Search - Incredible String Band :: Nebulous Nearnesses

"Nebulous" yes, but not enough "Nearness"

Porgy Tirebiter | Santa Fe, NM USA | 10/21/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"As much as I love the Incredible String Band, this recording is very different from the sound and spirit that made them great from 1966-1974. This is a "live in the studio" recording made in two days of October 2003 in a special recording studio before an invited audience. Many songs you know are here but they have been changed-- they have been "tamed".



One of the things most fans loved most about ISB was their use of any musical instrument and any musical scale to create completely original and new tapestries of sound. They might be singing a simple European ballad one moment (with kazoos and sitar in the background!) and in the next moment they would slide into a perfect-pitch exploration of Chinese scales that is perfectly out-of-tune with the Western do-re-mi. I'm sure some UK/US folks thought they were singing "out of tune" back in the 60s, but there is no risk of that impression from this recording.



Gone are the wild screeches and skwaks that etched the original versions deep into our hearts. Every song has been pulled into the do-re-mi scale and you can easily imagine these songs being performed by any talented acoustic band on any night in any corner pub. Also missing is the voice of co-founder, Robin Williamson, though Mike Heron does sing on most (all?) of these tracks.



Bottom Line: If you are interested in a milder, 2003 live rendition of some ISB favorites, you may be happy with this recording. But if you are looking for the wilder, original sound of ISB, skip this "Nebulous Nearness" collection. Most fans will prefer listening to the original Heron + Williamson recordings of these same songs."