Corky's Debt to His Father

Corky's Debt to His Father is the only solo LP by Red Krayola leader Mayo Thompson.[4][5] 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
Mayo Thompson
Released1970
RecordedAndrus Studio, Houston, Texas, 1970.
GenreFolk rock, Americana
Length37:56
LabelTexas Revolution, Glass Records, Drag City[1]
ProducerMayo Thompson, Frank Davis, Roger Romano
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Spin Alternative Record Guide8/10[3]

The album was out of print for a number of years, during which time one song - "Horses" - was rerecorded 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]

Critical reception

The 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]

Track listing

All songs by Mayo Thompson except where noted.

Side one
  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

Side two
  1. "To You" - 2.50
  2. "Fortune" - 2.11
  3. "Black Legs" - 3.50 (Mayo Thompson, Ricky Barthelme)
  4. "Good Brisk Blues" - 3.07
  5. "Around the Home" - 2.50
  6. "Worried, Worried" - 5.03

Personnel
  • 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
  • Le Anne Romano - Baritone Sax
  • Chuck Conway - Drums, Bongos, Percussion
  • Jimi Newhouse - Drums
  • Carson Graham - Drums
  • The La Las - Backing Vocals
  • The Whoaback Singers - Backing Vocals

References
  1. "Mayo Thompson - Corky's Debt To His Father | Drag City". www.dragcity.com.
  2. AllMusic review
  3. Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. 1995. p. 325.
  4. "Mayo Thompson Pays Off Corky's Debt". Texas Monthly. January 13, 2020.
  5. "Mayo Thompson | Biography & History". AllMusic.
  6. "NEW SHADES OF THE RED KRAYOLA". chicagotribune.com.
  7. "Mayo Thompson". The New Yorker.
  8. Corbett, John. "A Genre of One". Chicago Reader.
  9. "Music Pick: Mayo Thompson". LA Weekly. January 6, 2020.
  10. Kenny, Glenn; Grant, Steven; Robbins, Ira (2007). "Red Crayola". Trouser Press. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
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