Search - Incredible String Band :: Tricks of the Senses Rare & Unreleased 1966-1972

For completists only

James Paul Harless | Arlington, VA USA | 02/27/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Unless you're a diehard fan, you need to know that this two-CD set is mostly of historical interest. The booklet contains much interesting information, for what it's worth. As for the music, the alternate versions on the CD are not on a par with the album cuts and the unreleased tracks should probably have stayed that way. Beginners should start with their original albums, particularly the haunting and lovely third album, "The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter."



As much as I enjoy their original albums, I'll probably be selling this one on Amazon soon."

Great Rarities From An Even Greater Group

D. Delvecchio | 08/05/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Of course this release is not the place for the uninitiated to begin, nor is this review, but for the faithful: this 2-disc set is a wonderful and very welcome addition to the ISB canon. Disc 1 is as follows:

Relax Your Mind - A fascinating rehearsal tape - just Robin and Mike in the very early days. It is a Leadbelly tune with different lyrics by Robin.

Lover Man - From the "5000" sessions. A fun version of the great Mike song (later covered badly by Al Stewart). Makes a nice companion to the slightly earlier "Chelsea Sessions" version which is also great. This song never made it onto an album until "Chelsea Sessions" some 30 years later.

All Too Much For Me - "Wee Tam" sessions (mid 1968) a Robin song which goes neatly into two Blind Willie Johnson tunes. I think this is the same version released a few years ago as a bonus track on the "Circle Is Unbroken - Live + Studio 1966-1972" CD. Robin is, as always, in fine vocal form here.

The Iron Stone - An alternate take of one of Robin's greatest, most esoteric songs. Excellent on all counts, especially the jam at the end.

The Head - Very weird reading of Robin's poem complete with sound effects - from a U.S. radio session - I think May 1968. (Was radio really this cool in the 60's)? If you've ever seen the "Be Glad" film, this is the poem Robin is reading in the live footage (from March 1968).

Disc 1 concludes with three more tracks from U.S. radio 1968:

Douglas Traherne Harding, See All The People, and Maya. Nice versions of all, particularly Maya. See All The People is a pure delight, as is the live version from the "Be Glad" film and soundtrack.

For my money, Disc 2 is flawless:

Penwern - An excellent instrumental that should have been on the "Be Glad" soundtrack. I think it is in the film in the "Pirate and Crystal Ball" sequence.

El Ratto and Long Long Road - Two songs from the "U" shows - not on the subsequent album. Recorded live April 1970. These songs, for me, only add to that show's brilliance and mystique. I wish someone had filmed it so those of us not alive in 1970 could see it. Someday "U" will be recognized for the masterpiece it is. This group was definitely not afraid to take chances. They combined theater, film, poetry, mime, performance, dance, spoken word, etc. at a time when no other group would have dared. And they did it quite regularly and with the same ease with which they combined musical styles. They also upset the elitists and purists a lot ( good for them)!

Queen Juanita... - I love this track. A great long story song from Feb. 1970 - unreleased except on a 1976 compilation LP. The sound is much, much improved on this release. Most "heavy" groups took themselves way too seriously to do a song like this. Let's just say the ISB were different.

Poetry Play #1 - Brilliant, enigmatic instrumental. Great sound! Written for a performance, mime play. Would have fit better on "Liquid Acrobat" than the "Jigs" instrumentals that are on there.

Secret Temple - Likky's great last ISB song. Available only on a BBC live recording - from 1972. Its moodiness would have made it a good fit on the "Earthspan" album for which it was probably recorded.

The collection ends with Curlew - A short, wistful but mournful instrumental from 1972 which pre-figures Robin's solo work.

All in all, a great set from a band that had enough talent, diversity, and creativity for 10 bands. For the stringhead, you can't miss. For the beginner you might want to start with the albums "The 5000 Spirits Or The Layers Of The Onion" - 1967, "Wee Tam And The Big Huge" - late 1968 and then onto their masterpiece "The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter" - early 1968.

If you want to try some good mid to late period ISB, "U" - 1970, "Liquid Acrobat As Regards The Air" - 1971, and "Earthspan" - 1972 are all strong albums. If your taste leans toward kitsch, "No Ruinous Feud" - 1973, is a twisted masterpiece.

"

A welcome release, albeit slight

J. Rozler | 05/26/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Having loved the early records of the Incredible String Band, the emergence of this recent rarities collection - some forty years on! - was tantalizing news. My favorite tracks are the earliest ones: "Lover Man" is a track from the "Layers of the Onion" sessions, and while it's great to hear something new unearthed from that era, I must admit that the song itself is rather slight. I can see why it was not included in the album. There are a few alternate versions of songs from the "Wee Tam/Big Huge" period, either alternate studio takes or live radio performances. These are all good, and offer an enjoyable trip in the time machine. I'm happy to hear these tracks, even though they are short on new revelations.

The second disc is s greater disappointment to me, being from the later half of the ISB's history, a time in which I felt they lost their way somewhat. The track "Penwern" is an odd instrumental which suffers even more for its repetitiveness. A couple live tracks from "U" do not delight me; Robin's "El Ratto" is an example of his whimsey worn thin, and Mike's "Long Long Road" is a weak performance with an out-of-tune guitar, the kind of artifact that most musicians would rather leave on the cutting-room floor. I found the fifteen-minute-long "Queen Juanita" hard to endure as well, although it sounds like they all had a good time recording it. Die-hard fans will want to hear the handful of previously unreleased songs, and the audio quality is very good. Sadly though, my overall impression is that we have already heard the best that the ISB had to offer. Like so many CD re-releases which include "bonus" tracks, one mostly comes to understand why these tracks had not been released originally: they're simply not as strong.

I would give disc #1 four stars, out of nostalgic love of the early years of the group. Disc two earns only two stars. But I've already made my prejudices known.

If you feel as I do that the Incredibles' first four albums were their best, then you could probably skip this collection."