From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V11 #136 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Monday, May 16 2005 Volume 11 : Number 136 Today's Subjects: ----------------- RE: Happy live, Sleater-Kinney ["Bill Mazur" ] Ectofest West ["Xenu's Sister" ] Re: Ectofest West ["Xenu's Sister" ] Re: Ectofest West [raven@igc.org] Re: Ectofest West [Troy J Shadbolt ] Re: Ectofest West [neal copperman ] Re: Speaking of Peter Gabriel era Genesis... ["Xenu's Sister" ] RE: Speaking of Peter Gabriel era Genesis... [Bernie Mojzes ] RE: Ectofest West ["Bill Mazur" ] Re: cheering myself up (more prog stuff) [Bernie Mojzes ] Re: cheering myself up (more prog stuff) [neal copperman ] Strawbs review/overview (WAS: RE: cheering myself up (more prog stuff) ["] RE: Strawbs review/overview (WAS: RE: cheering myself up (more prog stuff) ["Bill Mazur" Subject: RE: Happy live, Sleater-Kinney I agree with you Robert! Happy was such a trooper and we were all very thankful that she still chose to go through with the show. Based on what I have read on the Auntie Social web site, Happy feels that her EFW performance was a disaster. It is understandable that she would feel that way with everything she was dealing with on that day and afterwards. With that being said, I completely agree with Raven that Happy's EFW performance was just so amazing! I wonder what it would be like to see Happy on a night where she feels she was spot on. I feel like the horrible and unfortunate events of the day allowed Happy and her brilliant bandmates to rise to the occasion. They rearranged the songs at the last minute. The circumstances of the day gave all of the song arrangements a raw and essential edge. There was real emotional power on some songs ("Feed the Fire", "One and Many", "I'm Going Back") and tenderness on others ("Just Like Tivoli", "The Chosen One") within the framework of Happy's performance that evening. That was the first chance many of us got to hear songs like "One and Many", "Here and Hereafter" and "The Chosen One". Musicians can be their own worst critics. I know that I have come off of the stage feeling like I played really poorly and people are coming up to me telling me how great the band and I sounded that night. - -----Original Message----- From: owner-ecto@smoe.org [mailto:owner-ecto@smoe.org] On Behalf Of robert bristow-johnson Sent: Saturday, May 14, 2005 8:44 PM To: ecto@smoe.org Subject: Re: Happy live, Sleater-Kinney on 05/14/2005 18:26, raven@igc.org at raven@igc.org wrote: > At 10:43 PM 05/12/2005, Bill Mazur wrote: >> I got to see Happy once at EFW. So I am jealous of you folks >> on the East Coast that have seen Happy a number of times. >> I truly hope that I can see her again! > > I was also at EctoFest West, an amazing evening, and the only > time I have ever seen Happy... I have all of Happy's CDs, but > was not prepared for how GREAT she is live, a stunning night! and even more incredible considering the handicap that she suffered only hours before the gig! (i did not see that show, only read the stories.) - -- r b-j rbj@audioimagination.com "Imagination is more important than knowledge." ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 15 May 2005 00:17:00 -0700 (PDT) From: "Xenu's Sister" Subject: Ectofest West - --- Bill Mazur wrote: > That was the first chance many of us got to hear songs > like "One and Many", "Here and Hereafter" and "The Chosen > One". WHAT?? She played One and Many and Here and Hereafter at Ectofest West and I'm just now hearing about this?? The Chosen One isn't surprising, she's been doing that live for decades, but the others?? *faints dead away* *wakes up, looks around, remembers, cries* Please, PLEASE send me a playlist. I've never heard this show and I just realized I have no information for the new pages I'm doing. For "Ectofest West" I have this: Set List: ? Lineup: ? Openers: ? And that's how it will stay until I GET A SET LIST FROM SOMEONE WHO WAS THERE. *breaks down sobbing* *regains composure* I was going to ask for that next. I realized it's not on the list I sent that meth went through. Who was there with Happy? Who all was on before Happy? I remember that Vede Hille was one of them. Who else? I am doing the Project Lo pages now, but I'm having to cut and paste from the only show I have a playlist for, the Brass City Records show. I'll assume the playlists were the same for all the Lo shows until I hear otherwise. And these, don't EVEN get me started on these: The Urban Muse - Denville, NJ - November 5, 2003 Quiet Storm Coffeehouse - Denville, NJ - November 5, 2003 Beachland Ballroom - Cleveland, OH - November 8, 2003 Phantom shows that no one went to. Drives me nuts! Why oh why oh why didn't I do this a long time ago, and keep up? I'm not very good at this being a fan business. Sigh. Vickie (unstable, and close to the edge of bonkerdom) This is a signature. It's a friendly signature. But it doesn't like seeing SPAM next to its owner's name. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 15 May 2005 00:21:37 -0700 (PDT) From: "Xenu's Sister" Subject: Re: Ectofest West Oops, I cut and pasted from a list that was wrong instead of the corrected version: Quiet Storm Coffeehouse - Pittsburgh, PA - November 5, 2003 V This is a signature. It's a friendly signature. But it doesn't like seeing SPAM next to its owner's name. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 15 May 2005 01:22:47 -0700 From: raven@igc.org Subject: Re: Ectofest West At 12:17 AM 05/15/2005, Xenu's Sister wrote: > > Who all was on before Happy? > I remember that Vede Hille was one of them. Who else? See (http://www.geocities.com/bab_news/schedule_2001.html#ectofestwest) Veda cried in joy after her set, because the piano was so incredibly wonderful, she had never played a piano like the one at the Kuumbwa. - -- John ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 15 May 2005 07:45:56 -0700 From: Troy J Shadbolt Subject: Re: Ectofest West from the murky depths of my memory... Wendy Rule opened the night by casting a circle. Jill Tracy and the Malcontent Trio performed a set of her Victorian Macabre. After a few years of seeing Jill in small gigs, this was the first time I got to see her with backup. Evil Night Together went on to win the first SIBL Project contest. Cyoakha and components of two of her bands performed a very fluid "jam band" sort of set. I was seriously exhausted after the set there was so much energy being poured out. Veda Hille played an amazing set that really blew everyone away and sent her running off stage in tears. Veda really did show the power of one person and her instruments of choice. After two chords of "Evolver" on that grand piano I was hooked. Happy and the guys came out and performed a truly "rip your guts out" set that showed us all what real performers can do in a bad situation. I think she started with Feed the Fire, but honestly, I was so happily numb once she started playing she probably could have read the phone book and I would have been happy. I remember "Chosen One" was in the set list. - -troy Two Loons for Tea was a no show. > At 12:17 AM 05/15/2005, Xenu's Sister wrote: >> >> Who all was on before Happy? >> I remember that Vede Hille was one of them. Who else? > > See (http://www.geocities.com/bab_news/schedule_2001.html#ectofestwest) > > Veda cried in joy after her set, because the piano was > so incredibly wonderful, she had never played a piano > like the one at the Kuumbwa. > - --- troy j shadbolt www.voyuz.net ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 15 May 2005 09:26:56 -0600 From: neal copperman Subject: Re: Ectofest West And Neile Graham read poetry :) neal np: palm wine boys - palm wine boys At 7:45 AM -0700 5/15/05, Troy J Shadbolt wrote: >from the murky depths of my memory... > >Wendy Rule opened the night by casting a circle. > >Jill Tracy and the Malcontent Trio performed a set of her Victorian >Macabre. After a few years of seeing Jill in small gigs, this was >the first time I got to see her with backup. Evil Night Together >went on to win the first SIBL Project contest. > >Cyoakha and components of two of her bands performed a very fluid >"jam band" sort of set. I was seriously exhausted after the set >there was so much energy being poured out. > >Veda Hille played an amazing set that really blew everyone away and >sent her running off stage in tears. Veda really did show the power >of one person and her instruments of choice. After two chords of >"Evolver" on that grand piano I was hooked. > >Happy and the guys came out and performed a truly "rip your guts >out" set that showed us all what real performers can do in a bad >situation. I think she started with Feed the Fire, but honestly, I >was so happily numb once she started playing she probably could have >read the phone book and I would have been happy. I remember "Chosen >One" was in the set list. > >-troy > >Two Loons for Tea was a no show. > >>At 12:17 AM 05/15/2005, Xenu's Sister wrote: >>> >>> Who all was on before Happy? >>> I remember that Vede Hille was one of them. Who else? >> >>See (http://www.geocities.com/bab_news/schedule_2001.html#ectofestwest) >> >>Veda cried in joy after her set, because the piano was >>so incredibly wonderful, she had never played a piano >>like the one at the Kuumbwa. >> >--- >troy j shadbolt >www.voyuz.net ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 15 May 2005 09:46:35 -0700 (PDT) From: "Xenu's Sister" Subject: Re: Speaking of Peter Gabriel era Genesis... Bill asked: > Has anyone here seen the band Musical Box? Yes! Chris and I went to see their Lamb show a few months ago. It's the first time they'd been to Chicago, as far as I know, because I was lamenting not seeing the Selling England show because I didn't know about them (and Selling England was the first Genesis show I saw), and someone who overheard me said not to feel too bad, they hadn't come to Chicago for that one. I became a Genesis fan when I saw them perform on a show called Midnight Special. I'd never heard of them, but according to the TV Guide, Todd Rundgren was supposed to be on and that's why I watched. I was stunned. I'd never seen or heard anything like it. It's the kind of personal experience that means nothing to anybody else, but the gist is univeral to anyone who's had the experience. Before that I was a Top 40 teenybopper, just getting into things like Black Sabbath, the James Gang and Jimmie Spheeris. I was only barely starting to step out of the mainstream of pop and bubblegum. I didn't have a musical passion and I needed one. Seeing this odd man, Peter Gabriel I found out later, wearing these bizarre costumes, but, more important, hearing this music that wasn't like ANYTHING I'd ever heard before, was a revelation. It was complex and fascinating and utterly new to me. THIS was what I'd been looking for! I didn't even know it! It was pure magic, seared into my soul. The only other times I've felt like that were when I first heard Kate Bush (within 10 seconds I was intrigued, 30 seconds I was in love, and a minute in I was on a life-long love affair), and when I heard Happy. Of course. Being a Peter Gabriel/Genesis fan was what led me to Kate (and Chris!) which led me to Happy, so that night watching TV had a profound effect on my life. (I think I wrote this recently) I saw the original Lamb tour too, but remembered very little of it. In the first place, it was the most amazing show I've ever seen, before or since. Second, I hadn't yet gotten the Lamb album, so I wasn't familiar with the music at all. I didn't even know that it was a "concept" album, let alone what the concept was. See, I lived in a small town where it was an 80-mile round trip just to get to a record store that would be likely to carry something as obscure as Genesis (boy that sounds weird, doesn't it? but yeah, they honestly really used to be obscure). Of course I got the album as soon as possible and played it to death, learning every note and every word (it's still my favorite Genesis album), but by then it was too late. If I'd known the album well when I saw the show, I would have understood what I was seeing and hearing. As it was, it was just a jumble of costumes and lights and bizarre (but wonderful) music. Third, I was higher than one of Jeff's kites, and it was pret-ty good acid. For years I remembered the show as flashes of light, sound, images and it was, well, a jumble. Seeing The Musical Box re-create The Lamb show was wonderful because it all made sense to me, finally. We had terrible seats though, way up in the balcony and way over to the side so we didn't get to see all the the screen images, and when "Rael" was on the podium on the right back part of the stage, we couldn't see him at all. I only knew there was a podium there because I stood up and craned my body over a railing to see what was going on. I immediately sat back down, not wanting to be in the way of the people behind us. Still, it was 90% brilliant and 10% sounds great, but what's going on? If they ever come back, I'm going to make sure we get better seats. Vickie (Boring Old Fart Wannabe) This is a signature. It's a friendly signature. But it doesn't like seeing SPAM next to its owner's name. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 15 May 2005 13:14:45 -0400 From: Jeffrey Burka Subject: Re: Speaking of Peter Gabriel era Genesis... vickie sez: > Third, I was higher than one of Jeff's kites heh. sitting at my 'puter, reading this while I happen to be folding some ripstop to use as edge binding on the kite I'm currently building. All this talk of The Musical Box makes me really want to see them. The only time I've seen Genesis was on the Invisible Touch tour, and although I loved it (if I remember correctly, they played "Los Endos"), I rather regret the fact that I was 5 years old when they toured for Lamb. jeff n.p. _The Belly of an Architect_, Wim Mertens (about whom I learned from one of the happy gift project tapes around 13 years ago!) ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 15 May 2005 19:54:08 +0100 From: Adam K Subject: cheering myself up (more prog stuff) A vicious weekend, climaxing in a most appalling production of The Tempest performed in the cold and discomfort of The Globe, for which there is only one recourse: on hearing of yet another VdGG gig at the Shepherd's Bush Empire on July 8th, I sign up right away. As for a Genesis reunion -- no, I don't think so. Much as I treasure my early Genesis albums and think that Foxtrot and Nursery Cryme (not to mention Genesis Live) are monumental triumphs of musicality, passion, ambition and imagination, I can't imagine them getting the old magic back. I think tribute bands are the best way to go for this. I know it's Heritage Gigging, but what the hell. Over here, you get a band called Re-Genesis who are supposed to be good. I seem to remember, in the 70s, a band that used to tour New England called Harlequin who did all the prog-rock faves. I, meanwhile, in an effort to make sense of my otherwise empty life, have given my man Pendergast a break from dusting off my 78's and had him fetch me some contemporary music, to wit: the latest from Rufus Wainwright, Ben Folds, Tom McRae and, um, Bloc Party. I fear the latter was his idea. My jukebox jury is very much still out. adam k. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 15 May 2005 16:46:29 -0400 (EDT) From: Bernie Mojzes Subject: RE: Speaking of Peter Gabriel era Genesis... On Sat, 14 May 2005, Bill Mazur wrote: > Dear Geoff, Mark and Andrew, > > Thanks for your replies on my question and my post. Part of why I asked > the question was because of the comment Vickie made about how she would > feel about Genesis reforming (with the classic line up of Gabriel, > Hackett, Banks, Rutherford and Collins). I actually have the sense that > seeing Musical Box would be more magical and nostalgic for me than > actually seeing a reformed Genesis. I don't think any of them are really > that into their old music that much. > > In reading interviews with members of the classic Genesis line-up over > the years, they all seem to feel that they have done better music since > then that 1973 to 1975 era. Those days, from their perspective, were > their youth and apprenticeship and that they grew up as men and > musically from that point on. > That may be true for the most part, but something I heard from Tony Banks back in the late 80s or early 90s leads me to think he breaks from the mold. He was complaining in an interview that he had to do soundtracks because nobody would let him write genesis songs anymore, because they weren't "commercial" enough. "Supper's Ready" was his favorite Genesis song, he told the interviewer. "I like long songs," he said, "and it's the longest." (disclaimer: all the alleged quotes are paraphrases from a 15 or so year old memory) - -- brni i don't want the world, i just want your half. www.livejournal.com/~brni ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 15 May 2005 14:42:52 -0700 From: "Bill Mazur" Subject: RE: Ectofest West Ectofest West Kuumbwa Jazz Center; Santa Cruz, CA June 9, 2001 The Line-up: Please refer to Troy's post. It was perfect! Happy and Her Band: Happy Rhodes - Vocals, Keyboards, Sequences Eric Nicholas - Guitars Carl Adami - Bass Bob Muller - Drums, Percussion, Electronic Percussion The Set List: 1) Feed the Fire 2) Out Like A Lamb 3) One and Many 4) All Things (Mia Ia Io) 5) Down, Down 6) Given In 7) I'm Going Back 8) Here & Hereafter 9) Just Like Tivoli 10) Roy 11) The Chosen One (Encore 1) 12) Serenading Genius (Encore 2) I had loaned some of my guitar equipment for Eric to use for the show. Eric played his Fender Telecaster, Happy's acoustic nylon string and my Takamine 6-string acoustic through my Mesa/Boogie Studio Caliber amp. Eric played my Takamine on "The Chosen One". - -----Original Message----- From: owner-ecto@smoe.org [mailto:owner-ecto@smoe.org] On Behalf Of Xenu's Sister Sent: Sunday, May 15, 2005 12:17 AM To: Ecto Subject: Ectofest West - --- Bill Mazur wrote: > That was the first chance many of us got to hear songs > like "One and Many", "Here and Hereafter" and "The Chosen > One". WHAT?? She played One and Many and Here and Hereafter at Ectofest West and I'm just now hearing about this?? The Chosen One isn't surprising, she's been doing that live for decades, but the others?? *faints dead away* *wakes up, looks around, remembers, cries* Please, PLEASE send me a playlist. I've never heard this show and I just realized I have no information for the new pages I'm doing. For "Ectofest West" I have this: Set List: ? Lineup: ? Openers: ? And that's how it will stay until I GET A SET LIST FROM SOMEONE WHO WAS THERE. *breaks down sobbing* *regains composure* I was going to ask for that next. I realized it's not on the list I sent that meth went through. Who was there with Happy? Who all was on before Happy? I remember that Vede Hille was one of them. Who else? I am doing the Project Lo pages now, but I'm having to cut and paste from the only show I have a playlist for, the Brass City Records show. I'll assume the playlists were the same for all the Lo shows until I hear otherwise. And these, don't EVEN get me started on these: The Urban Muse - Denville, NJ - November 5, 2003 Quiet Storm Coffeehouse - Denville, NJ - November 5, 2003 Beachland Ballroom - Cleveland, OH - November 8, 2003 Phantom shows that no one went to. Drives me nuts! Why oh why oh why didn't I do this a long time ago, and keep up? I'm not very good at this being a fan business. Sigh. Vickie (unstable, and close to the edge of bonkerdom) This is a signature. It's a friendly signature. But it doesn't like seeing SPAM next to its owner's name. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 15 May 2005 14:43:09 -0700 From: "Bill Mazur" Subject: RE: Ectofest West And Phil Hudson was a great MC and told some corny jokes in his charming way so he was still able to get everyone to laugh. Just a side note: It was great to meet Veda Hille. She is a very humble and sweet lady. - -----Original Message----- From: owner-ecto@smoe.org [mailto:owner-ecto@smoe.org] On Behalf Of neal copperman Sent: Sunday, May 15, 2005 8:27 AM To: ecto@smoe.org Subject: Re: Ectofest West And Neile Graham read poetry :) neal np: palm wine boys - palm wine boys At 7:45 AM -0700 5/15/05, Troy J Shadbolt wrote: >from the murky depths of my memory... > >Wendy Rule opened the night by casting a circle. > >Jill Tracy and the Malcontent Trio performed a set of her Victorian >Macabre. After a few years of seeing Jill in small gigs, this was >the first time I got to see her with backup. Evil Night Together >went on to win the first SIBL Project contest. > >Cyoakha and components of two of her bands performed a very fluid >"jam band" sort of set. I was seriously exhausted after the set >there was so much energy being poured out. > >Veda Hille played an amazing set that really blew everyone away and >sent her running off stage in tears. Veda really did show the power >of one person and her instruments of choice. After two chords of >"Evolver" on that grand piano I was hooked. > >Happy and the guys came out and performed a truly "rip your guts >out" set that showed us all what real performers can do in a bad >situation. I think she started with Feed the Fire, but honestly, I >was so happily numb once she started playing she probably could have >read the phone book and I would have been happy. I remember "Chosen >One" was in the set list. > >-troy > >Two Loons for Tea was a no show. > >>At 12:17 AM 05/15/2005, Xenu's Sister wrote: >>> >>> Who all was on before Happy? >>> I remember that Vede Hille was one of them. Who else? >> >>See (http://www.geocities.com/bab_news/schedule_2001.html#ectofestwest) >> >>Veda cried in joy after her set, because the piano was >>so incredibly wonderful, she had never played a piano >>like the one at the Kuumbwa. >> >--- >troy j shadbolt >www.voyuz.net ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 15 May 2005 17:52:13 -0400 (EDT) From: Bernie Mojzes Subject: Re: cheering myself up (more prog stuff) On Sun, 15 May 2005, Adam K wrote: > A vicious weekend, climaxing in a most appalling production of The > Tempest performed in the cold and discomfort of The Globe, for which > there is only one recourse: on hearing of yet another VdGG gig at the > Shepherd's Bush Empire on July 8th, I sign up right away. bah. i had to sit through an atrocious rendition of gilbert & sullivan's "ruddigore" - a musical that horrified even fans of gilbert and sullivan so much that it was never performed again during their lifetimes. and did *i* get to see VdGG? no. so go ahead, cheer yourself up at my expense. see if i care. *pouts dramatically* - -- brni i don't want the world, i just want your half. www.livejournal.com/~brni ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 15 May 2005 23:04:16 +0100 From: "Kevin" Subject: Re: cheering myself up (more prog stuff) Ah, an Ecto thread about ancient Genesis! I knew it would turn up if I stayed subscribed for long enough... Yes, The UK does have ReGenesis, I've seen them 3 times now, and they're truly excellent. They use authentic instruments (including vintage synths and even a mellotron) to get the exact sound that Genesis used to produce 30 years ago - but of course through a modern PA, so I'm convinced it sounds even better than the original. For me, Selling England by the Pound is the best of the Peter Gabriel period. If you're unfamiliar with it, you owe it a listen - it's an excellent album for summer, so now's the time to discover it. And if you're into 20C English poets, you'll appreciate The Cinema Show, Genesis's take on Eliot's The Waste Land. Kevin Ball *********** REPLY SEPARATOR *********** On 15-May-2005 at 19:54 Adam K wrote: >A vicious weekend, climaxing in a most appalling production of The >Tempest performed in the cold and discomfort of The Globe, for which >there is only one recourse: on hearing of yet another VdGG gig at the >Shepherd's Bush Empire on July 8th, I sign up right away. > >As for a Genesis reunion -- no, I don't think so. Much as I treasure my >early Genesis albums and think that Foxtrot and Nursery Cryme (not to >mention Genesis Live) are monumental triumphs of musicality, passion, >ambition and imagination, I can't imagine them getting the old magic >back. I think tribute bands are the best way to go for this. I know >it's Heritage Gigging, but what the hell. Over here, you get a band >called Re-Genesis who are supposed to be good. I seem to remember, in >the 70s, a band that used to tour New England called Harlequin who did >all the prog-rock faves. > >I, meanwhile, in an effort to make sense of my otherwise empty life, >have given my man Pendergast a break from dusting off my 78's and had >him fetch me some contemporary music, to wit: the latest from Rufus >Wainwright, Ben Folds, Tom McRae and, um, Bloc Party. I fear the latter >was his idea. My jukebox jury is very much still out. > >adam k. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 15 May 2005 16:41:07 -0600 From: neal copperman Subject: Re: cheering myself up (more prog stuff) In a similar vein (I think), I am putting on a concert with The Strawbs on Thursday. I've read their history, but oddly enough, don't know ANY of the old music. I know Sandy Denny recorded an album with them pre-Fairport. I know Rick Wakeman was introduced to the world as a member of the Strawbs before joining Yes. I know they were big in the UK but had some US FM radio play, which I think I missed entirely. Oddly enough, I have spent a fair amount of time with their recent albums. They have a classic feel, stately with interesting arrangements and lyrics. Dave Cousins vocals remind me a lot of Roy Harper. It should be an interesting evening. I'm looking for Strawbs endorsements to send out to my mailing list. Anyone game? neal np: Crossbreeding Begins At Home - Slim Cessna's Auto Club, Munly & the Lee Lewis Harlots, Tarantgella nr: The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 15 May 2005 16:29:03 -0700 From: "Bill Mazur" Subject: Strawbs review/overview (WAS: RE: cheering myself up (more prog stuff) Neal, I hope that this helps. Edit as you see fit for your endorsement. I love the Strawbs. They are one of the finest English folk bands that came out of the same fertile era of the late 60s that produced Fairport Convention, Pentangle and Steeleye Span. In the mid to late 70s the Strawbs became a well respected and critically acclaimed progressive rock band that still stayed faithful to their British folk roots. David Cousins, the Strawbs main writer and leader, is a beautiful and inspired songwriter and lyricist. His singing is warm and inviting. The tone of David's voice and his phrasing does remind me of Roy Harper and a little bit of a softer and folkier Peter Gabriel as well. My favorite recordings from The Strawbs are "From the Witchwood", "Grave New World", "Hero and Heroine (#46 on my Top 100 all time favorite CDs) and Ghosts. The former two are more folk-oriented with some leanings towards progressive rock. The later two are still folk at the root but are primarily progressive rock masterpieces. Rick Wakeman, soon to become a member of Yes, was a member of Strawbs in the very early 70s and played keyboards on "Just a Collection of Antiques and Curios" and "From the Witchwood". I have a very nice two CD "Best Of" set that does a good job of spanning most of their career. It is called "The Very Best of Strawbs - Halcyon Days - The A&M Years". This is good starting point to become acquainted with this wonderful band. I am not sure if this collection is still available though. I saw the Strawbs several times in the late 70s and they were an excellent live band. Besides beautiful vocals and acoustic and electric guitar arrangements they have always had some world class keyboard players in the band. My understanding is that the Strawbs have been touring recently (I believe as a three piece) doing knock-out acoustic shows that include material from throughout their career. All the best! Bill - -----Original Message----- From: owner-ecto@smoe.org [mailto:owner-ecto@smoe.org] On Behalf Of neal copperman Sent: Sunday, May 15, 2005 3:41 PM To: Ecto Subject: Re: cheering myself up (more prog stuff) In a similar vein (I think), I am putting on a concert with The Strawbs on Thursday. I've read their history, but oddly enough, don't know ANY of the old music. I know Sandy Denny recorded an album with them pre-Fairport. I know Rick Wakeman was introduced to the world as a member of the Strawbs before joining Yes. I know they were big in the UK but had some US FM radio play, which I think I missed entirely. Oddly enough, I have spent a fair amount of time with their recent albums. They have a classic feel, stately with interesting arrangements and lyrics. Dave Cousins vocals remind me a lot of Roy Harper. It should be an interesting evening. I'm looking for Strawbs endorsements to send out to my mailing list. Anyone game? neal np: Crossbreeding Begins At Home - Slim Cessna's Auto Club, Munly & the Lee Lewis Harlots, Tarantgella nr: The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 15 May 2005 16:37:20 -0700 From: "Bill Mazur" Subject: RE: Strawbs review/overview (WAS: RE: cheering myself up (more prog stuff) I just checked Amazon.com. Strawbs "Halcyon Days" does appear to be available as an import CD. ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V11 #136 ***************************