DAVE COUSINS: GOING HOME
A&M, 1972

Release date: 15 Sep 1972 (UK)

Contents

Although not a Strawbs single per se, this Dave Cousins solo release is an important step in the Strawbs story, ushering in Dave Lambert to replace Tony Hooper and pointing the way towards "Lay Down" and singles chart success.

"Going Home" had originally been recorded as a Dave Lambert track. Cousins explained in 1975:

"Originally we recorded that as a single for Dave Lambert before he joined the group and we had the backing track left over it had cost a few bob, and I didn't have a single on the album, so we thought, well that'll do for a single. So we took Dave Lambert's voice off it, put my own on, and put it on the album Two Weeks Last Summer[Two Weeks Last Summer]. That was a compromise, it didn't really suit me for what I was doing, I didn't really want to do it but I did it. Shame, that."

Press releases at the time commented that Richard Hudson played drums on the track, and it is believed that Blue and John also played, thus effectively making it the first track ever recorded by the "BATS" line-up. NB. the album credits mention Cousins and "Lampoon" only.

The Cousins version was released as a single on 15 September 1972, backed with "Ways And Means". On album it opens rather abruptly as tapes have been spliced together, as a single that "feature" is missing. At the time it was Cousins' pride and joy, encapsulating for him the movement towards the rock-based music with which he wanted the Strawbs to conquer the US. It got played live as an encore, quite a lot, most famously to allow Lambert to guest with the Strawbs at festivals in late August 1972.

The original Lambert vocal version came to light during the compilation of the boxed set in 2005 and emerged on Disc 2 of A Taste Of Strawbs.

UK VINYL

Whilst the announcement that Lambert was to join the Strawbs and replace Hooper was not made until late September 1972, the text on the promo sleeve (presumably typed up before the release date of 15 Sep 1972) already refers to him as the Strawbs' new guitarist.

UK promo release
"Going Home" (Cousins)/
"Ways And Means" (Cousins)
(AMS 7032, A&M, 1972)

UK release
"Going Home" (Cousins)/
"Ways And Means" (Cousins)
(AMS 7032, A&M, 1972)

A nice copy from my collection, autographed by Dave Cousins.

ASIA PACIFIC VINYL

Japanese release (*)
"Going Home" (Cousins)/
"Ways And Means" (Cousins)
(AM 168, A&M, 1973)

This Japanese release comes with printed insert, with the picture taken from the front cover of the Two Weeks Last Summer album. Front of insert scan from Tim Cass.

Insert

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