The Spirit Of 67

Resplendent in its' remarkably garish psychedelic cover, the album The 5000 Spirits Ot The Layers Of The Onion by the Incredible String Band epitomises 1967 and the first Summer of Love. Originally a trio and later expanded to include various family members, this album is the one which simply features most concentratedly the two talents which were the core of ISB, Mike Heron and Robin Williamson. I still remember reading the review in Melody Maker that persuaded me to buy the album, in which it was called a "folk Sgt Pepper". Not a particularly apposite description, although two other Beatle connections do occur to me. Like Lennon and McCartney, it is easy to tell which is a Mike Heron song and which a Robin Williamson song. And like those two Beatles, the influence of girlfriends on the progress of the band was disruptive to say the least. Heron's contributions tend to be more light hearted and whimsical, with talking clouds and hedgehogs, and a largely positive outlook on life. The songs of Williamson are more serious and darker but the yin and yang of the two together works wonderfully. Both have strong distinctive folk oriented voices and are excellent acoustic guitarists. The ever reliable Danny Thompson provides double bass underpinnings ( how many recordings has he made ? it must number in the thousand surely ? ) and both Heron and Williamson are proficient enough on such as oud, flute and sitar to provide touches of exotica which again are very 1967. A lovely album that was followed by two or three more recommendable releases before it all went a bit weird thanks to adherence to Scientology.