Strawbs - Hero And Heroine In Ascencia
"Hero And Heroine In Ascencia" is a fresh, re-recording of the Strawbs 1974 classic prog rock album "Hero And Heroine"; the band's biggest selling album. Having performed the original album live whilst on tour in 2010, the urge to record a modern interpretation of the work proved too strong to resist.
As expected, the layered sound, soaring synths, guitars and rock backbone are everywhere. The pained vocals and tight musicianship is complemented by the expert arrangement and production.
Probably the longest name for a track that I've ever seen 'Prologue/Autumn: Heroine's Theme; Deep Summer's Sleep; (Hold On To Me) The Winter Long' belies the fact that this is a great, solid track. From the lamenting and pained vocals to the layered backing and piano, the sound is huge. There's everything here; mellotron, orchestral synths, driving rhythm, guitar and even some shrieking gull sounds.
The atmospheric strings of 'Sad Young Man' are complemented perfectly by the big chorus; something which Strawbs do oh so well. 'Just Love' has more of a rock beat and 'Shine On Silver Sun' is an intricate piece, often reminiscent of Genesis.
The title track 'Hero And Heroine' is given the full works; as one would expect very, very big orchestral sounds. In contrast, 'Midnight Sun/Aurora' is a much quieter diversion; featuring some sublime layered acoustic guitar. Other highlights include the muted guitar and rock rhythm of 'Out In The Cold' and the moody keys, layered landscapes and pained vocals of 'Lay A Little Light On Me'.
Though a faithful interpretation, this album breathes a fresh life into the original; it's new instrumental passages that serve to link the tracks together add to the drama and theatrics that the original portrayed. If you have the original album, you must get this. Similarly, if you don't have a copy of the original, you too must get this; it's classic prog rock at its best.