Bull of the Woods

Bull of the Woods
Studio album by The 13th Floor Elevators
Released	March 1969
Recorded	1968
Genre	Psychedelic rock, acid rock, blues rock
Length	35:20
Label	International Artists
Producer	Ray Rush
The 13th Floor Elevators chronology
Live (1968) Bull of the Woods (1969)

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Bull of the Woods is the 13th Floor Elevators' last album on which they worked as a group. The album is noted for its moody, dreamy, and fuzzed-out psychedelic sound, and was released by International Artists.

Background

The album project commenced shortly after the completion of Easter Everywhere, tentatively entitled Beauty and the Beast and later A Love That's Sound. It featured not only the 1968 lineup of Roky Erickson, Stacy Sutherland, Tommy Hall, Danny Thomas, and Duke Davis, but Ronnie Leatherman on bass as well, who was brought back after the departure of Davis. The band was in the process of disintegrating while recording was taking place. Only four songs feature Roky Erickson and Duke Davis; only one features Tommy Hall. The remaining seven tracks only feature Sutherland, Thomas, and Leatherman. Most of the tracks recorded in the Spring of 1968 were discarded and the album was completed in the Fall of 1968. Guitarist Stacy Sutherland holds sole song writing credits on five tracks, co-writing a further four with Tommy Hall. It wasn't released until March 1969 as Bull of the Woods, by which time the group had effectively disbanded.

In 2009, the album was released with bonus tracks as part of the "Sign of the 3-Eyed Men" box set. The set also included a reconstruction of the "lost" third album, A Love That's Sound, which consisted of mostly previously unreleased tracks, and early versions of songs later included on Bull of the Woods.

Track listing

1. "Livin' On" (Stacy Sutherland, Tommy Hall) – 3:23
2. "Barnyard Blues" (Sutherland) – 2:52
3. "Til Then" (Sutherland, Hall) – 3:18
4. "Never Another" (Roky Erickson, Hall) - 2:27
5. "Rose and the Thorn" (Sutherland) – 3:40
6. "Down by the River" (Sutherland) – 1:55
7. "Scarlet and Gold" (Sutherland) – 4:50
8. "Street Song" (Sutherland) – 4:55
9. "Dr. Doom" (Sutherland, Hall) – 3:10
10. "With You" (Ronnie Leatherman) – 2:10
11. "May the Circle Remain Unbroken" (Erickson) – 2:40

Bonus Tracks from 2009 CD

12. "Livin' On" (Sutherland, Hall) – 3:25 (Single version)
13. "Scarlet and Gold" (Sutherland) – 4:59 (Single version)
14. "May the Circle Remain Unbroken" (Erickson) - 2:41 (Single version)
15. "Livin' On" (Sutherland, Hall) – 3:23 (Alternate horn version)

Personnel

Musicians

• Roky Erickson – vocals on tracks 1, 4, 9, 11, rhythm guitar
• Stacy Sutherland – lead guitar, vocals on tracks 2-3, 5-8, 10
• Tommy Hall – electric jug
• Ronnie Leatherman – bass on tracks 2-3, 5-8, 10
• Duke Davis – bass on tracks 1, 4, 9, 11
• Danny Thomas – drums, horn arrangements

Technical

• Ray Rush – producer
• Fred Carroll – engineer
• Jim Duff – engineer
• Hank Poole – engineer
• Lloyd Sepulveda – cover