Roky Erickson: The Evil One

Roky Erickson: The Evil One

Light in the Attic Records

Format I Own it on: Vinyl & Compact Disc

Track Listing: Vinyl version: 1. Two-Headed Dog (Red Temple Prayer)  2. I Think Of Demons  3. I Walked With A Zombie  4. Don't Shake Me Lucifer  5. Night Of The Vampire  6. White Faces  7. Cold Night For Alligators  8. Creature With The Atom Brain  9. Mine Mine Mind 10. Stand For The Fire Demon 11. If You Have Ghosts  12.  Sputnik  13. The Wind And More 14. Bloody Hammer 15. Click Your Fingers Applauding The Play

CD Version:
1. Two-Headed Dog (Red Temple Prayer)   2.  I Walked With A Zombie  3. Night Of The Vampire  4.
It's Cold Night For Alligators  5.Mine Mine Mind  6. Sputnik  7.
White Faces  8. I Think Of Demons  9. Creature With The Atom Brain  10. The Wind And More  11.
Don't Shake Me Lucifer  12. Bloody Hammer  13. Stand For The Fire Demon  14. Click Your Fingers Applauding The Play  15. If You Have Ghosts




 Hey! Halloween is what? A month away? 

The perfect time to listen to Roky Erickson's "The Evil One" (although in reality, I listened to Traffic's "John Barleycorn Must Die" while I carved this particular pumpkin). Outside of The Misfits, I can't think of another artist who so perfectly captures the feel of a crisp autumn night spent pouring through old issues of Famous Monsters magazine, quite like Roky and this particular album...

 If for some reason you're unfamiliar with the man and his story, he was in the 60's psychedelic band, the 13th Floor Elevators (who are also an awesome band, just in a completely different way),  before he lost his marbles (medically speaking) and spent a few years in various psychiatric facilities (one such stint was to avoid prison for a drug charge). Somewhere in the mid 70's he emerged, ready to work again and that's when he released some of his best work. 

 The copy of "The Evil One" that I own is the 2013 reissue from Light in the Attic Records, and like pretty much all the stuff they release, it's a beautiful package. This was an album that had an extremely haphazard release history. Released under different titles with different songs, different tracklistings,  etc. Light in the Attic collected all 15 songs that comprised these various versions and put them in one place (although, in keeping with the spirit of random track listings, the CD and vinyl have a completely different running order, for some reason).

The vinyl is heavy fucking duty. A double record containing three sides, the fourth side has a cool etching of the famous Two-Headed Dog...Here's a picture of it that I stole from Google (I'm waaaayyy too lazy to take even a simple photo)...

It also comes with a giant book that is packed with photos, artwork and great information. Highlight? An interview containing the following exchange:

Q: What do you think are the most notable changes in rock and roll over say in the past 15 years?
A: The piano parts and the razor in the keys. 

Q: What are the things you like about England as opposed to America?
A: Oh, (coughs), uh, Friday the 13th.

This is seriously one of my all-time favorite albums. A Friday Night Record Party staple. I don't know how many Friday nights I spent spinning this one. On the surface it simply sounds like a slick, great rock and roll records. Maybe like a Harder Rocking Creedence Clearwater Revival (whose Stu Cook produced the album) or Bad Company with maybe a dash of punk. Just perfect, catchy, radio-ready rock. Even if these were just your basic lyrics about getting laid or partying all night I would hail it as the best of its kind. But it's so much more than that? Y'see, every single song is about devils, demons, ghosts, zombies, alligator people and every other sort of monster imaginable. And Roky sings the songs like he's face to face with all these horrors. If you're aware of his reputation and are expecting some Wild Man Fischer-esque loony bin outsider music, you need not fear. This guy can nail a hook. Anybody that can take, say, Alice Cooper or Ozzy Osbourne should have no problem with this.

  Even being extremely critical and overly-harsh, I would estimate at least 10 of the greatest songs I've ever heard are housed on this album. I can't pick a favorite. Maybe "I Think of Demons" which would be all over the radio if it wasn't for lyrics like:

"First I read a demon with horns with black tips,
Fangs in the day's moonlight,
Blood never touches my lips,
I read demon never sips,
Lucifer, Lucifer, Lucifer, Lucifer,
he's been waiting on you..."

It's all much more grand and uplifting than it reads on paper. The line, "I think of demons for you" comes across as so oddly sweet that your brain processes it as a love song. "If You Have Ghosts" is another textbook perfect example of how to construct a classic rock song. I don't know how he's able to wring so much soul out of such bizarre lyrics. But he makes being haunted by malevolent spirits sound like the most liberating experience ever. "I Walked With a Zombie" is also amazing. A simple, 60's Girl Group-esque pop number where Roky gives a memorable vocal performance. The whole thing is so bonkers and genius that I wouldn't recommend going your whole life without hearing it.

If you have any interest whatsoever in rock, horror or catchiness in general, then you need this record.  One of the few perfect, conceptually sound albums I've ever heard. He's done some great stuff before and after this, but this is truly his shining moment. Again, an essential Halloween record.

Let's listen to some music...Here's "I Think of Demons" by Roky Erickson. Enjoy...

Brian Eno: Before and After Science

Brian Eno: Before and After Science

1977

Polydor Records

Format I Own it on: Vinyl and Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1. No One Receiving  2. Backwater  3. Kurt's Rejoinder  4. Energy Fools the Magician  5. King's Lead Hat  6. Here He Comes  7. Julie With ...  8. By This River  9. Through Hollow Lands  10. Spider and I



No, this is my favorite Brian Eno album. Roughly split into two halves, a rocking side and a slow, atmospheric side. Both sides rule. The first half is maybe my favorite Eno side, full of funky, jerky ice-cold new wave pop, which is very recognizable if you're familiar with his later production work during the Talking Heads' incredible run. A couple of his very best songs occur on this first half. "King's Lead Hat"would have probably been a huge hit if it came out in 1981 or something rather than 1977...Wait, actually it kinda was a hit, come to think of it. Listen to the song and then listen to "Shake it Up" by the Cars...

Compare:

Contrast:

Again, I can only imagine what an 80's new wave single transplanted back to 1977 must have sounded like at the time. I would imagine it probably sounded sterile and bizarre. Which it is. It's also catchy as fuck, though. The other big one is "Backwater," which is no joke, one of my all-time favorite songs. An arm-swinging sea chanty with some of the best lyrics I've ever heard. The rhymes are tight and constantly unexpected. It sounds futuristic and ancient with syth tones which should theoretically sound out of place (electronics really shouldn't be this close to water) but work brilliantly. And it has Jaki Liebezeit (my favorite drummer ever) on the drums, if you needed any further convincing of its awesomeness.

The water theme carries over to Side Two were the waters become more calm, if not also more cold. Lots of slow, still tracks that work as musical Rorschach tests. Listen to the beautiful, hypnotic "Julie With ..." and tell me what you hear in that endless sea of calm. A murderer? A loving couple lazing about on a quiet afternoon? A doomed pair hopelessly adrift on a life raft? Why is it either death or a nice quiet day? The stillness of both events? I don't know. I suspect Brian doesn't know either. That's probably why all the lyrics to Side 2 are so abstract. To assign concrete meaning to any of it would be a huge mistake because its ambiguity is its draw. It all seems to be glowing radiantly with both beauty and menace.

I think this record is the cat's tits. But this is where my Eno collection ends. After falling in love w/ side two of "Before and After Science" I thought I could take the ambient stuff, but I can't. I just can't. It bores me to damn tears and I know you're not supposed to actively listen to it, but I can't have music playing and not listen to it. Something in my wiring.  Even if I'm doing something else while the music is playing, I'd rather listen to something I actively enjoy rather than something to ignore. Noble experiment and probably fun as hell to do, but not something I'm into. Who knows. Maybe some day I'll change my mind and suddenly those ambient albums will rock my world...Until then, I'm standing by Eno's first four...

Here's "Backwater" by Brain Eno...Enjoy:

Brian Eno: Another Green World

Brian Eno: Another Green World

1975

Island Records

Format I Own it on: Vinyl

Track Listing: 1. Sky Saw  2. Over Fire Island  3. St. Elmo's Fire  4. In Dark Trees  5. The Big Ship  6. I'll Come Running  7. Another Green World  8. Sombre Reptiles  9. Little Fishes  10. Golden Hours  11. Becalmed  12. Zawinul/Lava  13. Everything Merges with the Night  14. Spirits Drifting


This one took me a little more time to get into.  It's more subdued and a large amount of instrumentals begin to enter the equation, but once I adjusted to this I realized how fantastic most of this is. If you have ambientophobia like I do, have no fear. Some of the instrumentals are indeed quiet and serene, but have enough ideas and movement to avoid ambient-related drowsiness. Still, consult your doctor if you plan on using heavy machinery. Especially if you're rocking side two.

The record kicks off with "Sky Saw," which sure enough, sounds like someone taking an electric saw and slicing huge blue slabs out of the sky as sparks lick the cosmos. I have to give him credit for the vividness of his music and the accompanying imagery.

"Saint Elmo's Fire," sounds like a perfect little experimental 80's synth pop song that just so happened to come out in the mid 70's.  It really has an otherworldly quality that makes it one of my favorite Eno pop songs. Beats the John Parr song, hands down...

And speaking of pop Eno, this is the album that features the immortal "I'll Come Running" which is one of the sweetest pieces of shoelace-tying ever committed to tape.  That daffy yodel that comes in on the final chorus is notable.

I think what helps me get into the quieter instrumentals is the brevity. Listening to "Little Fishes" and "The Big Ship" kinda reminds me of getting the opportunity to look in little, tiny windows into alternate, synthetic Earths, where the trees and water initially look normal until you notice the leaves are made of plastic and the little Japanese fishies are made of metal. If any of these went on for more than a few minutes I'd be bored to death, but in miniature form, they're fascinating. The one exception is "The Big Ship." "The Big Ship" can last all day.

Definitely not a party starter, and I'd be lying if I said I spin this one as much as the first two records, but it's definitely interesting. There's been a time or two when I've spun this in solitude or after a long night of heavy dranking when it suddenly becomes my favorite Eno album...Check it out if you're into alien quietude... 

Here's "Saint Elmo's Fire" by Brian Eno...Enjoy...

Brian Eno: Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)

Brian Eno: Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)

1974

Island Records

Format I Own it on: Vinyl

Track Listing: 1. Burning Airlines Give You So Much More  2. Back in Judy's Jungle  3. The Fat Lady of Limbourg  4. Mother Whale Eyeless  5. The Great Pretender  6. Third Uncle  7. Put a Straw Under Baby  8. The True Wheel  9. China My China  10. Taking Tiger Mountain


My god, I've been looking for a vinyl copy of this album  forever. As I mentioned previously, I wasn't in a huge hurry to check out Eno's music, due to his dedication to ambient snoozedrone, however inside my copy of "The Harder They Come," (which I believe I've discussed before) there was the big, bright colorful sleeve outlining the other Island Records albums that were available...Each and everyone of them looked amazing. Of particular interest, was "Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)" which sported a cover my eyes were immediately drawn to. It must be something in the colors or the title or Eno's bizarre haircut, or maybe the way all these ingredients blended together...For some reason it was irresistible and I decided that one day I would track down this album...

Then four or five years ago, I was at Eastside Records for my birthday and spotted it on the wall! Suddenly, I was holding the album in my hands for real! I remember hanging out at the bar afterwards for a birthday drink, but my heart just wasn't in it...I couldn't help but stare longingly at that gorgeous cover (and it folds out into even more beautiful color variations!).

When I finally got home that night, blissful and buzzed out, I slouched in my chair and tossed this on the turntable and I swear to God almighty, I was immediately treated to quite possibly the greatest song I'd ever heard in my entire life... Opener "Burning Airlines Give You So Much More," is the catchiest, dreamiest dollop of hazy psychedelic pop imaginable...Listen to it on the video below if you don't believe me...

There's just something about the way it lazily floats around in the air without a care in the world. All the talk of Chinese spies, micro-cameras, and gently swaying beards just feels like some sort of pleasant Dramamine-induced dream.  Is the plane on fire? Who cares when you've got this sort of buzz going.

Of course the rest of the album can't possibly live up to that brilliant opener, but wait! There is one other song as equally glorious, just in a different way. "Third Uncle" is fucking phenomenal! This rocking motherfucker must have exploded some heads when it came out. Every punk/post-punk song that came out in its wake has some serious dues to pay when it comes to this track. Just a repetitive bassline that gains momentum and picks up tangles of thrilling electrical noise as it rolls along. There's a guitar solo near the end of the track that is the single best guitar solo I've ever heard. I believe it's played by Phil Manzanera...If this guy didn't earn his place in the rock n roll pantheon with his Roxy Music stuff, then he earns it and keeps it here. My heart sinks when it fades. I've seriously reached out to the speaker before and dramatically whispered, "No...Don't go.." Again, listen for yourself if you don't believe me...

Surely, the rest of the album cannot live up to these two tracks! And, yea...You're kinda right. Those are the big highlights for sure, but the rest of the album's not chopped liver.! Lots of interesting little art rock songs full of fascinating sounds: Like the bizarre, melting orchestra in "Put a Straw Under Baby," or the oddly rocking typewriter solo on "China My China"...It doesn't quite make your head spin in the same dramatic manner that "Here Come the Warm Jets" did. It's a lot band-ier than that album, if that makes sense. Like it's being played by humans rather than malfunctioning robots...So it might actually be a little more welcoming to newcomers in that regard...Special shout-out to "The True Wheel" and "China My China." Those songs are top-notch. "China My China" seems so odd and lumpy at first, but with each repetition, it makes more and more sense until suddenly it's rewired your brain into hearing it as bouncy pop. Awesome trick.

This guy was just nailing it during this time period, really.  I fucking love this record so much.  I actually have a hard time picking which one of the first four Eno albums I love the most. "Here Come the Warm Jets" sounds great when I'm feeling sinister. But when I'm feel like getting lost in a secret world that exists in the cracks of society, this is the go-to album. It's like you're dreamily stumbling through a hidden world that's just teeming with seedy denizens  carrying dark secrets. It can sometimes become unexpectedly violent, but it's mostly serene. The band-yness I mentioned earlier makes it seem a bit more organic and alive than his other albums. Deep Earth and water. Like breathing in the air at a rice paddy or something...

Alright, one more...Here's "China My China" by Brian Eno...Enjoy...