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$15.99 CD
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ROKY ERICKSON & OKKERVIL RIVER
True Love Cast Out All Evil
(Anti-)
 "Devotional Number One"
"True Love Cast Out All Evil"
For longtime fans of Roky Erickson, the past several years have been filled with hope, and oftentimes triumph. Since his time leading the incalculably influential Texas psychedelic maelstrom the 13th Floor Elevators in the mid-'60s, and throughout a solo career that last reared its head in the mid-'90s, Erickson has been one of the most celebrated and storied rock & roll singers of the underground. He has also been known as one of the most tragic rock & roll casualties, with some combination of heavy psychedelic use and enforced electroshock treatment at the hands of the Texas State Police leaving him a shell of a man, living in poverty and squalor, seemingly overtaken by the demons that have always haunted his songs.
The depths of Erickson's decline were well-documented in You're Gonna Miss Me, a 2005 film that showed the singer at his low point, filthy and alone in a dilapidated shack, with the sound of hundreds of TVs and radios blaring static to drown out the voices in his head. The documentary also explored Roky's family attempting to get him cleaned up and back on anti-psychotic medication, and over the past several years, through a series of live performances here in New York and elsewhere, we've been able to see firsthand the fruits of those efforts. Not long ago, a Roky Erickson performance, if it could happen at all even in his home town of Austin, could seem like crass exploitation; Erickson's voice was shaky, and his connection to the songs and the audience usually shakier. On stage Erickson looked frail and frightened, and if we cheered it was in support more than exhilaration. But over the past several years, fronting a variety of bands including classic-period sidemen and adoring young fanboys, we have watched, as the fog seemed to lift from all around Erickson. His guitar playing and singing, while far from flawless, have improved by leaps and bounds, and he has delivered many fiery, intense and satisfying performances of his classic material, to the obvious thrill of his fans and himself as well. Roky Erickson lives, and now, close to 50 years after the Elevators' first splash, a quarter-century past his best solo work, and close to 15 years after his last studio album of any sort, he is back with a new record.
Austin's own Will Sheff produces, and his Okkervil River sidemen fill out the band. It may sound like an odd pairing, and indeed it is in many ways, with Sheff's moody and atmospheric take on Americana a bit at odds with the wail and growl that Roky is best known for. But throughout his career, Erickson has often explored a folkier side to great effect, and now in his early 60s it seems logical that a new record would soften a bit at the edges. And it's obvious that Sheff is a big fan who took his job seriously; the songs were culled from more than 60 demos and live recordings of tracks from throughout Roky's long career that had never made it onto an official studio album, and Sheff did an excellent job picking lost classics from this deep catalog. Fans will hear some great new takes on songs previously known just from poor-quality bootleg albums, like Roky's chilling look at the judicial system, the double whammy of "John Lawman" and "Please Judge." Sheff and Okkervil provide precise and haunting atmospherics to these songs, creating warm atmospheres that give the album a sad sense of melancholy that is entirely appropriate to much of the lyrical content, and Roky's trademarked vocal rasp is in fine form. Also included are a couple of raw demos from Erickson's time at the Rusk State Hospital for the Criminally Insane (one with added orchestration, creating a haunting dichotomy between the lonely voice and guitar amidst birds chirping and a gentle wind blowing, and the lush strings), effortlessly evoking the intense and harrowing path that has brought Erickson to this point.
True Love Cast Out All Evil may not mark a new chapter in Erickson's amazing recorded history, and despite a number of indelible performances, it should not serve as an introduction to this legend of American music. But Sheff has managed to shepherd through an excellent full-length album from this once-lost hero, and longtime fans will find much to love here. It finds Roky Erickson battling his demons the only way he has ever known, delivering powerful, soul-searching music to a world that needs it. [JM]
Order CD by Texting "omcdrokytrue" to 767825 |
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