Many years ago I heard the title track to this album at someone’s house. I had no idea who the STRAWBS were, but that dramatic intro/riff that repeats throughout the song was unforgettable. Years later, in the 2000s I had the opportunity to see Strawbs frontman Dave Cousins in Toronto, at a small venue, doing a ‘songs and stories’ show. Met Dave after the show, got his latest CDs…. After that my buddy and I stopped at a shop or 2, still open and not far from the venue, and I picked up a bunch of Strawbs on vinyl. Though I never got into all of them right away, I’ve found myself coming back to this album every so often for multiple listens, and it gets better each time.

Besides the standout title track, there’s a lot of variation here, a lot of atmosphere, a lot of acoustics, as the band – then sort of changing from a bluegrass/folk band to a more folk-progressive band, with more rock, and the use of various keyboards, mellotrons, etc… adding to the band’s sound. There was also lots of changes in the songs, such as with the album’s epic opener “Autumn: Heroine’s Theme; Deep Summer’s Sleep (Hold On To Me) The Winter Long”. Hero And Heroine featured 10 tracks, all of which are enjoyable, and there’s a smooth flow from song to song. Standouts for me, aside from the opener and the title track, would be the single “Shine On Silver Sun”, “Midnight Sun” (as it eases in right at the end of “Hero And Heroine”), and “Round And Round”, which after a lengthy intro, kicks in to a good rock tune.

I’m not sure, but I think Hero And Heroine was one of (if not – The) biggest Strawbs albums. It came at a time after the band had gone through a few personnel changes, and despite not charting high in the US or Canada, it was certified Gold in Canada, as the band seemed to build up quite a following here. I’ve seen a couple of CD versions with a couple of bonus tracks, but a proper deluxe version of this classic album is overdue, I think.