NEW STRAWBS ALBUM RELEASED - 26 FEB 2021  NEW 

Album release

This album is being released both on 180gm vinyl and on CD (the CD release has three extra tracks). For track details, see the Settlement album page. Preview reviews on reviews page.

Facebook users are beginning to report they've received their orders - not in East London or Middlesbrough - grrr!

Esoteric Records press release

"Settlement is the latest album produced by Strawbs, more than 50 years on from the band's first major label release. The album comes at a time of political and social upheaval, which the lyrics and melodies of the songs reflect. Undeterred by the fact that "business as usual" was not possible because of the global COVID-19 pandemic - working remote from one another, from their own home studios - Settlement is a remarkable achievement.

David Cousins, leader of the Strawbs says: "Settlement is something extraordinary. I can’t think of another band who can go from metal grunge to the lilt of an Irish ghost story - or from a song in 6/8 time to singing in 4/4 over a 5/4 backbeat - in half an hour." He goes on to say: "The lyrics reflect the times we have been living through: 'Once we went dancing through quicksilver days', or 'What the autocrats are selling you is Sturm und Drang', or 'All bear witness, come together, we are everyone'. I'm immensely proud of what we’ve achieved.”

Settlement is produced by Blue Weaver who played with Strawbs and Bee Gees in their 1970s heydays. The recording was coordinated from Blue's studio in Germany, where he now lives. Strawbs are David Cousins, Dave Lambert, Chas Cronk, Dave Bainbridge, and Tony Fernandez who last played together at Strawbs' 50th Anniversary Weekend in Lakewood, New Jersey in April 2019.

Strawbs' guests on Settlement are John Ford, another former member of Strawbs, who lives in New York, Cathryn Craig, with her lovely voice and unmistakable Southern lilt, who lives in Northern Ireland, and bass player Schalk Joubert, with whom David Cousins performed in South Africa at the beginning of the year.

Blue Weaver sums it up: "Strawbs dusted off their instruments and set up the necessary technology to make it happen - ranging from state-of-the-art recording equipment to an ironing board! It is unprecedented that a recording of this quality could be made without a single face to face meeting. There comes a time when every Settlement is due!"

Pre-ordering

CD: https://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/strawbs-settlement-cd-edition
180g Vinyl LP: https://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/strawbs-settlement-180g-vinyl-lp

Album previews

There are preview reviews from me and long time support Jon Connolly on the Settlement reviews page. Please don't just send your reviews and comments to Facebook - send them to me at:

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Added selection of online reviews.

Singles/downloads

Two singles released onto YouTube:

In addition, Strawbs have streamed the title track of their upcoming album Settlement exclusively with Prog magazine.

Videos

To promote Settlement the Strawbs have been releasing a series of videos onto Facebook and other social media. These are collected on Strawbsweb on the Settlement videos page, for ease of reference. Check them out - more to come .....