Corky's Debt to His Father is the only solo LP by Red Krayola leader Mayo Thompson.[3][4] Recorded in 1970, it was released on the small independent label Texas Revolution but barely distributed at the time; some copies were made available in the 1970s via mail order.
| Corky's Debt to His Father | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Studio album by | |
| Released | 20 December 1970 |
| Recorded | 1970 |
| Studio | Andrus Studio, Houston, Texas |
| Genre | |
| Length | 37:56 |
| Label | Texas Revolution |
| Producer | Mayo Thompson, Frank Davis, Roger Romano |
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 8/10[2] |
Texas Revolution was a short-lived independent record label. Thompson remarked about the plans they had before the label's demise sometime in 1971: "We were going to make records of the news. We were going to put the newspaper to music, and sell it on street corners. Like make it in one day, press it, and sell it the next week. Topical songs, sold out of the back of a truck. All the things that we've later come to see - indie music, the DIY scene, all that stuff.[5]
The album was out of print for a number of years, during which time one song - "Horses" - was re-recorded by Pere Ubu; Thompson was a member of the group at the time. The album was re-released in the mid-eighties on the English label Glass. It was later reissued again, on vinyl and CD, through Drag City.[6]
Background
editAfter the Red Krayola disbanded in 1968, Mayo Thompson returned to Walt Andrus' Studio (the best studio in Houston at the time) with various Nashville session musicians. Corky's Debt To His Father was recorded and released in 1970 on independent record label Texas Revolution.
Critical reception
editThe New Yorker called Corky's Debt to His Father "an emblematic cult record, twisting the ears of a fervent few."[7] The Chicago Reader wrote that "the music has an easy, folksy feel, the crack band laying down a down-home ambience that's unkempt in a precise way."[8] LA Weekly called it "an overlooked collection of cracked and arty folk songs that set the template for lo-fi, indie-pop styles decades later."[9] Trouser Press deemed it "a left-field version of a blues and neo-vaudeville album [that is] played mostly acoustic on slide guitar, piano, bass and elementary traps, with some horns and electricity."[10]
In a retrospective review Richie Unterberger assessed the record as being "more palatable to pop ears than any of Thompson's numerous Red Krayola records" as well as appraising it as "an eclectic folk-rock base that bore some rough similarities to Syd Barrett's work".[11]
Legacy
editJeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel has been cited as a huge fan of the record. In 2019, he attended a live performance of Mayo Thompson's solo album at (Le) Poisson Rouge.[12]
Andrew VanWyngarden of MGMT makes mention in a 2011 interview with NME that he used to listen to this album more than The Parable of Arable Land.[13]
Track listing
editAll tracks are written by Mayo Thompson, except where noted. "Woof" is an instrumental song outtake that failed to make it on the final album, it was released on the Red Krayola's "Singles" compilation in 2004
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Lesson" | 2:39 |
| 2. | "Oyster Thins" | 6:00 |
| 3. | "Horses" | 3:09 |
| 4. | "Dear Betty Baby" | 3:47 |
| 5. | "Venus in the Morning" | 2:30 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "To You" | 2:50 | |
| 2. | "Fortune" | 2:11 | |
| 3. | "Black Legs" |
| 3:50 |
| 4. | "Good Brisk Blues" | 3:07 | |
| 5. | "Around the Home" | 2:50 | |
| 6. | "Worried Worried" | 5:03 | |
| Total length: | 37:56 | ||
Personnel
edit- Mayo Thompson - vocals, guitar, bass, production
- Frank Davis - production, engineering, fiddle guitar, timpani
- Roger Romano - production, engineering, percussion
- Joe Duggan - piano
- Mike Sumler - slide guitar, bass, tenor saxophone
- LeAnne Romano - baritone horn
- Chuck Conway - drums, bongos, percussion
- Jimi Newhouse - drums
- Carson Graham - drums
- The La La's - backing vocals
- The Whoaback Singers - backing vocals
Covers
edit- Pere Ubu covered "Horses" in 1980.
- Lower Dens covered "Dear Betty Baby" in 2011.
References
edit- ^ AllMusic review
- ^ Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. 1995. p. 325.
- ^ "Mayo Thompson Pays Off Corky's Debt". Texas Monthly. January 13, 2020.
- ^ "Mayo Thompson | Biography & History". AllMusic.
- ^ "Mayo Thompson Interview Part 1".
- ^ "NEW SHADES OF THE RED KRAYOLA". chicagotribune.com.
- ^ "Mayo Thompson". The New Yorker.
- ^ Corbett, John (16 June 1994). "A Genre of One". Chicago Reader.
- ^ "Music Pick: Mayo Thompson". LA Weekly. January 6, 2020.
- ^ Kenny, Glenn; Grant, Steven; Robbins, Ira (2007). "Red Crayola". Trouser Press. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
- ^ "The Red Krayola Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
- ^ https://www.brooklynvegan.com/mayo-thompson-played-corkys-debt-to-his-father-at-le-poisson-rouge-pics/ [bare URL]
- ^ https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/100-greatest-lost-albums-this-weeks-nme-780559 [bare URL]