Black Snakes

1983 album

• Rejected by Rough Trade
• Released 1983

Track listing

Side A

1. Black Snakes
2. Ratman, the Weightwatcher
3. Sloths
4. The Jam
5. Hedges

Side B

1. Portrait of V. I. Lenin in the Style of Jackson Pollock, Part I
2. Future Pilots
3. Portrait of You
4. Words of Love
5. Café Twenty-One
6. Gynaecology in Ancient Greece

Reviews

Sounds

September 17, 1983

Dave Henderson

'Black Snakes' is by far the Red Crayola's most cohesive and accessible outing. Mainman Mayo Thompson's time with Pere Ubu seems to have added yet another ingredient to this strange musical melting pot and the resulting mixture is much more tantalising.

Mayo seems to cram together all those best bits that have transpired in the name of rock, throw in a bit of soul and a layer of traditional knowledge. To him it probably comes naturally, it's all part of his make up. The enjoyment then, of this latest Crayola cut, is twice as good; not only can you take it as an album but you can study the ingenuity of the man.

This is a great place to start with Crayola, too. It's their simplest album inasmuch as there aren't too many cross references and difficult structures to wrestle with. Once you've passed this test, the others — and there are quite a few — must be easier to comprehend.

Cut

November 1983