Mike McLatchey wrote some interesting reviews on TEB's first era albums. It's all published on "Exposé" an American Web site devote to "exploring the boundaries of Rock".
The Third Ear Band's page is at http://www.expose.org/index.php/artists/display/third-ear-band-eng.html
with reviews of "Alchemy" and "Third Ear Band", and "Druid Grocking" 1970 video with a very funny title:"Any Band without a Silver-Jacketed Oboe Player Is Not Cool Enough".
Here below you can read the reviews...ALCHEMY
"There really was no other quartet like the Third Ear Band, they were even singular in 1969, showing up on the Harvest label next to Pink Floyd. They're difficult to describe, perhaps something like a psychedelic medieval raga band might be close. The instrumentation was unusual with its mix of cellos, violins/violas, oboe/recorders, and table/hand drums, and the combined sound was a bewitching acoustic drone that could sound like Indian classical music, renaissance folk, and hippie drum circle all at once, although the musical strands came together in a very cohesive way. The pounding, insistent drumming sets up something very pagan and tribal, with the strings chopping away and the oboe weaving modal melodies on top, the results lifted by the mythical and mystical titles. I've always found this a completely mesmerizing listen, like opening up some imaginary fabled land and culture from aeons ago. Discogs files them as Neo-Classical and Avantgarde, neither of which seem to fully capture what their sound was like."
THIRD EAR BAND
"The Third Ear Band quartet got even more experimental for the follow up to their debut album, reducing a bit of the Renaissance feel of some of the compositions on their debut Alchemy. The results were quite a bit more dangerous and certainly more dissonant, with the strings adding some eeriness to the proceedings. I still remember playing this album for the first time in a local record store friendly to progressive music in the early 90s. A customer who had been shopping started shooting quick stinkeye looks at the manager who was at the counter and began to pace the aisles frantically until the dissonant violins and cellos madly moving the album forward must have made her break. She steamed up to the front, screamed "How can you listen to this music?!" and both the manager and I kind of stood with our mouths opens until she immediately exited the front of the place in a huff. We looked at each other and I go, "You should save this one for when you need to clear the place," and we both broke into laughter. So yeah, not for the squeamish, this one, but the album does vary more than what this customer heard, giving unique sonic paintings to all of the four "Elements."
TEB 1970-1972 with Paul Minns dressed with the cool silver jacket!
no©2016 Luca Ferrari (unless you intend to make a profit. In which case, ask first)
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