you should find A Taste of Strawbs to be a box set you'll come back to again and again. The current price (about 90 dollars) is a huge bargain, so get it while it is still available.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "a four course meal of Strawbs would be more accurate, October 8, 2007

By 

Jim Z "music aficionado" - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Taste of Strawbs (Audio CD)

Not just a "taste" of Strawbs--- A four course full meal with dessert ! Have listened straight through six times----can't find a weak track on the whole blessed thing. Why can't music like this be more recognized and appreciated ?

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the best boxed set I`ve bought, July 11, 2007

By 

Mark Delmedico (Sauquoit,NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Taste of Strawbs (Audio CD)

This is the best boxed set I have bought,most boxed sets aren`t what you expect.This has some great out takes and alternate versions