Pink Floyd and The Incredible String Band.
The Incredible String Band.
I have always regarded this as the “least accessible” (but not the worst) ISB album.
It was released in 1970, but I first acquired it in 1975 from the trendy record shop on Little Clarendon Street in Oxford. The copy of the LP I got then was the USA version, this being the front cover:
Yes, the photo REALLY is that blurred!
There are three tracks on each side of the LP, Side 1 opening with a very jolly romp of a song called “Black Jack Davy”. [Oddly, it was later to appear on the 1972 ISB LP “Earthspan” in a more electrified version then called “Black Jack David”.] It certainly makes very pleasant listening. It is a Heron composition, with him playing guitar and singing lead vocal. Licorice plays bass but does not sing on this one; Rose and Robin both play violins and provide backing vocals. The track lasts 3.59 minutes.
Track 2 is another Heron composition called “The Letter”. Mike does all the singing and plays guitars and Rose plays bass. Dave Mattacks plays drums (!) “(courtesy of Fairport Convention)”. The track is a sort of whimsical rocker, and indeed is all about the postman delivering a letter. It is another comparatively short song, coming in at 3.08 minutes.
Track 3, however, is the first of the” inaccessible ones”, which we shall examine next ISB time.
Listentomusicanywhere's Blog 
Comments