The Incredible String Band — EarthSpan / No Ruinous Feud
These two albums saw the band move further away from the lose, sometimes off kilter & at times wavering hippy play-full-ness of their most known & celebrated albums like The 5000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion, or The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter. As they moved towards a more firmly structured, moody & at times theatrical/ showy sound that brought together elements folk, piano led & string swooned singer songwriter fare, light prog rock elements, touches of classical & jazz flavour, and some dips into reggae & a few other genres.
So up first on disc one we have EarthSpan, which was originally released in October 1972 on Island records. The original album offered up ten tracks in all, and these lasted around the three to seven & a half minutes a piece. Of the two albums on offer here I guess this is the more moody & melodramatic, with each of the tracks subtle darting & mixing together different musical genres. We move from “My Father Was a Lighthouse Keeper” which brought togeather swaying & strummed & latter strutting acoustic & bass guitar groove, with more angular vocalizing & sudden doomed string swoons. Onto "Restless Night" , which moves from the wondering Hammond organ, jazz acoustic guitar & water drum laid back opening, onto more upfront jazz ‘n’ blues flavoured Van Morrison like latter part. Through to the “The Actor”, which starts off with a elegant interplay between Spanish like acoustic guitar & flamboyant piano tinkling, before moving into more set acoustic guitar strum & piano setting, then lastly shifting into a rising chours which is lined with a jaunting bar piano element.
So moving onto disc two we have No Ruinous Feud, which originally appeared in April 1973 on Island records. The original album offered up twelve tracks, and these were mainly a lot more short & concise compared Earthspan's tracks, with the twelve tracks coming falling between the two & four minute mark. Also the tracks structures & genre movements (or mixers with-in track)were a lot more fixed & conventional in their feel, through there’s a fair selection of different genres from track to track. “Saturday Maybe” is mix of strummed & picked acoustic sing songwriter fare that swooned by moody & sometimes overbearing string swoons. “Old Buccaneer” is a slice of 1970’s sax tinged pop rock strutting ‘n’ chugging with slight dips into jazz tinged horn forlornness. “Second Fiddle” is buoyant & dayglow mix of reggae and jaunting almost Klezmer tinged jazz. “My Blues Tears” was ye-haw mix of jigging guitar ‘n’ fiddle, with sawing almost Cajun vibe. Where as Earthspan was more moody & melodramatic, No Ruinous Feud is more playful yet approachable in it’s feel
Like the other double disc reissue of TISB albums on BGO Records (reviewed here) the two disc comes in a double jewel case set. Sadly there are no extra tracks on either disc, you just get the original album tracks, but you do get a 16 page inlay booklet which takes in a six page new write-up about both albums. Along with full instrumental credits for both albums, and full lyrics for both albums too, the jewel case comes in a cardboard colour slip sleeve.
If you are a fan of the likes of albums like The 5000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion, The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter, or Wee Tam and the Big Huge- you really have to approach both of these albums as if you’re listening to a different band, as the sound here is a lot more formal, conventional & structured than the bands early work. Sure there is still artistic flare & musical genre movement present on both albums, but it’s all done in a much more controlled and at times sadly less distinctive manner.