Roky Erickson - I Have Always Been Here Before: The Roky Erickson Anthology
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CD Details
Artist: Roky EricksonEdition: Music CD
Audio: English (Original Language)
CD Release Date: 2005-03-01
Music Label: Shout Factory
Soundtracks:
Music CD 1
- We Sell Soul - The Spades
- YouĀ?re Gonna Miss Me - 13th Floor Elevators
- Reverberation (Doubt) - 13th Floor Elevators
- Tried To Hide - 13th Floor Elevators
- Fire Engine - 13th Floor Elevators
- She Lives (In A Time Of Her Own) - 13th Floor Elevators
- Slip Inside This House - 13th Floor Elevators
- Splash 1 - 13th Floor Elevators
- Dust - 13th Floor Elevators
- I Had To Tell You - 13th Floor Elevators
- Postures (Leave Your Body Behind) - 13th Floor Elevators
- Right Track Now - Roky Erickson & Clementine Hall
- Red Temple Prayer (Two Headed Dog) - Roky Erickson & Bleib Alien
- Starry Eyes - Roky Erickson & Bleib Alien
- Bermuda - Roky Erickson
- The Interpreter - Roky Erickson & The Aliens
- Mine Mine Mind - Roky Erickson & The Aliens
- I Have Always Been Here Before - Roky Erickson
- Click Your Fingers Applauding The Play - Roky Erickson & The Aliens
- I Think Up Demons - Roky Erickson & The Aliens
- DonĀ?t Shake Me Lucifer - Roky Erickson & The Aliens
- White Faces - Roky Erickson & The Aliens
- ItĀ?s A Cold Night For Alligators - Roky Erickson & The Aliens
- Creature With The Atom Brain - Roky Erickson & The Aliens Start Start
- Stand For The Fire Demon - Roky Erickson & The Aliens
- Bloody Hammer - Roky Erickson & The Aliens
- The Wind And More - Roky Erickson & The Aliens
- If You Have Ghosts - Roky Erickson & The Aliens
- Song To Abe Lincoln - Roky Erickson & The Aliens
- Anthem (I Promise) - Roky Erickson
- Warning (Social And Social-Political Injustices) - Roky Erickson
- The Beas - Roky Erickson & Evil Hook Wildlife E.T.
- You DonĀ?t Love Me Yet - Roky Erickson
- Clear Night For Love - Roky Erickson
- DonĀ?t Slander Me - Roky Erickson
- Nothing In Return - Roky Erickson
- Burn The Flames - Roky Erickson
- When You Get Delighted - Roky Erickson
- True Love Cast Out All Evil - Roky Erickson
- For You (IĀ?d Do Anything) - Roky Erickson
- Please Judge - Roky Erickson
- We Are Never Talking - Roky Erickson
- IĀ?m Gonna Free Her - Roky Erickson
Music reviews of I Have Always Been Here Before: The Roky Erickson Anthology
Music Review: The perfect entry into Roky
Rating: 5 Stars
Anthologies of any sort are fraught with peril for those both familiar or unfamiliar with an artist or genre. Regardless of the space allowed, there will likely always been those who complain about the inclusions and omissions and their impact on the representation. This risk will be often exacerbated by the breadth and depth of whatever is being anthologized. Nowhere is this more the case than in music. For those artists whose musical taste and styles are exploratory or progressive, the likelihood of alienation is omnipresent for both commercial releases and anthological works.
I Have Always Been Here Before: The Roky Erickson Anthology manages to avoid those pitfalls. It presents both a tribute and a guide to the works and, by implication, the life of Roger Kynard (Roky) Erickson. The 43 song 2 CD package - with a 30 page narrative booklet - covers Roky's musical history from its garage rock roots with The Spades in 1965 to material from an album in 1995. In the sweep of songs - all but one at least co-authored by Erickson - we are presented with a wide range of musical styles but more so, we are presented with lyrics.
It is the words that are - if anything can be - the key to Rocky Erickson and his enduring popularity. The man has the capability to pull the most hard-wrenching emotions out of himself and the listener, exposing vulnerabilities, wishes, hopes, loves and fears. Whether garbed in the West Texas rockabilly tones of Buddy Holly (Starry Eyes) or raucous blues (Don't Shake Me Lucifer) or the most precious and loving ballad (I Don't Love You Yet), it is the message that Roky Erickson is sending that is of the greatest importance. These are stories about life and humanity; stories that are long on emotion and substance; songs that - if you listen carefully enough - mimic all that any of us think and feel.
He does this - as mentioned - in a variety of styles that is intellectually vertiginous and counter-intuitive. You will find yourself reaching for the discography often to try and understand whether the material you are hearing is leading-edge or derivative (it's the former!). There are punk-like descending chord cascades presented softly - almost delicately. Other songs seem to pre-sage modern country, though with lyrics more usually found in death-metal.
These internal musical conflicts mirror what was likely the internal conflict in the man himself. Arrested in 1969 for marijuana possession - allegedly for one joint - Roky was convinced (tricked?) to plead insanity and spent three years in an asylum where he was subjected to shock treatment and psychotropic drugs. Whether this abuse caused his mental instability or heightened an existing condition is unknown and probably irrelevant. The long and short of the story is that Roky spent the next 30 odd years in an emotional maelstrom that saw him unable to care for himself, with episodes in and out of treatment centers and jails, being subjected to the usual sort of misconduct from music industry executives, and generally taken advantage if by all and sundry. The new century saw a positive swing in Roky's fortunes as friends and family were finally able to obtain a legal guardianship that established a trust to care for him and that resulted in the production of this album.
But, do not buy this out of sympathy. Buy it for the beauty and depth and flavor of the music generated by this remarkable artist.
Description of I Have Always Been Here Before: The Roky Erickson Anthology
The Definitive Portrait Of A Rock 'N' Roll Genius!Roky Erickson is one of the most influential cult artists of all time. His work with the ?60s Texas group The 13th Floor Elevators bridged garage rock and psychedelia, and cast a long shadow over the punk and post-punk movements. After a 1969 drug bust, the already mentally fragile Roky chose a stay in a mental institution instead of doing jail time, but was subjected to electroshock therapy and emerged in a highly unstable condition. He continued to write brilliant, chilling songs throughout the ?70s and ?80s, and the cult around him grew. In 1990 he was honored with an acclaimed tribute album, Where the Pyramid Meets the Eye, featuring R.E.M., ZZ Top, and Primal Scream. This led to a revival of his fortunes, which included new releases made in conjunction with Charlie Sexton and Gibby Haynes of the Butthole Surfers.
The 2-CD set I Have Always Been Here Before: The Roky Erickson Anthology is the only release to cover his entire 40-year career, making it the definitive Roky Erickson collection.
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