Deadlines (Strawbs album)

Deadlines is the 11th studio album by English band Strawbs.

Deadlines
Studio album by
Strawbs
Released3 February 1978
RecordedJuly – October 1977
GenreProgressive rock
Length37:51 (Original) 78:10 (Expanded)
LabelArista (UK)
ProducerJeffrey Lesser
Strawbs chronology
Burning for You
(1977)		 Deadlines
(1978)		 The Best of Strawbs
(1978)
Singles from Deadlines
  1. "Joey and Me"
  2. "New Beginnings"
  3. "I Don't Want to Talk About It"
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]

Track listing

Side one
  1. "No Return" (Dave Cousins, Dave Lambert) – 4:57
  2. "Joey and Me" (Cousins, Chas Cronk, Lambert) – 3:52
  3. "Sealed With a Traitor's Kiss" (Cousins) – 3:21
  4. "I Don't Want to Talk About It" (Cousins, Cronk) – 3:56
  5. "The Last Resort" (Cousins, Cronk, Lambert) – 4:10

Side two
  1. "Time and Life" (Cousins, Cronk) – 4:11
  2. "New Beginnings" (Cousins, Lambert) – 3:40
  3. "Deadly Nightshade" (Cousins) – 3:56
  4. "Words of Wisdom" (Cousins) – 5:48

Production Information

Signed to Arista Records by his management team, Dave Cousins was persuaded by label head Clive Davis to record a new Strawbs album. Cousins had intended "Burning For You" to be the last album by the band. Cousins management also insisted that the band work with producer Jeffrey Lesser despite the fact that Cousins felt that Lesser didn't "understand the dynamics" of the band. Spending a night out with Davis, Cousins was charmed by the label head and, despite his misgivings, returned to the studio to make the band's final album of the 1970s. Lesser insisted that guitarist/singer Dave Lambert be the lead singer for the album.[2]

Working in a studio in Dublin, Ireland in a studio owned by film composer Phillip Green. After initial recording the band and producer took the tapes to Air Studios to complete overdubbing on the 24 track tapes. Completing one day of overdubbing, the band, much to their dismay, discovered that a tape operator had left a 4038 microphone on top of the tapes which erased a swath of the material with the drum tracks being the most notably damaged. Discourage, the band began all over again but, according to Cousins, they failed to capture the unique flavor of those first recordings.[3]

Mixing the album at Utopia Studios, Cousins commiserated with The Clash's Joe Strummer about the lead vocal situation. The Clash were in the next studio recording "Give'em Enough Rope"It turns out that producer Sandy Pearlman was as much of a problem to work with as Lesser.[4]

Later, in preparation for the deluxe edition of "Deadlines", Cousins discovered that "Joey and Me" survived the damage and it was amended to the deluxe edition along with demos as bonus tracks in 2012. These bonus tracks plus two additional discs were included on the 2019 Esoteric reissue of "Deadlines". The second disc included the audio from the band's "BBC Sight and Sound" appearance along with a DVD of the same performance.

Personnel
Additional personnel

Recording
  • Jeffrey Lesser – Producer and engineer

assisted by

  • Denny Bridges
  • Patrick Morley
  • Andrew Brook Jackson
  • Peter Wolsey
  • James Guthrie

Recorded at Dublin Sound and Utopia Studios

Release history
Region Date Label Format Catalog Comment
United Kingdom 1977 (1977) Arista stereo LP SPART 1036
United States 1977 (1977) Arista stereo LP AB 4172
United Kingdom 1977 (1977) Arista cassette TCART 1036
United States 1996 (1996) One Way CD OW34499
United Kingdom 2019 (2019) Esoteric Compact Disc

References

Notes
  1. Deadlines at AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-06-20.
  2. Cousins, David Sleeve notes expanded "Deadlines", 2012 Witchwork Media
  3. Cousins, David Sleeve notes expanded "Deadlines", 2012 Witchwork Media
  4. Cousins, David Sleeve notes expanded "Deadlines", 2012 Witchwork Media
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