Roky Erickson : Live At Oyafestivalen, Oslo, Norway, August 10th, 2007
2007
Bootleg
Format I Own it on: Vinyl
Track Listing: 1.
Cold Night For Alligators 2. White Faces 3. Don't Shake Me Lucifer 4. The Interpreter 5. Bloody Hammer 6.Before You Accuse Me 7.Two Headed Dog 8. Night Of The Vampire 9. The Wind And More
I wonder what Oyafestivalen is. I bet it's a sweet festival where you get to eat a lot of oysters and listen to bands play. Yes, I'm certain that's what it is and no one else can tell me otherwise...
I'm sure I've discussed my love of bootlegs before. There's just something about blank white labels, incorrect track listings and weak glue that excites me. Sometimes they sound like raw shit, but sometimes you stumble upon something so great you wonder why it was never released. This would be one of those examples.
I bought this at Double Nickels Collective/Eastside Records for about 10 bucks. Wasn't expecting much. Maybe something along the lines of the more poorly recorded stuff on "Halloween," done by an older, more out of breath Roky...But when I got this thing home and tossed it on the turntable I was immediately blown away at how professional it sounded. This must have been recorded for the radio or television, cos the sound quality is better than anything on "Halloween." No distant mics or muddy/missing instruments.
\ I'm not sure who his backing band is here, but they're top notch. Delivering old favorites like "Cold Night for Alligators" and "The Wind & More" with utmost rocking professionalism. Roky sounds great too. I had to momentarily adjust to his older voice, he's a bit gruffer and some of the high keening quality is gone, but you quickly adjust. He really does do an excellent job knocking out these songs. And it's super fun to hear him go waaaaayyy back to his 60's repertoire for "Before You Accuse Me," which is delivered in a more straightforward, bluesy manner than his wonked-out Thirteenth Floor Elevators performances. This gets a very high recommendation from me. One of the better bootlegs I've found and it seems to be pretty common, so if you run across it and you're a big Roky fan, go for it...Makes a great companion to "Halloween"... Here's "Cold Night for Alligators"...Enjoy...
Track Listing: Disc 1: 1.
Two Headed Dog 2. Don't Shake Me Lucifer 3. Bermuda 4. The Wind And More 5. Starry Eyes 6. I Walked With A Zombie 7. Stand For The Fire Demon 8. Bloody Hammer
Disc 2: 1. Wait For You 2. Wake Up To Rock And Roll 3. You're Gonna Miss Me 4. Creature With The Atom Brain 5. I Think Up Demons6. The Beast 7. I've Just Seen A Face 8. The Interpreter 9. White Faces 10. KLBJ Radio Ad I'm keeping this short. I'm balls-deep in a three-day weekend/birthday celebration but wanted to pop in to let you know I haven't abandoned this blog!
And ohhh yes! This is the shit! A nice, big, glossy gatefold, 2-record set of prime, live Roky. Captured over several venues (hence the title...duh...), the sound quality fluctuates throughout, ranging from the spectacular to the distant and muffled. They're usually segregated into clusters though, so you'll get a run of five songs from a Texas show that sounds pristine, then you'll flip it over and there will be a run of rougher sounding material from a California show, so it'll take a minute, but your ears do readjust. Even the worst recordings are very listenable.
However, all the performances are all great. Despite the man's reputation for instability, he's a true professional onstage.These performances all pretty much sound just like their studio counterparts, except they sometimes stretch out a bit to rock out more (as evidenced on an 8-minute run through "Stand For the Fire Demon").
My favorite part of the album is possibly one life-changing tid-bit of information hidden deep in the liner notes. Like many other people I've always been amused and intrigued by Roky's seemingly deteriorating enunciation in "I Waked With a Zombie." It gets weirder and weirder as the song goes on, until eventually it sounds like "I waked with suh-sombie..." Weird, right? Well, not actually! Roky's drummer, Freddie Krc, clarifies the reason for this pronunciation is that Roky is working his way through the alphabet...It goes, "I walked with A zombie..." to "I walked with B zombie" to "C zombie" and so on until its just "I walked with zombie" which marks the point where Roky becomes a zombie...I think that info justified the album's price alone.
This is definitely a fun album for Roky enthusiasts. Some of the best live Roky stuff I've come across and any sound issues are secondary to the fantastic performances. It's a miracle any of this stuff was even recorded in the first place, let alone there's so much of it and it's mostly stellar quality.
Here's the live-run through of "Two Headed Dog" by Roky Erickson. Enjoy:
Track Listing: 1. Don't Slander Me 2. Haunt 3. Crazy Crazy Mama 4. Nothing In Return 5. Burn 6. Bermuda 7. You Drive Me Crazy 8. Can't Be Brought Down 9. Starry Eyes 10. The Damn Thing 11. Hasn't Anyone Told You 12. Realize You're Mine 13. Haunt (Alt Take)
Oh, man. I love this record. If it's not as good as "The Evil One," then it's only by a centimeter. Alright, here's your guide to how much you'll like "Don't Slander Me," based on how much you loved "The Evil One" (you did love the 'The Evil One', right? Of course you did...):
If you loved The Evil One" mostly for its rocking and catchy songs, then you'll love this one equally as much.
If you loved "The Evil One" mostly for the horror imagery, then you'll like this one a bit less. It's about 50% less evil. If you loved "The Evil One" but wasn't wild about the horror element, then you like this more than "The Evil One."
Yea, there's about 50% less devils and monsters. But what does he replace it with? BUDDY HOLLY LOVE SONGS THAT SOUND LIKE IF BUDDY HOLLY HAD SURVIVED THE PLANE CRASH AND TOOK PART IN THE LATE70's/EARLY 80's POWER POP SCENE!!! And I'm completely serious when I say that "Starry Eyes" and "Nothing in Return" can stand up to any Buddy Holly song. If Buddy had written and recorded "Starry Eyes" it would be hailed as one of the greatest pop songs of all time, no question.
There are a couple other non-monster movie songs here that don't fit into the Buddy Holly mold: "Hasn't Anyone Told You" and "Realize You're Mine" are disarming, lovey indie pop. I'm still torn if the insanely rocking "Can't Be Brought Down" falls into the horror/supernatural category. Due to the usually macabre imagery found in his songs, I initially assumed the protagonist was a zombie, but now that I re-listen to it, it might just be a tall-tale, Texas-outlaw. Fucking rocking song either way. Lots of great horror stuff here: From the stripped down rocking of "Haunt" and the completely bonkers, alien-obsessed title track to the slow, burning theatricality of "Burn," which just might highlight Roky at his horror-host best. He really sounds like he's lurking in the rafters, sawing away at a chandelier on this one. I'm also endlessly fascinated by Roky's repeated insistence that the devil is innocent in "Bermuda" (which as you can guess is about the Bermuda Triangle). This song's awesome and reminds me most of "The Evil One" musically speaking.
Special shout-out to "The Damn Thing" which for some reason, always cracks me up. He sounds so teeth-grindingly irritated at some damn demon lurking out there. Not horrified out of his freaking mind like you'd expect, but just sorta real-world irritated. Think of your Dad complaining about some damn raccoons in the wood pile. That's the level of discomfort on display. A must-hear. It's a nice day out today, maybe I'll step away from the computer for a bit...But before I do, let's listen to some music. Here's "Starry Eyes" by Roky Erickson. Enjoy...
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...
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...
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...
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...
