Wee Tam and the Big Huge
| Wee Tam and the Big Huge | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||
| Studio album by The Incredible String Band | ||||
| Released | November 1968 | |||
| Recorded | April–August 1968 | |||
| Studio | Sound Techniques, Chelsea, London | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 86:48 | |||
| Label | Elektra / Warner Music Group | |||
| Producer | Joe Boyd | |||
| The Incredible String Band chronology | ||||
|
||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    |
| Pitchfork Media | (8.1/10) |
| Rolling Stone | (positive) |
Wee Tam and the Big Huge is the fourth album by the Scottish psychedelic folk group, the Incredible String Band, released in Europe as both a double LP and separate single LPs in November 1968 by Elektra Records. In the US, however, the two discs were released separately as Wee Tam and The Big Huge.
The album is considered by many to be, along with its predecessor The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter, the best work the band ever produced. Consisting of a varied selection of songs by Robin Williamson and Mike Heron, with intriguing and poetic lyrics, the album is rich with eclectic and adept instrumentation and arrangements. Around 15 instruments are featured, played mainly by the two band members Williamson and Heron but also, in supporting roles, on a few tracks by Rose Simpson and Licorice McKechnie. Williamson explained the title as follows:- "I saw a man with a huge big dog, [and] we knew somebody called Wee Tam, in Edinburgh. It seemed like it was a good idea in terms of one person looking up at the stars; Wee Tam and the Big Huge. Just like the vastness of the universe".
The Incredible String Band were fairly busy in the latter half of 1968. With their popularity and reputation growing on both sides of the Atlantic, they began selling out large venues like the Fillmore and the Royal Albert Hall. As Heron explains, "...we were touring maybe six months of the year and by that time we all lived together, in eight cottages joined together in this place called Glen Row. When we were not on the road we were either in the studio or playing each other songs we'd written. So it came out of the experience of just being in each other's company all the time". With their recent exposure to the musical style of the U.S., the band returned to England hoping to incorporate both of their English and American influences. The internal politics of the band also changed as both Heron and Williamson both had a desire to have a say on one another's arrangements. More important was the emergence of Simpson to balance out the role of McKechnie, which, upon further developments, exerted a positive effect on the band. With the incorporation of the two new personnel, live performances could more closely resemble album pieces, which was in the band's mind as Wee Tam and the Big Huge was simpler in comparison to its predecessor.
...
Wikipedia