The Lostbrook Strawbs Collection Volume 3


We thought it was unusual for the Strawbs to return to the Bottom Line for two more shows just five days after they had performed there. Perhaps it fit well with their travel plans - they said they were flying home the next morning. Regardless, we didn't know if the Strawbs would ever return again so we made sure we were present. Once again, we arrived early enough to claim the front table for both performances.

Highlights of 1984-12-11 8PM:

"Oh How She Changed," the "first single we ever recorded" was back in the setlist for the first time since Boston on December 4 - a fine recording is still available on Dime at www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-details.php?id=413652

The tour premier of "Sealed With A Traitor's Kiss," a heart-breaking tale of betrayal delivered acoustically by Dave and Brian.

Without a doubt, the highlight of this set was when Dave announced that they would like to "finish off with a new song." "That's When The Crying Starts," another rip-your-heart-out masterpiece, gave us hope that the Strawbs would continue to deliver quality material well into the future.

Highlights of 1984-12-11 11PM:

This was originally released as Lostbrook Tape Series Vol 75 (if you have the flacs, simply retitle by adding numbers 17-31.) It was never released on Dime, it's my favorite of all the shows, and I never did write a proper story for it. We are including this set here because your 1984 Strawbs journey would be incomplete without it.

During the introduction, it wasn't much of a stretch for Dave to say, "It seems like we know most of you personally by now. I'll start doing songs for all of you individually." It was also apparent that Dave was genuinely touched by the reception the band had received that week after an eight-year absence. This was the most informal of all the shows, and Dave's storytelling was at its best:

The Susan George story expanded again. This time, Susan falls to her knees.

The Stormy Down intro, with its "two crates of beer and four bottles of whiskey."

The Dominic and Josephine Behan story, which I've heard many times since, but never with this much detail or humor. It then morphed into the Jack Jones story, which had its own reference to Susan George. We may have been sitting at Dave's feet, but he had us in the palm of his hand by this point.

In the intro to "That's When The Crying Starts," Dave reveals that the band has "loads of new material."

The tour premier of "Ways And Means," another lyrical gem, performed acoustically by Dave and Brian. Before the song, there's a discussion about Brian's tight trousers. It's also the one song where Dave gets to play "a fancy guitar part," and where, "every night Brian screws up his guitar part."

The comedic highlight of the entire tour took place after "Lay Down." The five-minute-long Falkland Islands joke was expertly delivered and riotously received. "Good God man!"

"Beat The Retreat" was the perfect song to end the tour. "It's the first time ever that we've played it anywhere. It's a...goodbye song," said Dave.

So there you have it - our 1984 Strawbs adventure. I had no idea at the time that these would the last shows I would ever attend at the Bottom Line. These tapes are truly special to me and I've enjoyed analyzing them. I would like to think that we played a small part in the Strawbs decision to return less than four months later. Stay tuned for our 1985 adventure.




December 11, 1984
The Bottom Line
New York, NY
USA



Recording Equipment: Internal Mic>Sanyo M2533>(2)Maxell UDXLII 90
Transfer: (2)Maxell UDXLII 90>Alesis Tapelink USB>Audacity>WAV>CQ Mastering>FLAC


Taper: Lostbrook
Mastering: CQ
Artwork: ethiessen1


1984-12-11 8PM

01 Introduction (1:29)
02 Stormy Down (4:08)
03 The Hangman And The Papist (4:25)
04 Josephine, For Better Or For Worse (5:21)
05 A Glimpse Of Heaven (4:09)
06 Back In The Old Routine (5:10)
07 Oh How She Changed (4:18)
08 Benedictus (4:57)
09 Heavy Disguise (3:59)*
10 Sealed With A Traitor's Kiss (4:59)**
11 Grace Darling (5:50)**
12 New World (3:52)
13 The River>Down By The Sea (10:03)
14 Part Of The Union (3:01)
15 Lay Down (5:32)
16 That's When The Crying Starts (4:32)

* Hudson/Ford
** Cousins/Willoughby




1984-12-11 11PM

17 Introduction (1:49)
18 A Glimpse Of Heaven (6:23)
19 Back In The Old Routine (5:38)
20 Stormy Down (4:26)
21 The Hangman And The Papist (9:08)
22 Josephine, For Better Or For Worse (6:09)
23 Oh How She Changed (4:34)
24 That's When The Crying Starts (6:26)
25 Heavy Disguise (5:21)*
26 Ways And Means (5:21)**
27 New World>The River>Down By The Sea (14:26)
28 Part Of The Union (3:10)
29 Lay Down (13:19)
30 Benedictus (7:06)
31 Beat The Retreat (5:29)

* Hudson/Ford/Parren
** Cousins/Willoughby


Dave Cousins - guitars, dulcimer, vocals
Tony Hooper - guitars, vocals
Richard Hudson - drums, vocals
John Ford - bass, guitar, vocals
Chris Parren - keyboards
Brian Willoughby - guitars

Images for all shows as well as full size images for this show.

Images for this show: