Search - Incredible String Band :: U

Exhilerating Then and Now

Steven Skaggs | 08/01/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When U came out in 1970, I had not discovered ISB. But by 1973, I had purchased every album they had made and continued to do so until by the time they disbanded a year later, I had caught up. Over twenty recordings, and each one a prized possession to this day. "U" is among the best of them. "U" is not a perfect work of art. But it IS a work of art. And it is standing the test of time. In fact, it is getting better with age.



With the exception of Bad Sadie Lee, the first disk is about as close to a transcendent experience as one is likely to have on this plane(t). And Bad Sadie - a song everyone loves to hate - serves a purpose. This is one of three vignettes of stereotypical beings on the "manifested" side of the story. It is in British Music Hall tradition. Hiram Pawnitoff is a better attempt at the comic relief. But Bad Sadie, whatever her other personal disfunctions is, alas, too long a song. Especially when book-ended by "Time" and "Queen of Love", two of the most powerful songs imaginable. And it is true that even the eloquent and haunting "Queen of Love" would have been better served without Tom Constanten's string arrangement which, given the tempo, often sounds rushed.



But these are all quibbles. No musical artists in the late 20th century tried anything so grandiose as telling the story of humanity situated in the larger spiritual context - and got away with it. Williamson and Heron failed to make money on the project, but they succeeded artistically. How? Despite the theme, it's not pretentious. The music never tries to be melodramatic; these are simple songs, simple arrangements, small in forces and production. The pieces are always dedicated to story-telling, not (despite the fact they had become Scientologists) proselytising. They are songs of heart - both human and fallible. They are often pieces of exquisite delicacy and, in songs such as "I Know You," and "Bridge Song," full of poignance and a sense of loss. The ending, marred by "Rainbow's" last section hootnanny, yet manages to uplift.



Never trite, often un-categorizable, this is the Incredible String Band at their mature best, foretelling places only Robin Williamson would tred in later decades."

Massive album full of whimsical music.

C. Bailey | Washington D.C. | 05/29/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"To me, this is the most interesting and entertaining of the Incredible String Band albums. You can hear how their minds, their hearts, and their souls were open, but all while keeping a leveled head ;)



The songs vary to extreme extents, and all of them are very nice and entertaining. The spiritual element to this album is humongous as well, I've never heard anything like it.



Nothing that you will read in these Amazon.com reviews will reach what this album is :) We are not poets like Heron and Williamson. Buy the album, and become swept away."