We're talking here about a guy who plays badass rock and roll - rootsy, raw, harsh guitar - not quite what you'd call "punk" - or call it punk from the old school. Imagine CCR crossed with Black Sabbath's "Paranoid". We're talking about a guy steeped in Buddy Holly who can write and sing the best Holly pastiches to be had (and that's a major compliment from me). We're talking about a guy who can sing sweet and gentle, again, ala Holly, and beautifully - or cut loose with a banshee howl that would chill the spine of any heavy metal shrieker. We're talking about a guy who made a rep singing about "all manner of occult and demonic beings - backed by some tremendously hard-hitting rock & roll" (Rolling Stone) - though this is only part of his output. We're talking about a guy who's made at least four albums worth of consistent, excellent, ass-kicking, hard rootsy-rock.
And we're talking about a guy who's pedigree includes writing one of the most seminal and famous garage rock anthems, "You're Gonna Miss Me", being a prime mover in one of the most legendary of all 60's underground bands, associations with Lightnin' Hopkins, Doug Sahm, Jack Johnson of the Flamin' Groovies, Stu Cook of CCR, Lou Ann Barton, and King Coffey of the Butthole Surfers.
And we're talking about a guy who beat back decades of serious health issues and is now back touring,
Roky's actual output isn't that extensive - an albums worth of singles and EP's in the late 70's, basically an album-and-a-half with the Aliens in the early 80's, a couple more EP's or EP's worth of tracks after that, and one more album in `86 - add a few scattered singles and recordings and that's about it (not counting his newest). But it's all consistent - good to great. Even though some of the later releases tend to be hodge-podges of tracks recorded at different times, with different bands and in varying styles, the songs themselves are always solid. (Note here, I am speaking of the main body of Roky releases, and not the dizzying array of rehearsal tapes and demos that have spawned over the years. )
So the bottom line is - Roky rocks!
And that is the reason to pay attention to him. Not because of the Elevators, Rusk, his health problems or even his horror-movie obsession. No, Roky's important cuz he's a great rocker. All the rest is just so much hugger-mugger.
Roky Erickson
Roky Erickson Wiki
Roky Erickson Allmusic
Roky Erickson RYM
Essential Listening
The main recordings by Roky and the Aliens, originally on the LP's Roky Erickson and the Aliens and The Evil One are now collected on The Evil One. This is a good album, but marred by stiff performances (esp. in the riddim section) and flat, 80's production. I guess producer Stu Cook had a little too much gentle hippie in him to capture the full fury. Live versions of all but a couple of these songs, with The Explosives, are collected on Casting the Runes and Halloween, and are highly recommended.
I wish someone would put out a single CD with Roky's late 70's singles and EP's - I know it would make a good one cuz I made one myself. The first 7" "Red Temple Prayer (Two Headed Dog)" b/w "Starry Eyes", the furious rocker "Click Your Fingers Applauding the Play", "Mine Mine Mind" and a gorgeous solo ballad "I Have Always Been Here Before" from the 1977 Sponge EP Two Headed Dog can be found on I Have Always Been Here Before, a fine collection of solo and Elevators tracks. It does not include the title track from the EP (a very fine version of the song, however), but does include both sides the follow-up single "Bermuda" b/w "The Interpreter". Several live cuts with his then-current backing band, Bleib Alien, can be found on Gremlins Have Pictures, an odd but enjoyable collection of rarities. Best of them is the otherwise very rare "Before in the Beginning", recorded live in the Bay Area in `78 or so. It sounds more like an Elevators track than anything else in Roky's solo catalog.
I Have Always Been Here Before also contains much of the best of Roky's post-Aliens recordings, including most of his 1985 Clear Night for Love EP, the one-off single "The Beast" and the two best tracks from the disappointing 1986 Don't Slander Me, a mostly slick, stiff, and overproduced bummer. Unfortunately, it misses the best track from Clear Night, a screaming rocker called "The Haunt" which I rate among Roky's very best. It can be heard on All That May Do My Rhyme, an odd collection of 80's and 90's recordings which includes all of the Clear Night EP. Also missed is "The Damn Thing" from Slander.
There's a score of live Roky out there. The best I've heard are the aforemention Casting the Runes and Halloween, which have superior bootleg-level sounds and terrific performances - the band rocks like a mother and Rok is in full howl throughout. There's some overlap between the two but enough worthwhile to get both. Beauty and the Beast, recorded in the early 80's with The Resurrectionists, is also pretty rockin' and pretty fine. Gremlins has a terrific Explosives-backed performances of "Heroin" - yes, the Velvets song. There's also a truly crazed live version of same backed by Evil Hook Wildlife, as the b-side of "The Beast" single. There's a Roky + Evil Hook Wildlife collection too, Evil Hook Wildlife ET, but it's inferior to the other live sets I've mentioned. All the other live Roky sets I've heard (and I've heard most of them) are basically inferior-bootleg level and none of them shines like the titles above. The same goes for the multiple collections of demos, rehearsals and hotel room tapes that have emerged over the years, none of which are even close to essential. Basically there's nothing there unless you're determined to own every Roky recording extant.
Essential Reading
I can't comment on the collectible Roky Erickson Story by Jack Ortman, "365 pages of photocopied news articles, letters, lyrics, posters etc. pertaining to Roky Erickson and the 13th Floor Elevators." - but it's probably very cool if you have the cash.
Meantime, Paul Drummond's Eye Mind: The Saga of Roky Erickson and the 13th Floor Elevators will do, though it's primarily focused on the Elevators, Roky's post-Elevators career is well covered and the book is fascinating.
I would be remiss in not mentioning Openers II, a collection of Roky's lyrics.
Essential Viewing
I haven't seen any of these but they've been well-reviewed:
You're Gonna Miss Me: A Film About Roky Erickson chronicles Roky's story, his struggles with illness, and his comeback in the 00's.
Night of the Vampire - live in 2008 with The Black Angels
Demon Angel is a VHS-only oddity - Roky in the early 80's, performing with an electric guitar in what appears to be a cave(!) and being interviewed while riding around in a car, etc. Odd but interesting. This one I have seen, obviously.
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