The Magic Of It All

• Track Listing

CD edition of 'The Magic Of It All' by Strawbs, recorded in Cape Town and featuring David Cousins, Blue Weaver, and John Ford from classic 1970s line up joined by some of the finest musicians and singers in South Africa. Strawbs were high in the charts with 'Grave New World' and 'Bursting At The Seams' 50 years ago which coincided with a pivotal moment in the struggle for freedom in South Africa, when students and workers launched a new wave of resistance against so-called resettlement. The resistance in South Africa identified with Strawbs songs, especially 'Part Of The Union', 'Lay Down', and 'New World'. Recognising this, South Africa documentary maker, Niel van Deventer, approached David Cousins with the idea of producing a documentary about Strawbs and the band's influence around the world. Niel wanted to film while new songs were being recorded in a Cape Town studio. David Cousins came up with a bunch of his finest songs; Blue Weaver flew over to produce the sessions and cowrite some of the material, while John Ford joined in with his contribution to the songs from New York. Featuring brand-new songs recorded at the Academy Of Sound Engineering in Cape Town, with engineer Peter Pearlson worked with Paul Simon when he was recording South African musicians for the 'Graceland' album. The South African musicians on this album include Mauritz Lotz, Schalk Joubert, Kevin Gibson, Byron Abrahams, Simangele Mashazi, Marzia Barry and Luna Paige. Cathryn Craig and Nicole Tee joined the singers from the UK. The documentary The Magic Of It All will be released later this year.