Autumn/Sad Young Man/Just Love/Shine On Silver Sun/Hero & Heroine/Midnight Sun/Out In The Cold/Round & Round/Lay A Little Light On Me/Hero's Theme
Hero & Heroine was released after several major personnel changes to the folk-rock group Strawbs. This had a significant impact on their commercial appeal from which they would never recover. (US:94 UK:35)
“The most consistent album I have heard from this outfit. A nice Genesis like symphonic prog sound with some of their older folk rock influence creeping in as well. I had no problem sitting through this album countless times, especially side two.”
“Despite occasional pastoral lyrics and instrumental passages, Hero & Heroine sees the Strawbs moving away from the acoustic prog folk of earlier albums into lush symphonic prog drowning in Mellotron. The new direction was in part a consequence of new members joining the band, and is particularly on display on the opening three-part epic Autumn, which contrasts dreamy summer idylls with cold winter yearning. Another particularly good pick is the title track, which offers some characteristically direct and cutting lyrics from Dave Cousins.”
“Hero & Heroine remains as wonderful as ever, an art rock song that soars. The remainder of the record plays out very well through a slate of Cousins' compositions. Some of these can be considered overly dramatic perhaps, but they fit in well with the sensibilities of the times.”
“Good progressive rock that should have been more popular. They abandoned the folk sound almost entirely and went a more mainstream rock approach. The instrumentation is awesome, with some great mellotron on the opening suite, with piano and subtle electric guitar. The title track is a fantastic slice of prog. Midnight Sun is an emotional almost acoustic track with good vocals. Round & Round is a great rocker with fantastic electric guitar.”
“On the whole, the pieces comprise a nice blend of prog, folk, and rock styles. The album opens with a brooding swirl of mellotron, string synthesizer, and some very gloomy guitar chords on Autumn, which is the longest track and my favourite.”
“From the grandiose opening to the choir on many tracks, I love everything about this disc. The delicate piano and guitar work on Autumn are alone worth the price.”
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