Cold Sun-Dark Shadows-Texas psychedelic garage-NEW LP

COLD SUN- DARK SHADOWS - KILLER 60'S ACID PSYCH LP ULTIMATE 60'S ACID/PSYCH MASTERPIECE FROM TEXAS

Cold Sun - Dark Shadows LP

REISSUE

guerssen

New copy!

Vivid peyote-induced psychedelia from Texas sounding like an impossible meld between the Elevators and the Velvet Underground but possessing a strongly unique disposition.

Recorded in 1970 but never released at the time, featuring future members of Roky Erickson’s backing band Bleib Alien / The Aliens.

Formed in Austin in the late 1960s by visionary lyricist and autoharp player Billy Bill Miller and his friend Tom McGarrigle on guitar, Cold Sun evolved from a band called Cauldron (later Amethyst) which at one point featured drummer John Kearney from Roky Erickson’s first band The Spades. Miller, a proto-Goth figure always dressed in black, highly influenced by Joe Meek and vintage sci-fi / horror movies, started to experiment with weird noises out of his electrified autoharp, favoring the audio-oriented drug mescaline over the LSD associated with hippies. Amethyst jammed with musicians such as Benny Thurman from the 13th Floor Elevators and Steve Webb from the Lost And Found (another International Artists band). The definitive Amethyst line-up, with Hugh Patton on drums and Mike Waugh on bass, played at venues like the I.L. Club, a historical landmark of Austin blues & psychedelic music.

It was through Mike Waugh’s friendship with Elevators drummer John Ike Walton that Billy Miller and the band (still unsure about their name but calling themselves The Daily Planet, changing it to Dark Shadows, and then to Cold Sun) hooked up with the local label / studio Sonobeat (Mariani, Wildfire, Johnny Winter…), who expressed interest in recording an album with the intention to shop it to a major label: thus, the now-legendary Cold Sun album was born. The band, driven by Miller’s strange electrified autoharp sounds plus the massive fuzz guitar of McGarrigle, dressed with feedback and futuristic lyrics, laid down several tracks in between rehearsals at Miller’s house on Castle Hill (west Austin). The album opens with “South Texas” (“the ultimate psychedelic track,” according to Patrick “The Lama” Lundborg), climbing to a psychedelic summit with the final 11 minutes of the fervently intoxicated “Ra-Ma”.

Never released at the time, the Cold Sun album languished in oblivion and the musicians moved on to other things. Billy Bill Miller along with drummer Hugh Patton founded Bleib Alien (later The Aliens), the famous backing band of Roky Erickson, with Billy being essential in bringing Roky back to music after his stay at Rusk Mental Hospital.

It wasn’t until 1990 that the Cold Sun album was finally released on vinyl by the Rockadelic label (in a tiny edition of 300 copies), followed by a new edition on German label World In Sound in 2008, now out of print.

For this new edition on Guerssen, we’ve tried to imagine how the Cold Sun album could have looked like if it had been actually released in 1970. It comes in a hard cardboard sleeve with vintage styled artwork by psychedelic illustrator Callum Rooney.

Sourced from the same audio master as the original Rockadelic LP, the sound has been vastly improved thanks to the meticulous and careful restoration / remastering by audiophile engineer Ezra Lesser, who has also penned the definitive story of Cold Sun for the liner notes.

*Hard cardboard sleeve with vintage styled artwork by Callum Rooney
*Audiophile restoration / remastering by Ezra Lesser
*Insert with detailed liner notes and photos
*Download card

“One of the most important psychedelic records, and unlike any other one.” – Paul Major

“Cold Sun is an anomaly in Texas psych history. As significant as Bubble Puppy or Moving Sidewalks but in no way similar, the Austin quartet cut one cult classic in its brief existence, the spell-binding Dark Shadows, which Jello Biafra called “the best psychedelic album I know of.” – Austin Powell (Austin Chronicle)

“Billy Miller invented Post-Punk in 1970” – Julian Cope (Head Heritage)

Tracklist:
Side 1: 1. South Texas – 2. Twisted Flower – 3. Here In The Year – 4. For Ever
Side 2: 1. See What You Cause – 2. Fall – 3. Ra-Ma

Cold Sun from Austin, Texas was recorded in 1970 in the legendary Sonobeat studios, where the Mariani and Johnny Winter first LPs were produced. The Cold Sun band are considered contemporaries of Velvet Underground and The Fugs, often listed as being in a similar vein but inspirations for this unique piece actually go back to the desperated, haunted Joe Meek. All songs lyrically express dark, mystic poetry with the true 60s psychedelic floating/ distorted fuzz spirit presented in short compact mini- epics along with several mind blowing long tunes, such as '' Ra- Ma'' (11 min), '' Here In The Year'' (9 min) and '' Fall'' (7 min).

This is the vinyl re-release of World In Sound´s limited collectors edition from the year 2008. Without any doubt Cold Sun are one of Austins milestones of the heavy-acid-psych and garage movement. The album was recorded in 1970 in the legendary Sonobeat studios, where the Mariani and Johnny Winter´s first LPs were produced. Cold Sun are considered contemporaries of Velvet Underground and The Fugs, often listed as being in a similar vein, but inspirations for this unique piece actually go back to the desperated, haunting sound of Joe Meek. All seven tunes lyrically express a dark and mystic poetry combined with the deep floating 60s psychedelic fuzz spirit, presented in compact mini-epics along with several mind blowing long tunes, such as "Ra-Ma", "Here In The Year" and "Fall".

Autoharp wizard Billy Miller eventually spearheaded Roky Erickson`s international debut as the Cold Sun band joined forces with Roky in 1974 and backed Roky´s Aliens on his famous albums and historical concerts. Carefully remastered from the mastertapes, this album will bring new rewarding listening experiences in expanded fidelity; contains a poster with bio and memorabilia. These recordings were back then only been released on acetate and were discovered by Dallas´ Rockadelic Records in 1991. Then “Dark Shadows” saw the light of day as a limited LP version, to become today one of the most important and revered Texas psychedelic underground gems from the early 70s!

Cold Sun - Dark Shadows album cover

More images
Label: Guerssen – GUESS236
Format:
Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, Remastered
Country: Spain
Released: 2024
Genre: Rock
Style: Psychedelic Rock
A1 South Texas 5:15
A2 Twisted Flower 2:59
A3 Here In The Year 8:48
A4 For Ever 4:22
B1 See What You Cause 3:36
B2 Fall 7:06
B3 Ra-Ma 11:09

Autoharp, Harmonica, Guitar, Lead Vocals – Bill Miller (7)
Bass, Lead Guitar, Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals – Mike Waugh
Drums, Chimes – Hugh Patton
Lead Guitar, Bass, Backing Vocals – Tom McGarrigle
Lyrics By – H. M. Nelson (tracks: B2-B3), Tom McGarrigle (tracks: B3)
Music By, Lyrics By – Bill Miller (7)
Sleeve, Design – Callum Rooney
Transferred By, Restoration, Remastered By – Ezra Lesser

Black vinyl. 4 pages insert

Recorded in Austin, Texas,1970.