Just a Collection of Antiques and Curios [Original recording remastered] [Import]

Just a Collection of Antiques and Curios [Original recording remastered] [Import]

Track Listings

1. Martin Luther King's Dream

2. Antique Suite

3. Temperament of Mind

4. Fingertips

5. Song of a Sad Little Girl

6. Where Is the Dream of Your Youth

7. Vision of the Lady of the Lake

8. We'll Meet Again Sometime

9. Forever

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
Digitally remastered reissue of their 1970 album, complete with three previously unreleased bonus track from the era: 'The Vision Of The Lady Of The Lake', 'We'll Meet Again Sometime' and 'Forever'. 13 tracks total. Recorded live at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, this was the group's first album to be a U.K. chart hit. The line-up on the performance is founders Dave Cousins & Tony Hooper with the rhythm section of John Ford & Richard Hudson, plus then young keyboard discovery Rick Wakeman. 1998 A&M release.

Tracks:

Martin Luther King's Dream
Antique Suite
Temperament of Mind
Fingertips
Song of a Sad Little Girl
Where Is the Dream of Your Youth
Vision of the Lady of the Lake
We'll Meet Again Sometime
Forever

Album Description

Digitally remastered reissue of their 1970 album, complete with three previously unreleased bonus track from the era: 'The Vision Of The Lady Of The Lake', 'We'll Meet Again Sometime' and 'Forever'. 13 tracks total. Recorded live at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, this was the group's first album to be a U.K. chart hit. The line-up on the performance is founders Dave Cousins & Tony Hooper with the rhythm section of John Ford & Richard Hudson, plus then young keyboard discovery Rick Wakeman. 1998 A&M release.

Album Details

Digitally Remastered with Three Bonus Tracks: the of the Lady of the Lake, We'll Meet Again Sometime and Forever.

Customer Reviews:

Strawbs put on a fantastic show here.......2007-03-27

Just a Collection of Antiques and Curios was their first ever international release, after two UK-only albums (Strawbs and Dragonfly). It's a bit strange their first exposure out of the UK should be a live album, but it is. At least all of it is brand new material, aside from "Where is this Dream of My Youth". The band witnessed a big lineup change by this point. Dave Cousins and Tony Hopper found themselves without Ron Chesterman, so in comes two new guys, Richard Hudson and John Ford, plus Rick Wakeman was now a full-time member of the band.

People associate the band with their more proggy later stuff (1972-1975 era), and even during their more proggy phase, they weren't exactly trying to be Gentle Giant, they simply had a more symphonic bent to a lot of the material, they weren't too far off from the Moody Blues for complexity, where they focused their strength on songs and songwriting. With Just a Collection of Antiques and Curios, the band was still largely a folk rock group, and that shows through with stuff like "Martin Luther King's Dream" and "Song of a Sad Little Girl". "Antique Suite" is basically a collection of four separate songs segued together, but really nicely done, so I can't complain. "Temperament of Mind" is Wakeman's solo spot here, all on piano, with several quotes from classical artists such as Bach. Not quite The Six Wives of Henry VIII here, but you don't expect that to be. "Fingertips" is a bit more experimental where the band experiments with sitar. "Where is this Dream Of Your Youth" is truly the high-point, and I liked how this was the final cut on the original LP. Wakeman really whips out his Hammond organ and jams away. He also uses some wah-wah effects, something I don't recall him doing in Yes or his solo efforts. Despite Wakeman's presence on the album, it's pretty obvious not to compare this with Yes or his solo efforts, The Strawbs were a band with completely their own identity (and it has to bear in mind in 1970, around the same time as this album, Yes was a band still looking for a sound that would help establish them, as Time & a Word demonstrates). From hearing Wakeman's playing on this album, little wonder the British press took notice to him, and for good reason. While the progheads would go for stuff like Grave New World, Bursting at the Seams, Hero & Heroine, and Ghosts, this earlier album is just as great even if there are only minor prog rock leanings here. Highly recommended!

Strawbs: A legend in the Progressive Folk Rock genre. And this is where they really took off.......2007-01-01

I don't understand why A&M didn't make an effort to put Strawbs songs on pop radio. American Top 40 radio back in the early 1970's had such wonderful diversity that nothing would seem obscure or out of place on the charts. Practically every song their next few albums could have been a Top 40 hit. This album of "Just a Collection of Antiques and Curios" is probably the world's first introduction to the keyboard genius of Rick Wakeman. His incredible extension to the earlier Strawbs classic "Where Is This Dream of Your Youth?" performed live at The Queen Elizabeth Hall is just mind-blowing. And not since the days of Franz Liszt did we ever get to hear a fabulous aggressive piano solo performed live such as we have here with Rick Wakeman's "Temperament of Mind".

What a performance this is. This is where the Strawbs first obtained world recognition. And to categorize this album is practically undefinable. I mean, what do you call it? Folk, Folk Rock, Progressive Rock, Progressive Folk Rock with a hint of Classical? Progressive Folk Rock with a hint of Classical....performed live? This album has way too many contradictive ventures that it is practically amazing that it all works together anyway.

This is one of the two Strawbs albums that Rick Wakeman was best known for while being with the Strawbs. The Strawbs always had great keyboardists (in fact, Dave Cousins always had to search for a keyboardist that could match the talent and appeal of Rick Wakeman), which is what truly offered the Progressive edge to a group whose humble beginnings were that of a traditional folk band.

Back when I was just a few years into buying CD's, even in 1988, not too many obscure bands were yet released on CD. Only currently popular stuff. When I browsed a small CD store in the college town of Davis, California, I found this guy working out of nothing more that a hole in the wall, who was actually selling some expensive, hard to find, German and Japanese import CD's. A&M in Japan was selling CD's through an affiliate known as Canyon Records. If it came from Canyon Records in Japan then they costed almost $[...] for each CD. I bought five very expensive import CD's from Canyon Records in Japan. Can you believe that in one day, I bought Rick Wakeman's "Criminal Record", "Lisztomania" and "Rhapsodies", and then also The Strawbs "From the Witchwood" and this album, "Just a Collection of Antiques and Curios."

I threw caution to the wind and practically spent my whole paycheck buying these few Japanese imports. Tower Records never had these CD's. I guess they wouldn't dare want to take a chance hoping to sell such obscure titles at such an expensive import price.

Later, this CD store got a Canadian import of "Hero and Heroine", but it seemed like forever before "Ghosts" and "Bursting at the Seams" would ever come out on CD. I think Canyon Records was very short lived and never got around to releasing these such albums.

But, that day in 1988 was my most exciting day in the purchasing of CD's. Price wasn't a concern at the time. I had my hands of the first two known Strawbs albums to be released on compact disc. Sure, it doesn't seem like much of a big deal now (with the ability to get practically anything you want through the Internet), but back before the Internet days, a great song or an album on a CD was like a precious piece of jewelry. It was "that" special.

To this day, I still never tire from playing a Strawbs CD from the A&M days. In fact, Strawbs is great music when you're alone on a rainy day. Strawbs, Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, The Moody Blues, Rick Wakeman, King Crimson, Triumvirat, Eloy, Nektar, Pink Floyd, and Yes are all still my favorite Progressive Rock groups. Yes, I'm still an old Prog Rock Fossil. I understand that being a Prog Rock fossil isn't very common in California, but this music still reminds me that I'm still a Detroiter in my heart, and in Detroit, we never forget the legends of Progressive Rock and that of the Immortal Rock Gods that they were.

first strawbs.......2003-08-03

In 1972, I was looking through my friend Hank's voluminous record collection and came upon this album. I asked him about it and he played a scratched and skipping "Where is this dream of your youth?" I dug the song right away and I guess that I borrowed the album, though that usually means intent to return. (It was trashed from too much careless play on an old Gerard with a bad needle, so I don't think he wanted it back.) While this is not the most accessible Strawbs issue, it is, to me, the most alive and weirdly unsettling. And the Strawbs are pretty weirdly unsettling on just about everything they do, so that is saying a lot. I like the "Where is this dream" jam on this record better than the studio version, and Wakeman does his virtuoso trip more effectively on this recording than anywhere else, in my opinion. Try Hero and Heroine or Ghosts if you are new to the Strawbs, but don't forget this oft overlooked gem.

A Blend Of Classical Influences & Folk.......2001-08-29

Dark, powerful, raw, majestic & medieval can all be used to sum up this performance. What really makes this cd interesting is the fact that The Strawbs recorded this live, yet they did not compromise their artistic integrity by abandoning the traditional instruments that The Strawbs have become so infamous for using in their studio recordings. "Antique Suite" is very ambitious. Here, we have Tony Hooper and Dave Cousins singing in harmony as well as trading off lead vocals. If you are a Rick Wakeman fan, he is in fine form here, most notably with "Temperament of a Mind." If you enjoy progressive rock and you have never heard of the Strawbs, you are missing out on one of the most non-commercial and artistic acts of our time. Also,please note that I am referring to the import from Japan that I purchased about nine years ago, so I do not have the bonus tracks that are included here, so I can't comment on them.

LIVE FOLK/ROCK WITH CLASSICAL OVERTONES.......2001-03-13

This recording is much more for the established fan rather than someone looking to initiate themselves. The Strawbs are best known for their fusion of progressive rock with folk and the mainstream pop stylings of the 70's. Here we see them at a point of transition, begining to move from their folksy roots gradually into a more 70's progressive sound. Rick Wakeman had been doing some session work with the Strawbs prior to this. This was his official entry as a full time member. His playing is in top form without being completely over the top, and is the centerpiece of more than one track here. This is also a primarily accoustic recording. If you like the Strawbs, this is a must if you wish to have a good scope of their evolution over the years. "Song Of a Sad Little Girl", "Where Is This Dream Of Your Youth?", and the live bonus track "The Vision Of The Lady Of The Lake" are absolutely stunning.

Just a Collection of Antiques and Curios

Average customer rating:

Just a Collection of Antiques and Curios
The Strawbs
Manufacturer: Universal
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

British Folk | Traditional British & Celtic Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

Folk Rock | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Progressive Rock | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Rock | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B0000AFOHI
Release Date: 2003-08-12

Tracks:

Martin Luther King's Dream
Antique Suite
Temperament of Mind
Fingertips
Song of a Sad Little Girl
Where Is the Dream of Your Youth
Vision of the Lady of the Lake
We'll Meet Again Sometime
Forever

Album Description

Japanese limited edition remastered reissue of 1970 album, packaged in a miniature LP gatefold sleeve features 9 tracks including 3 bonus tracks, 'The Vision Of The Lady Of The Lake', 'We'll Meet Again Someday' & 'Forever'. A&M. 1993.

Album Details

Japanese Limited Edition in an LP-STYLE Slipcase.

Music Review: