Jug Band

So little is known of the performers on this CD (most of whom are unidentified) that it is believed the featured vocalists Kid Cole, Bob Coleman, and Walter Coleman (who double on guitars) might all be the same person! He is thought to have been based in Cincinnati (particularly since one of the groups that he recorded with is called the Cincinnati Jug Band), although the music (from 1928-1929 and 1936)…

The Memphis Jug Band, most active from 1926 into the 1950s, revolved around guitarist, harmonica player and singer Will Shade and featured a wide variety of instrumentation including harmonica, kazoo, fiddle, mandolin, guitar, piano, washboard and, of course, jug. They recorded more songs than any pre-war jug band and as a result, were key in developing the jug band tradition and format.

This late 1969-70 British group (recording at Abbey Road for EMI's progressive Harvest label) manages to sound authentically American on this collection of 1920's & 1930's blues, folk & jug band songs (though an actual jug is played on only a few tunes). They are traditional tunes. When this album failed commercially, two members exited, and the reconstituted group shortened their name to "Panama Limited", started making limited use of electric instruments and started writing original songs influenced by Captain Beefheart.

In the liner notes to these carefully packaged reissues, all four of the Incredible String Band principals– co-founder Clive Palmer, core duo Mike Heron and Robin Williamson, and Elektra records executive Joe Boyd– offer their insights in separate essays. Three of them mention the smell of patchouli. Such were the times, certainly, but the ISB are loved equally by avant-garde musicians, psychedelia enthusiasts, and those slightly dweeby young gentlemen who hang around music shops on college campuses. The reissue of their first four albums probably put to rest any notion that the ISB were a properly great band, releasing just one true classic, but they were rarely anything less than brave, inspired, and profoundly weird.

The Incredible String Band - The Incredible String Band
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 302 MB | Full Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Strange Days Records # POCE-1032 | Country/Year: Japan 2006, 1966
Genre: Rock, Folk | Style: Folk Rock

…While this album is a tremendous launch pad for potential enthusiasts, be aware that every Incredible String Band recording is also extremely individual and reflects the current membership of the group.