The Psych Ward–The Parable of Arable Land by Red Krayola
The Psych Ward–The Parable of Arable Land by Red Krayola
The first album by Red Krayola (originally Red Crayola until a certain crayon-based lawsuit forced a name change) was groundbreaking in its form and function. The three-piece band would soon be recategorized as avant-garde noise or even proto-industrial, but this 1967 psychedelic wonder was recorded with the help of some 30-50 Texas weirdos dubbed “the Familiar Ugly.” A series of intermittent tracks on The Parable of Arable Land entitled “Free Form Freak-Outs” feature the Familiar Ugly utilizing power tools, revving motorcycles, and found objects to smash and clang the studio into an industrial nirvana state.
While whiffs of Captain Beefheart and Frank Zappa perfume several of these songs, Red Crayola certainly didn’t sound like their contemporaries. They didn’t set out to reinvent rock music, but here it is. The ideas and techniques employed are reminiscent of German art
They didn’t set out to reinvent rock music, but here it is.
commune Amon Düül’s 1969 Psychedelic Underground album—wild and ripe with experimentation before more musical members established Amon Düül II.
“Hurricane Fighter Plane” was written by singer/guitarist Mayo Thompson and explodes out of the first of six “Free Form Freak-Outs.” There is a touch of Syd Barrett Pink Floyd to the track, but it’s more on par with Pink Fairies. Rhythmically akin to a German band like Cluster, could it be that this band was the forebearer of Kosmiche Musik?
Rick Barhelme’s music for “Transparent Radiation” is a Velvet Underground stomp while International Artists label-mate Roky Erickson from the 13th Floor Elevators is featured on harmonica. Mayo Thompson teases a tight-jawed Bryan Ferry-ish vocal delivery with his psychedelic lyricism shining through. This stellar offering would be re-recorded by Spaceman 3 some twenty years later.
The fuzz bass intro of Steve Cunningham leads off the proto-punk-inflected “War Sucks.” The album was recorded in mono and pseudo-stereo effects were added later in the mixing stage. Panned instruments and volume fades are introduced with wild abandon. This song is frightfully jarring to listen to in headphones.
The title track is a three-minute rhythmic cacophony that serves as the sonic machete hacking through the pre-industrial jungle.
“Pink Stainless Tail” is a freakbeat classic. Studio effects are dragged along by a driving rhythm, making the propulsion lag and detune in odd ways.
The album’s fluidity between “songs” and “Freak-Outs” was manufactured in the mixing stage through careful editing. If not keeping an eye on the track listing, one might not know where cycles begin and end. And that’s the point. It’s all creation. It’s all music–whether pre-written or improvised by a roving band of bizarros.
Related: The Top 200 Songs from the Original Psychedelic Era
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