Black Snakes

Last updated
Black Snakes
Red Krayola - Black Snakes.jpg
Studio album by
Released1983
RecordedSunrise Studio, Switzerland
Genre Experimental rock
Length47:22
Label RecRec (original release)
Drag City (reissue) [1]
The Red Krayola with Art & Language chronology
Kangaroo?
(1981)
Black Snakes
(1983)
Sighs Trapped by Liars
(2007)
The Red Krayola chronology
Kangaroo?
(1981)
Black Snakes
(1983)
Three Songs on a Trip to the United States
(1983)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Robert Christgau B [2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Spin Alternative Record Guide 6/10 [4]

Black Snakes is a collaboration between the experimental rock band Red Krayola and the conceptual art group Art & Language. [5] [6] It was released in 1983 by RecRec Music. [7] The album was adopted by Drag City and re-issued on CD in 1997. [8]

Contents

Critical reception

Dave Thompson, in Alternative Rock, referred to the album as an "avant-garde theater [soundtrack] without the theater to explain what was happening." [9]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Michael Baldwin, Mel Ramsden, and Mayo Thompson

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Black Snakes"4:41
2."Ratman, The Weightwatcher"2:52
3."The Sloths"6:42
4."The Jam"4:29
5."Hedges"3:48
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."Portrait of V. I. Lenin in the Style of Jackson Pollock, Part I"3:05
2."Future Pilots"4:17
3."A Portrait of You"4:49
4."Words of Love"4:49
5."Café Twenty-One"3:53
6."Gynaecology in Ancient Greece"3:55

Personnel

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References

  1. "The Red Crayola with Art & Language – Black Snakes | Drag City". www.dragcity.com.
  2. Christgau, Robert. "Red Crayola with Art & Language: Black Snakes". Robert Christgau.com. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  3. Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 6. MUZE. p. 806.
  4. Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. 1995. p. 322.
  5. "Thompson's twins". Dallas Observer. June 17, 1999.
  6. Miller, Eric T. (June 2, 2006). "The Red Krayola: Outside The Lines".
  7. Kenny, Glenn; Grant, Steven; Robbins, Ira (2007). "Red Crayola". Trouser Press . Retrieved May 26, 2016.
  8. "The Red Krayola: Black Snakes". Drag City. 2012. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  9. Thompson, Dave (August 9, 2000). Alternative Rock. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN   9780879306076 via Google Books.