Bull of the Woods

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Bull of the Woods
Studio album by 13th Floor Elevators
Released	1968 (US)
Recorded	1968
Genre	Rock
Length	35:31
Label	International Artists
Producer(s)	Ray Rush
Professional reviews
All Music Guide (3/5) link
13th Floor Elevators chronology
Easter Everywhere (1967)	Bull of the Woods (1968)	N/A

Bull Of The Woods was the 13th Floor Elevators last album on which they worked as a group, and despite the near absence of Roky Erickson (his appearance here marked by a mere four out of eleven songs), it is a remarkable album for its moody, dreamy, fuzzed-out psychedelic sound.

It featured not only the 1967 lineup of Roky Erickson, Stacy Sutherland, Tommy Hall, Danny Thomas, and Dan Galindo, but also Ronnie Leatherman (brought in to fill in a few tracks on bass). It is an album that was largely in part the effort of guitarist Stacy Sutherland, carrying the weight of the songwriting credits (five tracks, co-writing a further four with Tommy Hall), and swinging his guitar through multiple uses of delay that dissolve and scatter within the freewheeling looseness of this album. At one time it was an incomplete album tentatively titled, The Beauty And The Beast. It was released after the group's demise by its record label International Artists late in 1968. May the Circle Remain Unbroken is noted for being one of the more haunting songs ever produced in rock. It is like an elegy for the group, and the ending of an era. The song Street Song has an energy and vitality which was ahead of its time, and gives an intimation of a direction rock might have taken, if the commercial forces of corporate marketability, and strict radio guidelines had not become overwhelming as the 70's loomed. Granted the group's open advocacy of the psychedelic experience and use of such terms as 'windowpane' in this song would tend to limit radio airplay. Still, as digitally remastered versions of this and other 13th Floor Elevators albums have become available, there is an ongoing reintroduction of their music to a new generation, and artists such as R.E.M. and U2 have cited them as an influence.

[edit] Track listing

1. "Livin' On" – 3:23
2. "Barnyard Blues" – 2:52
3. "Til Then" – 3:18
4. "Never Another" – 2:27
5. "Rose and the Thorn" – 3:37
6. "Down by the River" – 1:50
7. "Scarlet and Gold" – 5:00
8. "Street Song" – 4:57
9. "Dear Dr. Doom" – 3:13
10. "With You" – 2:12
11. "May the Circle Remain Unbroken" – 2:42