The Hudson-Ford catalog is great fun to explore if your '70s music tastes roam in a variety of directions and this Catalog Crawl is designed to give you an idea of the many winding paths it offers.

As the Strawbs moved towards the mid-'70s, they reached their artistic peak. With founding member Dave Cousins guiding the ship, they cut of a string of progressive rock albums that combined lush, ambitious arrangements an approach that synthesized English folk, rock and progressive ambitiousness in the structuring of pieces and their ability to make a variety of styles cohere.

All three albums covered here represent a compelling and harmonious union between strong songwriting, ambitious musicianship and that vintage, earthy yet cleanly defined style of recording that defined so many great albums of the '70s.

The Strawbs’ early albums stayed close to their roots in English folk music but gradually unveiled the progressive leanings that would soon come to the fore in their most popular work.