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The Incredibles' humble beginnings

William M. Feagin | Upstate New York, USA | 09/15/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This was the ISB's debut album, and a fine debut it was too. It should also be noted that, until the reunions of recent years, this was the only album to feature original member Clive Palmer; they split briefly after recording this album, and Palmer then travelled to Afghanistan. Robin Williamson went to Morocco for a time and returned with the bowed gimbri which would make its debut on their second album, The 5000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion. But I digress...



This is quite different from most everything that followed, as Williamson and Heron weren't yet following their psychedelic muse. Yet the seeds of the later ISB material are planted here, with the eclectic mix of sounds in the opening cut "Maybe Someday" (or as the liner notes suggest, "She'll be Scottish, Bulgarian and schizophrenic"). For the most part, however, this is a fairly straight-ahead mix of British and American folk styles; Williamson's "October Song" is easily the best track on here, predicting "First Girl I Loved," and Heron's "The Tree" and "Everything's Fine Right Now" give us some insight into his style, also predicting "Chinese White" and "Painting Box" to some degree.



Clive Palmer contributes just one song himself, "Empty Pocket Blues." Since he wasn't heard from again for a long time, it's hard to know just how he would have progressed had he remained with the ISB, or even how he might have contributed to their developing sound. Would Williamson and Heron's psychedelic tendencies have been reigned in a bit? (Certainly that didn't happen when Rose and Licorice became contributing members, seeming instead to bolster their boyfriends' odd but engaging twists of creativity.)



However you view it, this is a good look at what might have been, and what was to be, mingling together on the same album. The remastering job is excellent. For more than just completists."

Not Yet Incredible

Patrick W. Schubert | Santa Ana, California United States | 12/06/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"In my opinion, The Incredible String Band didn't become incredible until Williamson and Heron discovered psychadelia and recorded jems like "Chinese White", "The Eyes of Fate" and the entire Hangman's Beautiful Daughter LP. Their self-titled debut, in comparasson, is pretty much your garden variety British folk music with little of the imagination and eccentricity of their later work. Clive Palmer contributes one original number and some excellent banjo playing but seems more like a guest musician than a full fledged band member.



If early ISB material is what you crave, first check out the superior Chelsea Sessions 1967 CD featuring well-recorded demos of many of the songs that were later re-recorded for the 5000 Spirits LP that same year. Others may disagree, but I consider their debut to be for ISB completists only and not an essential recording."