Third Ear Band - Live (French TV May 1970)

May 1970.

[@ChuckDeFuque]

A girl friend turned me on to them in 1970. She passed on 15 years ago at the age of 59. I think of her whenever I play Third Ear Band, Rest in peace Iver.

[@thewordofgord]

This is as emblematic of the sixties counter culture as the Incredible String Band. Makes me want to reach for the hash and lie back on the carpet between the speakers. We drifted between the notes on mystery clouds back then, blissed and carefree. Then we got talked into being rational and productive. What bloody good did it do? Let us once again abandon ourselves to the winds of minute but constant change. Let us meet up again with John Peel in another perfumed garden.

[@bobgreen8142]

With you there for sure!

[@whatevershebrings]

And with you there to help me, then it probably will...

[@rrozoff1]

This is what I listened to fifty years ago. It's been decades since I've listened to any contemporary recordings. Ah, to go back in time.

[@alexanderblake8603]

Fantastic musicians.I remember them opening for the Stones in Hyde Park and alienating most of the audience.I thought they were a million times better than the main act.

[@tonywhitmore3299]

+alexander blake + Well, I'm afraid I wouldn't go to a Stones concert if it was on my doorstep and free - which it was of course then, The 1970 Hyde park concert featured both these guys here - and Edgar Broughton Band, who I went to both see - both were unique but I admit Edgar was only to be listened to when feeling in a rebel rousing mood - so different from the TEB. Eclectic days ! These guys here were very skilled musicians in the first place. Best wishes.

[@bardofely]

I remember them at the Isle of Wight. I had their first album too.

[@lemming9984]

@@tonywhitmore3299 Yeah, I'd have only gone to the Hyde Park concert for the Broughtons (unless Kevin Ayers was on too - I think he may have been!)

[@johnturvill3317]

I was there too and in another universe... sublime.

[@bobgreen8142]

@@lemming9984 the Stones, TEB, EBB and King Crimson was 1969, Gong, Kevin Ayers and others was 1974.

[@migitur]

Quand j’étais lycéen, j’écoutais souvent ce Third Ear Band dans la chambre obscure en entrant dans ma méditation, ce qui m’a permis de descendre dans la profondeur de ma conscient.

[@babboon5764]

Thas reet

[@3niknicholson]

We got frisked going into Frisco's in Edinburgh in the winter 69/70? It was that sort of place, an odd venue for the Third Ear Band. My mate got his steel comb kept for the duration of the gig, amazing dreamy experience.Then hitched back down to Moffat and Lockerbie, except we didn't get a lift, the four of us, walking along the frozen roads, munching on a bit of sour rhubarb, a tumshie, at last a lorry picked us up near the Beeftub. Love to my mates Iain and Bokes wherever you are, I'm still playing Alchemy, 5000 Spirits, Hangman's B.D.

[@alanbg2278]

I remeber seeing them as support to Keef Hartley S mall Band at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester. Two thirds of the audience retreated to the bar but i was enthralled. The first few seconds of this took me right back to that one and only date with Diana . Hope she's doing well . Thanks for the memory !

[@Wotsitorlabart]

You were enthralled. Meanwhile Diana got picked up by a Keef Hartley fan at the bar. Life's like that sometimes.

[@alanbg2278]

Ha, not far wromg, but we were young and fickle then. No harm done : )@@Wotsitorlabart

[@damiensuil2183]

stunning and timeless.

[@ianrowe9337]

WOW, im 23 again & not 73 ... did we take a wrong turn somewhere along lifes road ???

[@bobgreen623]

Utterly wonderful, strange, hypnotic music. This kind of music should be playing continuously from now to eternity, kind of a Third Ear Jam.

[@tonywhitmore3299]

+Bobby G Ha Ha, they did jam now and again - seemed like eternity but maybe not in the way you were alluding to. There was once a little club up Notting Hill way where they would play for hours and got so carried away with just one to three notes which they were into - so was anybody there at the time. Best wishes.

[@jameswilliamlawless]

They sound similar to the band between

[@NightRanger77]

If you think this is strange and hypnotic listen to Comus

[@alfonsoteja]

¡Oh yeah! And live life after life.

[@bobgreen8142]

@@NightRanger77 First Utterance from Comus has been a favourite record of mine for nearly 50 years.

[@zdenekhora8786]

INCREDIBLE. IT CAN BE PUBLISCHED TODAY AND NOBODY RECOGNIZES THAT IT IS 45 YEARS OLD

[@alfonsoteja]

I do. It's been a long time, that's for sure. But this music is timeless.

[@micealourdail]

John peel said there was going to be an attempt to levitate St Pancras station. Me, Mickey Harrington, and my mate, Bill O’Leary went along. The idea was to levitate the St Pancras fantastic building to Bermondsey which was lacking such buildings. The Third Ear Band were playing . Suffice to say we all failed in the effort. But I’ve never forgotten the musicians,

[@gregoryberrycone]

the oboe playing that blend seamlessly between drone like repetitions and free flowing improvisation is completely mesmerizing. some of the most sublime music ever recorded

[@geoluce8744]

I saw them in 1969 at the Isle of Wight festival ! Unforgettable !

[@sampleart1]

Such memorable haunting music from a different time. Their music echoed around the English fields of the music festivals in the late 60s and early 70s. This amazing track is from their debut album “Alchemy” which I still treasure and play today. I wish they were still around today.

[@leehazlewoodism]

From the sound of the live performance it seems that their studio recordings may well have been live and in one take. What an amazing bunch of musicians.

[@deFunkyMofo]

I was SO into them back in the day - saw them at The Arts Lab in London 1969 ,,, #mindblown

[@Foxglove963]

frank 6000. I was there, in that black painted room with candle light at the Arts Lab in Drury Lane.

[@deFunkyMofo]

@@Foxglove963 Oh yes, I think I remember you ...

[@2ridiculous41]

@@deFunkyMofo So how many of us were there back then?

[@tonywhitmore3299]

4 yrs on - I find this still unbelievable as an upload - had the albums and saw them but never knew about this French TV video. It is an historic capture of a very talented and very imaginative grouping - superb !

[@Khayyam-vg9fw]

Absolutely. What a wonderful band! This is truly mind expanding.

[@babboon5764]

The art of understatement is alive and well and living in these comments. Credit where its due French TV is a treasure Trove of such recordings including Pink Floyd & Genesis - both of which are on KZbin somewhere.

[@nickgee461]

Also German TV (Beat-Club channel), unlike the blinkered and myopic BBC who wiped countless performances like this to reuse the tapes for sit-coms and God knows what crap.@@babboon5764

[@markharwood7573]

Wonderful music.

[@matthewwestwood9366]

My mate flogged me his copy of Alchemy and I couldn't listen past the first track. Then in the end I forced myself to listen all the way through. Still wasn't too keen. Then I tried once more, and put Ghetto Raga on again, just because it was the longest track. And suddenly I got it. Hooked, completely.

[@mollpeepsrollie5944]

it's honestly possible to say they transend any classification it's timeless music, beautifully played and way beyond the usual stoned hippie stuff as someone else mentioned it's 45 years old! earth air fire and water is a masterpiece I realised that back in 1973 great film quality too John lydon aka johnny rotten had an affection for them too

[@federicogalvani8642]

Absolutely fantastic. Pure art

[@aeh1177]

Wonderful, timeless music

[@epilobia1]

they made two albums decades later with electric guitar which are also amazing that I play all the time

[@fernandobouzada302]

Great music forgotten by many. We should return to them and share it to others.

[@mehcol]

Wow man !! What a treat after all these years.

[@toyaquiyvoyaya]

How is this not viral yet?!?!

[@Gwyllm01]

Beautiful

[@freddyp4641]

Thank you, I'm a great fan.

[@pietrocarfi1601]

Grandissimi. UNICI. Un pezzo di storia irripetibile e irripetuto. World Music, Chamber Music, Deep Music.Grazie TEB!

[@Waynegee7]

Saw them at Salford University in England, early 70's-they weren't in the main auditorium but playing in a corner of the bar-gave a nice effect.

[@clouddog2393]

Real progressive music . Original , evocative and strange played by adventurous talented musicians. T.E.B. were unique and very much part of the late '60's / early '70's scene . We,re not see they,re like again .

[@damoclesloraine3167]

Thanks. Never thought to see them again. I had a good trip but knew what to expect having tripped to the record.

[@perfectlyjust]

RIP PAUL MINNS

[@HALO4246]

paul minns man op

[@GavesaQuadrada]

Superbe!!!!!!!Ty,GL4 :)

[@rodthelimey]

I saw the Third Ear Band. Thanks for this.

[@tonywhitmore3299]

I can't believe this upload - Thank you very much for uploading. My day has been made -make it this year - from an ol' git of the time. Best wishes.

[@damoclesloraine3167]

When Afghani meant peace and we wore their coats.

[@bobgreen623]

Damocles Loraine Times have certainly changed haven't they?

[@damoclesloraine3167]

Sure have; also hearts and minds. Authority, the Dark Lord, seems to hold all the rings. Yet power, like in the Wizard of Oz, is perception. A changeable thing.

[@italobino7167]

do you remember? their music is the soundtrack of Mackbet directed from Roman Polanski. Anni luce avanti!

[@HALO4246]

they really open up my third ear ;)

[@nationalzoology9631]

Excellent quality

[@philoza1000]

saw them in the late sixties, their music was strange and beautiful but it freaked me out......

[@richardhewlett5603]

Acid casualty!

[@pinkandersonsguitar7591]

The dance of the disappeared Fine Rock 🤠

[@mikedickman9623]

oh man! - i so hoped music would go in this direction... still do, in fact :)

[@genoa5]

Fantastic! Saw them in 1971 I think it was ... Birmingham, UK.

[@THIStm]

Wkikpedia: (laugh-line, coming) Dave Tomlin, who had initiated free-form jazz sessions at the London Free School, began similar sessions at the UFO Club by assembling members of the audience, usually at 4 am, into a free-form group playing for the, by then, exhausted dancers. The drummer, Glen Sweeney, was sometimes so carried away he had to be told that the rest of the group had finished. They became known as 'The Giant Sun Trolley' ..Love #THIStm

[@robertrandall5892]

Cosmic mantra/madrigal. Fantastic. So easy to listen to.

[@marcelloberetta9501]

This is FREE MUSIC!!! Thanks

[@stevegordon2119]

Mind equals blown

[@croiners4166]

Wow!

[@Otterysteve]

Fabulous! :-)

[@PaoloDeVecchi]

great ! thanks a lot

[@paminode]

Wonderful ! Thanks !!

[@thewordofgord]

Should have guessed you'd find this George L. Thanks so much for all your questing detective work! It has not gone unnoticed.

[@NONEBLUES1]

love Third Ear Band

[@1656581]

Amazing !

[@brucebaldy]

good music.

[@nzrobinz]

Still have 2 LP's

[@brotzmannsax]

Excellent, i hear a ton of elements in Oregon's music here, they had to be an influence on them.

[@thewordofgord]

Interesting comparison brontzmann; had the early Oregon on Vanguard and Third's on Harvest and just never made the connection.

[@brotzmannsax]

@@thewordofgord If you gave any educated listener a blindfold test of this music, I bet 90% would guess Oregon. The ironic part for me is I have been listening and buying records since before the Beatles, have ten thousand records of jazz and rock, attended hundreds of shows and never heard of this band until recent years.

[@thewordofgord]

@@brotzmannsax Before the Beatles huh? That's when I got started: sixties pop/rock, which evolved into Psyche and Prog and made me think as well as feel. The advent of Brit Prog brought out some great labels, Harvest, Charisma etc. So you would buy almost anything on that label. So Third Ear Band's first two were on Harvest, just like Floyd, Purple, Barclay James Harvest, Roy Harper , Michael Chapman etc etc. Plus John Peel played them on Top Gear. Paul Winter Consort had an fm "hit" up here (Toronto) so got two of theirs and then heard rumours re. Oregon forming out of that band, though it took ages to find those Vanguard albums. Then the early seventies, slowly picking up the Oregon albums but completely losing track of Third Ear Band after Macbeth soundtrack. And not really until the KZbin age finding them again, like so much other eccentric experimental stuff whose vinyl had been sucked into some black hole. Yes, your comparison holds.

[@substratum2860]

I can also hear elements of Dead Can Dance

[@John-hh4uz]

A list of Band members reads John Peel jaw harp on "Alchemy" which is unsurprising but Keith Chegwin vocals on "Music from Macbeth" is mind boggling lmao.

[@silverapples75]

That bass drop @ 2:30 🙇‍♂️

[@ZoydRa]

Thanks for the upload

[@oolongoolong789]

Many thanks for uploading this rare treat. Evocative stuff.

[@richardhewlett5603]

Hippy shit!,I love it!

[@dedalus74]

chiudi gli occhi e dedica un quarto d'ora alla tua interiorità.

[@ThirdEyeMindMachine]

wooow

[@willHulbert]

Would be nice if you you gave some credit to the guy who discovered this and other priceless TEB treasures , Check out "Ghetto Raga blogspot" cheers Luca!

[@nigelwakeham6481]

Wonderful! Does anyone know the whereabouts of Paul's flatmate in the early 60s, Robert?

[@mikedickman9623]

how is that circular breathing?!

[@allanmacbadger5692]

Reminds me of The Penguin Cafe Orchestra

[@iobeatle]

The planet is Arrakis....

[@pinkandersonsguitar7591]

I need more years to assimilate this And I have 2 ears only

[@blipblip88]

Love this pretentious fartsy stuff! They wrote a nice soundtrack for Polanski's "Macbeth". Check it out!

[@Khayyam-vg9fw]

There's nothing pretentious or "fartsy" about this music. It's just very good.

[@wolfliou3678]

I find that music horrible

[@xylophobe1]

That’s a pity; I find this music strangely beautiful. Of course it’s not ‘easy listening’, it’s the kind of music that also ‘demands’ something from the listener and one has to bring ‘something’ to it in order to appreciate it. What that ‘something’ is, is difficult to describe - perhaps a particular kind of attention, a wakefulness, an open ear and heart. Not judgement. I wish that perhaps you could find something here, too - it’s well worth the effort. But, of course, we are all different. Best wishes on your musical journeys.

[@eyraudpa]

@@xylophobe1 At least you tried and did well in my humble opinion. Third ear band is one of the most regretable oblivions of the contemporary music at that period. Of cours these last years plenty of groups arrived with this multicultural approach but in the seventies, if you except George Harrisson it was quite rare. Great that the Institut national de l'audiovisuel has so many gems in its drawers

[@rafaelgabasarcos4325]

Try with celine dion, bro

[@solucionessamsara9584]

Un ensamble bastante interesante, con mucha creatividad, fantasía y fuerza cósmico.