The first album by the Incredible String Band appeared in 1966. Then a trio (Clive Palmer departed after this debut), they melded the folk music of their Scottish homeland with far-flung, adventurous musical influence from around the world. ... Full DescriptionPrior to the advent of so-called "world music," these guys were already exploring the terrain. This release, comprised almost totally of originals, finds them at their most traditional--the trippy inclinations that landed them an audience would begin appearing on their next album, THE 5000 SPIRITS OR THE LAYERS OF THE ONION. Besides being engaging in its own right, THE INCREDIBLE STRING BAND is a valuable glimpse into the band's grounding in tradition.
A landmark release debut from 1966, the album has been long out-of-print domestically, now Remastered with the original UK edition front cover. 2002.
The Incredible String Band includes: Robin Williamson (vocals, guitars); Mike Heron (guitar); Clive Palmer (banjo).
Sadly whilst I can’t remember the 1960s I wasn’t there. Indeed, I wasn’t even born. But that didn’t put me off, and when seeking out anything with a multi-coloured psychedelic cover to add to the music library of a then multi-coloured psychedelic lifestyle I stumbled one day, at the dawn of the 1980s, across ‘‘The 5000 Spirits Or the Layers of The Onion by The Incredible String Band, housed in what was possibly the most mind blowing album sleeve I’d ever seen.
It is very hard to objectively review albums by a band that informed your youth and it’s even harder to choose a favourite from these four reissues by The Incredible String Band, a strange ensemble who became a part of the soundtrack to my life, maybe even influencing it. Whilst that statement might sound like so much hippy drivel, what other band can claim a similarly bold introduction to their biography by long time ISB fan the Arch Bishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams? I rest my cosmic case.
It’s a common truth that many believe The Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter is The Incredible String Band’s finest hour, much like the equally strong view that The Rolling Stones At Their Satanic Majesties Request… isn’t a very good album. I hate to go against the received wisdom but I disagree with both the former, and the latter. The world Before 5000 Spirits… was almost certainly a different world to the one which followed and the album is quite simply The Sergeant Pepper of folk, released bang slap in the middle of the Summer of Love in July 1967. Fully informed by psychedelia it broke down musical barriers that many didn’t even realise existed or indeed realised needed breaking down.
At the time I first heard 5000 Spirits I had no idea who the band were and, expecting an aural assault of wah-wah, phasing and swirling electric acid mayhem, was completely confused as the rasping eerie sounds of opening track ‘Chinese White’ came drifting out of my hi-fi’s speakers like incense smoke. The sound of a peasant scraping a one string gourd? Surely some mistake? But then as the record revealed it’s ever evolving depths this strange folk approximation of psychedelia - with its complex convoluted lyrics, bewildering array of multi-national acoustic, instrumentation and otherworldly, fantastical and poetic imagery - had me completely in its thrall. Robin Williamson’s mysterious, nasal thin vocals, Mike Heron’s soft harmonies and a selection of songs that covered every subject from love, death, indecipherable spiritual wisdom or utter nonsense (you choose) through to the loss of youth. Everything about the record set the blueprint for any acid freak-folk ensemble since. But this odd mixture isn’t some mere exercise in weird for weirdness sake. The Incredible’s always had something deep to say, even if it wasn’t always apparent. Nobody can deny the powerful poetic beauty of ‘The Eyes of Fate’ or the equally insightful ‘My Name Is Death’ songs that somehow hark back to the kind of timeless primal truths lurking in traditional folk song. A mixture of acoustic guitar blues, folk, and exotic world music soaked in lyrical mythology, the album orbits for a few moments popular culture and reveals the beautiful ‘Painting Box’ -a song that deftly merges a charming love song with psychedelic folk pop - whilst the lengthy epic sitar laden ‘Mad Hatters Song’, is the kind of surreal acid trip that could only have been born in the 1960s. ‘First Girl I loved’ is the most widely covered song on the album - a notable version being the jazzy west coast rock incarnation by Judy Collins - and the song’s insightful lyrics, about the lost love of youth, grow ever more melancholic with age. The twee strangeness of ‘Little Cloud’ and ‘The Hedgehogs’ Song’ (what IS that song about?) are offset by the hallucinogenic love ballad ‘Gently Tender’ and the witty and intelligent blues folk of ‘No Sleep Blues’ and ‘Way Back In The 1960s’. The simple diversity and range of material both texturally lyrically and melodically make this short day-glo adventure into acoustic folk psychedelia one of the finest moments of ‘60s British music.
30 years since I heard it and over 40 years since it was released 500o Spirits along with three other ISB albums get the reissue they deserve. The band’s first self titled album from 1966 (when they were a trio with C.O.B. founder Clive Palmer) leans slightly towards more traditional material with some instrumental tracks, but ‘Maybe Someday’ and ‘October Song’ and the bizarre ‘Smoke Shovelling Song’ point towards the bands subsequent musical direction. The Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter and Wee Tam and The Big Huge both date from 1968 and feature future full time members and then girlfriends Christina "Liquorice" McKechnie and Rose Simpson. These albums, beautifully experimental and always commercially reckless, feature classics such as ‘Witches Hat’ and ‘Very Cellular Song’ (from The Hangmen’s…). Moving into more esoteric territory ‘The Half Remarkable Question’, ‘You Get Brighter’ ‘Air’ ‘Cousin Caterpillar’ ‘Maya’, and ‘The Iron Stone’ are to an aficionado of the ISB the finest claret, but to the casual listener they can be frustratingly obtuse or annoyingly overlong. Beyond this point you certainly need to speak the language to enjoy the ISB universe. The reissues are all tastefully packaged with reminiscences from Clive, Robin and Mike whilst original producer Joe Boyd and Engineer John Wood have gone back to the proper master tapes to produce the best possible sound quality. You can hear the difference, particularly after the unforgiveable mastering mistakes made by WEA but I just wish the sleeves were bigger. It’s not quite the same staring at that mind blowing 500o Spirits sleeve when its only 12 centimetres square…
Richard Allen
