Red Crayola, The with Art & Language "Black Snakes" LP (1983)

Details: The Red Crayola with Art & Language "Black Snakes" LP (1983, RecRec). Switzerland pressing. Pink label. Medium to heavy wear on the cover (sticker/shelf), heavy spine wear. Light to medium wear on vinyl. Includes original inner sleeve.

Description: "Like some other bands emerging, phoenix-like, from the ashes of the UK punk scene (Au Pairs, Magazine, Gang of Four), The Red Crayola adopted a jazzy, funky pop sound in the early 1980s. Their sound came close (“Black Snakes”) to a poppier version of jazz iconoclast Ornette Coleman‘s Prime Time band of the day — some of this could almost pass for Ornette-inspired no-wavers James White & The Blacks. (Mayo Thompson had actually co-produced an album by Ornette associate James “Blood” Ulmer). The electric bass is prominent in laying down catchy vamps, and the wailing horns and guitar are grounded and kept in check by definite song structure. There are a few older songs re-recorded here (“Ratman, the Weightwatcher,” “A Portrait of V.I. Lenin in the Style of Jackson Pollock, Part 1”). Anyone who likes Kangaroo?, Micro-Chips & Fish, “Born in Flames” and that sort of stuff will probably like this too — and this is probably more accessible than those other releases from the UK era."--RockSalted

Grade: VG/VG

TRACK LISTING SIDE A:

A1. Black Snakes (Version)
A2. Ratman, The Weightwatcher
A3. The Sloths
A4. The Jam
A5. Hedges

TRACK LISTING SIDE B:

B1. A Portrait Of V.I. Lenin In The Style Of Jackson Pollock Part 1
B2. Future Pilots
B3. A Portrait Of You
B4. Words Of Love
B5. Cafe Twenty-One
B6. Gynaecology In Ancient Greece