The Evil One

I am enjoying this. Due to time scheduling constrictions of late, I have lost touch with my vinyl collection. The constant distractions of life make it difficult to budget time for simple, solitary activities. But I am making an attempt to rediscover my records. And it feels good.

Roky Erickson - The Evil One

Tragic and fucked up, with a glint of light on the horizon.

I think that sums up Roky Erickson's life story fairly well. I will avoid abridging his biography for your benefit, just watch "You're Gonna Miss Me." Stop reading this and go watch that movie. Now.

Are you back? My first introduction to Roky was that film, and it is truly an excellent rock documentary. The trial and tribulations of Roky are painfully apparent in his music. The compilation I will review today spans the breadth of his "solo" career omitting his fairly recent release, "True Love Cast Out All Evil," which is another excellent record that I highly recommend.

Roky has a primal understanding of Rock and Roll. He is truly super human in his ability get to the core of a song. His lyricism is dark and brooding. It takes you to the edge of his sanity, and possibly to the edge of your own. I could gush for pages about his work, but I will spare you and get down to the review.

This collection consists of fifteen tracks, so I will pare down my song by song review down in the interest of time and stick to some good highlights of the album. Alrighty, let's fire this fucker up.

Technical Details

http://www.discogs.com/Roky-Erickson-Aliens-The-Evil-One-Plus-One/release/1514802

This album is pretty hard to find on vinyl, which is a shame. Sympathy for the Record Industry released The Evil One in 2002, and they really should reissue it. It is a must own for any fan, unless you have the original albums, in which case I hate you. It is a 2 LP set packaged in a heavyweight jacket. The front cover features a mug shot of Roky, you can see a smile in the corner of his mouth but the portrait expresses a deep sadness as well. It possesses that Mona Lisa effect, his eyes follow you. The rear cover displays the track list as well as a black and white photo of Roky and his band, lit from beneath they look otherworldly. The interior of the gatefold gives a nice rundown of Roky's recording career as well as his personal struggles. It also features two more photos. The color photo is haunting, you can see the into the depths of Roky's pychosis. His fatigued eyes stare out but seen empty within. The second photo is black and white and shows Roky holding a cigarette and cane, his smile peeking through the gaps in his scraggly beard.

Shall we fire this fucker up? It has been a while since I've spun this and the vinyl looks gorgeous. I would rate both the jacket and vinyl at NM-. Hopefully the sound reflects its appearance.

I Think of Demons

First off, this pressing is fucking superb. Everything sounds clear and zero hiss. I see no surface marks or scuffs, so I think we're in business on the technical side. Second, THIS SONG IS FUCKING AMAZING. I tend to focus primarily on the lyrics when I listen so I will address them first.

"I think of demons
they never kill
I think of demons
they never will
they don't need to
their scare is true
I think of demons
for you"

Personally, I am god damned glad that Roky is thinking of demons for us. I can not think of anyone better suited to the task. It takes a true man whose been through real struggles to stare Lucifer in the face and come out the other side. Another aspect of Roky's lyrics is that they come from the heart. This is a man who has run with demons.

Other than the disturbing lyrics, this is a really fucking rocking tune. I mean in that in the true sense of Rock and Roll. This shit rocks and rolls.

Bloody Hammer

I hesitate to imagine the inspiration for this song, but I will try. Lyrically, this is about as dark as it gets:

"Vampires in rain
Vampires in lightning for Dr. O'Chane
Dr. O'Chane"

The central imagery of this song centers around a psychiatrist. Violence pervades the lyrical atmosphere, the doctor prevents the patients from hammering their minds out with a bloody hammer. To me, some of the words suggest electroshock therapy. Roky was subjected to involuntary electroconvulsive therapy during his stay at Rusk State Hospital for the Criminally Insane.

"It's not a sledgehammer
It's not a chisel
It's not a train
but a thought of unlimited horror for Dr. O'Chane
Dr. O'Chane"

That's fucked. I don't really know what else to say about that.

Roky's inhuman growl really shines on this track. The riffing on this track is almost metal, and raw as a knee on asphalt. The pace is as fevered as the lyrics; it feels like an unstoppable freight train in its momentum.

If You Have Ghosts

"If you have ghosts, then you have everything." That level of pop poetry rivals Bukowski in its obvious elegance. Roky really gets to the core of it with his lyrics. In a sense there are no flowers or obtuseness, but rather the real thoughts of a man with a dangerous understanding of metaphor. To him, the metaphor was not a reference to the concept, they were one and the same. Wow, that sounds like some really pompous overly analytical garbage when I read through it, but eh fuck it.

Musically the track is sort of a let down, I feel it drags. Not in the sense that it is overly long, but it just seems to lose its steam about half way through. To me, it sounds like Roky and the band did not want to record that day. A good song though, none the less.

I'll leave it there for now. Seriously though, snatch this up if you see it. The original Roky albums are nigh on impossible to find and this is a really satisfactory second best. I'd take pictures, but I think the gremlins must have taken it, they have pictures too. I just have no idea where it even could be other than the places I checked, so I may have to resort to using the cell phone camera in the meantime. If that bothers you, go fuck yourself.