Cotton Mather, named after the 17th century Puritan preacher and author, started as an experimental art rock collaboration between guitarist Robert Harrison and cellist Nat Shelton, but they soon shifted away from avant-garde music towards a more traditional rock sound, particularly after Shelton moved from Austin in 1991. With Harrison on guitar and vocals, Whit Williams on guitar, Matt Hovis on bass, and Greg Thibeaux on drums, the group recorded some of their songs and self-released them as 'The Crafty Flower Arranger' album in 1992, before signing to the short-lived ELM Records label, who released their second album, 'Cotton Is King', in 1994. After the commercial failure of that album, Hovis and Thibeaux left the group, and Harrison and Williams, occasionally aided by bassist George Reiff and drummers Dana Myzer and Darin Murphy, began writing and recording what would become their third album. 'Kontiki' was recorded primarily on 4-track cassette and ADAT, and included elements of found sound and psychedelic experimentation, and while the bulk of the album was recorded piece-by-piece via overdubbing, Harrison refers to the three tracks recorded by the live band to be "the spine of the record", showcasing their rock and roll sound. Nashville musician Brad Jones helped to mix and compile the album, and while unsuccessful upon release in America in 1997, it was reissued in 1999 in the UK on the Rainbow Quartz label, and championed by Noel and Liam Gallagher of Oasis, among others.
The recording of the band's fourth album began in 1998, with Brad Jones producing, but when 'Kontiki' was reissued in England and became a success, and with the sessions for 'The Big Picture' almost done, Harrison held off on releasing it, and instead the group recorded the EP 'Hotel Baltimore', which consisted of a re-recording of 'Lost My Motto' from 'Cotton Is King', three outtakes from 'Kontiki', and three new songs. This was intended to consolidate the success of 'Kontiki', and introduce new fans to fresh material before the release of their next full-length studio album, and the David Fridmann-produced 'The Big Picture' was released by Rainbow Quartz in October 2001. However, the release of the album was not a success, and numerous personal setbacks and issues with the label caused the band to go on hiatus in 2003. After this, the various members went on to pursue their own projects, with Reiff remaining active in the music scene as a performer and producer, working with Chris Robinson, Court Yard Hounds, Dixie Chicks, Jakob Dylan, and Bruce Robison, among others, while Josh Gravelin went on to work with Ian Moore, Alejandro Escovedo, Guy Forsyth, Sparkwood, and Beaver Nelson.
Whit Williams and Dana Myzer joined Ron Flynt as the group Stockton, who released an album in 2007, and Harrison founded The Star Apple Kingdom in 2007, a name under which he categorizes all of his work as a producer and artist, and the first release on the label was the eponymous debut by Future Clouds And Radar, released in 2007, which was essentially a Robert Harrison solo project. During Cotton Mather's hiatus, the group still retained a degree of success, as 'Lily Dreams On' from 'Kontiki' appeared on the soundtrack of the television show 'Veronica Mars', and 'Lost My Motto' from 'Hotel Baltimore' was included on Steven Van Zandt's compilation 'The Coolest Songs In The World', and as the reputation of 'Kontiki' began to grow in underground music circles, Harrison organized an expanded reissue of the album in 2011. 'Kontiki Deluxe Edition' was released in the spring of 2012 and featured a bonus CD of outtakes from the album's sessions. The group played several live shows in 2012, and also released a 7" single containing two tracks recorded during the sessions for 'The Big Picture', which had not been previously released, featuring Ian McLagan on organ.
The reunited group played several shows in support of the 'Kontiki' reissue, and although the shows were meant to be one-off performances, the group eventually began performing and recording again as a functioning band, but as by this time, Myzer and Gravelin were no longer readily available, the line-up generally centered around Harrison, Williams, Reiff, and Murphy. In 2016, 'Death Of The Cool' was released on the Star Apple Kingdom label, and it was met with much critical acclaim, so three more songs from the project, featuring singer Nicole Atkins, were released as a single at the end of the year. 2017 saw two more releases from the project: the full-length album 'Wild Kingdom', and the six-song 'Young Life' EP. Long-time bassist and producer George Reiff fell ill toward the end of 2016, during the compilation and release of these albums and EPs, and died from lung cancer in May 2017. During 2018, the group did not release any new material. but did attempt to raise money for a new record through PledgeMusic, although they fell short of their goal, and so the project was abandoned. Harrison later stated that he took most of the year off to recuperate from the loss of Reiff, and other changes in his personal life, and to date no new music has appeared from the band. For anyone who has not yet discovered Cotton Mather, then this collection will show what a criminally under-rated band they were, and with the out-takes and rarities that I found while compiling this album, rest assured that there will be more to come from them.
Track listing
01 Camp Hill Rail Operator (from 'Kontiki' 1997)
02 Girl With A Blue Guitar (from 'Wild Kingdom' 2017)
03 Lily Dreams On (from 'Kontiki' 1997)
04 Eleanor Plunge (from the 'Young Life' EP 2017
05 40 Watt Solution (from 'THe Big Picture' 2001)
06 The Middle Of Nowhere (from 'Death Of The Cool' 2016)
07 Better Than A Hit (from 'Wild Kingdom' 2017)
08 Vegetable Row (from 'Kontiki' 1997)
09 Queen Of Swords (from 'Death Of The Cool' 2016)
10 Payday (from 'Cotton Is King' 1994)
11 Ship Shape (from 'The Crafty Flower Arranger' 1992)
12 Homefront Cameo (from 'Kontiki' 1997)
13 Dutch Light (from the 'Young Life' EP 2017
14 The Book Of Too Late Changes (from 'Death Of The Cool' 2016)
