The Strawbs

This chameleon of an album sounds more like ten different bands on a compilation than a unified Strawbs effort; fortunately, those ten bands are very good indeed. The album roars to life with spot-on imitations of Peter Gabriel in "To Be Free" and the Who in the windmilling riffs of "Little Sleepy." The bluesy torch song "Absent Friend" features some fine piano work and pensive electric guitar, while drummer Rod Coombes contributes a superbly withering (and still timely) blast at campaign finance and corruption in "A Mind of My Own." Rick Wakeman even shows up to pitch in a harpsichord part on the otherwise goofy throwaway "Tokyo Rosie." Unjustly neglected on its release by fans bewildered by the band's sudden reinvention of its sound, in retrospect this album easily stands among the best of their work. [Mercury's 2008 U.K. edition included two bonus tracks.] ~ Paul Collins, All Music Guide