Search - The Strawbs: Live in Tokyo '75/Grave New World: The Movie on DVD

A Good Concert from a Remarkable Band

R. Lindeboom | Paso Robles, CA USA | 12/16/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Strawbs Live in Tokyo '75 is a treasure in that it is probably the only live video recording of the greatest Strawbs line-up, featuring Dave Cousins, Dave Lambert, John Hawken, Chas Cronk and Rod Coombes. Cuts like Down By the Sea, New World and Hero and Heroine are stand-out tracks and make this a must-own for Strawbs fans. The extra bonus full-feature film of the earlier Grave New World album (which was created as the first-ever film of an album intended for play in cinema theaters) makes this an even more important record of a great band."

The Real Deal

R. Lindeboom | 06/21/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The Tokyo show features THE classic lineup of the prog version of the Strawbs (and they have reunited, BTW, to play this year's Nearfest - already sold out - and a few other gigs). The sound quality is mediocre and the mix is less than great (the mellotron in "Grave New World" is completely buried) but Dave Cousins sounds terrific and the entire band play very tightly. The GRAVE NEW WORLD album video is interesting, definitely worth seeing. It DOES contain some cringe-worthy dated imagery but as an historical document is of interest nonetheless. Oddly, they leave off "Queen of Dreams", making it an incomplete incarnation of the album. The other extras are fun as well, and for any Strawbs fan this is a necessary purchase."

Worth Buying

R. Lindeboom | 02/04/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Certainly worth the purchase for Strawbs fans. The Tokyo concert portion of the DVD is not bad, although the band seems a little tight, and the sound quality is only average.Cousins is in fine voice however, and Dave Lambert gets going towards the end of the show.
I found the Video for " Grave New World" much more interesting. Some great old footage of the band. At the very least you get the entire " Grave New World" album, if you dont already own it.
The DVD also includes 3 interesting bonus features, a clip from British TV of Cousins,Hooper,Chesterman (?) and Rick Wakeman from around 1970, a clip about the song "Grace Darling", and a 2002 video of a rather rotund Cousins and Rick Wakeman performing a song from "Hummingbird".
An interesting purchase for Strawbs fans, although some more liner notes would have been welcome."

A short but sweet look at the Strawbs in the early 1970s

Lawrance M. Bernabo | The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota | 07/29/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

""The Strawbs: Live in Tokyo '75" is an assorted collection of videos featuring the British progressive folk rock group. The titular concert is a bit more than a half-hour in time and consists of only eight songs: (1) "Lemon Pie," (2) "Remembering/You and I (When We Were Young)," (3) "New World," (4) "Impressions of Southall From The Train/The Life Auction," (5) drum solo; (6) "Hero and Heroine," (7) "Just Love," and, of course, (8) "Down by the Sea." As you can tell from the songs, the group was touring after the release of their "Ghosts" album in 1975. At that point the lineup consisted of David Cousins on lead vocals and acoustic guitar, Dave Lambert on vocals and lead guitar, Chas Cronk on bass, Rod Coombes on drums, and John Hawken on keyboards. There are lots of close ups of the group performing and if you watch closely there are a couple of moments where Cousins's eyes actually seem to respond to what he is singing.

I mention that because also included on this DVD is a "movie," entitled "Grave New World," which was the title of a 1972 album by the Strawbs. At that point the lineup was considerably different, with Cousins being joined by Tony Hooper on vocals and guitar, John Ford on bass, Richard Hudson on drums, and Blue Weaver on keyboards. So this DVD has the virtue of covering both of the key lineups in the group's history. The "movie" consists of what we would call proto-music videos for the album: (1) "Benedictus," (2) "Hey Little Man/Thursday's Child," (3) "It Is Today, Lord," (4) "New World," (5) "The Flower and the Young Man," (6) "On Growing Older," (7) "Ah Me, Ah My," (8) "Tomorrow," (9) "Hey Little Man/Wednesday's Child," (10) "The Journey's End," and "(11) "Benedictus Reprise." This is an odd assortment of "videos," both in terms of visual styles and what the group is wearing in some of them. The key thing is that you have some visual performances by the groups.

But, wait, boys and girls, there is still more. From 1970 there is what is supposedly the first television appearance by the Strawbs, playing "Til the Sun Comes Shining Through," which goes back so far that Rick Wakeman is on the piano (at this point I was wondering where was a clip of Sandy Denny singing with the Strawbs). Then there is an interview with Cousins in 1974 talking about "Grace Darling." This all takes place on a boat with the group smiling as they go sailing along. Then we jump all the way up to 2002 and "The Young Pretender," a cut from the "Hummingbird" album by Cousins, Wakeman, and Ric Sanders, which probably explains why these videos have been taken from the vault on put together on a DVD.

When I saw the Strawbs in concert it was around that same time (after the release of "Ghosts"), so it was fun to see now essentially what I say then. The Tokyo concert was in a more intimate setting, so the cameras can get close and personal. Whether it is because of where the concert took place and/or the time period involved, the audience is certainly respectful and you can forget the Strawbs are actually playing for people. Fortunately the price of this DVD is commiserate with its overall length, so that fans of the Strawbs will not feel like they are not getting a decent deal. Yes, we would like for there to be more, and we can all list songs we would have preferred to have them do than some of these choices, but it seems that this is what there was to be found so we can just be happy it has been preserved and packaged for our mass consumption."