The Iron Stone

Robin Williamson (Artist), Barre Phillips (Artist), Ale Moller (Performer), Mat Maneri (Performer)

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 24, 2007)
• Original Release Date: October 23, 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: ECM
• ASIN: B000HD1ODM
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #265,196 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars VAST SPAN, May 15, 2007

By	Kerry Leimer (Makawao, Hawaii United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

We have come a very, very long way with Mr. Williamson, and it's hard to name many more musicians as consistently engaging and innovative as he. For those wondering where traditional musics might go next, The Iron Stone sets out a brilliant map, extending the expressive qualities of Scottish folk and other traditions into the lush and unsettling tonalities of Modern and even Postmodern palettes -- along with some exquisitely abstract and sonorous word-painting. Remarkable for the writing and performing, the pieces range from somewhat familiar to genuinely expressive contemporization of established forms. Of course, Williamson is surrounded by outstanding musicians and his experience with his subject matter -- traditional tales, the telling of them and the articulate search for wonder and meaning in our existence -- makes The Iron Stone much broader in scope than his two prior and equally remarkable ECM releases. But for a long-time listener like myself, revisiting two of his most evocative pieces (The title track and The Yellow Snake from Wee Tam /Big Huge) proves to be a wonderful way to add further dimension to the music with the perspective and ballast of more than thirty years in between. (BTW, anyone know what the Ocrd designation means?)

2 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not up there at all!, June 10, 2007

By	jblyn (Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews

Sorry, I loved a lot of Robin Willamson's music over the years, in the Incredible String Band and afterwards, but this is just bloody awful. His voice is completely shot and the quaverings that used to sound mystical and eerie now sound like he has a bad case of the trots. He massacres the title song and you really have to scurry back to the Incredible String Band original in order to appreciate what a good song it actually is. I hope this is just a lapse and that he'll be back to rights with the next CD. This one should be deleted as soon as possible.