While Robin Williamson went on to record dozens of releases, we've heard little from Mike Heron. In fact, it's been hard to think of Mike Heron outside the context of the Incredible String Band and the company of the gifted Mr. Willliamson. But this record actually accomplishes that feat: when listening to "Where the Mystics Swim" Mike's voice, words and instruments create a complete whole that thrives outside the history of ISB. Setting aside some of the questionable "rock" records Mike released with the band "Heron", we really have only two solo albums before "Mystics" - "Conflict of Emotions", which is certainly worth having, and the brilliant "Smiling Men With Bad Reputations" (why hasn't this been reissued on CD?), his first solo album which featured John Cale, of all people. With "Mystics" we have an intelligent, gentle and consistently radiant album driven forward by Mike's unique voice, made even more interesting and compelling with the passing of years. Mike Heron's work has always been highly original, but here it is also highly accessible. I say this because I must confess to some difficulty, even 30 years ago, in sitting all the way through a song like "White Bird" from the ISB's "Changing Horses". "Mystics" never dives to any level of meandering self-indulgence. Song for song, I wouldn't bother to pick out favorites. The case with this CD is simply that each song lives and breathes on its own . The overall effect is one that delivers an unhurried beauty tempered by time and experience, and made all the more profound by the silence of the intervening years.
Review by "Kerry Leimer" (www.amazon.com).
Review by "Kerry Leimer" (www.amazon.com).
RATING: 7.25 / 10
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