Heartbreak Hill (Exp)

Digitally remastered and expanded edition of the classic "lost" Strawbs album Heartbreak Hill. Recorded in 1978 at Ringo Starr's Startling Studios, the album was recorded at a time of change for the band. Seeking to rethink their approach (following the release of the album Deadlines), the sessions would feature a line-up of Dave Cousins (vocals, guitar), Chas Cronk (bass, vocals), Andy Richards (keyboards), Tony Fernandez (drums) and Jo Partridge (guitars, mandolin, vocals). Recording sessions began with Dave Lambert in the ranks, but his departure after the recording of the song "Something for Nothing" led to the recruitment of Jo Partridge. The album would also see the guest appearance of Miller Anderson on guitar and vocals on the song 'We Can Make it Together'. Despite the fraught nature of the beginning of the recordings, the finished work was a fine progressive rock album. Alas, upon completion, Strawbs found themselves without management or a record deal and Heartbreak Hill would remain unreleased in any form until 1995 when a CD was prepared from a 7 ½ ips copy tape. The discovery of the original master tapes in 2006 saw a new re-release of the album. Now, Heartbreak Hill has been newly remastered and features four bonus tracks, including two David Cousins home demos from 1978 and live recordings of 'Heartbreak Hill' and 'Starting Over' from The Strawbs 40th anniversary celebration in September 2009 performed by the line-up who recorded the original album. The release includes a new essay by Dave Cousins, making this the definitive edition of Heartbreak Hill.