Draft:Hurricane Fighter Plane

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"Hurricane Fighter Plane"
Song by Red Crayola
from the album The Parable of Arable Land
ReleasedJune 1967
Recorded10 April 1967
StudioAndrus Studio, Houston, Texas
Genre
Length3:34
LabelInternational Artists
Songwriters
ProducerLelan Rogers

"Hurricane Fighter Plane" is a song by the American rock band Red Krayola released in June 1967 on their debut studio album The Parable of Arable Land. The song featured label mate and 13th Floor Elevators frontman Roky Erickson performing on electric organ.

The song would be covered by several groups, originally by the Cramps in 1977, and later by the gothic rock band Alien Sex Fiend, whose version peaked at number 118 on the UK Indie Chart in 1987.[1]

Background

Roky Erickson plays electric organ on "Hurricane Fighter Plane".[2]

When we had the backing tracks, Roky Erickson of the 13th Floor Elevators was invited in to play the organ part on 'Hurricane Fighter Plane' and played the mouth organ part on 'Transparent Radiation'.

The song was originally known as "Golden Chalice".[3] The riff was inspired by the Count Five and Love.

Recording and production

"Hurricane Fighter Plane" would be recorded on April 10, 1967, along with the song "Pink Stainless Tail" at Andrus Studio in Houston, Texas. Allegedly, due to his heavy use of psychedelics, Erickson was already "out there", prompting Tommy Hall to step in as a translator, guiding Thompson to show Erickson the chord changes.[4]

There are differing sources on how Roky Erickson performed on the song. Writer Paul Drummond cites a "botched" 13th Floor Elevators recording session leading to Erickson asking the band if he could perform on their recording next door. Thompson cites producer Lelan Rogers persuading the band to record with Erickson.

During the recording session for "Hurricane Fighter Plane", Thompson remarked he ran out of words so he decided to sing a verse about buckets of sand hanging on the studio wall.[5][6]

"The idea had been to list the names of aircraft—Hurricane Fighter Plane, Sikorsky helicopter; Goodyear Blimp, MIG 17; Sabre Jet, Piper Cub, like that—on and on. It didn’t work. I improvised what you hear live, on the fly.

Roky Erickson was Lelan Rogers’ idea—turned out nice. He was a gifted instrumentalist and a powerhouse singer. Lelan brought him to the studio one night—him and Tommy Hall, The 13th Floor Elevators jug player. Roky listened and understood right off. He overdubbed his parts in no time. Steve knew him and the other Elevators from working as John Ike’s drum roady. Rick and I had never met him or any of them. I think he had fun. He wrote me a letter later—addressed to “Juno”—for the label to give me—they told me about it but never delivered it. I don’t know why not. Maybe it had something to do with the Elevators being in trouble with the law."[7]

Critical reception

The Chicago Seed reviewed The Parable of Arable Land on July 7, 1968. The article described "Hurricane Fighter Plane" as having "the freakiest lyrics ever".

On February 9, 2004 Pitchfork writer Alex Linhardt described the song in a review of The Parable of Arable Land: "Shattered psalms, wobbling percussion courtesy of poet Frederick Barthelme, patently overused echo chambers, and the clumsiest staircase bassline in garage history smashes into a bunch of clopping machine men as Mayo Thompson croons out the only serious line in his entire career: 'I have in my pocket a hurricane fighter plane'".[8]

AllMusic reviewed The Parable of Arable Land and stated "they generate an impressively freaked-out energy on deliberately primitive numbers like 'War Sucks' and 'Hurricane Fighter Plane'."

Claims "Hurricane Fighter Plane" was the earliest song the Cramps ever performed at their first rehearsal in 1976.

Legacy

The band Osees borrowed the bass riff of "Hurricane Fighter Plane" for the opening song "Block of Ice" from their album The Master's Bedroom Is Worth Spending a Night In in 2008.[9] John Dwyer remarked

"Block of Ice" was obviously inspired by Red Krayola. We were doing a show with them, and have always loved them. Also Malcolm Mooney from Can. Really a blatant rip off, but bent towards what we are capable of. When we opened with it at the show, they ended up doing "Hurricane Fighter Plane" for like 15 minutes. Pretty rad.

The rock band Hurricane Fighter Plane formed in Perth, Australia, named themselves after the song.

Music critic Byron Coley compared the song "A Bird in the Engine" by Pip Proud to "Hurricane Fighter Plane".[10]

American indie rock band Yo La Tengo would feature the song on a compilation mixtape.[11]

According to Shindig magazine, "The art-punks loved 'Hurricane Fighter Plane' so much that it gained a reissue in 1978, and was clearly a pointer for all intelligent scratchy guitar bands."[12]

Many groups would cover the song besides Alien Sex Fiend and the Cramps, most notable were Sort Sol, Future Pilot AKA, the Pastels, Dwarves and Nik Turner's post-Hawkwind group Inner City Unit.

[13][14][15]

Sonic Boom later remixed the song in 2011 for The Parable of Arable Land CD reissue. The remix was featured on the track "Hurricane Fighter Plane" (Alternate Stereo Mix).

Steve Albini remarked in a cancelled documentary of the Red Krayola the few times he encountered the band before getting in touch with Thompson to work on the 1994 self-titled record The Red Krayola: "I remember for a while there was kind of a thing where bands would cover 'Hurricane Fighter Plane' a lot of bands would cover that song."

Mayo Thompson with drummer Jesse Chamberlain later re-recorded "Hurricane Fighter Plane" in 1978. Thompson also re-recorded the song in 1996 for Red Krayola album Deliverance.

Many other bands have since covered the song since its initial release in 1967.

It was subtitled "When the Ride Is Over You Can Go to Sleep" on the original 1967 LP The Parable of Arable Land, released in mono and stereo. The stereo mix was simulated stereo made using a stereo effects chamber with added psychedelic effects. Mayo Thompson remarked:

Alien Sex Fiend cover version

"Hurricane Fighter Plane"
Single by Alien Sex Fiend
Released13 February 1987
RecordedDecember 1986
StudioSam Therapy, London
Genre
LabelPlague Records
Songwriters
ProducerYouth

The song peaked at number 118 on the UK Indie Chart in 1987.




References

  1. "The Top 100 Alternative Albums of the 1960s". Spin. 28 March 2013. Archived from the original on 2015-06-01.
  2. Breznikar, Klemen (2023-10-31). "Red Krayola | Interview | Mayo Thompson". It's Psychedelic Baby Magazine. Retrieved 2025-11-19.
  3. Soldier-Talk Zine. 1979.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  4. "Mayo Thompson Interview Part 1". Richieunterberger.com.
  5. "How a dead parakeet changed the course of rock". Reuters. 11 November 2009.
  6. "O Μάνος Χατζιδάκις και η αμερικανική ψυχεδελική σκηνή των '60s | LiFO". Lifo.gr (in Greek). 2021-10-31. Retrieved 2023-04-23.
  7. Breznikar, Klemen (2023-10-31). "Red Krayola | Interview | Mayo Thompson". It's Psychedelic Baby Magazine. Retrieved 2025-11-19.
  8. Lindhart, Alex. "The Red Krayola: The Parable of Arable Land / God Bless The Red Krayola and All Who Sail with It". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2025-11-19.
  9. "Terminal Boredom - You Will See This Dog Before You Die". www.terminal-boredom.com. Archived from the original on 2008-11-19. Retrieved 2025-11-18.
  10. "Pip Proud -A Fraying Space by Byron Coley - Forced Exposure". www.forcedexposure.com. Retrieved 2025-11-27.
  11. Quietus, The (2015-10-19). "Talismanic And Thirty: The Strange World Of... Yo La Tengo". The Quietus. Retrieved 2025-11-27.
  12. Mills, Jon 'Mojo' (2024-02-28). "Exclusive Shindig! Qobuz playlist #11: If You Don't Like It, Here's Something For You: The Road To Punk 1964-1975 -". Retrieved 2026-01-19.
  13. Enthal, Andrea (1986). "Underground". Spin. p. 46. Retrieved 18 November 2025 – via Google Books.
  14. Hull, Robot A. (January 1981). "The Sound and Vision of Psychedelia". Creem. Retrieved 18 November 2025 – via Rock's Backpages.
  15. Unterberger, Ritchie (November 13, 1996). "Mayo Thompson Interview Part 1". www.richieunterberger.com. Retrieved 2025-11-20.

Bibliography

  • Graham, Ben (2015). A Gathering of Promises: The Battle for Texas's Psychedelic Music, from The 13th Floor Elevators to The Black Angels and Beyond. Zero Books. ISBN 978-1782790945.
  • Keenan, David (2025). Volcanic Tongue: A Time-Travelling Evangelist’s Guide to Late 20th-Century Underground Music. White Rabbit. ISBN 978-1399624947.
  • Gillespie, Bobby (2021). Tenement Kid: Rough Trade Book of the Year. White Rabbit. ISBN 978-1474622066.
  • Drummond, Paul (2007). Eye Mind: Roky Erickson and the 13th Floor Elevators. Process. ISBN 978-0976082262.
  • Porter, Dick (2015). Journey to the Centre of the Cramps. Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-1783053735.
  • Lauder, Andrew; Houghton, Mick (2023). Happy Trails: Andrew Lauder's Charmed Life and High Times in the Record Business. White Rabbit. ISBN 978-1474623599.
  • Unterberger, Richie (1998). Unknown Legends of Rock'N Roll: Psychedelic Unknowns, Mad Geniuses, Punk Pioneers, Lo-Fi Mavericks & More. Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-0879305345.