Incredible String Band - The Half-Remarkable Question ('68)

[petermatthew123]

Great original music from the 60's - it was one of the good memories of being there!

[ZippyClips]

This completely kicks ass! In an ISB way of course.

[medicinesocks]

i have always so loved this one. i can't even bear to follow conversations critiquing art of music. you either get it or you don't. you love it or you don't. that's how you can tell great poetry from terrible poetry. if you love it, that's good poetry.

[MrBlackjackdavy]

This was the first time I saw the ISB had heard original LP which was just so different, saw this and was taken to some sublime land that I dont think I ever left, seeing Robin on Thursday night at Barnard castle, May the long time sun shine upon him

[yukonnoka]

the fact that this does not have over 5,000,000 views makes me worry about the sanity of our species...

[dccyclist7]

Lovely, sweet, poignant, tender--I love ISB and this song. Ah, "The freckles of rain ... ."

[johntechwriter]

Surely the gentlest and most thoughtful music this relic of the sixties can recall. The make it look easy but they are tops in each category -- instrumentalists, singers and songwriters. The smoothness of their performance is the result of a lot of hard work. Don't ever think they don't take their music seriously.

[jensganman]

Listen... to what the flower people say... ah-haaaaahhhhhh....

[minwav]

I don't know I'm trying to get this stuff and it's just so hard. Not to mention you could poke a hole in a piece of paper with that nose. Can someone tell me: Is it LSD?  Dianetics? Someone please tell me what the Hell is it with these guys and what do so many people see in them? I'm big into Pentangle, Martin Carthy, Dylan, Fairport but these damned lyrics make me want to tear out my eyeballs.

[sunnskyy]

@minwav I think I can help you here minwav ....not sure how this messaging via youtube works...is it a private conversation?

[minwav]

@sunnskyy No I think this is a public conversation - please let me know how to proceed - thank you.

[thereekofsleep]

@minwav

Duuno, man. Just open yourself up to it. Their lyrics are some of the most thoughtful ever sung.

[sunnskyy]

@minwav ok....let's start here....what were you listening to in 1960,61,62,63,64,65,66 and 67??

We all had to progress from A to B...or A to X, or whatever.

If you asked John Renbourne, Bert Jansch, Richard Thompson, the same question you'd get that the absorption of influences yielded "new" results. The missing genetic material in your "not getting" ISB could be Donovan Leitch, who went from folk to hippy minstrel with jazz/blues/metal overtones. Joe Boyd's company name? Witchseason.

[minwav]

@sunnskyy thank you for your obviously thoughtful reply. I've bought a few of their CD's now and am listening...I do like them but I get the feeling, sometimes, that with these lyrics, they're occasionally on the verge of stopping and laughing their heads off. I am a big fan of all things Witchseason and Joe Boyd as well - ISB represent an era in popular culture and I'm digging it - thanks again.

[sunnskyy]

@minwav Another way to frame it would be to start with the first album...basically straight folk...then go to Spirits/Onion...then HBD, etc...go slowly...listen to each over and over again...then go on to the next. By cherry picking out of chronology you might not touch the thread. And without the thread, you won't get the fabric....without the fabric, no clothes. "The Emperor has no clothes" you may think. ISB: "I hear that the Emperor of China used to wear iron shoes with ease.."

[mushroomagical]

Wow! This is super groovy! I can watch this sober and immediately drop into some very soothing flashback...

[barnamania]

Thumbs up for the incredibly high presenter :-D

[Timophonic1]

Historic performance

[Timophonic1]

Wonderful!!

[butterybiscuits67]

@TimothyBarson agreed :) My favorite ISB song btw

[ZornFritz]

thank you!

[BigJonBone]

This song makes me want to smoke weed.

[nagarjuna222able]

We concur: the best of all time! "Ducks on a Pond" was the first song I ever learned. Been trying to emulate them ever since. We're trying to come close. Check us out at "The Bairds" . We have 7 videos up so far. Would love to hear the opinions of folks who are fans of the masters of (what we call) 'Acid Folk'. Cheers!

[musicadegigi]

I love this music. its poetry set to music. the sitar music adds to its beauty!! thanks for sharing this!!!

[ReWir3d]

Thank You, mnemonyxx (great moniker). Just INCREDIBLE as always even more INDELIBLE. 

Yes, but I think Mike is playing sitar, and Robin the guitar:

[SarunJunior]

predivno..

[RBREV]

FredJ511 - I believe that is Mike Heron, the other half of the string band, on guitar. I saw them many times in the sixties in New York, at the Fillmore East. Truly music for the mind and spirit.

[originalarenas]

@RBREV It's Mike Heron on sitar and Robin Williamson on guitar. Guaranteed.

[FredJ51]

Julie Felix introduced them and that's Martin Carty on sitar. 

[adamg709]

@FredJ51 No it's not....it's Mike Heron.

[zoidberg590]

saw this on BBC last night, very psychedelic but also soothing

[f00king]

Absolutely amazing. How does he remember the melody. Its just out there. Very cool.

[TerrySleeper]

Beautifully acid-drenched.

Wonderful stuff.

[Rikk303]

Aaaa, the Incredible String Vest....remember them well if memory serves

[deborahkauffman09]

I was sooo into these guys in the 60's, wow, thanks for posting...

[potrezeb1]

a great perfomance ...tahnks to the archivists and mistress Felix for preserving this performance

[TimothyBarson]

in my opinion one of, if not THE best band(s) ever to have existed

[benheideveld]

@TimothyBarson I agree. Have met Mike and Robin in the 90's. The scope of their work is majestic and a total mind job. Better than good sex.

[TimothyBarson]

@benheideveld

well... if i had to choose between good sex and the incredible string band... i would go for the first! ;)

[cujimmy92]

@TimothyBarson why not have good sex while listening to the incredible string band?

[josejoa]

What a pleasure to listen this music and this band, for me the best folk-rock band of all the times.

[rusty5hi]

Sitar

[andrewzeegers]

back in time or ahead of time?

[jubilaz]

it needs to be said again- best band of all time. no one has come close since.

[Pitsku]

Did they fall out? It's never too late.

[gleemen]

Nice clip... Similar to what Donovan or Shawn Phillips was also doing.

[zegjdfghdlg]

sounds pretty poetic to me although somewhat dated. My issue with this is that it seems to be lip-synched; sounds exactly like the recording and Robin's lips are moving out of synch... glad to see that people are still paying attention to this music tho'.

[fistofonan]

@zegjdfghdlg not lip-synched - the audio track is slightly out of sequence - see JF's lips as she introduces them.

[Auquis]

Too bad they were fucking scientologists

[crickards1]

So happy to hear this again - mine's on vinyl and haven't heard it it in eons! Thanks x

[ireallydontlikeit]

Couldn't the sitarist be sustaining his notes a bit more, instead of choking them? Ah, well. 40 years ago, and maybe we're still not asking the right questions.

[andygray]

Brilliant music, thanks for posting.

[MOEZEE12]

Love it--just love it

[yippierb]

the "freckles of rain" is a wee bit much....are yee sure they wrote it all themselves? I miss it but let us admit it was all a bit pretentious.

[parfumedtree]

robin williamson is leonardo da vinci of folk music

[russianpostman]

hello what was 'changing horses', 'i looked up' and 'U' like please?

[daverigby23]

@russianpostman they are all great albums, I had them all on vinyl at one time, if you haven't heard much from this period, then start with 'I Looked Up' good luck and good listening my friend

[russianpostman]

Thanks dude

[russianpostman]

i got changing horses (for its after wee tam n big h which im up to) and i think it has moments of great quality..... But looking foreward to 'i looked up'. ive got the 'no ruinous feud' and 'earthspan' collection which is not nearly as amazing as the material from 1968 but still nice.

[teleroylichtenstein]

They are the best of all time

[francoxxxfranco]

they are really stoned, very hippie music. i love that sound, and the sitar its just magic. it's a very folky band, but very psichedelyc.

[toluidine33]

I remember seeing the ISB in Glasgow. I was absolutely enchanted by them.

Wherever they are now... God Bless for that wonderful experience, still vivid after 40 some years....

[equestrianstatue]

i remember buying Wee Tam and the Big Huge and when I played it the first time, absolutely hating it, I found it discordant, rambling, obscure, pretentious and just hippy dippy crap. That was on the first play .................. On the third play .............

[dccyclist7]

I spent the eve of my 18th birthday at an ISB concert at My Mother's Place in Rosslyn, Long Island, New York. I was a freshman in college and away from home for the first time. It was a beautiful concert. I loved ISB then and still do.

[maida1982a]

My Father's Place had some great shows, didn't they?

[dccyclist7]

Was it My Father's Place? :) Did you see ISB there? I saw them in October '72. That was a long time ago but seems like yesterday. I'm so enjoying all ISB's videos on YouTube--they make me feel bittersweet for days gone by, but the music is still bold, confident, and happy today. "In the floating palaces ..."--love it.

[maida1982a]

My Father's Place was the name. Sure a google search would confirm that. I did not see ISB there-I really only came to appreciate them recently. Saw Robin perform 2 weeks ago in London and he played 'No Sleep Blues' and saw ISB reunion without Robi but with Clive in Brooklyn, NY about 5 years ago and they were great! Saw lots of great stuff at My Father's Place for sure back then.

[12347771]

Nice to know Mike did his homework as a sitarist. Burn Brian Jones to death he could...................93

[Jarrahnut]

I saw them perform in Belfast in 1967. They were beautiful. Greetings to one and all from Jarrahnut (Colin) in wonderful Western Australia.

[SophieBabii666]

keep banging those rocks together....look at those cavemen go....

[Eldel67]

Whos the woman introducing them?

[ISBand1968]

She is Julie Felix, American folk singer who had her own TV programme in the UK in the 60's.

[40harb]

my old workmate was a roadie for this lot he told me they were a great pair of lads

[Hardwyck]

There seem to be more and more Incredibles videos on you-tube. Also Mike Heron and Clive Palmer were touring with Richard Thompson recently. I think the ISB revival is in progress and a good thing too, It's just what today's youngsters need!

[philthedice]

very spiritual

[markfyt1]

Half-Remarkable Trivia: in this video the verse begins, "Who moved the white castle; who moved the black queen" while on the album version (Wee Tam) it begins "Who moved the black castle; who moved the white queen." The video version reminds me of a tiny hamburger for some reason.

[333baxter333]

Great to see this clip. What a grand old song, and what a subject. To sing about the question rather than provide answers is a hallmark of wisdom. Not for dimwits I'm afraid...

[windrose777]

EXCELLENT!!!!!!!!!

[cujimmy92]

So, what exactly did you expect to see/hear from a couple of acid drenched, flower powered, 1960s acoustic folk hippies you dozy bastard?!

[schwaadlapp]

fuck yaself , VDGG94ki (brain - ? - )

better listen to your forz . .

[FullersRd]

Aaaaaaaaaaah! Primal form magnifico!

[REBrandenburg]

What is it that we are part of.

[FrankRonnie1981]

Awfull

[yenwolk]

fool

[anthonypepitoneVideo]

This is Incredible! So great to see video of Robin & Mike at this point in time. No one ever surpassed them and their live performances were remarkable and truly magical. Too bad the sound is slightly out of sync on this clip - but it's still great to see.

[7upIsLove]

anyone ever found a good picture of robin's guitar? i always get glimpses, it looks beautiful. i'd love to see a good picture. painted by someone from "the fool" i think?

[ruthinian]

magical, just seems like the music comes through them, i love that feeling.

[texecution]

One of my favorite songs. And I would just like to point out how fucking weird it is that I was linked to this video via a video of Titus Andronicus at Maxwell's. It's like the stars of New Jersey colliding with an ancient time.

[elryba14]

this guys are really crazy

[CowFarmMan]

yeah and it's great

[geekorthodox9]

this is great counter-point to the mindlessness of the american musical movement at the same time. [contrast of cultures, one mature and one not yet so]

[kofferfischii]

Some ended in Scientology...

[bush555]

Mindless? I'm sorry but hippie music can easily be taken as mindless. I don't think it is at all, but a lot of people do.

[jnsii]

You have to wonder. What happened? These guys got it.

[ooooooooser]

robin is still going strong! mike a little less so, but still going!

[sixtiessyl]

wow...total bliss!

[XPIOLT]

Incredible!

[jnsii]

A sweet sound to these tattered ears

[aurinkotaika]

Great band!

[lfceleven]

Thanks from America for posting this. I am 63 and listened to this when I was in college. It greatly enhanced the experience. I have the double album and have just started my old turntable working again. Will be doing it without the enhanced smoking now. Times change. ISB stays the same.

[lydiapurple]

thank you so much for posting this! This is one of my favorite songs by them and inspired me to make a final project in a printmaking class. I love Robin and Mike so much.

[picklover1]

I forget, Whats the indain guitar instrument thing called?

[mnemonyxx]

sitar/setar

[znatizeljac]

listening again after some long time...

wow..

beautiful song..timeless? even better than nightfall:)

well.. greetings all of you who can get stoned by listening this song song:)

[aquarian54]

Thank you so much for this! I grew up with the ISB, but I had no idea there were videos, let alone one as sweet as this. Just beautiful.

[mnemonyxx2]

Thanks for the kind words. I think they're better aimed at ye olde BBC for not re-using the source tapes, and not complaining about a little guy sharing hereabouts.

[thewordofgord]

just lovely; thank you for posting!

there's something so indelibly sixties about this, the delicacy, the invention, the questing.

recall listening to them on john peel's "Night Ride", my little transistor on my pillow and i'm fifteen in Glasgow, and just knowing i wanted to be in London and 18 and free.

one of those life defining moments.

the word of gord

[mnemonyxx2]

Belated thanks for the kind comment, sir. I've only just turned 50 so was a little too late for contemporary radio plays of this bit of ISB, but Peelie's radio show and a few candles got me through the Heath three-day week.

[thewordofgord]

fascinating;

i left glasgow for toronto oct'68 and missed that early seventies downturn in uk;

didn't even know about it till later.

most music easy to buy in toronto; easy to keep up with new stuff; crazy about nick drake for example; didn't know he'd passed till a couple of years later.

didn't know about "old grey whistle test" till the internet age.

the word of gord

[wholehand]

So beautiful to see a video of these guys. I was learning meditation at 18 in the early 70's and found their music then. I couldn't believe, still can't, that they had a record contract, but it was a very different time. Companies looked for "different" acts, didn't just create them for a prefab market. Their insights opened my heart/mind to the power of this kind of musical writing. Thanks for sharing ISB with us all.

[Tracyjacks]

Oh man be one with your self feel the sun apone your face, man I feel the love. Amazing strings man, Hippie! What is a hippie man, you, me and the univers united. love man reall love.

[frank0067]

well it has this hippie kinda thing..so id say id not buy any music from them

poor hippies

[Cabronosidad]

I bet they're tax lawyers nowadays! Or property developers...

[StanPomeray]

Actually they're not - both still doing music, albeit not together.

[ISBand1968]

Check out the YouTube videos of Robin Williamson to see that he is still playing as strong as ever, if a little larger and looking even more like a traditional Scottish folkie.

[ozruby]

Re: "I bet they're tax lawyers nowadays! Or property developers.."

Nope. In fact i just saw Mike Heron perform at the Hollywood Bowl a few weeks ago. He's still brilliant.

The Incredible String Band often made transcendent music. They influenced many other artists, including The Beatles.

[MattHatter]

Robert Plant and Jimmy Page dug these guys as well!

[neohip]

Robert especially.He was always up for doing a cover of A Very Cellular Song during Zep Concerts.

John Bonham,The drummer,always vetoed him by saying something "very much like f**k off"!.

I heard that he mentioned in rehearsals for the O2 concert that they never did a ISB song.

I guess they never will.

[dylanrules123]

Incredible String Band is BRILLIANT!!

[bradondo]

The Wee Tam/Big Huge sessions produced some of the most moving and spiritual music I've ever heard. I go through periods where I listen to those albums every day for weeks! Thanks so much for sharing this--it's much cleaner than the other version on here.

[TheCrippledSilence]

Also, I have to add, that I can't help but feel a little disappointed that Mike and Robin both believed they found the answer to the Half-Remarkable Question in the faith of Scientology. Ah well.

[TheCrippledSilence]

Absolutely spellbinding. This moves me inside in such an unspeakable way. What a fantastic performance, thank you so much for sharing.

I only wish that embedding was enabled so that I could share it with people on my video blog (with proper due given, of course)!

[TheCrippledSilence]

Just realized that I completely unintentionally nearly paraphrased the poster before me. Apologies! I guess we were both moved in the same way!

[mnemonyxx]

Your wish has been duly granted. :)

[TheCrippledSilence]

You are a gem, good sir.

[MrWitchtrials]

@mnemonyxx Superb quality vid,cheers. Keep checking on here for Witches Hat live,that would be special!

[soricinae]

This is absolutely spellbinding. I've never been particularly moved by the album version, it always sounded a bit "studio" to me -- this performance brings out the true essence of the song. Thanks for posting it, I keep coming back, especially now that spring is in the air...!

[PomBare]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who prefers this to the album version. I seen this before I got Wee Tam, and I couldn't believe how inferior the studio version was, they polished it too much and lost all its spirit

[fjeljep]

on which their album isi it on?

[mnemonyxx]

Wee Tam

[Zeno931]

ohhh i love the isb so much....

and yeah its safe to say robin is completely stoned =)

[repsalg]

my mate Ban was always telling me how good they were back in the 70s and its only recently ive started seeing what he meant great stuff!

[petgerco]

and who said you couldn't put in a good preformance after blowing an eighth of black in the bogs, before coming in front of the cameras?

[jossgw]

I know youre being playful but I think its insulting to imply that the ISB did what they did when/if/because they were stoned...

[petgerco]

Hey I am in no way being disrepectful, I have for the last 40 years been a fan of the ISB, and saw them on several occasions. Looking into Robins eyes (when they are open) I can assure you that he has a slightly modified state of concsiousness. I am not saying this is good or bad, but I am saying that this is a great performance regardless. It's the way it was in those days. I had a look at your videos and was greatly impressed, keep up the good work.

[jossgw]

OK take your word for it and thanks

[ISB]

wow, much better quality than on my copy; thanx.

[mnemonyxx]

Just rippin' off a certain organisation's occasional delves into the archives, as per...

[Al59reconstituido]

Amazing quality. Thank you!

[mnemonyxx]

Welcome. Thank you for the impetus to respond.

[cuzinkevin]

Great stuff. Is that Julie Felix doing the introduction?

[mnemonyxx]

It is indeed Ms. Felix doing intro duties. Though then of target audience age, I well recall "Going to the Zoo" driving me up the wall. But four decades on it sometimes feels like my musical tastes haven't moved on much from the interesting guests on her TV show - and Nana Mouskouri's - and - heaven help - Val Doonican's.

[cuzinkevin]

They did some strange things in the name of variety back then, Val Doonican singing with the Beatles!

[jeanhoel2]

Beautiful !!!