''Liquid Acrobat as Regards the Air'' is the ninth

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by the

Incredible String Band The Incredible String Band (sometimes abbreviated as ISB) were a Scottish psychedelic folk band formed by Clive Palmer (musician), Clive Palmer, Robin Williamson and Mike Heron in Edinburgh in 1966. The band built a considerable following, esp ...

. It features

Mike Heron James Michael Heron (born 27 December 1942) is a Scotland, Scottish singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known for his work in the Incredible String Band in the 1960s and 1970s. Career Heron was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and at ...

Robin Williamson Robin Duncan Harry Williamson (born 24 November 1943) is a Scottish multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and storyteller who was a founding member of The Incredible String Band. Career Williamson lived in the Fairmilehead area of Edinbur ...

Licorice McKechnie Christina 'Licorice' McKechnie (born 2 October 1945) is a Scottish musician. She was a singer and songwriter in The Incredible String Band between 1968 and 1972. Her whereabouts have been publicly unknown since 1987, when she was last seen hit ...

and

Malcolm Le Maistre Malcolm Le Maistre (born 21 March 1949) is an English people, English musician, experimental artist and theatre director, who was a member of The Incredible String Band in the 1970s. He was born in England, his father a France, French born journa ...

. The album was the band's first almost entirely electric recording; a new feature that was to define the change in the band's sound throughout their final period through 1974. This was also the first album without

Rose Simpson Rose Simpson (born 22 November 1946) is an English former musician. Between 1968 and 1971, she was a member of the Incredible String Band, with whom she played bass guitar, violin, percussion and sang. She later became Lady Mayoress of the Wel ...

who was going to become a sound engineer, but started a family instead.

Gerry Conway Gerard Francis Conway Thomas, Roy. "Roy's Rostrum" ("Bullpen Bulletins") in '' Marvel Super-Heroes'' #43 and other Marvel Comics cover-dated May 1974. (born September 10, 1952) is an American comic book writer, comic book editor, screenwriter, t ...

, a drummer of

Fairport Convention Fairport Convention are an English folk rock band, formed in 1967 by guitarists Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol, bassist Ashley Hutchings and drummer Shaun Frater (with Frater replaced by Martin Lamble after their first gig.) They started o ...

appears on the album. The most ambitious track is also its lengthiest. "Darling Belle", the track Williamson said "came to me in a dream", is composed of three-way vocals and spoken-word. Heron would vocalise and McKechnie would mimic his words with her high-pitch vocals. It tells the story of a woman from childhood to old age. "Tree" is a remake of the song "The Tree" from the band's first album.

Track listing

Personnel

* Mike Heron - lead vocals (4, 6, 8, 10); guitars (2, 4, 6, 8); bass guitar (4, 11, 12); sitar (1); organ (1, 5, 11); piano (3, 4, 8, 10, 12); harmonium (4, 8); electric piano (7); flute (9); backing vocals (1, 4, 7-8, 10, 12) * Malcolm Le Maistre - harpsichord (1); percussion (1, 5); bass guitar (2); kazoo (5); whistle (5, 7, 11); mandolin (6, 11); tenor recorder (9); bouzouki (10); glockenspiel (12), harmonica (12), organ (12), clarinet (12); backing vocals (1, 5-7, 12) * Licorice McKechnie - lead vocals (3, 9, 12); organ (1, 2, 6, 8); harmonium (1), percussion (1, 7, 10-11); bass guitar (5); kazoo (5); autoharp (11); bironne (11); backing vocals (1-3, 6, 7, 9-10, 12) * Robin Williamson - lead vocals (1-2, 5, 7, 9, 12); oud (1), violin (1, 4), whistle (1), cymbal (1); guitars (2, 7, 12); cello (4, 8); oboe (4, 6, 12); mandolin (5 ,10); kazoo (5); bass guitar (6); percussion (7); bass recorder (9); fiddle (11); flute (12); banjo (12); string arrangements (12); backing vocals (2, 5, 6, 9-10, 12) with: * Gerry Conway, drums (2, 6, 7) * Stan Lee, pedal steel guitar (1); bass guitar (7)

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liquid Acrobat As Regards The Air 1971 albums The Incredible String Band albums Island Records albums