Folk /
Transfigurations On Lap-Steel Guitar
Iowa City's Evan Miller is never one to stay in the same rut for too long. His earlier releases were composed of Fahey-esque spells, heavily emotional acoustic guitar work emanating tones of nostalgia and simplicity. On Transfigurations On Lap-Steel Guitar, a new zone is crafted with lap-steel guitar and tape collage, creating equally nostalgic music from the other end of the spectrum: delicate, minimal drones. Tones interweave and textures evolve: it is Evan's most personally progressive work, …
Apache / Inca
First CD reissue of this strange late 60s set of artifacts (previously reissued as an elaborate 2LP set on Little Indians). ""California deep Psychedelic loner. Acid leads, mystical vocals, tons of effects, completely stoned feeling. Came out as 2 single albums and even more limited as a double album. Only 3 copies known. The music is outta space psychedelic with great songs and beautiful vocals. A real killer from beginning to end." This record is in Paul Major's "Top Five of Weird Underground …
Philadelphia Folk Fest 1969
An official bootleg featuring the INCREDIBLE STRING BAND performing live at the 1969 Philadelphia Folk Festival. Widely considered to be one of the bandis best live recordings, the album features eight wonderful songs.
Yökehrä
Jonna Karanka aka Kuupuu is one of the main movers of the (deservedly) much hyped Finnish Psychedelic Free Folk scene. Originally hailing from Tampere she is known as a core member of Avarus, Anaksimandros, Kukkkiva Poliisi and Maniacs Dream. Additionally, she has recently started Hertta Lussu Ässä with Lau Nau and Islaja and has collaborated with Tomutonttu (aka Jan Anderzen of Kemialliset Ystävät) and Paavi (as Lussu ja Paavi). "Yökehrä" is the first of two vinyl-only LP's on the Dekorder labe…
Unilintu
"Unilintu" is the second of two vinyl-only LP's on the Dekorder label compiling the best material from Kuupuu’s first four CD-R and cassette releases, this time presenting a slightly darker and even more coherent sonic vision compared to last year’s gorgeous "Yökehrä" LP which we sold out immediately (2nd edition is now available). Here’s what we said about the first LP: Jonna Karanka aka Kuupuu is one of the main movers of the (deservedly) much hyped Finnish Psychedelic Free Folk scene. Origina…
Harem of the Sundrum & the Witness Figg
First solo album from leader of the mysterious & bongtastic loft-psych champions THE VANISHING VOICE (Troubleman, 5RC, DeStijl, 3 Lobed). Uber trippy/heady folk influenced in equal parts by legendary hedonists Fleetwood Mac & West Coast sad sack Judee Sill with tips of the cap to other early 70's West Coast signposts of despair & excess David Crosby, Grace Slick & Gene Clark. The intention to create something timeless & ageless informs each note of the music.
Wee Tam
Originally released as a double album Wee Tam & The Big Huge for some reasons gets commercialized as two separate Cds, the first called Wee Tam and the next being The Big Huge. Again the Boyd/Elektra connection is present, the pastoral setting of artwork (both albums photos taken from the same shoot (same clothes) and the group was at its apex. This Cd reissue of Wee Tam should read side 1 & 2 of the double vinyl issue Well no matter how you look at it, ISB’s better moment had turned with Hangma…
Liquid Acrobat As Regards The Air
During their lifespan, The Incredible String Band contained several wives, children and pets, and were a five-piece when they disbanded in November 1974. Basically, everyone else acted as a supporting cast to the songwriting nucleus of Robin Williamson and Mike Heron. Liquid Acrobat As Regards The Air marks the halfway point, more or less, of the Incredible String Band. This 1971 release was their first for Island Records, following Joe Boyd (formerly Elektra UK's director of A&R) to the label. …
The Hangman\'s Beautiful Daughter
Credited with being the first artists to fuse folk and psychedelic sensibilities, the Incredible String Band benefited from having two very complementary frontmen. Robin Williamson and Mike Heron were also extremely versatile musicians, as this, their third album, indicates: he two of them play 17 instruments here, including harpsichord, water harp, sitar, and oud. While Hangman's is a fascinating record dense with exotic rhythms and instrumentation, it also suffers in spots from the airy excess…
I looked up
New remastered edition, originally issued in 1970, I LOOKED UP represents the end of the Robin/Mike/Likky/Rose period of the Incredible String Band. Later that same year would see te release of the 2-lp set U, which would introduce new faces and influences into the melting pot that was the 'sound' of the ISB.Other than being the last album by this line-up, I LOOKED UP is notable for several other reasons -- for one thing, it was the last album they recorded that was mostly acoustic (I don't cons…
U
Their 1970 album intended as a soundtrack to their theatrical stage show, this was subtitled A Surreal Parade in Song and Dance. Includes the epic 'Rainbow'. Never before on CD, this the amazing Elektra remastered edition."U" is something special, and almost accidental. Its structure, dictated by its title, seems almost unapparent in the music itself. Look closely at the cover: it represents a "Siddhartha" like journey from the purity of innocence, down into the temptation and turmoil of the phy…
Dr. Ragtime And His Pals
Jack Rose's new full length, Dr. Ragtime And His Pals, coupled with a reissue of last year's self-titled CD/LP housed in a custom designed and fabricated off-set printed card cover with j-card style obi (there is also a jewel case version on the UK label Beautiful Happiness). Limited edition of 1000. "The Appalachian Trail runs 2175 miles south from Mount Katahdin in Maine to Springer Mountain in Georgia, though there are those who want to stretch it further, into Alabama, because the mountains …
Changing Horses
They really don't write them like this any more. "Big Ted's dead / He was a great old pig," sings Robin Williamson. "He'd eat most anything / Never wore a wig." Although the Incredible String Band had always been delightfully ramshackle, 1969's Changing Horses found the innovative folk-rock duo of Williamson and his mate Mike Heron becoming almost a slipshod stoned parody of themselves--with assistance from their girlfriends Rose and Licorice. Of the six tracks, two ramble on at such length (ove…
The Big Huge
This quartet incarnation of the Incredible String Band featured primary songwriters Robin Williamson and Mike Heron as well as their significant others, Christina "Liquorice" McKechnie and Rose Simpson. The ISB's tradition of quirky, and at times atonal, acoustic material is well served by the nine compositions on this platter. The lengthy opening track, "Maya," foreshadows their less-focused upcoming works I Looked Up and U. Although there are a few moments of brilliant playing, the ambling nat…
The 5000 Spirits Or The Layers Of The Onion
The 5000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion was the second LP by The Incredible String Band, released in July 1967. Since recording their debut album the previous year, the original trio had been reduced to two, Mike Heron and Robin Williamson. They recorded The 5000 Spirits... in London in early 1967. The album also featured Pentangle's Danny Thompson on double bass, Williamson's girlfriend Licorice McKechnie on vocals and percussion, master sitar player Nazir Jairazbhoy (credited as "Soma"), a…
Valentine
The songs are also a rather gentle and melodic bunch, with "I'll See You Again" and the tender "Forever" being particular highlights. Harper's usual collection of heavy friends are present, including Ian Anderson, Keith Moon, Jimmy Page and David Bedford, all of them contributing well. But as always, this is strictly Harper's show. 10 track album originally released in 1974. Guests include Jimmy Page, Keith Moon, Pete Sears and Max Middleton. Originally released on Valentine's Day 1974, VALENTIN…
Lifemask
The follow-up to Roy Harper's career-defining song cycle STORMCOCK, 1973's LIFEMASK does an excellent job on building on some of the most successful aspects of the previous album without sounding like a mere retread. Wisely, Harper doesn't attempt ... Full Descriptionto repeat the unusual four-lengthy-songs structure of STORMCOCK, instead favoring shorter songs and mood pieces which cohere into a satisfying whole. Jimmy Page, used sparingly and to great effect on STORMCOCK, plays on nearly ev…
HQ
Originally released in 1975, HQ is Roy Harper's 8th studio album. Roy describes HQ as his most integral 'rock record'. It featured Harper's formation of Trigger, a relatively straightforward hard rock trio anchored by ace guitarist Chris Spedding and former King Crimson/Yes drummer Bill Bruford. (The unit disbanded after this album, however.) Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour and Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones are among the other all-star contributors on this album. The album was original…
Folkjokeopus
Eccentric, prolific British singer/songwriter Roy Harper is a legend on the U.K. folk-rock scene. He began recording in the late 1960s, as something of a cross between Bob Dylan's troubadourism and Syd Barrett's freewheeling, wild-eyed visions. Though Harper has had an impact on British rockers who gained greater fame (he's feted in Led Zeppelin's "Hats Off To Roy Harper," sings lead on Pink Floyd's "Have a Cigar," and was a major influence on Jethro Tull), his mix of folk and prog-rock has earn…
Flat Baroque And Berserk
Flat Baroque and Berserk was the first record of Harper’s to go into the charts. Peter Jenner was assigned by EMI Records to produce the recording – the two have been good friends ever since. EMI Studios, Abbey Road was at that time the most advanced studio in Europe, and over the next ten years Roy Harper was to record in near-perfect conditions. Over those years, the studio buzzed with four separate Beatles, some Stones, The Pink Floyd, Cliff and the Shadows, Gracie Fields, three of four music…