1998 Ghosts [Bonus Tracks], [Remastered]    CD  A&M 540 937-2 

1 Ghosts   8:30 
 i.   Sweet Dreams    
 ii.  Night Light    
 iii. Guardian Angel    
2 Lemon Pie   4:02 
3 Starshine / Angel Wine   5:15 
4 Where Do You Go (When You Need a Hole to Crawl In)   3:03 
5 The Life Auction   6:52 
 i.   Impressions of Southall From the Train    
 ii.  The Auction    
6 Don't Try to Change Me   4:28 
7 Remembering   0:55 
8 You and I (When We Were Young)   4:04 
9 Grace Darling   3:54 
 Bonus Track:    
10 Changes Arrange Us   3:52 

The Strawbs were never a strictly progressive rock group, nor were they purely a folk formation once they dropped the "Strawberry Hill Boys" moniker in 1967, nor were they ever a pop group as much as they may have tried in the late 70s. Their recordings generally presented a mix of the three with classical influences sprinkled here and there, but it is on Ghosts that the band achieves the ultimate mix, with moody epics juxtaposed among lighter ditties and maudlin moments, all extremely well written, and executed with impeccable flair and confidence. This version of the group was the tightest, the same lineup present for Hero and Heroine but with an album under their belts. Ghosts is truly a group effort. The title track fatures ancient harpsichords melded to nightmarish guitars, "Lemon Pie" was a perky near hit, "Starshine/Angel Wine" begins gently with piano and cello before seguing into Clapton like riffs and majestic mellotrons. "Where do you Go" is a boppy pop number, but then it's back into the depressive with "the Life Auction" and its harsh observations awash in mellotron and guitars. "Don't Try to Change Me" is a Dave Lambert classic and its message is profound in a simple catchy way. If all of this wasn't enough, the album terminates with two of the most stunning tunes and poems in the Cousins' repertoire, "You and I", featuring the brilliant John Hawken intro and Cousins sweetest vocals, not to mention a third verse where the band shows how harmonious it could be in the vocal department, and "Grace Darling", here in this original incarnation performed as a hymn, with choir and organ providing the grace, and Dave Cousins for all the world sounding like a man who has found it. Ghosts is the best Strawbs effort in spite of some intense competition from its predecessors and the pressures for commercial success that must have existed at the time, but, thanks to its re-release, it is not to late to discover or rediscover this work of wonder. 

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