“…Ancient Associates And Fellow Wanderers…”
How do you describe let
alone approach 'U' by THE INCREDIBLE STRING BAND? Grow a beard, dance around
the mulberry bushes looking for fairies, join a Sitar class or just down a
couple of pinks with your fiddle-loving mates in a real-ale pub and wickedly
laugh at the sheer loony-bin joyous knob of it all.
Following on from the even
nuttier "I Looked Up" released only months earlier in the spring of
1970 - this October 1970 double-album of Folk Rock Pantomime has always divided
fans between those who secretly love it and those who want to pretend they
bought it when they were stoned. Well along comes Beat Goes On of the UK in
2014 - and they want your credit card to reappraise this beast on a beautifully
newly remastered 2CD edition. And I for one am digging the Astral Plain and
sonic Silver Doves man...
UK released September 2014 -
'U' by THE INCREDIBLE STRING BAND on Beat Goes On BGOCD 1164 (Barcode
5017261211644) is a 2CD set that splits the original UK vinyl double-album onto
2CDs (Side 1 & 2 on Disc 1, Sides 3 & 4 on Disc 2). It comes in BGO's
now customary card slipcase with a well-annotated 24-Page booklet.
Disc 1 (53:58 minutes):
1. El Wool Suite
2. The Juggler's Song
3. Time
4. Bad Sadie Lee
5. Queen Of Love
6. Partial Belated Overture
7. Light In Time Of
Darkness/Glad To See You
8. Walking Along With You
9. (a) Hirem's Pawnitof (b)
Fairie's Hornpipe
10. Bridge Theme
Disc 2 (53:07 minutes):
1. Bridge Song
2. Astral Plane Them
3. Invocation
4. Robot Blues
5. Puppet Song
6. Cutting The Strings
7. I Know You
8. Rainbow
Discs 1 and 2 are the
double-album 'U' - released October 1970 in the UK on Elektra Records 2665 001
and January 1971 in the USA on Elektra 7E 2002. It peaked at No. 34 in the UK
LP charts - didn't chart USA.
Consisting of
multi-instrumentalists ROBIN WILLIAMSON and MIKE HERON (Guitar, Mandolin,
Sitar, Flute, Piano, Bass, Various English and European String Instruments and
Vocals) - the band also had ROSE SIMPSON on Bass and LICORICE McKECHNIE on Duet
Vocals and Guitar. Guest JANET SHANKMAN sang Lead Vocals on "Bad Sadie
Lee" and played Harpsichord on "Queen Of Love", GREG HEAT gave a
Voice Sitar to "Invocation" and PETER GRANT played Banjo On "Bad
Sadie Lee".
The 24-page booklet features
photos of their infamous stage show packed with puppets, theatre mime and
mind-expanding visuals, lyrics, recording info and detailed liner notes by
noted writer JOHN O'REGAN. But the big news is a lovely new remaster by ANDREW
THOMPSON. Many of these tracks are essentially acoustic guitars, mandolins and
high vocals - the remaster has hiss on some tracks but great clarity too.
It opens with the 8-minute
instrumental "El Wool Suite" lulling you into a false of hippy
security with its gorgeous Sitar vibes - but that's quickly kyboshed by the
silly English Folk of "The Juggler's Song" - a Madrigal too far for
most. "Time" has lovely acoustic and mandolin while "Bad Sadie
Lee" is deliberately comical - Wild West Vaudeville where someone's about
to say `varmit" any minute. The production quality on "Queen Of
Love" is superb (if you can handle Williamson's discordant voice).
Speaking of childlike lady voices - Licorice gives it some welly on the lovely
Side 3 opener "Bridge Song". But like Yoko Ono's larynx voice - its a
love it or loathe it situation. But to me "Bridge Song" has always
had some gorgeous chord-changes - there's a beautiful tune in there somewhere
trying desperately to get out.
The audio quality continues
on "The Puppet Song" (warm and clear) - the same on the delicate
"I Know You" - even if it's a tad hissy. It may go nowhere but the
extraordinary Acoustic Guitar workout that is "Astral Plane Theme"
has always sounded amazing to me. "Invocation" has hippy lyrics that
would make witches blush (lyrics above) and yet is strangely cool too. And then
the musical stage show ends on the epic near 16-minute "Rainbow" - a
chop-and-change mix of Folk, Rock, Pop and Flute Baroque. It's self-indulgent
for sure but those Vocal and Piano play offs at seven minutes have greatness
and vision in them.
The Incredible String Band
would go on to the altogether better "Liquid Acrobat As Regards The
Air" album when they signed to Island in 1971. To sum up - the unwieldy and
slightly fay 'U' won't be everyone's cup of Darjeeling for sure - but for
others it's a "sweet song of love" from a more innocent time...
PS: see also my review for
their undoubted masterpiece "Wee Tam & The Big Huge" - a
double-album from 1968 reissued by BGO in 2015 on a new 2CD Remaster...and "I Looked Up" (also from 1970)...
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