Deep Cuts (Exp)

Digitally remastered and expanded edition of the classic 1976 album Deep Cuts by Strawbs. Recorded at The Manor studio, Oxfordshire in the Spring and Summer of 1976, the album was the band's first for the newly formed Oyster Records. For the recording sessions, the line-up of Dave Cousins (vocals, acoustic guitars), Dave Lambert (vocals, electric guitars), Chas Cronk (bass, guitars, vocals) and Rod Coombes (drums) was augmented by Robert Kirby (mellotron, electric piano and French horn), John Mealing (keyboards) and Rupert Holmes (piano, harpsichord, clavinet, clarinet). The initial recordings were supervised by Tom Allom as producer, but despite a wonderful new version of Dave Cousins' song Blue Angel being produced, it was felt the material was stale. In search of new inspiration, the recordings were shelved and Rupert Holmes and Jeffery Lesser were brought in as producers. The resulting album was one of the finest later works by Strawbs, featuring many fine compositions written mainly by Dave Cousins and Chas Cronk. This Esoteric Recordings expanded edition has been newly remastered from the original master tapes and features seven bonus tracks, including the shelved 'Blue Angel' and the rare single mix of 'Charmer', along with a spoken word rendition of 'Beside the Rio Grande'. The release restores the original artwork and includes a new essay by Dave Cousins, making this the definitive edition of Deep Cuts.