U (album)
| U | ||||
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| Studio album by The Incredible String Band | ||||
| Released | October 1970 | |||
| Recorded | May 1970 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 1:47:07 | |||
| Label | Elektra / WEA | |||
| Producer | Joe Boyd | |||
| The Incredible String Band chronology | ||||
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| Allmusic |
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U is a double album, the seventh studio album overall, by the Scottish psychedelic folk group the Incredible String Band (ISB) and was released on Elektra Records in October 1970. The majority of the material featured on the album was taken from the mixed-media production of the same name, which saw the band backed by the dancing troupe the Stone Monkey. The concept of U derived from the ISB's fascination and subsequent conversion to Scientology in 1969.
Although the show, along with the songs, were seen as ambitious, U was a commercial failure for the ISB. The album managed to chart at number 183 on the Billboard 200, fairing considerably better in the UK where it peaked at number 34 on the UK Albums Charts. Critics heavily panned the album and long-time fans of the group enjoyed the show aspect, but were less receptive to U. However, the album is today considered to be one of the ISB's most experimental and progressive work, and has been reissued.
In 1969, after researching its concepts, the members of the ISB had joined the Church of Scientology, and expressed some of their changing views on their subsequent studio album, Changing Horses, later in the year. In November 1969, at the Hotel Chelsea in New York City, the ISB met two ex-members of David Medalla's kinetic art group the Exploding Galaxy, after the troupe unsuccessfully tried to negotiate a recording contract with MGM Records. Former members Malcolm Le Maistre and Rakis, as well as their newly-formed dance ensemble the Stone Monkey, took residency at the ISB's commune in Glen Row to help the band, especially Robin Williamson, realize their vision for a multi-media stage act.
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