Customer Reviews

Conflict Of Emotions

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I believe this recording was made in a very low-tech environment, meaning that it sounds like it was done in a makeshift studio, perhaps in someone's living room. I can't tell if this was done for effect or just an oversight. The mood is rather melancholy, the instrumentation sparse, so raw and barren, that it's almost startling to hear on the first couple of listens.

Mike Heron himself sounds very much like he did in the days of old. And, actually, it should be noted that the songs themselves on this recoding are not new, but dusty numbers from the declining years of the String Band in the early '70's.

This CD is definitely worth a listen, for it offers another side of Heron, one that is not often heard on other recordings, for here, on this CD, Heron seems reflective, subdued and, together with the surreal quality of the arrangments, the end result is nothing short of Out There, in other words, Vintage Heron...

These are essentially home-made demos which have been cleaned up a little, the latter four tracks actually being recorded in 1998 with the same simple approach as the 1973 recordings. What you get is basically Mike Heron pure, simple and unadorned. He is in fine voice on every track, and the overall feel is so warm and intimate that it is just as if he dropped into your living room and played these songs while relaxing in a comfy chair. "Maker of Islands" is the most well-known song; here it is bereft of string embellishments but sounds no less warm....echoes of Paul Mcartney's original "Long and Winding Road" compared with the orchestra-laden "Let it Be" version. The album is rather short (less than 40 minutes), but every song packs an emotional punch which more than makes up for it. "Savage Moon" and "Winter in China" are particularly evocative and would both lend themsleves to broader musical canvasses...maybe the reformed and rejuvenated Incredible String Band could use these in any new recordings?? Whatever, I am delighted that Mike released this collection: it is a minor treasure.