Various Artists - Never Ever Land

 

Never Ever Land: 83 Texan Nuggets from International Artists Records Review by Mark Deming.

It's not unusual for a small independent record company to be defined by its first major success, and that was certainly the case for the maverick Texas label International Artists. IA began life in 1965 as a fairly ordinary regional outfit releasing pop/rock stuff, but when they scored a nationwide hit with the 13th Floor Elevators' proto-psychedelic anthem "You're Gonna Miss Me," the label's de facto A&R chief, Lelan Rogers, dove headfirst into Texas acid culture and IA became a home for consciousness-expanded acts such as the Golden Dawn, the Bubble Puppy, Endle St. Cloud, and the truly crazed Red Crayola. Never Ever Land is a three-CD set designed to give a reasonably comprehensive picture of International Artists' strange and memorable five-year lifespan. Disc one is focused on Texas garage rock, and features some of the fuzzier and more straightforward material from the 13th Floor Elevators, the Red Crayola, and the Golden Dawn alongside lesser-known teen rock acts such as the Beach Boys-influenced Coastliners and the frantic Chayns. Disc two is devoted to IA's psychedelic acts, though since several already popped up on disc one the distinction may seem vague to some; at any rate, while most of this music isn't as eccentric as AI's reputation would suggest, this is still a solid set of acid-influenced rock, ranging from the tight hard rock of the Bubble Puppy and the earnest folk-rock of the Rubayyat to the country-flavored sounds of Ginger Valley and the brilliantly "huh?"-inducing sides from the Red Crayola. Finally, the third disc rounds up various odd and ends, from the sublime (two superb acoustic tracks from Roky Erickson with Clementine Hall) and the worthy (a couple selections from Lightnin' Hopkins' IA set Free Form Patterns) to the ridiculous (Sonny Hall's dunderheaded country novelty "The Battle of the Moon"). The set is accompanied by a thick booklet featuring a short history of the label, an entertaining interview with Lelan Rogers, and an AI discography. Never Ever Land reveals the dirty little secret that much of International Artists' output wasn't as bizarre as their most famous releases would lead you to expect, but the first two discs serve as an excellent overview of the heady era when teenage rock gave way to something more adventurous, and the third delivers some superb moments while filling in the gaps in the IA story; it's a loving tribute to a label whose existence was in many respects a brave leap into the musical unknown.

 

Tracklist:

 

CD1:

 

1            Emperors           I Want My Woman               2:38

2            Coastliners         Alright  2:04

3            13th Floor Elevators       You're Gonna Miss Me 2:27

4            Sterling Damon Rejected               2:02

5            Coastliners         Wonderful You               2:18

6            Thursday's Children               Dominoes          2:01

7            Chaparrels         I Tried So Hard               2:49

8            Chayns See it Thru          2:22

9            Patterns              In My Own Time               2:15

10          Chayns Live With the Moon [2008 Stereo Mix]           3:04

11          Chayns Night Time (Is the Right Time) (2008 Stereo Mix)              2:56

12          Thursday's Children        A Part of You        2:05

13          13th Floor Elevators       Fire Engine  3:21

14          Thursday's Children        Air Conditioned Man            2:14

15          Lost and Found 25 Mph 1:52

16          Chayns There's Something Wrong (In This Place)     2:30

17          Thursday's Children        Help, Murder, Police  2:07

18          Golden Dawn    Reaching Out to You        2:20

19          Thursday's Children        You Can Forget About That          1:58

20          13th Floor Elevators       Tried to Hide [Single Version]     2:21

21          Golden Dawn    A Nice Surprise               2:54

22          Red Crayola       Pink Stainless Tail               3:23

23          Inner Scene        Communication Breakdown        2:52

24          Lost and Found Let Me Be               2:48

25          Spades  We Sell Soul      3:17

26          Spades  You're Gonna Miss Me               3:25

27          13th Floor Elevators       I Don't Ever Want to Come Down           2:42

 

CD2:

 

01          Bubble Puppy    Hot Smoke and Sasafrass            2:34

02          Golden Dawn    Starvation               2:53

03          13th Floor Elevators       Scarlet and Gold             4:59

04          Lost and Found Everybody's Here               3:04

05          Red Crayola       War Sucks               3:56

06          Rubayyat            Never Ever Land               3:43

07          Shayds  Search the Sun  2:43

08          Golden Dawn    My Time               3:53

09          13th Floor Elevators       Slip Inside This House (Single Edit)   4:08

10          Lost and Found When Will You Come Through  2:26

11          Endle St. Cloud Tell Me One More Time (What's Happening to Our World)  2:49

12          Bubble Puppy    If I Had a Reason               2:20

13          Ginger Valley     Ginger  2:36

14          Rubayyat            If I Were a Carpenter           2:35

15          Bubble Puppy    Days of Our Time               2:26

16          Lost and Found Professor Black               2:37

17          Endle St. Cloud Quest for Beauty               2:47

18          Bubble Puppy    A Gathering of Promises            2:26

19          Lost and Found Forever Lasting Plastic Words    2:10

20          13th Floor Elevators       She Lives in a Time of Her Own     2:56

21          Red Crayola       Nickle Niceness (Demo) 3:09

22          Red Crayola       Hurricane Fighter Plane    3:40

23          Endle St. Cloud Come Through               2:14

24          Ginger Valley     Country Life               1:54

25          Endle St. Cloud This is Love               4:24

26          Red Crayola       Vile Vile Grass (Demo) 2:21

27          13th Floor Elevators       60-Second Radio Spot for 'bull of the Woods' 1:01

 

CD3:

 

01          Arnim & Hamilton               Pepperman        2:26

02          Disciples of Shaftesbury               Times Gone By  2:16

03          Beauregard        Popcorn Popper               2:51

04          Big Walter          Breakfast in Bed               2:24

05          Lightnin' Hopkins            Black Ghost    3:32

06          Beauregard        Mama Never Taught Me How to Jelly Roll       2:56

07          Dave Allen          Terp      2:39

08          Bubble Puppy    Hurry Sundown               4:00

09          Disciples of Shaftesbury               My Cup is Full    2:26

10          Kathy Clark        Little Girl Called Sad        2:14

11          Lightnin' Hopkins            Baby Child     3:36

12          Shayds  Bring Your Love 1:59

13          Arnim & Hamilton          Walkin' Midnight Coffee Break  2:25

14          Roky & Clementine Hall Splash 1               3:04

15          Roky & Clementine Hall Right Track Now          3:00

16          Billy Wade McKnight      Trouble's Coming On         2:31

17          Kathy Clarke      My Summer Prayer   2:26

18          Billy Wade McKnight      I Need Your Lovin'         3:05

19          Lightnin' Hopkins            Mini Skirt               3:13

20          Dave Allen          C. C. Rider               2:25

21          Bubble Puppy    Lonely  2:59

22          Sonny Hall          Poor Planet Earth               2:04

23          Tom Harvey       So Ah in Ah Love               1:55

24          Johnny Williams              Honey Child     2:41

25          Frankie & Johnny            Sweet Thang   2:20

26          Sonny Hall          The Battle of the Moon   1:43

27          Sterling Damon My Last Letter               2:50

28          Roky Erikson      Interview at Ksan Radio (1st April 1978)    2:41

29          13th Floor Elevators       May the Circle Remain Unbroken              2:40

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