the 5000 spirits or the layers of the onion

The Incredible String Band shrank from a trio to a duo and then expanded their sound with more exotic instrumentation and more musicians for the recording of this eclectic collection of British folk and Middle Eastern music. The band had broken up after the release of their eponymous debut; but Mike Heron and Robin Williamson later reunited without Clive Palmer. They toured together and developed a rivalry that fueled their songwriting. The songs on 'The 5000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion' were composed in a small cottage in Glasgow; and their manager and producer Joe Boyd brought the duo into the Chelsea studio of engineer John Wood to record them on a four-track machine with Williamson on vocals, guitar, mandolin, oud, bowed and bass gimbri, flute, drums, and rattles; Heron on vocals, guitar, and harmonica; Williamson's girlfriend Licorice McKechnie on vocals and percussion; Pentangle's Danny Thompson on double bass; John Hopkins on piano; and Soma AKA Nazir Jairazbhoy on sitar and tamboura.

Boyd said: "Mike and Robin were Clive's friends rather than each other's. Without him as a buffer, they developed a robust dislike for one another. Fortunately, the quality and quantity of their songwriting was roughly equal. Neither would agree to the inclusion of a new song by the other unless he could impose himself on it by arranging the instruments and working out all the harmonies."





The sound was influenced by Williamson's excursion to Morocco. He had brought back several local instruments with him. They helped to provide a unique musical blend that combines their traditional folk with various international vibrations and the mystical lyrics only add to the head trip. 'The 5000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion' features dissonant raga experimentations and acoustic blues transportations that were an influential part of the summer of love and the psychedelic album cover was done by Dutch design collective The Fool.







http://www.mikeheron.co.uk/

http://www.pigswhiskermusic.co.uk/

'Painting Box' 






'First Girl I Loved' 











'The 5000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion'
full album:

Side A

1. "Chinese White"   Mike Heron 3:40

2. "No Sleep Blues"   Robin Williamson 3:53

3. "Painting Box"   Heron 4:04

4. "The Mad Hatter's Song"   Williamson 5:40

5. "Little Cloud"   Heron 4:05

6. "The Eyes of Fate"   Williamson 4:02

Side B

1. "Blues for the Muse"   Williamson 2:49

2. "The Hedgehog's Song"   Heron 3:30

3. "First Girl I Loved"   Williamson 4:55

4. "You Know What You Could Be"   Heron 2:46

5. "My Name Is Death"   Williamson 2:46

6. "Gently Tender"   Heron 4:49

7. "Way Back in the 1960s"   Williamson 3:11