01	Benedictus						04:25
	02	Hey, Little Man...Thursday's Child						01:06
	03	Queen Of Dreams						05:31
	04	Heavy Disguise						02:53
	05	New World						04:13
	06	Hey Little Man...Wednesday's Child						01:07
	07	The Flower And The Young Man						04:18
	08	Tomorrow						04:49
	09	On Growing Older						01:56
	10	Ah Me, Ah My						01:25
	11	Is It Today, Lord?						03:07
	12	The Journey's End						01:45
	13	Here It Comes						02:43
	14	I'm Going Home						03:15

Dave Cousins (Vocals, Electric-Acoustic Dulcimer, Acoustic Guitar, Twelve String Guitar, Electric Guitar, Recorders)
Tony Hooper (Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Tambourine, Twelve String Guitar, Autoharp)
John Ford (Vocals, Bass, Acoustic Guitar)
Richard Hudson (Vocals, Drums, Cymbals, Tambourine, Sitar, Tablas)
Blue Weaver (Organ, Piano, Mellotron, Harmonium, Clavioline)


Date of Release Feb 4, 1972 (release) inprint

AMG EXPERT REVIEW: Fulfillment! Singer/songwriter Dave Cousin finds a space somewhere between Bob Dylan and John Bunyan, Hudson and Ford come up with some superb hooks, and the electric sound is powerful and majestic. The music is serious - perhaps too much so - bracing, and sincere, if a bit downbeat. Reissued on CD in 1998 in remastered form, which makes the band sound really loud and close, so you can practically feel the room ambience of the studio. Cousins' electric guitar in "The Flower and the Young Man" crunches right in your ear, and his acoustic fills the room in "On Growing Older," with new notes and two extra tracks. Of the latter, "Here It Comes" (recorded before this album) is bouncy and pleasant enough, even if it doesn't fit the mood of most of the original album, and the previously unissued "I'm Going Home" is one of the best hard rock sides the group ever recorded - a piece of '70s rock & roll in the manner of Badfinger's "Rock of Ages" and T. Rex's "Get It On," which it resembles. - Bruce Eder

1. Benedictus (Cousins) - 4:25
2. Hey, Little Man.... Thursday's Child (Cousins) - 1:06
3. Queen of Dreams (Cousins) - 5:31
4. Heavy Disguise (Ford) - 2:53
5. New World (Cousins) - 4:13
6. Hey, Little Man.... Thursday's Child (Cousins) - 1:07
7. The Flower and the Young Man (Cousins) - 4:18
8. Tomorrow (Blue Weaver/Cousins/Ford/Hooper/Hudson) - 4:49
9. On Growing Older (Cousins) - 1:56
10. Ah Me, Ah Me (Hooper) - 1:25
11. Is It Today, Lord? (Hudson) - 3:07
12. The Journey's End (Cousins/Weaver) - 1:45
13. Here It Comes (Cousins) - 2:43
14. I'm Going Home (Cousins) - 3:15


Dave Cousins - Dulcimer, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar, Guitar (Electric), Vocals, Producer, Engineer, Electric Dulcimer, Guitar (12 String Acoustic)
The Strawbs - Remixing
Trevor Lucas - Vocals
William Blake - Cover Art
Richard Hudson - Percussion, Cymbals, Drums, Sitar, Tabla, Vocals, Producer
Tom (Colonel) Allom - Engineer
Anne Collins - Vocals
Gus Dudgeon - Producer
John Ford - Guitar (Acoustic), Bass, Vocals, Producer
Tony Hooper - Guitar (Acoustic), Autoharp, Vocals, Producer
Martin Levan - Assistant Engineer
John Macksmith - Engineer
Tony Visconti - Producer
Blue Weaver - Organ, Piano, Harmonium, Keyboards, Producer, Mellotron, Clavioline
Roger Wake - Digital Remastering
Samuel Artis - Musician
John Tobler - Liner Notes
Frank Owen - Engineer
Jean-Luke Epstein - Remastering Graphics
Dave Lambert - Guitar, Vocals

1998 CD A&M 540934
CD A&M D18Y-4118
1972 LP A&M 4344


Strawbs - "Grave New World" (1972) Strawbs started in the late 60's as an acoustic folk-band. However, leader Dave Cousins had far higher ambitions than that, and they soon hired the then unknown Rick Wakeman to turn the group into a more progressive direction. But it was surprisingly enough AFTER Wakeman left to join Yes that Strawbs finally would develop their distinctive, melodic symphonic progressive rock with strong folk-roots. "Grave New World" was actually their 5th album but the first really progressive one, and it still remains the best of Strawbs' albums for many people. The songs on the album are rather short and not very complex for being progressive rock, and their strength lies in the very strong melodies and the delightful arrangements that are full of organ, Mellotron, tasty acoustic and electric guitar and beautiful folky vocal-harmonies. The excellent and thought-provoking lyrics of Cousins were another quality of the band. His lyrics revealed lots of social conscience and had often (especially on this album) religious overtones. "Benedictus" and "The Flower and the Young Man" are both two of Strawbs' most touching and beautiful songs, while the dramatic title-track with its genius twist in the lyrics ("Grave" instead of "Brave") was a harsh comment about the conflict in Northern Ireland. "Queen of Dreams" experiments a lot with backward-tapes and a really weird mid-part, even if the song itself is based in a rather simple and nice folk-melody with the beautiful Mellotron-flute on top. "Tomorrow" is the most conventional progressive track here (although not the strongest), and can remind a bit of heavy Genesis. There's also a bunch of very short acoustic pieces spread over the album, serving as nice breaks between the often darker tones of the main tracks. A stunning album and the triple gatefold sleeve has to be seen to be believed.