IT WAS MY BAD LUCK THAT I RECIVED THE BOX COVER CRACKED BUT TO MY GOOD LUCK THE CD WAS INTACT.

When I first put this on -- after not having heard the music anywhere but in my head for 30 years -- I had to readjust my ears to ISB's out-of-tune vocals and eccentric rhythm (thinking that perhaps digital clarity leaves them too exposed). But then the brilliance, creativity, innovation, whimsey, poetry and humor permeating these two albums -- that swept me up as a teen -- made my ears once again receptive. The collaboration between these two young men at this point in their lives evidenced a Beatle-esque genius that unfortunately could not be fully retained in subsequent albums. I found a great little documentary about them on youtube, by the way.

It took half a dozen of times to appreciate (first time I wasn't very impressed at all -- at first it sounded just fake-artistic outdated stoned-out hippy experiment). But after that, you either hate or love it. I happen to love it -- these are absolutely fundamentally positively great. Others probably have pointed these out, but beyond songs themselves being great, acoustic guitar work is pretty good; and lyrics are not only witty but well layered. There is always more to find. And I am a fool for whimsical tunes; mr. Heron's songs are just the fix. More bluesy songs by his partner in crime are not half bad either.
Right now my favorite is the 5000 sprits, but given rave others have for hangman I'm sure it'll grow nicely too over time.

It is also amazing how easy it's to notice similarities to other great (and much better known) artists of the era. If you ever wondered where David Bowie got influence for his early work (first 2 or 3 albums, Space Oddity, Man who sold the world, and the collection of oddities prior to those), this may well be the band. And at least Heron's songs sound like they might as well have been written by Syd B, the original Pink Floyd madman. And some songs sound a lot like Kinks as well.

Of the ISB's dozen or so albums released between 1966 and 1974, 5000 Spirits and Hangman's Beautiful Daughter rank as the two most essential, if not the most accessible (5000 Spirits is more accessible than Hangman, and that's saying something, anyway). Psychedelic silliness aside--and I'll admit it took me some time before I completely warmed to The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter (I had to rediscover Robin Williamson through his more recent work to really "get" what the Incredibles were about)--these are real classics of the period, and have stood the test of time far better than many other psychedelic albums.

The Incredible String Band have often been called the "first world music band," and given that they beat Kaleidoscope (whose most famous member is David Lindley) to the punch with their first LP by a year (the ISB's eponymous debut appeared in 1966, while Side Trips, the first Kaleidoscope album, hit the racks in '67), this claim is not exaggerated. Nor is it unjustified--there are many styles and instruments represented across the band's albums; you can hear sitars and Moroccan bowed gimbri on these tracks, along with raga, Balkan and Middle Eastern stylings. Later albums would feature the group steering a bit more toward their Celtic roots, but here, you can see the flags of many nations flying colourfully throughout the music. Personal favourites for me include "Chinese White," "No Sleep Blues," "Little Cloud," "The Hedgehog's Song," "Painting Box" and "First Girl I Loved" on 5000 Spirits; then "Koeeoaddi There," "The Minotaur's Song" (for the sheer silliness of it), "A Very Cellular Song," "Mercy I Cry City," "Three is a Green Crown" and "Swift as the Wind" on Hangman's Beautiful Daughter.

And I must disagree strongly with the reviewer who said that Robin Williamson's more recent work is that of a minstrel--that's most disingenuous. Williamson is a *bard*, thank you very much (he's even an honourary member of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids). It is my fond hope that he'll eventually return to the U.S. and tour here; that's one show I'd gladly pay admission for.

I am what you would call a newbie to the string band, and a newbie to english folk rock in general. but i am really diggin it. it's zany, psychadelic and folky all at once. there really is no other sound like this. it's like a bunch of minstrels strung out on drugs.