Don't Slander Me [Remastered] - Roky Erickson > Reviews > "Ah Kin Order Raw meat Here?"

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Thought-provoking
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Average
Value for Money	Good

Advantages:	Good Intro To The Man
Disadvantages:	Not His Best

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

The word genus is over used but in the case of Rocky Erickson it is justified, the former lead singer of the seminal 13th Floor Elevators. He paid a heavy price for his exploration of the human psyche through drugs, ending up incarcerated in a asylum for the criminally insane for possession of marijuana. This did his sanity no good at all and he has spent a large part of his life fighting depression, however in recent interviews he seems to be well on the mend. His brother has set up a trust fund for him TrustRocky who have kindly remastered and re-issued a large number of Rocky releases of which this is one.

Don't Slander Me was recorded in 1982 with his backing band The Aliens and the line up was:-

Rocky Erickson - lead Vocals and Guitar
Duane Aslaksen - lead Guitae
Billy Miller - Electric Auto-Harp
André Lewis - Keyboards
Jack Casady - Bass Guitar
Paul Zahl - Drums

The album is miles away from the garage psyche of the 13th Floor Elevators but due to the power of Rocky's voice it has a familiar sound to it for those of us who were fans anyway. The title track blasts off with a riff that Keith Richards would have wet his pants playing and then Rocky passionately yowls through the song his vocal delivery urgent and strained, the lead guitar is absolutely superb and the sense of urgency in the song is superb. Then "Haunt" does nothing to tone down the intensity a rockabilly romp through strange territory, the tenor sax solo is really not needed though, but even genus could be affected by the 80's. "Crazy Crazy Mama" a southern dancing boogie that gets right inside of you and makes ya wanna get down, not surprising from a man that was once obsessed by Buddy Holly.

"Nothing In Return" is unrequited love song and if had been treated differently would have been terrible as it veers too close to the middle of the road for my liking. "Burn The Flames" explores Rocky's love of horror and is a mid paced country/folk/ rock thing that works in a really sinister manner, as you know that Rocky is not definitely playing with the same pack of cards that you are, even though he may be playing the same game. "Bermuda" is a punky homage to the devils triangle, spoilt in parts by cheesy keyboards but this was the 80's and even Rocky was not immune to some of the stupidity that went on during that decade, but it is still a great song, and at the end Rocky sound possessed when he is screaming "That is The Way of BERMUDA"

"You Drive Me Crazy" could have been written and recorded by Buddy Holly and is simply a great bit of rock and roll. "Can't Be Brought Down" sounds like what the stones would have sounded like if they were obsessed by horror movies and instead of going downhill so quickly after "Exile on Main Street", they developed a liking for southern rock and blues. Once again Rocky sounds absolutely possessed on this song. "Starry Eyes" is difficult to describe other then the similarity to R.E.M at points is slightly disturbing, Rocky seems to be pulling different ideas from all over the cosmos on this one and forming them into one cohesive lump, I am confused buy this one. "The Dam Thing" finishes off the album proper in a brilliant punk rock boogie fashion.

However with the newly issued CD we are treated to 3 bonus tracks, sometimes this can be a curse as it spoiled the flow of the album or you merely get single versions , not here though. You have two out takes they punk ballad "Hasn't Anyone Told You" and "Realize You're Mine" both of which are enhanced by the fact that they are not as produced due to them being outtakes. There is also an alternative take of "Haunt" which is rawer, dirtier and therefore better that the version that appeared earlier.

As far as Rocky's material goes this is pretty average and would mainly be of interest to an obsessive fan of his, but it is also as good as starting place as any. The material is not his best but it is far from his worst if you are curious pop on over to http://www.rokyerickson.net/ or http://www.rykodisc.com/Catalog/CatalogArtist_01.asp?Action=Get&Artist_ID=580