| I Looked Up | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 1970 | |||
| Genre | Psychedelic folk, folk | |||
| Length | 41:22 | |||
| Label | Elektra / WEA | |||
| Producer | Joe Boyd | |||
| The Incredible String Band chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [1] |
I Looked Up (Elektra EKS 2469 002 / U.S. LP: EKS-74061) is the sixth album by the Incredible String Band. Recorded at a time when the band was busy rehearsing for their ambitious upcoming stage show, U , the album has been described by band member Robin Williamson as a "quickie" album.
Recording of the album came just 5 months after Changing Horses . [2] Like its predecessor, the album included six tracks with two compositions exceeding 10 minutes. As usual with the band, there are several instruments utilised in unique arrangements and overdubbing in the development of the album. [3]
A rewriting of "Black Jack Davey", a Scottish traditional folk song, begins the album, sung by Heron in an uptempo style. The album also contains Robin Williamson's most experimental, "Pictures in a Mirror". The epic, a mixture of folk and drama, tells the story of Lord Randell. Williamson's vocals are prominent on this track for his range and ability to distort his voice. A highlight of the album, Mike Heron's composition "This Moment," is regarded as one of Heron's best pieces. [1]
Dave Mattacks, a drummer of Fairport Convention, is featured on "The Letter", a track which is more reflective of Fairport's electric folk style. [4]
Recording sessions also produced an unreleased track titled "Queen Juanita and Her Fisherman Lover" that is over 16 minutes in length. It would later appear on the compilation Incredible String Band: Tricks of The Senses. [5] Three tracks from the album, "When You Find Out Who You Are ", "The Letter", and "This Moment", were performed at the Woodstock Festival, which constituted half of their set that day. [6]
Many consider I Looked Up an improvement to Changing Horses however the album's chart success was limited and disappointing in the US as it only topped at No. 196. [7]
All tracks are written by Mike Heron except as noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Black Jack Davy" | 3:59 | |
| 2. | "The Letter" | 3:08 | |
| 3. | "Pictures in a Mirror" | Robin Williamson | 10:43 |
| 4. | "This Moment" | 6:07 | |
| 5. | "When You Find Out Who You Are" | Williamson | 10:58 |
| 6. | "Fair As You" | 6:27 | |
| Total length: | 41:22 | ||
"Black Jack Davy" (then called "Black Jack David") would later be recorded again by the Incredible String Band on their album Earthspan on Island Records in 1972.
| Chart (1970) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart [8] | 30 |
| The Billboard 200 [9] | 196 |
David James Mattacks is an English rock and folk drummer, best known for his work with British folk rock band 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. They started out influenced by American folk rock, with a set list dominated by Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell songs and a sound that earned them the nickname "the British Jefferson Airplane". Vocalists Judy Dyble and Iain Matthews joined them before the recording of their self-titled debut in 1968; afterwards, Dyble was replaced by Sandy Denny, with Matthews later leaving during the recording of their third album.
The Incredible String Band were a British psychedelic folk band formed by Clive Palmer, Robin Williamson and Mike Heron in Edinburgh in 1966. The band built a considerable following, especially in the British counterculture, notably with their albums The 5000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion (1967), The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter (1968), and Wee Tam and the Big Huge (1968). They became pioneers in psychedelic folk and, through integrating a wide variety of traditional music forms and instruments, in the development of world music.
The 5000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion is the second album by the Scottish psychedelic folk group the Incredible String Band (ISB). It was released in July 1967 on Elektra Records. The album was recorded following the reformation of the band as a duo consisting of Robin Williamson and Mike Heron. Notably, the album was a change in musical direction for the two as they transitioned from their more conventional folk music structures into complex psychedelic compositions influenced by British folk and Indian music.
The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter is the third album by Scottish psychedelic folk group the Incredible String Band (ISB), and was released in March 1968 on Elektra Records. It saw the band continuing its development of the elements of psychedelic folk and enlarging on past themes, a process they had begun on their previous album, The 5000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion. Instrumentally, it was the ISB's most complex and experimental album to date, featuring a wide array of exotic instruments. In addition, the album captured the band utilising multi-tracks and overdubbing.
The Incredible String Band is the debut album by the band of the same name, released in the United Kingdom in October 1966 by record label Elektra. It is the only one of the band's albums to feature the original trio line-up with Clive Palmer, Robin Williamson and Mike Heron.
The Albion Band, also known as The Albion Country Band, The Albion Dance Band, and The Albion Christmas Band, is a British folk rock band, originally brought together and led by musician Ashley Hutchings. An important grouping in the genre, it has contained or been associated with a large proportion of major English folk performers in its long and fluid history.
No Roses is an album by Shirley Collins and the Albion Country Band. It was recorded at Sound Techniques, and Air Studios in London, in the summer of 1971. It was produced by Sandy Roberton and Ashley Hutchings. It was released in October 1971 on the Pegasus label.
U is a double album, the seventh studio album overall, by the British psychedelic folk group the Incredible String Band (ISB) and was released on Elektra Records in October 1970. The majority of the material featured on the album was taken from the mixed-media production of the same name, which saw the band backed by the dancing troupe the Stone Monkey. The concept of U derived from the ISB's fascination and subsequent conversion to Scientology in 1969.
Be Glad for the Song Has No Ending is the eighth album by the Scottish psychedelic folk group, the Incredible String Band, featuring Mike Heron, Robin Williamson, Licorice McKechnie and Rose Simpson. It is the soundtrack for a film of the same name, and was released on Island Records in March 1971, failing to chart in either the UK or US. It would be the first album from the band on the Island label, and the last to feature Joe Boyd as the producer.
Wee Tam and the Big Huge is the fourth album by the Scottish psychedelic folk group the Incredible String Band, released in 1968 by Elektra Records as both a double LP and separate single LPs known individually as Wee Tam and The Big Huge.
Changing Horses is the fifth album by the Scottish psychedelic folk group, the Incredible String Band (ISB), and was released in November 1969 on Elektra Records. The album saw the group continuing their use of unique instruments while integrating a standard musical structure. In addition, the album is seen as a transitional period in which the ISB shifted in musical textures, including early utilization of electric-based instruments.
Jewel In The Crown is a 1995 album by British folk rock band Fairport Convention. It is the usual mix of traditional and self-composed songs, and covers of some of the band's favourite writers including Huw Williams, Ralph McTell and Julie Matthews. It is the eighteenth studio album since their debut, Fairport Convention, in 1968.
Liquid Acrobat as Regards the Air is the ninth album by the Incredible String Band. It features Mike Heron, Robin Williamson, Licorice McKechnie and Malcolm Le Maistre. 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.
Angel Delight is the sixth album by the British folk rock band Fairport Convention, released in June 1971. This was the first Fairport Convention album without guitarist Richard Thompson, and the lineup consisted of Simon Nicol, Dave Swarbrick, Dave Pegg, and Dave Mattacks (drums).
Smiling Men with Bad Reputations is the 1971 solo debut album by Mike Heron of the Incredible String Band (ISB).
Rose Simpson is an English former musician. Between 1968 and 1971, she was a member of the Incredible String Band, with whom she sang and played bass guitar, violin and percussion among other instruments. She later became Lady Mayoress of the Welsh town of Aberystwyth.
Earthspan is the tenth album by The Incredible String Band, released in 1972 on Island Records. It features Mike Heron, Robin Williamson, Licorice McKechnie, and Malcolm Le Maistre.
Red & Gold is a 1988 album by British folk rock band Fairport Convention, their sixteenth studio album since their debut in 1968. The album was released on the Rough Trade label.
Myrrh is a folk album and the solo debut of Robin Williamson, released in 1972. Robin Williamson is noted as being a founding member of The Incredible String Band. Myrrh was subjected to a low budget and placed on the Island label's lowest sub-label, Help. The album was downgraded by poor-quality sound mixing and a single-sleeve cover design.
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