Five CDs, One Blu-ray, and a Remarkable Journey Through BBC History
Released by Esoteric Recordings, this lavish five-CD and Blu-ray collection gathers together BBC radio and television recordings spanning almost two decades of the band’s career, creating one of the most comprehensive and enjoyable archival releases I’ve heard in a long time.
As soon as I opened the clamshell box, I knew this was going to be something special. The presentation is exactly what I’ve come to expect from Esoteric and Cherry Red—beautifully assembled, packed with detail, and clearly put together by people who genuinely care about the music. The extensive booklet, filled with photographs, memorabilia, musician credits, and an in-depth essay by Dick Greener, makes this feel less like a box set and more like a documentary in physical form.
From The Strawberry Hill Boys to Progressive Rock Pioneers
One of the greatest strengths of this collection is that it allows you to hear the evolution of The Strawbs in real time.
Disc One takes us right back to 1966 when the group were still known as The Strawberry Hill Boys. These earliest recordings could easily have been treated as historical curiosities, but thanks to the remarkable restoration work, they sound astonishingly fresh. Listening to material from nearly sixty years ago that feels this immediate is genuinely impressive.
From there, the set unfolds chronologically through Top Gear sessions, Sounds of the Seventies recordings, BBC concerts and television appearances, documenting the transformation of a folk-based outfit into one of Britain’s most distinctive progressive rock bands.
What becomes apparent throughout these recordings is just how difficult The Strawbs are to categorise. Were they a folk band? A progressive rock band? A pop group? A glam act? The answer is yes to all of those.
Like many of the most creative artists of the era, they simply followed their own path.
BBC In Concert
The real revelation for me was the collection of BBC concert recordings.
The Radio One In Concert performance from August 1971 is exceptional. The sound quality throughout these live recordings is nothing short of phenomenal, often rivaling official live albums from the same period.
There’s also something wonderfully nostalgic about hearing the BBC presenters introducing songs between performances. It instantly transports you back to a time when radio broadcasts were events in themselves. Hearing the likes of Whispering Bob Harris setting the scene before each track adds another layer of authenticity and atmosphere to the listening experience.
These aren’t simply archive recordings.
They’re snapshots of musical history.
The Blu-ray: A Time Machine to the 1970s
As regular viewers of Now Spinning Magazine will know, whenever I receive a box set containing visual material, I usually start there first.
That’s exactly what I did with A Glimpse of Heaven.
The Blu-ray gathers together Top of the Pops appearances, Old Grey Whistle Test performances and other television footage spanning the band’s career. The quality is outstanding and often far better than many viewers might expect from material of this age.
One highlight is seeing Rick Wakeman during the band’s early period, including the wonderfully eccentric sight of him playing a Hammond organ with a paint roller. It perfectly captures the creativity and unpredictability of the era.
The real emotional moment for me, however, was revisiting “Lay Down.”
I vividly remember seeing The Strawbs perform the song on television in late 1973 when I was fourteen years old. Watching that footage again brought back memories not only of the music but of the entire period—the fashions, the atmosphere, the energy, and life in Britain during the Three-Day Week.
Music has an extraordinary ability to reconnect us with moments from our past, and this set delivers that experience repeatedly.
A Lesson in Why Physical Media Matters
One argument often raised whenever archive collections appear is that much of the material can already be found online.
Technically that’s true.
But that’s missing the point.
This set isn’t just about access. It’s about curation.
It’s about presenting the material properly, restoring it, sequencing it thoughtfully, providing context, photographs, essays, credits and historical background. It’s about creating an experience that takes you through the journey of the band in a way that random clips on YouTube simply cannot.
You can feel the love and respect that has gone into every aspect of this release.
And that’s exactly why physical media continues to matter.
Sound Quality That Exceeds Expectations
If there is one aspect of this release that continually surprised me, it was the sound quality.
Recordings dating back to 1966 sound remarkably clear and vibrant. The live BBC concerts have tremendous presence and energy. Every disc has clearly benefited from sensitive and careful restoration work by Ben Wiseman.
At no point did I find myself making allowances because of the age of the recordings.
Instead, I found myself repeatedly thinking:
“This sounds incredible.”
Final Verdict
A Glimpse of Heaven (1966–1984) is exactly the kind of archival release I love.
It celebrates the music, respects the fans, preserves important performances and provides an immersive journey through one of Britain’s most distinctive bands.
Whether you’re a lifelong Strawbs collector or someone looking to discover the band beyond the familiar classics, this set offers an extraordinary amount of value and insight. Five packed CDs, a superb Blu-ray, an excellent book and first-class sound restoration combine to create what feels like the definitive BBC document of The Strawbs.
Esoteric have done this properly.
And for fans of The Strawbs, progressive rock, folk rock, or simply great British music history, this is an easy recommendation.
A genuinely superb release.
Rating: 10/10
