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ivan@stellysee.de
| From | Kevin Kern <kern@wallnet.com> |
| Subject | Re: Incredible String Band |
| Date | Fri, 25 Apr 2003 20:38:09 -0400 |
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Brian Kassan asked:
>Just noticed a very high ranking of favorite 60's British rock (#6) on the
>"Making Time" website for The Incredible String Band's 1968 release-"The
>Hangman's Beautiful Daughter." Can anyone here recommend this and describe
>what it's like?
And then Stewart Mason <flamingo@theworld.com> said:
> If you have to get an Incredible String Band LP, I suppose this is the one
> to get, but be warned: there is no "rock" here at all. The ISB were an
> acoustic folk duo of Mike Heron and Robin Williamson (plus, by this point,
> their wives on bass and violin), who favored a mixture of odd stringed
> instruments from around the world that meshed British folk traditions with
> a sort of proto-world music that was actually kind of cool musically.
> However, they have two very large strikes against them:
>
> 1. The lyrics, even by '60s hippies standards, are just fucking
> unbearable. Titles include "A Very Cellular Song," "The Minotaur's Song"
> and "Three Is A Green Crown," to give you an idea.
>
> 2. Robin Williamson, who sings most of the lyrics, has the most godawful
> voice in the history of pop music. He trills, he chirps, he giggles, and he
> does it all just enough out of tune to be profoundly irritating. His voice
> bugs me so much that I feel that if I ever met the man, I would slap him
> just on general principles.
>
> So basically, the ISB are vaguely intriguing in some ways, very offputting
> in others, and unless you have a huge fondness for extremely twee acoustic
> folk and a level of hippie-dippie blather that makes A GIFT FROM A FLOWER
> TO A GARDEN sound like WHITE LIGHT/WHITE HEAT, stay well clear.
>
> S
Hey-zeus, Stewart, Hangman's has been out for 35 years,
and you STILL don't like it? On the other hand, Brian, Stewart
does make some valid points, but don't let him scare you
away. Some of us really love this stuff, and consider it
rustic or pastoral grandeur rather than twee unbearable chirping.
Give it a try! Hangman's is probably the best starting point.
Cheers,
Kevin Kern
The ISB is my second favorite band after the Beach Boys.
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