The 5000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion

by The Incredible String Band

The 5000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion cover art
  • Type: Album
  • Released: July 1967
  • Label: Elektra
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Length: 49:32
  • Community rating: 3.75/5 from 6 ratings

Artists on this release: Mike Heron, Soma, Robin Williamson, John Hopkins, Danny Thompson, Licorice

Album Notes & Community Reviews

Robin Williamson and Mike Heron abandoned the standard folk club aesthetic, introducing ouds, gimbris, and sitars to their acoustic arsenal. The resulting music feels like a transmission from a mythical past, blending whimsical, slightly absurd poetry with intricate, pastoral instrumentation.

Genres

Descriptors: Folk, Acoustic, acoustic, folk, experimental, traditional, diverse

Tracklist

  1. Chinese White (3:37)
  2. No Sleep Blues (3:49)
  3. Painting Box (4:00)
  4. The Mad Hatter's Song (5:36)
  5. Little Cloud (4:01)
  6. The Eyes of Fate (3:59)
  7. Blues for the Muse (2:45)
  8. The Hedgehog's Song (3:27)
  9. The First Girl I Loved (4:51)
  10. You Know What I Could Be (2:43)
  11. My Name Is Death (2:42)
  12. Gently Tender (4:45)
  13. Way Back in the 1960s (3:10)

Credits

  • The Incredible String Band - primary artist
  • Seemon & Marijke - design [sleeve], artwork
  • John Wood - engineer
  • Ian Skinner - photography by
  • Joe Boyd - producer
  • Mike Heron - written-by, lead vocals, guitar, vocals, lead guitar, harmonica, vocals
  • Robin Williamson - written-by, guimbri [bowed gimbri], vocals, lead vocals, guitar, flute, drums, rattle, vocals, drums, vocals, oud, mandolin, drums, flute, vocals, drums, guimbri [bass gimbri], flute, vocals
  • Danny Thompson - bass
  • Licorice - vocals, finger cymbals
  • John Hopkins - piano
  • Soma - sitar, tambura

More from The Incredible String Band: full discography