This chameleon of an album sounds more like ten different bands on a compilation than a unified Strawbs effort; fortunately, those ten bands are very good indeed. The album roars to life with spot-on imitations of Peter Gabriel in "To Be Free" and the Who in the windmilling riffs of "Little Sleepy." The bluesy torch song "Absent Friend" features some fine piano work and pensive electric guitar, while drummer Rod Coombes contributes a superbly withering (and still timely) blast at campaign finance and corruption in "A Mind of My Own." Rick Wakeman even shows up to pitch in a harpsichord part on the otherwise goofy throwaway "Tokyo Rosie." Unjustly neglected on its release by fans bewildered by the band's sudden reinvention of its sound, in retrospect this album easily stands among the best of their work. ~ Paul Collins, All Music Guide
Rod Coombes (Guitar (Acoustic)), John Mealing (Piano (Electric)), Tommy Eyre (Clavinet), Jack Emblow (?), Jim Dowler (?), Tom (Colonel) Allom (Producer), Rob Harvey (?), John Lumley Savile (Keyboards), Dave Lambert (Guitar (Acoustic)), John Lumley Savile (?), Tommy Eyre (Keyboards), Tommy Eyre (Piano), Jack Emblow (Accordion), Fabio Nicoli (Art Direction), Dave Cousins (Electric Banjo), Dave Cousins (Vocals), Rod Coombes (Drums), Rod Coombes (Vocals), Rick Wakeman (Keyboards), Dave Cousins (Guitar (Acoustic)), Rick Wakeman (Electric Harpsichord), John Mealing (Keyboards), Victor Gamm (Engineer), Dave Cousins (Electric Dulcimer), Dave Lambert (Guitar), Tony Carr (Percussion), Dave Lambert (Vocals), John Mealing (Organ), Charles Cronk (Vocals), Charles Cronk (Bass), Tony Carr (Conga), Dave Lambert (?), Nick Marshall (Design), Tom (Colonel) Allom (Cymbalom), Gered Mankowitz (Photography), Tommy Eyre (Synthesizer), Dave Cousins (Guitar), John Mealing (Piano), Dave Lambert (Guitar (Electric))
Nomadness is a studio album by English band Strawbs. It was their last album recorded for A&M Records and their first with no full-time keyboard player since 1970's Dragonfly. Indeed, Strawbs would not feature a full-time keyboard player until 1978 when Andy Richards joined the band. All the tracks are timed at less than five minutes giving the album a lighter, less 'epic' feel in contrast to the previous three studio albums.
