Browse by Artist: INCREDIBLE STRING BAND

Artist:	INCREDIBLE STRING BAND
Title:	Nebulous Nearnesses
Label:	AMOEBA
Format:	CD
Price:	$14.00
Catalog #:	AR 002CD

"The Incredible String Band reformed in 2000 around the original 1966-74 nucleus of Mike Heron, Robin Williamson and Clive Palmer. Cardiff-based keyboards-player Lawson Dando and Williamson's wife Bina completed a line-up that toured the UK between 2000 and 2002. Heron and Palmer kept the band going following the departure of the Williamsons and brought in female multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Fluff, and later bassist Gavin Dickie. Their 2003 tour exhumed classics from the first six ISB albums, generally acknowledged to be the band's artistic high water mark. Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios in rural Wiltshire was the site of this 'live in the studio' album, recorded in front of an invited audience."

Artist:	INCREDIBLE STRING BAND
Title:	Across The Airwaves: BBC Radio Recordings 1969-1974
Label:	HUX (UK)
Format:	2CD
Price:	$27.00
Catalog #:	HUX 087CD

"The Incredible String Band was arguably one of the most engaging groups to emerge from the esoteric 1960s. Basically the duo of Mike Heron and Robin Williamson, their sound was comprised of haunting Celtic folk melodies augmented by a variety of Middle Eastern and Asian instruments. In the late '60s, the ISB became major players on the burgeoning underground scene, sharing bills with the likes of Pink Floyd at London's UFO club and acquiring cult status with the cognoscenti after the 1967 release of their album, 5,000 Spirits Or The Layers Of The Onion. John Peel soon became a big fan and was quick to get them to record sessions for his BBC Radio 1 shows. The Incredible String Band adopted an adventurous approach to their BBC radio sessions, using them to try out new, non-album material or radically rearrange older songs, encompassing a remarkable variety of instrumentation and genres. This double CD contains 13 previously-unreleased recordings and has been compiled and released with the full co-operation of the band. The accompanying 24-page booklet includes rare photographs, comprehensive liner notes and a full BBC sessionography, plus an additional note from Mike Heron and lyrics to several of the featured songs."

Artist:	INCREDIBLE STRING BAND
Title:	Tricks Of The Senses
Label:	HUX (UK)
Format:	2CD
Price:	$27.00
Catalog #:	HUX 100CD

Sub-titled: Rare and Unreleased Recordings, 1966-1972. "One of the most engaging groups to emerge from the esoteric 1960s was the Incredible String Band. Basically the duo of Mike Heron and Robin Williamson, its sound was comprised of haunting Celtic folk melodies augmented by a variety of Middle Eastern and Asian instruments. Tricks Of The Senses is a double CD compilation of unreleased or rare Incredible String Band material from the Witchseason and Island Records archives, and represents a fascinating alternative history of the band. ISB's Robin Williamson and Mike Heron were fully involved in this project from the start, and were both impressed by the quality of the material that was unearthed. The opening track here, Leadbelly's 'Relax Your Mind,' is taken from the band's own 1966 rehearsal tape, and is the source of the earliest surviving two-man ISB material. 'Lover Man' (with Danny Thompson on string bass) is an unreleased song from the band's second album, 5,000 Spirits. 'All Too Much For Me' & 'The Iron Stone' are outtakes from the band's Wee Tam LP. The remainder of disc 1 features previously unreleased recordings from a 1968 US radio session. The second CD starts with 'Penwern,' an instrumental which was not used for the 1969 Be Glad film soundtrack for which it was originally recorded. 'El Ratto' & 'Long Long Road' are both previously unreleased recordings from the ISB's 1970 song & dance extravaganza, U, which was performed at London's Roundhouse Theatre. 'All Writ Down' is an alternative stereo version, featuring an additional verse. 'Queen Juanita' is a rare outtake from the band's I Looked Up album issued only on a long-deleted 1976 compilation. 'Poetry Play # 1' is a previously unreleased 1971 recording. The final two tracks are outtakes from the Earthspan sessions, recorded in 1972. The accompanying 28 page booklet features exhaustive liner notes, including a detailed story about the background to this project. Also featured are several rare photographs and full lyrics to many of the songs."

Artist:	INCREDIBLE STRING BAND
Title:	Incredible String Band
Label:	SEPIA-TONE
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.00
Catalog #:	STONE 008CD

"The Incredible String band formed in late 1965 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Before that, founding members Robin Wiliamson , Clive Palmer and Mike Heron had played around the Edinburgh and Glasgow clubs. Originally known as Robin & Clive, the duo added Heron who bought just the bluesy feel that was needed. The initial sound was Scots old-timey with a bit of bluegrass and the blues. In 1966, a new eclecticism arrived in the folk and traditional circles, changing the three young men forever. The new wave of British folk had 'arrived' with Donovan, Bert Jansch, John Renbourne, Shirley Collins, The Watersons, and the Incredible String Band as the most genre-defying leaders. Almost immediately after The Incredible String band had finished recording their debut album for Elektra Records in 1966, virtuoso banjo player and third guitarist Palmer left the group to travel to Kashmir (and eventually to form C.O.B.). The first Incredible String Band album is the only one to feature this original trio lineup. It stands alone in the ISB catalogue, for its unique charm that precipitated the more hippie-laden records to follow. At this point, the trio still had a strong link (via Palmer) to traditional Scots old-timey balladry and ragtime and bluegrass, not to mention the traditional folk method. Yet, even in the beginning, traces of the Balkans, North Africa, and the Middle East come through clearly."

Artist:	INCREDIBLE STRING BAND
Title:	Liquid Acrobat As Regards The Air
Label:	SEPIA-TONE
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.00
Catalog #:	STONE 009CD

"During their lifespan, The Incredible String Band contained several wives, children and pets, and were a five-piece when they disbanded in November 1974. Basically, everyone else acted as a supporting cast to the songwriting nucleus of Robin Williamson and Mike Heron. Liquid Acrobat As Regards The Air marks the halfway point, more or less, of the Incredible String Band. This 1971 release was their first for Island Records, following Joe Boyd (formerly Elektra UK's director of A&R) to the label. The 'Incredibles' (as fans may know them) mined the successful formula of past releases on Liquid Acrobat, a sprawling, epic, and fanciful collection of folk musics from around the world, complete with Williamson's soulful brogue or Heron's bluesy warmth. Somehow, the ISB managed to combine numerous styles and add their own magic to the brew in order to make the sound uniquely their own. Many consider Liquid Acrobat to be the final release in the golden era of this legendary band."

Artist:	INCREDIBLE STRING BAND
Title:	The Incredible String Band
Label:	SUNDAZED
Format:	LP
Price:	$19.00
Catalog #:	SC 5127LP

"If any musical combo ever meshed perfectly with the times it was the Incredible String Band. And here's the proof: their 1966 debut, The Incredible String Band; 1967's The 5000 Spirits Or Layers Of The Onion; and The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter from 1968 -- all on deep-grooved, 180-gram vinyl. The wildly eclectic Scottish folk outfit -- with the airy vocals and fretboard prowess of Robin Williamson and Mike Heron as its two constants -- began life resurrecting wondrous and ancient Celtic ballads, then was transformed by the perfumed winds of 1967's psychedelic revolution to add sitar, oud, gimbri and all manner of exotic axes to its arsenal. The result is a gently mesmerizing psychedelia and anti-folk stance -- consummate counterpoint to current psych heroes like Mogwai and Beachwood Sparks -- that makes perfectly clear why the Incredible String Band remains just that: incredible."

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