The Parable of Arable Land

The RED KRAYOLA's debut remains their most celebrated and notorious effort. Although this was categorized as psychedelia when first released, it's more like futuristic avant-noise-rock. Mayo Thompson's flighty songs about hurricane fighter planes and transparent radiation are almost submerged by a cacophony of 'free-form freak-out' noise created on kazoos, flutes, harmonica, hammer, jugs, bottles, sticks, and more by a large ensemble of friends dubbed the 'Familiar Ugly.' Minority opinion holds that the wistfulness of Thompson's tunes (the brittle 'War Sucks' excepted) and voice may have been served better by less self-consciously far-out arrangements. (Several of the songs can be heard in more skeletal form on the Epitaph for a Legend compilation). Parable of Arable Land was quite a daring statement for its day, however, with instrumental cameos by Roky Erickson on a couple of tracks.