The CD opens with a blast of martial drums that immediately convey a sense of urgency. In a few seconds, the scratch of a violin matches the beat and moves the military beat a few notches up in intensity. After another minute the beat shifts a bit. It is matched by a new, more melodic and shining violin line which brings a slightly Middle Eastern feel to the mix. Somehow that line still holds a western sense of melody. Both sides are joined as one musically. The voice of Dave Cousins enters the fray with a very matter of fact tone that begins to build in intensity as he matches the drive of music until he is finally yelling “Will You Heed The Call?”. As Cousin reaches for the very top of his voice the music pulls back into the hypnotic melody of the violin and martial beat. It is a stunning moment that begins to drive the song “Call to Action” home to a massive ending.

Everyone knows what heavy metal is but this may be something new. Heavy folk maybe? If you think I'm kidding, listen to the second cut, “Christmas Cheer (Everything’s Going to be All Right). The foundation is ringing guitars and a driving bass, but the slide that fills the middle eight could shake arenas. When it comes back in at the end to match the chorus it brings a rocking sense of completion that almost every other artist would have ended on the sweet ringing guitars.

As earth-shaking as the first two cuts are, the third, “Too Many Angels”  is a beautifully sung ballad that brings the you into a lush pastoral world that serves as a relaxing oasis after the intensity of the opening cuts. It is one of Cousin’s most intimate vocals. In the hands of someone else the song could easily devolve into mush. In the hands of Cousins it stays on course and delivers a perfect balance of regret and wistfulness. Compared with wild pace of the opening number it is an amazing turn for any vocalist much less one who has been at this since 60 Minutes went on the air in 1968.  

With their origins in folk and to a lesser extent bluegrass (from an English perspective), the group eventually moved into a room that, at least for critics, also held The Moody Blues, Genesis, Yes and a host of other progressive rock bands. While that categorization is true in the broadest sense, in the Strawbs always had a much harder guitar sound than many of their progressive contemporaries.

During the period which saw the release of “Hero and Heroine”, “Ghosts” and  “Nomadness” (releases which also saw their biggest success in America), the guitar work came from Cousins and Dave Lambert. They were backed by bassist Chas Cronk, drummer Rod Coombes and keyboardist John Hawken. That energetic line-up has returned for “The Broken Hearted Bride” and they have easily matched their best work on “Hero and Heroine”. Lambert is a stand out as he moves between Townshend-like flamenco rhythm on one song into an eighties-era sounding massive riff on the next cut.

While Cousins is the primary songwriter, both Lambert and Cronk add their own considerable skills to the mix. Several of the songs  have shown up on other Strawbs-related releases over the past few years but in each case the songs benefit from the band setting.

As strong as the music is, and it is among the best The Strawbs have ever made, the overall album is lyrically dark with thoughts of war and conflict weaving in and out of many songs. This is not a bad thing. It is hard to forget that The Strawbs once opened one of their very best songs with the line “I drew the blade across my wrist to see how it would feel”. So the concerns of this release shouldn’t catch anyone by surprise.

This isn’t to say there isn’t hope or love present. “Everybody Knows” and “We’ll Meet Again Someday” lead the set to a conclusion that leaves everyone looking to the future with hope. Like the best of folk music, “The Broken Hearted Bride” incorporates all aspects of life, love, regret, hope and death, into a memorable set of songs.