Re-release of the 1970 LP originally on the short-lived but nonetheless legendary Texas Revolution label of Walt Andrus. It was produced by Thompson, Frank Davis and Roger 'Rocket' Romano. Mayo Thompson was born in 1944 i... more »n Houston, Texas and he is an American musician/visual artist best known as the leader of the avant-garde rock band Red Crayola (Krayola). Corky's Debt shows Thompson at his most accessible with unique ballads, Blues, Rock and Love songs flow one to another with style, grace and intensity into the handlings of diverse popular-music idioms and language that characterize his more widely known work in The Red Crayola. It evokes the early days of acoustic blues, but it is already in the maelstrom from which punk rock would emerge just a few years later. 11 tracks. Drag City Records. 2008.« less
Re-release of the 1970 LP originally on the short-lived but nonetheless legendary Texas Revolution label of Walt Andrus. It was produced by Thompson, Frank Davis and Roger 'Rocket' Romano. Mayo Thompson was born in 1944 in Houston, Texas and he is an American musician/visual artist best known as the leader of the avant-garde rock band Red Crayola (Krayola). Corky's Debt shows Thompson at his most accessible with unique ballads, Blues, Rock and Love songs flow one to another with style, grace and intensity into the handlings of diverse popular-music idioms and language that characterize his more widely known work in The Red Crayola. It evokes the early days of acoustic blues, but it is already in the maelstrom from which punk rock would emerge just a few years later. 11 tracks. Drag City Records. 2008.
"Whilst those first two Red Krayola LPs remain absolute classics in the "out-rock"/psych genre (as well as the two subsequently released efforts from the same period put out by Drag City), often forgotten or simply passed by is this once-only solo effort from 'Krayola leader, Mayo Thompson. By this time (1970), the band had fallen apart and the incredible psych/freak music scene Texas had in the '60s (with fellow gods, the 13th Floor Elevators) had pretty much ceased to exist, so Mayo went into the studio with some hot Texan session musos (which may be an oxymoron...) to lay his heart on the line. This is the result. Playing it fairly straight as a country/folk disc - musically I'd say it reminds one mostly of Dylan, with a bit of Texan song-writer a la Townes Van Zandt/Guy Clarke in the mix - what really sets it apart are the truly demented lyrics and occasional unexpected swing in the rhythm. Avant-folk? Possibly, since it seems the likes of Jim O'Rourke and David Grubbs have pretty much staked their respective careers on this disc's achievements (I'm exaggerating, of course, but trying to make a point, so please remain in your seats...). Often compared to Skip Spence's "Oar" LP of the same period, there's certainly some similarities there, but mostly "Corky..." exists in its own universe. Mayo sounds like a man out of his time, greeting the horrible '70s with just the right level of cynicism and hope. It'd take him another 20-odd years to really get his due in the "biz" as one of the true innovators, so wait no longer to discover all the different shades and styles of this rather unique individual. Is that "Saddlesore" 7" he did from the same period still in print? If so, investigate..."
Where did Corky stick that cigar?
A.Y.H. | 08/20/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Quite simply, one of the horniest albums of all time. One wouldn't have expected the edgy sexuality given the incurable art-nerd MT was in the 60s' Krayola. He'd just gotten married, that I know -- Rick Barthelme makes some rather odd comments about it in his first novel. Anyway, it's unlike anything else Thompson's ever done -- weirdly folky, unironically sweet in more than one orifice, and litero-Texan to a T. The old Glass Records vinyl reissue of this got me through college (on a tape with poor Skippy Spence's "Oar" on the other side). Thanks Drag City for reissuing it. Nice tie, dude."
Amazing
Dave Lang | 10/26/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"while the music is decidedly more toned down than red crayola efforts, it is a great deal more realized than any earlier works by thompson's band. Stand out tracks include Venus in the Morning, and Good Brisk Blues. Why did Thompson not crack big with this album. Lou Reed vocals, Syd Barret sensibilities, and much better than Dylan blues, couple that with great lyrics. One of the best underground albums of all time(whatever that means)."
One of those great, lost late-sixties artefacts
A.Y.H. | Toronto, Ontario Canada | 08/05/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This LP has its origins in the most unlikely of sources, namely the Texan psychedelic underground, overseen by Kenny Rogers's brother Lelan (or Leland) and his International Artists imprint. This is the font from which sprung, among other things, the 13th Floor Elevators of "You're Gonna Miss Me" infamy, and the Red Crayola, of whom you've probably heard if you're on this page. Corky's Debt to His Father was even _more_ obscure (from a commercial perspective at least) than those first two wacky punk-skronk-folk Crayola LPs; in fact, it saw release only on a vanity label called Texas Revolution and pretty much sat unnoticed until Drag City reissued it in the nineties thanks to Thompson's association (I suspect) with Pere Ubu.Which is all well and good, because this is by far his finest work, and indeed, one of the first and finest albums in the general singer-songwriter genre. Thompson's voice oddly resembles a pitch-challenged Brian Wilson, and so does his material (note the resemblance of the last section of "Oyster Thins" to some of the more upbeat material on the Beach Boys' 1968 LP, Friends) and posture (sweetly awkward, intermittently melancholy, otherworldly rock and roll adolescent). The backing is here from Texas session pros rather than any of Thompson's slightly more renowed associates, except for on "Black Legs", a striking solo blues cowritten by the novelist Frederick Barthelme. Highlights include "Horses", an oddly romantic tune reminiscent of something on the first side of Love's Da Capo; "Oyster Thins", an epic, surprisingly touching domestic ballad reminiscent in spots of - of all things! - "Let It Be"; "Dear Betty Baby", a swaying seafaring ballad with mournful, Taps-like horns; "Around the Home", like something from an early Eno record, with a "Snow In San Anselmo"-like chorus; "Fortune", which presages the pensive country-rock of Gram Parsons's two solo LPs; "Worried Worried", like a crabwise sketch for the much later hits of Fastball; and two hysterically erotic blues that evoke bits of Blonde on Blonde.And is the first song on the second side called "Side Two To You" or just "To You"? Only Mayo knows. Extra points, though, for those lyrics."
This is one of the great overlooked classics of our age
A.Y.H. | 07/14/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"After Red Krayola's first two records Thompson decided to strike out on his own and attempt something a bit more commercial than the esoteric (but I would submit brilliant) Red Krayola records. What happened was Corky's Debt to His Father and thanks to Drag City music fans now have access to it once again. Melodies that travel with you for days, bass and drum riffs that are infectous and lyrics that paint a humorously black portrait of Thompson's world, this is a record that should be hailed as a classic"
Track Listings (11) - Disc #1
