The Strawbs, circa 1969
Listen/Download – The Strawbs – Or Am I Dreaming
Greetings all.
As I mentioned a while back, quite by the luck of the draw, I ended up with the very groovy Strawbs 45 you see before you when I recently purchased a larger lot of records.
My previous knowledge of the band was limited to their connection with Sandy Denny (who was a member of the group before her tenure with Fairport Convention).
Much more popular in the UK than the US (they had a big hit in the UK in 1973 with ‘Part of the Union’), the Strawbs morphed from an acoustic folk group (in their earliest days) through popsike, folk rock and prog.
Today’s selection ‘Or Am I Dreaming’ was their first 45, recorded in 1968 and released in 1969.
At the time, they were signed to the Scandinavian label Sonet, and their single (but not their LP) was picked up by A&M in the US.
There’s a story on their website that recalls how they had been unable to secure a deal in the UK (with their 45s being picked up for distribution by the Pye label) and when they walked into the record company offices there they were assumed to have come from the West Coast of the US.
‘Or Am I Dreaming’ doesn’t bring to mind California, but rather prime, late-period UK popsike in the Moody Blues vein.
Produced by Gus Dudgeon and arranged by Tony Visconti, ‘Or Am I Dreaming’ starts out with acoustic guitar, bass and flute and the voice of Dave Cousins (who wrote the song) but soon the arrangement becomes more dense, with electric bass, percussion and strings. The best part of the record comes at 1:09 where the tempo picks up and rocks a bit.
While it isn’t blatantly psychedelic, it certainly is of the time, and I wouldn’t hesitate to drop it into a UK psyche mix.
I mean, dig these lyrics:
The fragile gentle butterfly with multi-coloured wings
Settles on the toadstools in the midst of fairy rings
Midsummer sounds of tinkle bells as sweet Titania sings.
If that doesn’t carry you away, I don’t know what to say.
So dig it, and I’ll see you next week.
Peace
Larry
Iron Leg 
There’s a connection between Denmark and UK in the late sixties.. Another Dave Cousins song “Tell Me What You See In Me” was used by Danish band Day Of Phoenix for their 45, and that same song was recorded by Sandy and the Strawbs, with some guys from Culpeper’s Orchard on sitar and tabla.