Third Ear Band

Third Ear Band maintained only loose connections to the British progressive rock movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s, operating instead chiefly as an experimental unit focused on contemporary composed music. Electric instruments of any kind, guitars included, remained absent from their approach; violin, viola, oboe, cello, and hand percussion supplied the textures instead. Conventional rock songs likewise held no place in their repertoire. Lengthy instrumental works predominated, typically emerging from a drone or hypnotic repeating figure before reaching a thick, raga-style peak that echoed aspects of Terry Riley’s output. The progressive rock label attached itself mainly because the ensemble recorded for Harvest Records, the leading British art rock imprint whose roster featured Pink Floyd, Kevin Ayers, Pete Brown, Edgar Broughton, and numerous comparable acts.

Drummer Glen Sweeney assembled the group after gaining experience in Britain’s free jazz circles and performing with the avant-garde ensemble Sun Trolley. He referred to Third Ear’s music as “electric acid raga,” although amplification vanished soon after formation when thieves stole the band’s electronic equipment. Sweeney promptly recast the lineup as an acoustic ensemble by adding oboe, violin/viola, and cello. Personnel besides Sweeney changed regularly in the following years, while Andrew King—who had helped manage Pink Floyd during its formative period—produced the early albums.

Neither broad commercial success nor extensive underground recognition ever materialized, nor did either goal appear to concern the musicians. Their recordings struck rock listeners as overly somber and exploratory, leaving the band virtually unknown in the United States outside a small circle of listeners. The ensemble’s principal distinction came when Roman Polanski commissioned them to compose and perform the soundtrack for his film version of Macbeth, later issued on record as Music From Macbeth. The original configuration disbanded in the early 1970s. To general surprise, the musicians reconvened in the late 1980s and issued several albums whose textures and ambitions closely recalled those of their initial recordings.