The Red Krayola, Coconut Hotel (side A)

Coconut Hotel is of course a bit legendary—in 1967, it was too weird for International Artists, who were putting out plenty of weird records.  When it got reissued in 1995, the sources of the Red Krayola's inspiration were not exactly clear.  Coconut Hotel consists solely of abstract sounds, some in pointillistic arrangements and others more sustained.  Some sounds have a clear source of origin (including ones with titles like "Piano" and "Guitar") where others are harder to discern.  While the music has little to do with the group's rock background, it seems most logical to try to understand Coconut Hotel in this context.  As the Red Krayola collaborated with John Fahey at this time, they must have been aware of his tape-music experiments on Requia.  Founder Mayo Thompson seems unfavorably disposed to hippies, so its creation in the same year as Jefferson Airplane's sometimes-chaotic After Bathing at Baxter's might be coincidence.  An obvious reference point, with only tangential rock connections, AMM's first album came out a year earlier, but there's no way to know if it reached Texas.  Searching for references or influences proves difficult, and Coconut Hotel really can't be judged in any context but its own, which is how Thompson clearly intended it.  The blurry cover photo is funny.  To the extent that sound quality can be discerned on such an abstract release, the reissue seems to have been transferred respectfully.

Elklink, The Rise of Elklink (side A)

The 2010 reissue The Rise of Elklink adds a song to the original 1999 cassette.  The band consisted of Graham Lambkin from the Shadow Ring and Adris Hoyos from Harry Pussy.  The Rise of Elklink sounds like a cross between an Alga-Marghen sound-poetry LPs and Lindus-era Shadow Ring.  It's interesting that these recordings, which were made 3 years before Lindus, resemble it stylistically.  The primary sound source is heavily processed vocals, with occasional purely electronic sounds overdubbed to add color.  Occasional words interrupt the purely abstract vocal sounds, and these words often help to identify the distinct pieces.  For example, the title of opening track "Tension Tec" is audible at times.  The glossy cover is a startling pink color, with an unflattering photo of Lambkin in its center.  The recordings are raw, but at the same time they clearly capture the processed sounds—the mastering job for the vinyl reissue nicely emphasizes the clarity without drawing attention to itself.

Cristal, Re-Ups (side A)

2008's Re-Ups is an incredibly sparse, slight listen.  The simple textures exist often in isolation.  Sounds often evolve slowly over an extended period of time before being replaced.  Most of the sounds fall in the noise side of the palette, with little tonal information or reference, though a high-pitched tone does occasionally emerge.  These tones stand out from the midrange frequencies that the noisier sounds occupy.  While the palette and style remains relatively consistent, there are separate tracks spread across the two sides, with titles that are identified in black-on-black print inside the nice gatefold and also on the back of the obi-strip.  The music seems to have been carefully composed—while the palette resembles the quiet improvised music of recent years, the structure feels much more purposeful.  Labradford bassist Bobby Donne is a member of Cristal, but the music here is far more extreme in its austerity than even Labradford's quietest moments.

Blue Sabbath Black Cheer, Dead Death, Death Dead (side A)

Apart from having a funny and creative name, Blue Sabbath Black Cheer don't particularly differentiate themselves from other noise bands of the mid-'00s.  Their heaviness reminds me of Sunn O))), as does their use of death metal-influenced fonts and a lot of black in the packaging.  The dark, layered drones with noise and vocals peeking out owe a debt to groups like Double Leopards and Yellow Swans, though Blue Sabbath Black Cheer are definitely more aggressive and willfully punishing than either.  The screaming hardcore-like vocals come to the foreground more than many of the group's contemporaries would have placed them.  While 2006's Dead Death, Death Dead does not feel particularly innovative for its era, it is tasteful and well-executed.  The bass-heavy mastering job is quite competent, if obviously stylized, and the black-on-black printing of the cover taxidermy photograph came out great.

Ash Ra Tempel, Join Inn (side A)

In 1973 when Ash Ra Tempel recorded Join Inn, founding member Klaus Schulze had re-joined the group.  Join Inn includes two side-long tracks that sound like two different bands.  Side B, "Jeseits" features Schulze on organ, and his personality comes to the foreground.  While Rosi Mueller contributes vocals here, they play a secondary role to the ongoing drones.  Surprisingly, Schulze drums on side A's "Freak'n'Roll".  Coupled with Göttsching's guitar, the extended instrumental borrows more actively from the palette and vocabulary of rock music.  The trashy-sounding drums provide propulsion that's unexpected for Schulze, and Göttsching's guitar weaves in and out of their rhythm.  The prominent dynamic shifts are preserved nicely and give the piece a sense of structure.  The mastering of my 1997 reissue is a bit treble-heavy and weak in midrange, but sounds good overall and captures the dynamics of "Freak'n'Roll" nicely.  The packaging looks good too, though I'm assuming the glossy cover is a departure from the original texture.

This Kind of Punishment, In the Same Room / 5 by 4 (sides C and D)

This double vinyl reissue, from 1993, combines the final two This Kind of Punishment releases.  1985's 5 by 4 was an EP, followed by the full-length In the Same Room in 1987.  5 by 4, which fills sides C and D at 45 RPM, is the group's most diverse and least representative work.  This Kind of Punishment focused on songs that coupled raw, slightly noisy arrangements with dark, post-punk melodies.  The music generally had a bit of a sad feel, especially from the Jefferies brothers' rich baritone vocals.  5 by 4 stretches the group's ideas out to extremes, as opposed to their usual experiments with combining them.  One song feels like recited poetry over a soundscape—it reminds me of the Shadow Ring's work a decade later.  The opening "Mr. Tic Toc" is far more aggressive than the group's usual fare, so it bears a closer resemblance to contemporaries like Australia's SPK.  Other songs feature more 60s informed melodies that Graham Jefferies relied on more when he started the Cakekitchen.  Little attention was paid to the mastering of these lo-fi recordings, so the track volumes vary drastically.  The packaging of the reissue is impressive, with a gatefold of really thick cardboard that's glossy on all sides (including the back that only faces the record).

The Temptations, Cloud Nine (side A)

I thoroughly enjoy the story of this record.  While, for example, the Monkees sought creative control to write their own songs, the Temptations merely asked Norman Whitfield to change the group's style.  Otis Williams apparently suggested Sly & the Family Stone as a reference, and Whitfield reluctantly came back with the classics "Cloud Nine" and "Runaway Child, Running Wild".  The story feels almost as implausible as the songs are memorable.  Side B of the album is unfortunately a last gasp at the old formula, and not a particularly effective one, especially with David Ruffin gone.  1969's Cloud Nine reflects a group in transition, but the startling arrangements hint at the lush psychedelic soul that would carry the Temptations for several years to follow.  Its cover design too feels a bit forced, with the group superimposed upon an oil projection reminiscent of rock bands' light shows, but it again hints at the distinctive fusion of styles that first appears here.