Third Ear Band Druid One - Live At Essen Pop & Blues Festival 1970 (LP)

(MIG Music) 7 tracks

Third Ear Band hail from Canterbury and started out as a psychedelic band called “The Giant Sun Trolley”, playing long, impromptu sets in South London clubs. After one gig, almost all of the band's equipment was stolen. So, by pure chance and obvious necessity, they became an acoustic band and adopted the name “Third Ear Band”. From 1969 to 1972, the band released three albums on the progressive Harvest label, of which “Music From Macbeth” (1972) was the best known and most commercially successful.

On April 24, 1970, the Third Ear Band performed at the 2nd Essen Pop & Blues Festival. For whatever reason, they did not appear on the official poster for the event or in the festival program. The day's billing was packed with acts such as The Flock, Ekseption, Rhinocerous, The Groundhogs, It's A Beautiful Day and the still unknown Black Sabbath, who had just released their first album. The Essen concert in the quartet line-up with Sweeney on drums, Minns on oboe, Coff on violin and Smith on cello took place just a few weeks before the release of the second album, which fans know as “Elements”, although it is simply called “Third Ear Band” and was released in June 1970. Of the four elements, the band played “Earth” and “Water” that evening, but in a shorter version compared to the album versions.

The professional sound recordings of the Third Ear Band's festival performance only resurfaced shortly before the year 2024 and have now been restored, sonically processed and mastered.