Cheap The Incredible String Band: Be Glad For the Song Has No Ending (DVD) (Peter Neal) Price

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Customer Reviews of The Incredible String Band: Be Glad For the Song Has No Ending

SUCH A GIFT...
I've been a fan - make that a devotee - of the Incredible String Band since I first heard their music in the late 1960s. I've heard about this film since the 70s, when it was made - I only saw it for the first time last night, thanks to its recent release on dvd, and what a gift it is. Director Peter Neal used exactly the right approach in presenting the ISB on film - as he mentions in the interview included on this disc, he went into the project without a 'plan', realsing that any attempt to control the film in the usual sense would doom it to utter failure. The ISB was much too eclectic and unique an ensemble - employing conventional methods would never work. Instead, he allowed the music and the band members' personalities to speak for themselves - and the results are stunningly successful (if a bit too short for the long-whetted appetites of their many fans, many of whom have waited 30 years to see this documentary).

The film includes the 'obligatory' concert footage - and it's amazingly successful, considering the restraints imposed by the limited budget and the restrictions of the concert hall itself. Neal and his crew were only allowed to use two cameras. Fortunately (in this situation) only Robin and Mike were performing on this evening, and the camera operators skillfully made the best of their tools - the results are wonderful. Seeing Robin playing harmonica and tinwhistle simultaneously on 'Mercy I cry city' was priceless. The concert footage also includes a long poetry reading by Robin and Mike - wearing some great homemade masks as 'Noah' and 'The dove'. This is a great taste of the incredible (and I'll try to make that the ONLY use of that word NOT in caps here...!) scope of the ISB's performance art - they were NEVER 'simply' about music. Elements of sound, poetry, theatre, dance and myth intermingle effortlessly and naturally.

There are also songs included that were filmed in Sound Techniques Studio (the ISB's indoor 'home' for recording their art), engineered by John Wood. Likki and Rose join Mike and Robin for these selections, and the sound as well as the visuals are as near perfect as could be attained. I particularly enjoyed seeing the band perform 'The iron stone' from their WEE TAM/THE BIG HUGE album. The more 'controlled' atmosphere of the studio allows the musical aspect of their art to shine. There is no overdubbing apparent on these selections - the four musicians perform the songs in 'real time', allowing the viewer to see how all of the elements are combined to form the whole.

There are a couple of short 'interview' segments - the longest being a session with Mike at his home in Edinburgh with a reporter from NEWSWEEK. The reporter does a nice job - the questions he poses are thoughtful (if a bit predictable) - but it's Mike's answers that are brilliantly simple, and thus so very illuminating.

One of the brightest treats of the film is the last half, comprised of a fable created by the ISB - complete with homemade costumes and props - entitled 'The pirate and the crystal ball'. Robin, Mike, Licorice and Rose take part, of course, along with many friends and neighbors - including Malcolm LeMaistre, a member of the dance troupe Stone Monkey who collaborated with the ISB on their stage presentation and recording of 'U'. Malcolm became a full-fledged member of the ISB later, after the departure of Rose.

As I mentioned above, the dvd also includes an interview with Peter Neal, in which he discusses his attraction to the music of the ISB, his approach to the film, and their approach to their music. He also delves into why they were not more 'commercially accepted' at the time - and why their appeal has been so long-lived and timeless.

It's a true gift that the film is now available again - and in such a 'viewable' form. The notes on the dvd state that 'each frame (has been) cleaned and enhanced'. The results - both audio and video - are great, making this an essential addition to the collection of any ISB fan. The ISB's combining of music (instruments from all over the globe), theatre, spirituality, myth and magic is as unique today as it was when this document was made, over 30 years ago.

HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION.