Psychedelic-Rock'n'roll: Cold Sun - Dark Shadows (PSYCHEDELIC ANTHEM US 1970)

Cold Sun - Dark Shadows (PSYCHEDELIC ANTHEM US 1970)


cold_sun,dark_shadows,billy_miller,psychedelic-rocknroll,13th_floor_elevators,roky_erickson,sonobeat,FRONT
"COLD SUN - DARK SHADOWS" (PSYCHEDELIC ANTHEM US 1970)


Never seeing an actual release until 1989, "Cold Sun" or "Dark Shadows" is a devastating slab of Texas Psychedelic and the sickest of lost gems.
The record is sometimes referred to as just "Cold Sun"; years later the band was unofficially renamed "Dark Shadows" which was printed on the sleeve as a pseudo album title.
from ACID ARCHIVIES:COLD SUN / DARK SHADOWS (Austin, TX)
"Cold Sun" 1973 (Sonobeat acetate) [only 1 copy made]


Incredible 1960s-vibe teen guitar-Psychedelic featuring Autoharp wizard "Billy Miller", later of "Roky Erickson's Aliens".
Best Rockadelic LP ever, and in my opinion The Best Texas LP after "The 13th Floor Elevators"' "Easter Everywhere" and "Golden Dawn" 's Psychedelic-Rock'n'roll).
The recordings were made in Austin 1970-71, the acetate was pressed by a band member years later just to be able to listen to the music.
The Rockadelic vinyl release was mastered from the original "Sonobeat Records" tapes, not from the acetate which only features about 2/3rds of the band's material. [PL]


cold_sun,dark_shadows,billy_miller,psychedelic-rocknroll,13th_floor_elevators,roky_erickson,texas,sonobeat,stage"COLD SUN" left to right : <"Billy Miller", "Hugh Patton", "Mike Ritchey", "Tom Mcgarrigle" live in the Palmer Auditorium, circa 1971

Austin band with an obvious "The 13th Floor Elevators" influence recorded this amazing Psychedelic demo LP in 1970.
There's NO hints of Progressive or Hard-Rock on this beast though, just 100% Psychedelia.
Truly inspired original and uncompromising stuff, it actually sounds like the logical next step after "The 13th Floor Elevators"' "Easter Everywhere" and "Bull Of The Woods" - great Texas desert Psychedelic!
Most songs are long and winding, full of echoey fuzz, "Roky Erickson"-inspired vocals, Autoharp and some harmonica.
It never gets into boring hippie jams though. It's more like entering a state of mind than listening to a regular album.
The lyrics are also some of THE BEST I've ever heard, managing to be totally strange/Psychedelic without getting the least pretentious.
"Roky Erickson"'s first backing band, "Bleibalien", were essentially made up of members from "Cold Sun".
Fantastic LP! [MM]

1 Comments :

Elmer Dinkley said...

Im after 3 Visionary Songs by Billy Miller as featured in Julian Cope's Head Heritage site. Any idea if such a thing even exists??