Red Krayola-Hurricane Fighter Plane (2006)

 

Artist: Red Krayola

Title: Hurricane Fighter Plane

Label: Atom

Format: 2CD

Cat #: ATOM 2024

Year of Release: 2006

Country and Year of Edition Issue: Germany 2006 slipcase

Listed Condition: VG+/VG some shelf wear on slipcase

Sell Date: 4/2/21

Sell Price: $10.99

Discogs Last Sold: 12/3/20 VG+/VG $8.21

Low: $6.84

Median: $9.52

Average: $9.82

High: $15.00

Current low price:$4.17

Current Number on Sale at Discogs:18

Have/Want: 49/21

Where Sold: Tonawanda, NY

Time it took to sell: 10 years

Where and When Bought: Etheria NYC $11.99 sticker on back late 2000's used

Gwiz-gau Letter Grade: C-

Sad To See It Go: No

Some of the most difficult music of the 60's to listen to.  This is one of those look good on paper band that the Drag City scene codified when they released Mayo Thompson in the 90's and issued newer Red Krayola releases.

This is a compilation of the first 2 Red Krayola albums: 1967's Parable of Arable Land and 1968's God Bless The Red Krayola and All Who Sail With It both originally issued on Houston's International Artists label around the same time as the 13th Floor Elevators.  When I bought this, I just didn't have a clue of what this was.  The packaging made it look like a new release, not the treasured 60's material.  I just bought it sight unseen flipping through my locals used CD rack since I liked Mayo's solo CD reissue and had a 90's title or two from Drag City.  I have no recollection of the act of listening to this CD.  I think by the late aughts I got a little sloppy with playing everything at least once before I filed it away.  Maybe it was one of 10 cds I bought that day, played it in the 100-cd carousel and didn't focus.

The buyer reviews of this reissue package are notably bad.  

From an Amazon buyer:

"This release is horrible. The label that put it together had no idea (or did not care) about the track order of the original albums. For the PARABLE OF ARABLE LAND, each track fades out where it should lead into one another. AND it is missing 2 of the "Free Form Freakouts"!!!!! This is unacceptable.

GOD BLESS... has a completely messed up track order. And 2 songs from the second album are inexplicably included on the CD of the first album.

This is a mess. Don't buy."

From a 1-Star Discogs note

"Probably the worst compilation I've ever seen. Tracks are completely messed up, FFFreakouts are shortened... If you want great version of 2 first RK albums, better buy a Dekal/Charly compilation."

For the last 10-15 years, I was blissfully unaware of any of this, even the specific contents.  When it sold, I was excited to put a little focus into a double cd Red Krayola release.  I played it through one Saturday afternoon but got cut off with a phone interruption somewhere mid disc 2, so I played it through again  start to finish a week later.  Some of the Parable tracks were standing out, some sounded "modern" to a 90's avant-indie or Silver Apples or Pere Ubu aesthetic, and some sounded hippy dippy tape recordings from the local arts center.

I'm feeling like if I'm going to put any more time into this music, I need to listen to the original albums as they were intended to be heard upon release.  But, do I want to put this time in to commit these to long term memory or are there some Beefheart and Zappa albums that are ahead in line?  I initially was thinking I needed to dedicate yet ANOTHER two hours to this before writing about it, but on a whim I decided. No.  I have enough in my memory banks to comment on and if I listen to this material again, it will not be in the form of a universally reviled reissue.

Sometimes there aren't enough hours in the day to ponder this stuff.