The 5000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion

"The 5000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion" is the second LP by The Incredible String Band, released in July 1967 on the Elektra label. Since recording their debut album the previous year, the original trio had been reduced to two, Mike Heron and Robin Williamson. They recorded The 5000 Spirits... in London in early 1967. The album demonstrated considerable musical development and a more unified ISB sound. It displayed their abilities as multi-instrumentalists and singer-songwriters, and gained them wide acclaim. As well as winning favourable reviews in the music press, it was received enthusiastically by the DJ John Peel, who regularly featured tracks from the album on his influential Perfumed Garden programme on the pirate radio ship Radio London. The 5000 Spirits... went to Number One in the UK folk chart, and was named by Paul McCartney as one of his favourite records of that year. The 5000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion was more successful commercially than the debut, reaching #25 on the UK album chart during a five-week run during the autumn of 1967. It never dented the Billboard Top 200, but attracted some attention in the US underground.