Pink Floyd and The Incredible String Band.
The Incredible String Band.
Track 2 on Side 2 is “Empty Pocket Blues”, and is unique on the LP as being the only one on which Clive Palmer does the lead vocals, and indeed also plays guitar. The other two join in the refrains, Robin playing whistle and Mike playing additional guitar. It is a lovely, gentle English Country Blues song. These are Mike’s cover notes for it:
“At the time Clive wrote this song, the title wasn’t a joke. He lived for two weeks on potatoes but it spoilt his hair-style so he wrote this song and somebody gave him a carrot.”
Track 3 is a Williamson solo, he singing and playing guitar, with nobody else doing anything. It is “Smoke Shovelling Song” and it does what is says on the tin; it concerns fire smoke freezing in the chimney. It is, needless to say, utterly brilliant. These are Mike’s notes:
“Edinburgh can be rather a cold place when Winter stamps his foot on it, and the best thing you can do to keep warm is laugh – if you are lucky your laughter won’t come out in solid lumps of ice.”
More next time.
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