Search - The Incredible String Band :: Earthspan

Bye bye Licorice

Tom | London | 07/23/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Another odd album from the twilight years of the Incredibles, this was the last to feature Licorice McKechnie and her departure really signalled the final nail in the coffin of the ISB we knew and loved. She actually contributes quite a lot to the album providing the (rather odd) lyrics to "Sunday Song" and the stratospherically high lead vocals to "Banks of Sweet Italy". That prancing dancer Malcolm Le Maistre also makes his presence felt, contributing three songs, the spritely and catchy "My Father Was a Lighthouse Keeper", the rather limp-wristed and louche "The Actor" and the quite stirring "Sailor and the Dancer". Whether, his plummy vocals brought very much to the ISB is rather more debatable. As for Heron and Williamson, they seem oddly subdued. Williamson contributes two diffuse jazzy ballads and the aforementioned "Banks of Sweet Italy", a brief and delightful return to more folky waters rendered difficult to listen to by Likky's fingenails-down-a-blackboard vocals. From Mike Heron we have the tortured one-man-and-his-church-organ "Antoine", which reads like a film script but errs on the side of melodrama. "Black Jack Davy" from "I Looked Up" is revisited and revitalised as "Black Jack David". [....] Finally, there is "Sunday Song", something of an epic (though not by ISB standards), this features a three-pronged vocal attack of Likky, Mike and Malcolm and an often very inventive string arrangement from Mike. Somewhat overblown in places and about as far from the original ISB as is humanly possible but still an interesting track (rather poorly produced tho, black marks there Mike). The closing string coda happens to be one of the most stirring moments in the ISB canon, IMO!"

Interesting Incredibles....

S. GODFREY | Risca, South Wales | 03/04/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This album found the Incredibles in one of their many transitional phases...not yet the full-blooded rock band of "Hard Rope", no longer the whymsical hippy minstrels of "Hangman's"...this was a band with an identity crisis. They gamely tried out different musical styles, Robin's jazzy excursions here are only partly successful, Mike's "Antoine" is powerful but essentially melodramatic, Likky's "Sunday Song" is strangley affecting but does takes some getting into. Malcolm's "Sailor and the Dancer" is one of the more enjoyable tracks in an eclectic collection. Still great because its the Incredibles, but not essential like "Hangman's""

One of the best albums of the hippie era

Dr. G. B. Dennill | Azania | 01/03/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"ISB have always been underrated by most. I think that the reason is that few people have the patience or aesthetic refinement to appreciate it fully. Let's face it: the masses want music that is easy to like. For those who have are prepared to make the effort to open their minds and ears, I recommend this as one of the finest of the late 60's and early 70's. (To give an idea, it features, for me, amongst "Led Zeppelin II", Jimi Hendrix's "Band of Gypsys", CSN ("Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" album), Big Brother & Janis' "Cheap Thrills", Rolling Stones' "Sticky Fingers", Santana "Abraxas" and others... Yes, that is how highly I rate "Earthspan" by Incredible String Band!"