Not the sum of its parts, but good enough!
Gareth Davies-Morris | San Diego, CA USA | 04/28/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"They may have become a cottage industry, but Blue Angel shows that the Strawbs are still a respectable artistic force. Not one for novices, this is certainly the most progressive Strawbs album since Heartbreak Hill, the posthumously released follow-up to Deadlines. Fans should know that Blue Angel is in great part a repackaging of the Cousins-Willoughby project The Bridge, but with enough new material and enough reworking of the old to make this stand as a "new" release. Backed up by a star lineup of ex-members from all periods (including Lambert, Hudson, Chas Cronk, Blue Weaver, & Rod Coombes), and featuring major contributions from vocalist Mary Hopkin, it includes all but two songs from The Bridge, plus new recordings of some old tunes: Cousins' solo epic Blue Angel, an acoustic Sealed With A Traitor's Kiss, a note-for-note retake of Lay Down, and a partial re-recording of the post-Deadlines single The King.
The playing and production are excellent, especially Willoughby's lead guitar, while the overall complexity of the songs is comparable to the two releases on Oyster, Deep Cuts and Burning For You. Further Down The Road and Morning Glory are mid-paced ballads in the same vein as the second half of Burning ... (though better), while Strange Day Over the Hill recalls Back In the Old Routine or Wasting My Time (though not as good!). Similarly, Oh So Sleepy (which dates from the Deep Cuts sessions, in fact), Do You Remember, and The Rhythm of The Night (aka Heat Of the Street) are loosely that same Little Sleepy / Charmer sort of pop-rock. Prog-heads will be happier with the title track (originally on Cousins' solo album Two Weeks Last Summer), There Will Come The Day (co-written with keyboard wiz Don Airey) and the acoustic ballad Cry No More, plus the almost Grave New World-ish The Plain, all of which provide a fair dose of the dark, melancholy prog that the Strawbs did at their best.
All in all, more prog-pop that prog-rock, but a strong release nonetheless. Fans will also enjoy Hummingbird, Cousin's recent collaboration with Rick Wakeman, which mines similar turf but in a more acoustic-duo setting, and with less success. The best moments of both records would have made a superb single album - but that's what CD burners are for!
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Track Listings (13) - Disc #1
