The 5000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion
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''The 5000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion'' is the second
album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...
by the Scottish
psychedelic folk Psychedelic folk (sometimes acid folk or freak folk) is a loosely defined form of psychedelic music, psychedelia that originated in the 1960s. It retains the largely acoustic instrumentation of contemporary folk music, folk, but adds musical el ...
group,
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 ...
(ISB), and was released in July 1967 on Elektra Records (''see''
1967 in music The year 1967 was an important one for psychedelic rock, and was famous for its "Summer of Love" in San Francisco. It saw major releases from The Beatles (''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' and '' Magical Mystery Tour''), Small Faces ( ...
). The album was recorded following the reformation of the band as a duo consisting of
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 Edinbu ...
and
Mike Heron James Michael Heron (born 27 December 1942) is a 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 attended th ...
. Notably, the album was a change in musical direction for the two as they transitioned from their more conventional
folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...
structures into complex psychedelic compositions influenced by British folk and
Indian music Owing to India's vastness and diversity, Indian music encompasses numerous genres in multiple varieties and forms which include classical music, folk (Bollywood), rock, and pop. It has a history spanning several millennia and developed ove ...
. Upon release, the album peaked at number 25 on the UK Albums Charts, and failed to chart on the
Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of ar ...
. It was preceded by the single, "Painting Box", in June 1967 which evidently failed to chart. An additional promo single, "Way Back in the Sixties" was also released in support of the album. The album established the band within the British folk scene, while also gaining them an underground presence in the United States. At the time of its release, the album was recognised as being ambitious, and for creating a contrasting sound to other musical acts who were also utilising similar instruments at the time.Chart Archive - Incredible String Band(Link redirected to OCC website)
/ref>


Background

The ISB came to prominence in the UK in June 1966, as a result of the release of their debut album, ''
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 ...
'', which incorporated more conventional folk tracks in comparison to their later work. It bestowed upon the group a "Folk Album of the Year" award in '' Melody Maker's'' annual poll, but members
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 Edinbu ...
and
Clive Palmer Clive Frederick Palmer (born 26 March 1954) is an Australian businessman and politician. He has iron ore, nickel, and coal holdings. Palmer owns many businesses such as Mineralogy, Waratah Coal, Queensland Nickel at Townsville, the Palmer C ...
left England following its release. In late 1966, Williamson returned from leave, in which time he ventured to
Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...
with his then-girlfriend, Licorice McKechnie. With his arrival, Williamson brought back a wide variety of exotic instruments of African and Middle Eastern origin.
Mike Heron James Michael Heron (born 27 December 1942) is a 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 attended th ...
, as well, had begun to broaden his musical horizons by experimenting with the sitar in Williamson's absence. Williamson reformed the ISB with Heron, but not with founding member Palmer, who was still travelling in
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
. As a duo, the two rehearsed early versions of the material that configured their second album. Crudely recorded on a
tape recorder An audio tape recorder, also known as a tape deck, tape player or tape machine or simply a tape recorder, is a sound recording and reproduction device that records and plays back sounds usually using magnetic tape for storage. In its present ...
and a single microphone, rehearsals took place in
Balmore Balmore (from the Scottish Gaelic "Baile Mòr" meaning a large settlement) is a small village formerly in the county of Stirlingshire, but now lies in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland, located 1 km west of Torrance and 5 km east of Mil ...
between October 1966 and February 1967, in a period that was charged by extensive discussions between Williamson and Heron over the instrumental arrangements of the new material. Shortly afterwards, in early 1967 the two-piece ISB became regulars on the London folk scene as an opening act in local venues, with a set list that featured the upcoming album's songs. Nearly as exotic as their instruments, Williamson, interested in multi-media, hired two dancers known as Mimi & Lesandra (incorrectly deemed Mimi & Mouse) to take part in the band's concerts. Promotion of the ISB's songs saw the ISB performing "Chinese White" on
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
's ''Late Night Line-up'', and was capped off by a brief appearance at the
Newport Folk Festival Newport Folk Festival is an annual American folk-oriented music festival in Newport, Rhode Island, which began in 1959 as a counterpart to the Newport Jazz Festival. It was one of the first modern music festivals in America, and remains a foca ...
. Following the band's short touring schedule, their
record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...
,
Joe Boyd Joe Boyd (born August 5, 1942) is an American record producer and writer. He formerly owned Hannibal Records. Boyd has worked on recordings of Pink Floyd, Fairport Convention, Sandy Denny, Richard Thompson, Nick Drake, The Incredible String Ba ...
, who had previously worked with the group on their debut album, returned to undergo developments for the duo's second album. Following further rehearsal periods (recordings of the resulting demos were later released as '' The Chelsea Sessions 1967''), the ISB completed the entire album at
Sound Techniques Sound Techniques was a recording studio in Chelsea, London that was operational between 1965 and 1976. Housed in a former dairy, it was founded by recording engineers Geoff Frost and John Wood. The studio became well known as the place where man ...
,
Chelsea, London Chelsea is an affluent area in west London, England, due south-west of Charing Cross by approximately 2.5 miles. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames and for postal purposes is part of the south-western postal area. Chelsea histori ...
in early 1967. The recordings were conducted on four-track, in the first instances of the duo overdubbing, and multi-tracking their wide assortment of instrumentals that included
sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form ...
,
gimbri The sintir ( ar, سنتير), also known as the guembri (), gimbri or hejhouj or Garaya in Hausa language, is a three stringed skin-covered bass plucked lute used by the Gnawa people. It is approximately the size of a guitar, with a body ca ...
, and mandolin. Much of the instrumentals drew upon influences of the psychedelic genre, along with the foreign playing Williamson witnessed in his travels. Williamson and Heron's compositions were eccentric in nature, relating with themes of
mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narra ...
, life, and religion. For the recordings,
session musicians Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a t ...
were featured, such as
Nazir Jairazbhoy Nazir Ali Jairazbhoy ( hi, नज़ीर अली जैराज़भाई; October 31, 1927 – June 20, 2009) was a professor of folk and classical music of South Asia at the University of California at Los Angeles, where he was the founding ...
on sitar, Pentangle's
Danny Thompson Daniel Henry Edward Thompson (born 4 April 1939) is an English multi-instrumentalist best known as a double bassist. He has had a long musical career playing with a large variety of other musicians, particularly Richard Thompson and John Mart ...
on double bass, and on
piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...
was
counter-culture A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Hou ...
activist John "Hoppy" Hopkins. Future ISB member McKechnie also made her first contributions to the band, appearing as a
vocalist Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...
and a
percussionist A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...
.Adrian Whittaker (ed.), ''Be Glad: The Incredible String Band Compendium'', 2003, Although several other musical acts, including
The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...
and
The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...
, had already begun incorporating sitar into their compositions, the ISB featured Jairazbhoy, a musician who was traditionally taught with the instrument, rather than a western instrumentalist. Williamson also drew inspiration from his time in Morocco, becoming influenced by the song structures and vocal techniques. The album's compositions reflected upon these developments, Williamson's adaption of the Arabian oud to the guitar, and the vocal arabesques being major stylistic points in the album's overall sound.


Release

''The 5000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion'' was released in July 1967 on the Elektra label to the UK (catalogue item EUK 257), and the US (catalogue item EUK 4010). The album, more successful than the ISB's debut, peaked at number 25 on the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...
and number one on the UK Folk Chart, in part due to its promotion by DJ John Peel. Its cover, designed by Dutch artists and , better known as The Fool, featured a multi-coloured hermaphrodite juxtaposing both light and darkness. Walter Everett, ''The Beatles As Musicians: Revolver Through the Anthology'', 1999, p. 97, Two singles preceded the album's release, both of which were issued in June 1967, only to the UK. "Painting Box" then "Way Back in the Sixties" managed to promote the diversity in the band's lyrics and instrumentals, but failed to chart in the UK. ''5000 Spirits'' was much admired by
Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
, who named it his favourite album of 1967. In 1968, Judy Collins recorded "First Boy I Loved" (a cover of Williamson's "First Girl I Loved" with the gender switched) for '' Who Knows Where the Time Goes''. In 1990, Jackson Browne also covered "First Girl I Loved" for the Elektra compilation '' Rubáiyát.''
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
also named the album among his top 25 albums of all time.


Track listing


Personnel

*
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 Edinbu ...
-
vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...
,
guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...
, mandolin,
oud , image=File:oud2.jpg , image_capt=Syrian oud made by Abdo Nahat in 1921 , background= , classification= * String instruments *Necked bowl lutes , hornbostel_sachs=321.321-6 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded with a plectrum , ...
, bowed and bass
gimbri The sintir ( ar, سنتير), also known as the guembri (), gimbri or hejhouj or Garaya in Hausa language, is a three stringed skin-covered bass plucked lute used by the Gnawa people. It is approximately the size of a guitar, with a body ca ...
, flute,
percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...
(drums, rattles)
sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form ...
*
Mike Heron James Michael Heron (born 27 December 1942) is a 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 attended th ...
- vocals, guitar, harmonica * Licorice McKechnie - vocals,
percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...
*
Danny Thompson Daniel Henry Edward Thompson (born 4 April 1939) is an English multi-instrumentalist best known as a double bassist. He has had a long musical career playing with a large variety of other musicians, particularly Richard Thompson and John Mart ...
-
double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar i ...
* John Hopkins -
piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...
*
Nazir Jairazbhoy Nazir Ali Jairazbhoy ( hi, नज़ीर अली जैराज़भाई; October 31, 1927 – June 20, 2009) was a professor of folk and classical music of South Asia at the University of California at Los Angeles, where he was the founding ...
(credited as Soma)Nazir Jairazbhoy
 -
sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form ...
,
tanpura The tanpura (), also referred to as tambura and tanpuri, is a long-necked plucked string instrument, originating in India, found in various forms in Indian music. It does not play melody, but rather supports and sustains the melody of an ...


Chart positions


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:5000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion 1967 albums The Incredible String Band albums Elektra Records albums Albums produced by Joe Boyd