Dave Cousins himself has compiled this album to showcase the Strawbs as a “prog force to be reckoned with”.
Back in the early 70s they were an eclectic band with a rootsy backbone and pop star aspirations, but a song like Tomorrow from Grave New World (1971) shows that they could out-prog most of the competition. They gave this side full rein on 1974’s Hero & Heroine, represented here by a live medley recorded in 2010. Prognostic covers a lengthy time span but forms a coherent collection. Cousins was always adept at writing longform song-suites like Blue Angel from his 1972 solo album. Two Weeks Last Summer features Rick Wakeman on piano, who also appears on Deep In The Darkest Night, a 2005 collaboration with Conny Conrad on bass and programming. The highlight though is Heartbreak Hill, the title track of a 1978 album left unreleased when the band first broke up. Recorded at their 40th anniversary concert in 2009, its instrumental energy and flamboyance is matched by a particularly intense vocal performance, as Cousins vows never again to visit that existential landmark.
