Music

I Remember It All From Before (2003)

I remember it all from before CD cover.

 


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You can download the tracks free below.

Medleys of songs by the Incredible String Band (songs by Robin Williamson, Mike Heron, Licorice McKechnie and Malcolm le Maistre) composed for the London launch of my friend Adrian Whittaker's book Be Glad: An Incredible String Band Compendium. Recorded in one take at Gil Murray's house with Gil on second guitar, released as limited edition CD to String Band fans in 2003.

Original sleevenotes:

When I was first asked to play some ISB songs at the launch of the book, it took some soul-searching. I wanted to play some less-often performed songs, but I had to fill two 25m slots. If I were to do Queen of Love or Job's Tears, how long would that leave? In the end I opted for a patchwork of song scraps, not unlike the patchwork nature of many of the original songs. There is no attempt to faithfully recreate the originals, far less the vocal delivery of Robin or Mike - these are buskers' versions, recorded in one take round one microphone; but they have their moments, and are offered with love and gratitude for the pleasure and inspiration these songs have given me.

Members of the String Band Yahoo Group said:

"a nice collection in its own right"
"loving interpretations of a good range of String Band classics, including the mysteriously-neglected 'Yellow Snake' "
"A tour de force"
"Amaze your Spouse/Partner/Children with the sound of ISB songs being sung by someone with a fine voice. "
"the whole thing is executed with considerable panache and there's a sort of smile in Norman's voice which makes it all curiously uplifting. There's a hidden bonus track too, in which he takes a throwaway Williamson snippet and transforms it into something splendid. "
Medley 1
A dozen songs in 20m, starting with Turquoise Blue.
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Medley 2
A dozen more, starting with All Writ Down.
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Wild Sea
Included as a bonus track, a small part of Robin Williamson's Creation .
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Spirit Beautiful
Arranged and sequenced by me, with chanter by Dave Watson and percussion by Dave Haswell. Recorded in 1999 for the American ISB tribute album Winged We Were.
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