Album: The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter
Artist: Incredible String Band
Born: Edinburgh
Released: March 1968
Genre: Psychedelic Folk
Influenced: Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Animal Collective, Alasdair Roberts
Psychedelic folk pioneers or hippie purveyors of discordant ditties? Incredible String Band do tread a fine line and are certainly not an "easy" listen, but this album has grown in my affection over the years. Along with Pentangle, Fairport Convention and John Martyn, ISB were pathfinders in the British folk revival, sharing a love of nature, magic and the elemental. There is a long-standing tradition in British music, going back to composers like Vaughan Williams and Holst, of eccentrics exploring the mysticism of folklore and astronomy, and this helped to form a very different strain of psychedelia in the UK compared to elsewhere. What marks ISB out from the crowd is that they tap into the Irish and Scottish folk traditions, which remained far more intact and continuous compared to English folk, and didn't need reviving in the 60s. The band's influence is undoubtedly huge; Robert Plant has admitted that he bought this album and "followed the directions", while the darker side of this neo-paganism manifested itself in heavier rock by the likes of Black Sabbath and films such as The Wicker Man.
The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter (an image of life springing forth from death) is a surreal collage of musical styles. Opener Koeeoaddi There mixes Tibetan vocals with a Scottish ballad, and nonsense lyrics reminiscent of Syd Barrett ("Your wish is not granted unless it's a fish / your wish is not granted unless it's a dish / a fish on a dish is that what you wish"). There's something more coherent about the vaudeville Mercy I Cry The City, a complaint about the hustle & bustle of great metropolises. For me though, the two standout tracks are the two longest, the meditative folk song (almost a Buddhist prayer), Three Is A Green Crown and folk song-suite, A Very Cellular Song. Many other musicians before ISB had used Indian and Middle Eastern instrumentation, notably Davey Graham and the Beatles, but nobody until this point had committed to them in the same way, nor used them so effectively, for an entire album. As well as the sitar and gimbri, the kazoo also makes a notable appearance on A Very Cellular Song. All this was not some passing fad for ISB cashing in on the trend for psychedelia; Robin Williamson, who founded the band with fellow Scotsman Mike Heron, later became the Honorary Chief Bard in the UK. This album really is some far-out wizardry.
Psychedelic folk pioneers or hippie purveyors of discordant ditties? Incredible String Band do tread a fine line and are certainly not an "easy" listen, but this album has grown in my affection over the years. Along with Pentangle, Fairport Convention and John Martyn, ISB were pathfinders in the British folk revival, sharing a love of nature, magic and the elemental. There is a long-standing tradition in British music, going back to composers like Vaughan Williams and Holst, of eccentrics exploring the mysticism of folklore and astronomy, and this helped to form a very different strain of psychedelia in the UK compared to elsewhere. What marks ISB out from the crowd is that they tap into the Irish and Scottish folk traditions, which remained far more intact and continuous compared to English folk, and didn't need reviving in the 60s. The band's influence is undoubtedly huge; Robert Plant has admitted that he bought this album and "followed the directions", while the darker side of this neo-paganism manifested itself in heavier rock by the likes of Black Sabbath and films such as The Wicker Man.
The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter (an image of life springing forth from death) is a surreal collage of musical styles. Opener Koeeoaddi There mixes Tibetan vocals with a Scottish ballad, and nonsense lyrics reminiscent of Syd Barrett ("Your wish is not granted unless it's a fish / your wish is not granted unless it's a dish / a fish on a dish is that what you wish"). There's something more coherent about the vaudeville Mercy I Cry The City, a complaint about the hustle & bustle of great metropolises. For me though, the two standout tracks are the two longest, the meditative folk song (almost a Buddhist prayer), Three Is A Green Crown and folk song-suite, A Very Cellular Song. Many other musicians before ISB had used Indian and Middle Eastern instrumentation, notably Davey Graham and the Beatles, but nobody until this point had committed to them in the same way, nor used them so effectively, for an entire album. As well as the sitar and gimbri, the kazoo also makes a notable appearance on A Very Cellular Song. All this was not some passing fad for ISB cashing in on the trend for psychedelia; Robin Williamson, who founded the band with fellow Scotsman Mike Heron, later became the Honorary Chief Bard in the UK. This album really is some far-out wizardry.
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