Roky Erickson - I Have Always Been Here Before: The Roky Erickson Anthology
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Free Music Notes for I Have Always Been Here Before: The Roky Erickson Anthology
Free Music Review: Roky Love forever!
Hit: 5 Stars
this beautifully designed deluxe 2cd set fully captures the spirit of the great Roky Erikson; a loveable and hugely influential singer/songwriter whose tunes don't just stradle the line between garage rock, folk, and psychadelic blues rock, they break down those lines to create a wholly pure and unique sound.
beginning with the first single w/ his first band, The Spades, "We Sell Soul" revels in it's own primitive simplicity and has such a spark burning under it's surface that the listener can't help but stay tuned in. every music fan with the slightest interest in garage rock or psychadelic music knows of the legendary 13th Floor Elevators and ten tracks from that band are represented here with my personal favorites being furious storm of "You're Gonna Miss Me," the controlled groove of "Slip Inside This House," and the heartwarming folk of "I Had To Tell You."
i think it's fairly safe to assume that most of the casual fans have failed to explore Roky's solo efforts and other bands that he was a part of after the demise of The 13th Floor Elevators. confusingly monikered bands like Roky Erikson & Bleib Alien, and Roky Erikson & Evil Hook Wildlife E.T. all share the same adventerous spirit of Roky's 60's glory days, but these later recordings reveal much more darkness and a fascination with occult magick and various monsters and demons.
for example, the spooky rock and roll of "I Think Up Demons" where amidst whirling reverb and a fiery guitar line, Roky lists different demonic figure's characteristics that he has created...almost like gifts for friends. the melody is so strong and solid that it actually doesn't seem like an unusual lyrical idea. mostly due to the fact, that Roky makes us feel comfortable in his strange and eccentric world. things eventually drop into bad B-movie territory; as on "Creature With The Atop Brain" which utilizes a dialogue of a news report warning viewers to be on the lookout. it could come accross as terribly hokey to some listeners, but i find it part of the Erikson charm and it makes me crack a smile.
with all the goofy creatures running around in Roky's brain (or his recording studio), there's still plenty of time for a love song and "Starry Eyes" is a stunningly beautiful one in particular. drifting along the lines of a country rock song, it's simple lyrics and beautifully catchy melody get stuck in my head for days and it quickly became not just one of my favorite Roky Erikson songs; but one of my favorite songs of all time!
a few more quick favorites: the blues rock blast of "The Beast," the creepy and intense stomp of "Bloody Hammer," the jagged (almost post-punk) rythyms of "Click Your Fingers Applauding The Play," and the heartbreaking tender touch of "You Don't Love Me Yet" and "Nothing In Return." wow. i could literally go on forever about every song on this compilation.
the songs on I Have Always Been Here Before display such a huge talent and an even larger amount of heart; it's sad to think that one day Roky Erikson will not be with us any more...and he's right...we are gonna miss him.
Free Music Review: Finally, The Tribute Roky Deserves
Hit: 5 Stars
Pop Kulcher Review: As far as greatest hits collections go, it's hard to imagine one more necessary and long-awaited than I Have Always Been Here Before. I mean, seriously, just last week I saw The Essential Cyndi Lauper. The lady produced pretty much nothing I'd call "Essential," much less an entire disc's worth. Sure, "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" has some fond memories, plus there was that one good song about female masturbation ("She Bop"), and... well, I think that's it. Yet she gets an entry in the Essential [sic] series? Good Lord, talk about scraping the very bottom of the barrel. Yet countless legends of the past four decades continue to wallow in obscurity. But I digress.
Roky, contrary to what you may have heard, is not God. No, that privilege is reserved for Syd Barrett. Nonetheless, on the scale of deranged acid casualties, Roky still ranks fairly high. You know the drill -- started with psychedelic garage band the 13th Floor Elevators, left after a few albums due to mental illness and/or drug abuse, spent the 70's and 80's intermittently releasing albums and singles on his own and with various backing bands, ranging from pretty acoustic ballads to straight 50-style retro kitsch to schizoid rave-ups about Satan. The usual thing. And it's all here. Unless you're a serious Roky fanatic, pretty much all the Roky you need can be found on these two discs. The 13th Floor Elevator stuff has never sounded better -- not exactly the standard bearer of high fidelity, but far superior to any other versions I've heard. Now, personally, I've always found them a bit overrated -- a few essential tracks worth of a Nuggets box set, but less psychedelic and experimental than their peers -- so for me this does a fairly decent job of cobbling together their high points. (Of course, if they did as nice a job remastering their albums, I'd probably go get 'em.) After that it's a mixed bag. The key Roky tracks are here, from the timeless beauty of "Starry Eyes" (damn, that's a great song) to the key rave-ups "Don't Slander Me" and "Don't Shake Me Lucifer" to one of my personal faves, "If You Have Ghosts." Anyway, even if you're like me and find the Erickson legend slightly more interesting than the music itself, this is a pretty amazing collection. Even after skipping through some of the meandering solo tracks, there's plenty of great music here for your money (maybe "I Walked With A Zombie" should have made the cut, or an additional version of "Starry Eyes," but that's really about it). Go get it.
Free Music Review: grungy, yowling, classic -- this is rock and roll
Hit: 5 Stars
I had long heard _of_ Roky Erickson, but hadn't _heard_ him until I saw on allmusic.com that this was out and, subsequently, sighted it in Tower Records and plunked down my money & took it home. It is the next day, I have NO REGRETS and I cannot look back ... for now I have really _heard_ Roky Erickson!
After buying this 2-CD set I peeled off the plastic and started listening to it on the subway ride home. The very first track, the extremely garage-y "We Sell Soul" took me by the ears and shook me out over the third rail. Listened to with one ear, it sounds like your typical gritty garage three-chorder ... but this weird undercurrent starts slithering into your _other_ ear (or is your third ear/eye?) and you realize this is something very different indeed. It has something _other_ in it and coming out of it ... the chords aren't quite typical, they don't resolve quite the way familiar blues-based rock does. It faces a wind coming from another direction and makes things unfamiliar and, yes, weird and scary. It drones.
... I am giving this an unequivocal 5 stars and I haven't even heard the 2nd disc, yet. I just can't help it.
I have read elsewhere that some people, having heard of the 13th Floor Elevators for years, were disappointed upon first listen. It's hard to imagine why, unless it's because they were only listening with the single unenlightened ear that reported back "well, this is just plain old garage music." What other band do you know that features an electric jug in addition to Roky's commanding-yet-desperate vocals? Open up _both_ ears!
If you love rock and roll and are deadly tired of the sludge waves of Britney, Whitney and other such tripe skirling around your sonic knees, I beg you to give this collection a listen. Here are the sounds of a man who has been through a grittier series of hells than most of us (we hope) will ever be able to imagine. He lived, and sings, and helps us make it through.
Free Music Review: More Than Where The Pyramid Meets The Eye
Hit: 5 Stars
What do you get when you mix Buddy Holly, Black Sabbath, Syd Barrett, & Robert Plant? Well, somewhere close to describing Roky Erickson. Best known as the frontman for the 13th Floor Elevators, it's easy to write Erickson off as another acid casualty. But where Syd Barrett mumbled in the corner about terrapins, Erikson's screaming his head off about Two Headed Dogs. If Screamin' Jay Hawkins was the Vincent Price of Rock & Roll, then at times, Erickson is the heir apparent. From the B-Horror film imagry to out & out Satanism, it's hard to gage whether it's all an act or the product of a seriously disturbed mind. But just because the guy's a little unhinged, that doesn't mean he's lost his sense of humor. Read the liner notes & get the whole sad story. None of that accounts for bittersweet ballads like, "Starry Eyes" or the biting wit of "Click Your Fingers Applauding The Play".
The 1st half of Disc 1 covers the best of his 13 Elevator days, including the Garage Rock classic, "You're Gonna Miss Me". Rarities like the gritty gem, "We Sell Soul" & the Dylanesque, "Right Track Now" only sweeten the deal. As for his post Elevators work, "Red Temple" & "Don't Shake Me Lucifer" rock as hard any AC/DC cut. The surreal reverie of "Been Here Before" certainly takes the edge off, despite Erickson's penchant for Satanic imagry. Disc II continues in this vein with the frightening "Bloody Hammer", & my personal favorite---"If You Have Ghosts". The scathing "Don't Slander Me" is another classic on par with "You're Gonna Miss Me". Yet, despite all the demons & the ghosts, Erickson's ballads betray another side. "Clear Night For Love" & "Nothing In Return" are as achingly tender as it gets. The likes of "True Love Cast Out All Evil" & "When You Get Delighted" are enough to make you think he found God.
Without a doubt one of Rock's great unsung cult artists, this long over due collection finally sheds some light on "where the pryamind meets the eye".
Free Music Review: Buy THIS one to benefit Roky!
Hit: 5 Stars
Forget what the haters say in other reviews...the reason to buy THIS release over other Roky albums is simple: He actually gets paid when you buy it. (Proceeds go to the Roky Erickson Trust.) Many of his other releases were only semi-legitimate, and purchase of them only further exploits a man who has often been ill-equipped to handle the details of his dealings with the unctuous music industry.
Besides that, this IS the vital collection of material from every aspect of Roky's career, and if nothing else, it proves that years of mental illness has done absolutely nothing to diminish this man's natural talent and heart-stopping singing voice.
Roky's back from the brink and gigging again for the first time in years. Buy this record, learn it by heart, then go catch the legend live in action!