Roky Erickson

As with Syd Barrett, Roky Erickson's reputation has as much to do with his acid-casualty notoriety as with the flashes of brilliance that run through his music. As a member of the 13th Floor Elevators, Erickson is widely credited with having invented psychedelic rock -- indeed, the quintet's 1966 debut, The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators, predates both Grateful Dead and Pink Floyd's The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. But Erickson's interest in mind expansion inevitably took its toll. He was arrested for marijuana possession in 1968; pleading insanity, he spent almost four years ensconced at the Hospital for the Criminally Insane in Rusk, Texas.

Erickson resumed his musical career in the late '70s, cutting a couple of singles before forming the Aliens, with whom he recorded an album's worth of demented material in 1980. Originally released as Roky Erickson and the Aliens on CBS UK in 1980, expanded versions of the album have since been released under the titles The Evil One and I Think of Demons. Unlike the showbiz satanism heavy-metal bands dabble in, this is truly disturbing material, as Erickson delivers the likes of "Don't Shake Me Lucifer," "Night of the Vampire," and "Two Headed Dog" with the creepy conviction of one whose demons are a little too real.

Sadly, the novelty of such dementia dissipates rather quickly. Apart from the paranoid title tune, Don't Slander Me doesn't seem quite so fascinating, returning Erickson to the blues-based grooves that were the Elevators' meat and potatoes. Gremlins Have Pictures, recorded in haphazard sessions with various lineups, is merely a document of Erickson's musical deterioration. You're Gonna Miss Me: The Best of Roky Erickson draws from all of the above as well as a smattering of concert recordings, and offers the most representative overview of his solo career. (J.D. CONSIDINE)

From 2004's The New Rolling Stone Album Guide