Strawbs’ roots are traceable back to the British folk scene of the early-to-mid-’60s, yet – after a brief detour into hard rock with Bursting at the Seams – they morphed into a highly credible progressive rock outfit by the mid-’70s.
MOODY BLUES SONGS FULL
Enhanced by a full orchestra in the studio, the song also benefited from Stuart Wolstenholme’s intricate Mellotron textures, with the brass motifs reflecting the keyboardist’s passion for Love’s Forever Changes. Veteran UK rockers Uriah Heep also took a surprisingly ethereal tilt at the song for their first album, 1970’s …Very ‘Eavy… Very ‘Umble, with sessioneer Colin Wood’s eerie Mellotron framing the band’s haunting, proto-goth reading of the song.īarclay James Harvest: Mockingbird (live 1974)Īn essential component of any self-respecting Barclay James Harvest live set, “Mockingbird” was an opulent ballad that also graced the Lancashire prog-rock outfit’s second album, Once Again. Penned by Fred Hellerman and Fran Minkoff, durable anti-war paean “Come Away Melinda” was first recorded by Harry Belafonte in 1963 and it’s since passed through the hands of artists as diverse as Bobbie Gentry, UFO, and Tim Rose. A Top 10 hit in the UK and a sizable breakthrough in the US, Genesis’ fifth studio album, 1973’s Selling England By The Pound opened with the shape-shifting “Dancing With The Moonlit Knight.” Initially nostalgic and wistful, the song built into a hard-edged rocker which slashed and burned its way through eight minutes, offering guitarist Steve Hackett ample opportunity to display his virtuosity and for keyboardist Tony Banks to deploy the Mellotron’s woodwind and choral functions to devastating effect.