After the recording of the tapes which would eventually be released as All Our Own Work (and later Sandy And The Strawbs), Dave Cousins set out to find a UK record label (they were signed to Danish Sonet Records). However, Sandy Denny then decided to go back to her blossoming solo career, and subsequently joined Fairport Convention. US label A&M were just starting up a London office, and Sonet's head, Karl Knudsen, sent a copy of the Sandy tapes to a contact at A&M, and as a result the Strawbs became the first UK band signed to the label. They quickly recorded a single "Oh How She Changed"/"Or Am I Dreaming", which proved quite popular, and they settled down to make an album.

The album they initially put together was a pop masterpiece - however, A&M thought they'd signed progressive folkies rather than pop hopefuls, and, despite having spent large wedges of cash already, the Strawbs went back to the studio to record some more tracks. The album as released received critical acclaim, though not commercial success. The single from the album "The Man Who Called Himself Jesus" was, predictably, banned by the BBC. The outtakes from the intial sessions appeared on the limited pressing Strawberry Sampler No. 1 along with some other demos and rarities.

Vinyl album: AML-33,475 (mono); SAML-33,475 (stereo) (Festival, 1969) - deleted. Perhaps the only Strawbs album where dual mono/stereo versions have been produced. The Australian version of Strawbs is a single sleeve, exchanging the grey background behind the tie salad bowl for a creamy white (the scan here is cleaned up a bit).

On the reverse, instead of the Kew Gardens picture, there's plain text sleeve notes. Click on the back cover for a larger size version that is readable.

Thanks to Colin Field for sending scans of this rarity.

Early Strawbs Vinyl album (Canada only): SP9014 (A&M, 1974) 2LP set re-issues Dragonfly and Strawbs. The two discs are arranged with a side of Strawbs on one side and a side of Dragonfly on the other so that you can stack the discs on a multi-changer record player, and play one of the albums in sequence, then turn them over and do the same thing with the other album.

CD: SRMC 0088 (Si-Wan, 2000). Packaging is got up to look like the album (scans and 4pp sleeve notes supplied by yours truly). Outer cover is in colour, inside a booklet in black & white has front and back reproduced again, with the lyrics and photos from the vinyl album PLUS 3 additional unpublished shots from the Kew Gardens photo session. Two further non-contemporary photos are added to fill out the book - one of Cousins, Hud, John Ford and Blue Weaver (Dave playing his electric Danelectro, probably "Tomorrow") and the "Shine On Silver Sun" promo photo, with the Hero and Heroine band in poncy silk shirts and ties, arranged tastefully in a heap, which appears on the front of the recently issued collection, Tears And Pavan. The CD is done up to look like a mini-vinyl record, with the tie-salad motif as its label. Excellent job (specially the sleeve notes [grin]).

CD: PL 527 (Progressive Line (bootleg)). Standard jewel case CD, with inner (including lyrics) described below - NOT like the Si-Wan album facsimile styled release. No sleeve notes as written by me!

I'm indebted to Richard Poulin for detailed info about the PL version of Strawbs, which also uses the images used by Si-Wan for their release (which I provided !)

The cover is exactly the same as the A&M original vinyl that I still have, except of course for the A&M label at the left top. On the back , the song listing in white letters on a gray background, as a button list, not as a continuous line as in the original LP. No picture. In small type at the bottom, it says: Progressive Line is a division of Dole Music Inc., 135 Macleay Street, Potts Point, Sydney, NSW 2011. Licensed by Today Music, Inc., 194 Bulwara road, Sydney, NS 2007. Made in Australia.

Inside the 8-page booklet, p. 2, you find the same info that was on the back cover of the vinyl:. The members of the Strawbs are listed first. Then one paragraph below, you find the same text: 'Production Gus Dudgeon ....down to NOSRATI and his ARAB FRIENDS. a found on the vinyl. There's a B&W photograph I don't remember seeing anywhere before (certainly absent from the vinyl version I have, but dating back to the same period for sure) where you see DC (head to breast, wearing striped shirt) at the front, leaning against a tree trunk, with Ron Chesterman, second row, also leaning against the same tree. Both are looking serious but not sad. And I guess, the pair of legs in the rear must belong to TH... [DG - This is an unpublished photo, one of three which I scanned and supplied to Si-Wan for use in putting their CD release together]

Then all the lyrics on pp. 2 to 6 The three B&W pictures found inside the centerfold cover of the vinyl are found among the lyrics pages.

On p. 7, another B&W picture absent from the Strawbs vinyl [DG - see note above]. Same period, certainly the same photo session. Dave has this same striped shirt, and all three wear these shaggy fur or suede coats.... The picture at the back of the vinyl centerfold (sort of pink and blue) is absent from the Progressive Line CD.

The front side of the CD bears a B&W reproduction of the photograph seen on p. 7 of the PL booklet, with the words STRAWBS written with a font similar to that found on the cover of the vinyl and the CD.

CD: A&M 75302679. Long-awaited official 2008 re-issue on CD of this early Strawbs album with excellent sleeve notes by Mark Powell and three bonus tracks, "That Which Once Was Mine", "Poor Jimmy Wilson" (both previously unreleased) and "The Battle", which appeared on Taste - all recorded for John Peel's 'Top Gear' on BBC Radio 1, 12th January 1969. According to the Taste sleeve notes, "The Battle" features Rick Wakeman on keyboards and Ronnie Verrall on snare. Also some interview material with Dave and Tony.

Charts

UK Chart: not placed
US Chart: not released

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