Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Best Selling in CDs
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Save on CDs
With the lead singer about to tour with John Renbourne, I thought I would check out some of his formative material and so purchased this disc. Ok, it isn't as obvious as some of their contempories, but having listened to the disc a few times now, they must have been on some interesting substances...the lyrics are generally a mix of Traffic "Hole in My Shoe" era and The beatles "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds". A full wall of sound, with split stereo which I had forgotten just how weird it could be eg a sitar in one ear and water running in the other...in fact this was my first experience of the band...even though I was just in the correct age band to have heard them first time around..for some reason this was one of the groups that escaped my attention...Given that this isn't a bad album, although not necessarilly the all important must have in your collection, I am intrigued enough to look out for "Big Tam" and "Wee Hugh" as well as "the 5000 layers of the onion" or whatever it is called.Read full review
This is a ground breaking recording from the 1960's. When bands like the Beatles were pushing at the frontiers with recordings like Revolver and Sargent Pepper, the Incredible String Band were quietly pushing Folk music to new heights.A firm favourite with the likes of the late John Peel,the Incredible String Band ranks amongst the very best music has to offer.This CD rates as a must have if you are serious about folk music. I bought this CD as part of my renewing of old LP's which were getting a bit tired.Highly recommended.
The Incredible String Band are often dismissed as fey hippies but, whilst for an absolute appreciation of their music and the atmosphere in which it was played and enjoyed, you really did "have to be there", they are a talented pair who were early innovators in what's now horribly called "world music". This album actually reached No 5 in the LP charts at the time of its telease but, in my opinion, is not as strong as either the preceding "5,000 Spirits" or their magnum opus "Wee Tam and Big Huge" but is nevertheless top class folk-style music and hugely enjoyable. I was glad to find it on sale so cheaply.
This recording was made in the time that the Hippie movement was fragementing towards a more violent form of revolutionary atitude during the Viet Nam war. As was typified in the line of the Beatles song "Revolution" "You aint going to make it any how if you go round carrying pictures of chairman Mao". On this CD flower power is still evident with songs that start in a Celtic fairy tale mode with all the old charm and child-like evocation. Riddles and humour abound. From this fairy world of the more an individual's spiritual search of the hippie becomes more evident when the words of Jesus and Krishna creep into the lyrics. A good recording though not up to the strength of "5,000 layers of the onion" but still worth a spin. Dave Benn
After being seduced by Hangman's, I rushed out to find more - which made manifest in the shape of The 5,000 Layers...but as is ever the way, I was courting disappointment. 5,000 is a great folk album but with HBD I swooped and soared with the lark and once I'd flaked a little red leb into the mix my head opened to the stars which shot and burst. As undulating as a woodland stream; bedtime stories for beautiful hearts. Open your head and try it. Jesus loves you the best.