The Parable of Arable Land

The Parable of Arable Land
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Studio album by The Red Crayola
Released	June 1967
Recorded	April - May, 1967
Studio
Label	International Artists
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Track listing

Side A

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Free Form Freak-Out"	1:30
2.	"Hurricane Fighter Plane" (When the Ride Is Over You Can Go to Sleep)	3:33
3.	"Free Form Freak-Out"	2:24
4.	"Transparent Radiation" (Red Signs Out-Side, Which I Contain)	2:32
5.	"Free Form Freak-Out"	4:21
6.	"War Sucks" (You Remember What Happened to Hansel and Gretel)	3:38
7.	"Free Form Freak-Out"	3:09

Side B

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Free Form Freak-Out"	1:52
2.	"Pink Stainless Tail" (Seven Guest Are Quite Now, And Now Not Half So Much)	3:16
3.	"Free Form Freak-Out"	3:05
4.	"Parable of Arable Land" (And the End Shall Be Signaled By the Breaking of a Twig)	3:06
5.	"Free Form Freak-Out"	4:09
6.	"Former Reflections Enduring Doubt" (I Pass in a Rain That Is Always Too Soon)	4:57
Total length:		41:32

Background

• February 1967: recorded unreleased single Dairymaid's Lament
• March 1967: performance at KNUZ Battle of the Bands gets the band signed to International Artists
• Demos for The Parable of Arable Land
• April 1967: Free Form Freak-Out recording session
• April - May 1967: Song recording sessions
• Album is release June 1967

Further reading: Paul Drummond's booklet for the 2011 remaster

Personnel

The Red Crayola

• Mayo Thompson - vocals, guitar

• Steve Cunningham - bass
• Frederick Barthelme - drums

Additional musicians

• The Familiar Ugly - free form freak-out

• Roky Erickson - harmonica, organ

Technical

• Lelan Rogers - producer
• Walt Andrus - engineer
• Frank Davis - engineer

Cover art

Cover design by Flash Graphics (George Banks).

Release history

1978 ad

	Date	Label	Format	Catalog
US	1967	International Artists	Stereo LP	IA-LP 2 STEREO
US	1967	International Artists	Mono LP	IA-LP 2 MONO
UK	1978	Radar Records	Stereo LP	RAD 12
US	1979	International Artists	Stereo LP	IA-LP 2 STEREO
UK	1988	Decal	CD	LIK 20
US	1993	Collectables	CD	COL-CD-0551
IT	1999	Get Back	LP	GET533
IT	2002	Sunspots	CD	SPOT 507
US	2009	International Artists	Stereo/Mono LP	IA-LP-2 Mono
UK	2011	Charly Records	CD	SNAX621
UK	2011	Charly Records	MP3 (Stereo/Mono)	SNAX621
UK	2014	Charly Records	Stereo/Mono LP	CHARLY L 142

Reviews

Berkeley Barb

July 21, 1967, vol. 5, iss. 3

Ed Denson

Their first lp was released by that strange Houston company International Artists, who also record the 13th Floor Elevators, and it is selling far more than it should because it looks like a rock lp and the liner notes, which are deceptive, make it sound sort of like the mothers or something else which is recognizable.

Basically they went into the studio with a lot of people and recorded it. Most of the "other people" are just background noise, and they represent, as does the record, a certain stage in the experimentation, which is more or less successful depending upon your intellectual framework.

I like two cuts very much: "War Sucks" and "The Parable of Arable Land", and no doubt so will you about the third time thru. It took me that long.

Chicago Seed

July 1, 1968, vol. 2, iss. 11

This is probably the freakiest album ever recorded. Released around the end of last June, it made it to Chicago sometime this spring. The Crayola specialize in shifting from chaos to structured runs, while the Ugly (I hope that they'll pardon me for becoming familiar_) play such background instruments as coke bottles, motorcycles, buzzsaws and kazoos. "Hurricane Fighter Plane" has the freakiest lyrics ever, and the combined group makes the ultimate statement on violence in "War Sucks". Forget General Fox's stupid liner notes and pick up on it. Highly recommended for listening to when stoned, especially for the amazing channel separation.

Record Mirror

October 28, 1978

James Parade

Radar Records reissue

It's difficult to say who 'Red Crayola' or 'The Familiar Ugly' for that matter, actually are. They reportedly turned up at "Andrus studio" one night in '67 to record an album of Free-form Freak-out (yes, they're serious, though it sounds more like a fourth-form fallout to me).

Heavy, far out, cool and all that, but the resultant album is exactly what you'd expect. It reinforces the idea that psychedelic means, 'lots of bells' and that youth's ideals soon give way to the two 'R's, rationalization and reality.

But back to, er, conceptual ideology. Groove No 1 is titled, 'Hurricane Fighter Plane', (when the ride is over you can go to sleep).

Imagine yourself in a sitting-room with the Beatles' 'Revolution No 9' on the mono with 'Custer's Last Stand' on the telly, both turned-up full vol and this is as near a sonic description as you'll get. As the yankees start to lose the battle, 'Transparent Radiation' starts which is almost a normal song. A blues harp blows alongside a voice terribly like Talking Heads, David Byrne (is it him?) the total effect not unlike some Roxy Music opus, (remember this is '67) and 'War Sucks', with the odd raga weaving in and out closes side 1.

Side two is generally incomprehensible except that the title track recalls the sound of horned beasts sowing seeds somewhere in the far east.

Overall, the record serves a purpose as a document of the period but really has little relevence to post-punk, still apathetic Britain, and no sign of a messiah yet.

Afficionados of John Cage will love it and Virgin would've been ecstatic had they have been around then. I'm sending this copy to Steve Hilliage.

Also, don't buy it because it's on Radar because their credibility fades daily and there are still to many good young English bands to be signed yet without recycling modern kitch with various mortals blowing in bottles whilst playing buzzsaws. In fact, it's so perfect it could all conceivably be a joke. S.M. gives way to T.M. And I actually like 'Tanz Der Youth'. Ouch!

Slash

May 1979

Z

Radar Records reissue

Crazy Texan youth in the summer of Sandoz. Having a psycho wigout party, bringing their own noisemakers and their Owsley truths, having no rules except the ones invented by the whims of a sugar cube. No conventions, no restrictions, and if that sounds like that cliche "anarchy," yes this "rebellation generation" knew the essence of that word a lot better than most of your drugstore nihilists. Through the chaos three crayolas play six 'songs' — leaking and swirling through treatments, shifters, delays, rhythm and structure barely held together by lysergicized hands and voices, finally, inevitably disintegrating into another 'free form freakout.' You can forget those puerile cliche putdowns of 'peace and love' — these people really were making an attempt to destroy any cages of flesh or spirit, they were trying to break down more barriers than most of the current zipper pinned media idols know about. And forget the stupid attempts to recreate the period like 'Hair' — this was a time that could never be prolonged or duplicated. It was too over the edge — only Mayo Thompson has crawled out of the warp intact. A great document, and it sounds like they had one hell of a party that night. Wish I could have been there.

Howl

1988, no.1, pg. 40

acg

Charly Records reissue

Immer noch ein Meilenstein, sowas wurde in dieser Form seither nicht mehr gemacht (frühe Amon Düüls vielleicht ausgenommen). Beinharte Undergroundband schleppt ihren Fan-Tross mit ins Studio (vielleicht sind sie ihn auch nicht losgeworden) und spielt mit ihnen ein 6-Song-Psychedelic-Trip-Album ein. Daraus erheben sich wie weise alte Helden diese großen Songs, "War Sucks" (übrigens viel härter 15 Jahre später von Really Red für ihre Höllen-Abschieds-LP "Rest In Pain" eigespielt), "Transparent Radiation", "Hurricane Fighter Plane". Monumente, die mit den Füßen im Urschlam stehn, während ihre Arme mit großen Gesten in den Wolken wedeln. Einen Kopf haven sie auch, der ist texanisch wütend und sie können auch ihre Instrumente spielen (die 1.LP war nämlich uuuärrgh). Alles auf trancehafte, stammesusikhafte Weise. Ein Meilenstein, wie gesagt.

Stereo Review

November, 1992

Steve Simels

Charly Records CD reissue

Pitchfork

February 9, 2004

Alex Linhardt

Links

• Album on Wikipedia
• Album on RateYourMusic