karlfer

Good man, hope you enjoy

^^^^ yup!

Thanks chaps. Jack I'm of that age. Thankfully they didn't do that but Lay Down was SUPERB. Part of the union is as representative of "STRAWBS" as Wondrous Stories is of YES.

1st band I was in was mainly church when I was just approaching 16. School & church mates just learning. I was dreadful, the rest were erm, learning. Except Dave. He was just exceptional, even though a year younger than the rest of us. Couple of years later Dave was in another, different band, that I was also in. Unexpectedly at a gig, he just went into his solo (keys). He played The Nice's (Emerson) version of America. The whole night club just watched & listened in awe. This was a quiet, unassuming, humble young man who just floored the place. 40 years on I met up with him again, this June. Last night I went to see him, playing with The Stawbs. Incredible. Amongst his many achievements are being in Jack Bruce & Carl Palmer live projects. Oh, & his Celestial Fire & 20 odd years with his own band Iona, plus, well, just so much. Dave was immensely talented as a kid but his hard work, determination & dedication have made him a world class musician. The gig? Well, The Strawbs passed me by when I was listening/ going to Camel, Alan Parson's Project, Greenslade etc as well as the more obvious prog bands. No more. THE STRAWBS WERE BLOODY FANTASTIC LAST NIGHT. Go & see them asap. A couple of hours of smile inducing, head bobbing, foot tapping melodic prog, from the genius of Hero & Heroine to the blues rock feel of 10 Commandments. Great guitar work from Dave (Lambert), you could hear every note, beautiful phrasing in particular, no meaningless shred nonsense. Rhythm section of Chas & Tony were immense from staccato to sustain. Some absolutely divine arpeggios and melodic fills. And groove. Oh yes, groove. Mr. Cousins? Just immense. A beautiful strong voice, theatrically taking the audience through every number, a master craftsman. And Dave Bainbridge. Just astonishing. In 10 Commandments, couple of times I was sure Jon Lord was in the building. A tear came to my eye when Dave (Bainbridge) did a guitar duel with Dave (Lambert). It took me back to Elim Pentecostal Church, Darlington, 1974 with Dave playing a Rapier 33 like it was part of him. The night was just a wondrous, joyous occasion. I got into The Stawbs 40 years too late. But fortunately not TOO late. If you like prog, get The Ferryman's Curse as well as Hero & Heroine (no 44 Rolling Stone greatest prog rock album of all times). Go from there. And thank you Dave Bainbridge, an inspiration. Nice guys CAN win!

Absolute joy to deal with, great from start to finish. Enjoy the bass Stuart, fully recommended peeps

Another blustery meet up with Dan, saint as ever listening to me make Victor Meldrew sound happy. Just a top bloke, end of. OH, and Dan, the service station staff have invited us to the staff Christmas do .