Bloomsbury 2000

Performer: The Incredible String Band
Distributor: E1 Distribution (USA)

Notes: Incredible String Band: Robin Williamson, Mike Heron, Clive Palmer. Additional personnel: Bina Williamson, Lawson Dando. Contains 8 tracks. This CD documents a historic event, the 2000 reunion of the full Incredible String Band. There'd been tentative steps toward it for a couple of years before, but this was the acid test to see whether the magic still prevailed after all these years. "Maker of Islands," with its Mike Heron vocal, reassures listeners from the outset that everything is just fine, as Robin Williamson offers gentle support. From there it's simply triumph to triumph. Perhaps the biggest surprise of the event is some of the choice of material -- even a couple of tracks from Wee Tam/ The Big Huge, one of which ("Air") features a Clive Palmer vocal that probably works better than the original. Palmer, who left the band quite early in their career, gets to show his banjo skills on "Goodbye," and the evening closes with the glory of "October Song," one of the band's best-known pieces. While there's not the sense of childlike discovery that existed in the early days when they were fusing folk and world music (a term that wasn't even in use then) in cavalier fashion, this remains a joy. Maturity hasn't really tempered them, and, if anything, the musical and vocal skills have improved. For many years no one believed a concert like this could happen. That it did is worth the memory of a CD like this. That it's so good is close to a fairytale ending. ~ Chris Nickson

Active from the mid 1960s, godfathers of the British underground psychedelic-folk movement the Incredible String Band mixed folk, Eastern influences, psychedelia, and a loopy, mythology-laced sense of humor. Long time associates of famed folk-rock producer Joe Boyd, the ISB evolved from a trio down to a duo (Robin Williamson and Mike Heron combining to make what is arguably their most successful incarnation) and later expanded to a full band. They sputtered out in the mid 1970s; however, Heron, Williamson, and assorted backing musicians re-formed to play several scattershot reunion shows in the late 1990s/early 2000s.

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