From: dahe@cl.cam.ac.uk (David Elworthy)
Subject: Re: The Incredible String Band
Reply-To: dahe@cl.cam.ac.uk (David Elworthy)
Organization: U of Cambridge, England
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992 12:49:47 GMT

(This might appear twice - news problems)

In article <pdlemass.717668020@unix2.tcd.ie>, pdlemass@unix2.tcd.ie
(Something original) writes:
|> I have become a big fan of The I.S.B. but would like to know more about
|> them than is revealed on the c.d. sleeve.
|> I would very greatful if someone could send me a discography of their
|> work , (to-gether and solo).
|> What other albums besides these are there (these I have already):
|> 
|> 1 "5000 Spirits"
|> 2 "Wee Tam "
|> 3 "The Hangman's Beautiful  Daughter"
|> 4 the double album "U"
|> 5 "Liquid Acrobat As Regards Air"
|> 
|> I know that "The Hangman's ..." was their 3rd album , but Ive bought the
|> the re-issued cd's (which are only 8.99 Irish pounds) and they seem to
|> have released a few albums in 1968 .
|> I also saw in the shops a cd of recordings they made for the BBC. It's
|> got some stuff I don't have already and some I do.Is this worth buying 
|> (it's 12.99)
|> Thanks for any help.
|>                       Peter.
|>    
Obscure fact:
 Between 1968 and 1971, ISB had more entries on the UK album charts than any
other band, except The Beatles, The Who and Cream.

What makes the ISB distinctive:
1. A deep sense of humanity coupled with a bizarre sense of humour.
2. The integration of diverse musical traditions - something which is not that
uncommon now, but which was innovative at the time.
3. A willing to disregard traditional musical conventions, such as hitting the
right note.
4. A complete insensitivity to what is good and what is bad.

Albums (* = on CD):
1. The Incredible String Band.
 At this stage, the ISB were Robin Williamson (who came from a folk
background), Mike Heron (from a rock background) and Clive Palmer. After the
album, Clive went to India and never came back. All the remaining albums are
Robin and Mike plus assorted friends and lovers. Most albums alternate songs
by one with songs by the other; there is one collaboration in the whole of
their work (challenge: find it). A good album, and much more trad folk than
the others.

*2. The 5000 Spirits or The Layers of the Onion.
 So-called because they coudn't agree on the title, and so used two.

*3. The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter.
 The first one I heard and one of the best.

4. *Wee Tam and The Big Huge.
 In my opinion, the ISB at their peak. It never made it onto the album charts
because of a catastrophic decision to simultaneously release it as a double
album and as two separate albums. The CD release is Wee Tam only.

(This marks the end of the good stuff, with the exception of Liquid Acrobat.
I'm not sure how the chronological order goes from here on.)

5. 'U'.
 Music from a disastrous stage show.

6. I Looked Up.

*7. Liquid Acrobat As Regards The Air.
 Worth listening to. It's got a good blend of musical styles.

8. Hard Rope and Silken Twine.
 Notable only for one track, "The Cold Days of February", an anti-war song
based on Northern Ireland.

9. Changing Horses.
 This has probably the silliest song they did about a pig ("Big Ted's dead, he
was a big old pig//Eat most anything, never wore a wig"), and for the long and
bizarre "Creation".

10. Be Glad For The Song Has No Ending.
 Music from a film about the band; a sort of "Song remains the same" for
folkies.

*11. (The BBC album - fogotten the title)
 This is late, but still quite good. I think it's probably more for
completists and collectors. There are rumours of two more BBC albums.


Compilations:
1. The Incredible String Band. (I think)
2. Relics of The Incredible String Band.
3. Seasons They Change.
One of these has a track "Queen Juanita and Her Fisherman Lover" which does
not appear anywhere else. But otherwise, I would go for the original albums.


Solo albums:
Both Robin and Mike have continued their musical careers after the ISB split.
There are about 3 Heron albums and about 10-12 Williamson ones. Most of the
are quite different from ISB music, but there are two which are similar to the
ISB in certain ways:

*1. Smiling Men With Bad Reputations. (Heron)
 This is the album that has a man wearing a black cape standing in front of a
silver foil curtain and holding a pineapple. I don't know why. Notable mostly
for the backing musicians who include members of Fairport, one of the Cale's,
Jimmy Paige and "Tommy and the Bijoux", who are most of The Who, but who could
not be named for contractual reasons.

2. Myrrh. (Williamson)
 A friend once described this as being like a Christman tree without a fairy
on the top. I've no idea what he meant. Good, but hard to find.


If you want to know more, I can dig out a reference to Record Collector which
has a full list and a history of the band. Folk Roots also did something on
the ISB recently, coinciding with the CD releases. I don't know what Mike
Heron does these days, but Robin Williamson lives in Wales and still tours.
These days he mixes story telling and Celtic folk, with an occasional ISB song
thrown in. See him if you get the change - he's a brilliant performer, and a
very warm hearted person.

-- david elworthy