Grave New World is the fourth studio album by English band Strawbs, their fifth overall. It was the first album to be released after the departure of Rick Wakeman, who was replaced by Blue Weaver, late of Amen Corner.
| Grave New World | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | February 1972 | |||
| Recorded | November 1971 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 36:31 | |||
| Label | A&M (UK) | |||
| Producer | Strawbs | |||
| Strawbs chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Grave New World | ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |  [2] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | D[3] |
Background
editTony Visconti influenced Dave Cousins to buy an I Ching book; Cousins used the book to decide what he should do after Wakeman had left the band. The answer was used in the lyrics for the first track on the album, "Benedictus".[4] The songs themselves show the continuation of the movement away from Strawbs' original folk leanings.[according to whom?] Founding member Tony Hooper was increasingly uncomfortable with this[according to whom?] and left after the recording sessions of this album.
The original vinyl album had lavish artwork and included a pamphlet showing the lyrics of each track together with details of instrumentation. The front cover is a reproduction of William Blake's Glad Day.
The album reached number 11 in the UK Albums Chart.[5][6]
Track listing
editSide one
- "Benedictus" (Dave Cousins) – 4:24
- "Hey Little Man ... Thursday's Child" (Cousins) – 1:06
- "Queen of Dreams" (Cousins) – 5:32
- "Heavy Disguise" (John Ford) – 2:53
- "New World" (Cousins) – 4:11
- "Hey Little Man ... Wednesday's Child" (Cousins) – 1:06
Side two
- "The Flower and the Young Man" (Cousins) – 4:17
- "Tomorrow" (Cousins, Tony Hooper, Ford, Blue Weaver, Richard Hudson) – 4:49
- "On Growing Older" (Cousins) – 1:56
- "Ah Me, Ah My" (Hooper) – 1:24
- "Is It Today, Lord?" (Hudson) – 3:07
- "The Journey's End" (Cousins, Weaver) – 1:46
Bonus tracks – A&M 1998 reissue CD
- "Here it Comes" (Cousins) – 2:42
- "I'm Going Home" (Cousins) – 3:14
"I'm Going Home" originally appeared on Dave Cousins's solo album Two Weeks Last Summer. This track is the first occasion on which Dave Lambert recorded with the band. He had occasionally been appearing on stage for encores, but after this album and the departure of Tony Hooper, Lambert joined the band full-time.
Personnel
edit- Strawbs
- Dave Cousins – lead vocals, backing vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, dulcimer, recorder
- Tony Hooper – lead vocals, backing vocals, acoustic guitar, autoharp, tambourine
- Blue Weaver – organ, piano, harmonium, mellotron, clavioline on "The Flower and the Young Man"
- John Ford – lead vocals, backing vocals, bass guitar, acoustic guitar
- Richard Hudson – backing vocals, drums, sitar, tablas
- Additional personnel
- Trevor Lucas, Anne Collins – backing vocals on "Benedictus"
- Robert Kirby – arranger ("Heavy Disguise")
- Tony Visconti – arranger ("Ah Me, Ah My")
The track "Ah Me, Ah, My" credits "The Gentlemen of the Chorus" with vocals and "Tony Visconti's Old Tyme Dance Orchestra" (actually the Ted Heath Orchestra) as musicians.
Recording
editRecorded mainly at Morgan Studios, London with additional work at Island Studios and Landsdowne Studios.
Produced by Dave Cousins, Richard Hudson, John Ford, Blue Weaver and Tony Hooper
- Tom Allom – engineer at Morgan Studios
- Martin Levan – assistant engineer
- Frank Owen – engineer at Island Studios
- John Mackswith – engineer at Landsdowne Studios
- Tony Visconti – producer, "Benedictus"
- Gus Dudgeon – original producer, "Ah Me, Ah My"
Charts
edit| Chart (1972) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[7] | 49 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[8] | 11 |
| US Billboard 200[9] | 191 |
Release history
edit| Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | February 1972 | A&M | stereo LP | AMLH 66078 |
| United States | February 1972 | A&M | stereo LP | SP 4344 |
| Japan | 1987 | A&M/Canyon | CD | D32Y3578 |
| South Korea | 1997 | Si-Wan | CD | SRMC 0075 |
| Worldwide | 1998 | A&M | remastered CD | 540,934-2 |
References
edit- Grave New World on Strawbsweb
- 30th anniversary article on Strawbsweb
- Sleeve notes CD 540,934-2 Grave New World
Notes
edit- ^ Grave New World at AllMusic. Retrieved 20 June 2011.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: S". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved 13 March 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
- ^ Dick Greener (2022). "Simple Perfection". strawbsweb.
- ^ UK Top 40 database Archived 17 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine. everyHit.com retrieved on 16 December 2008
- ^ "STRAWBS | Artist | Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 296. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
- ^ "Strawbs Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 20 July 2024.