OFF: Roky/Elevators

[Andrew Gilham]

>     Speaking of which, I've seen a few 13th Floor Elevators' CDs around
>recently.  _Bull of the Woods_ and, um, some live one.  Are the any good?
>I have a vague recollection that not all their CD-available material is of
>the best.

There's almost as many dodgy Roky/Elevators releases around as Hawkwind -
probably even more in proportion to genuine albums!

I don't have them all by any means, as I got burned by _Live at the Ritz_,
which (like _Yuri Gagarin_) is a crappy tape of what sounds like was probably
an amazing gig.

My recommended Roky list:

Elevators: _Psychedelic Sounds of..._ (includes their sole "hit", "You're
Gonna Miss Me".  Seminal Texan psychdelia from when LSD was still legal!)
Roky/Aliens: _The Evil One_ (most tracks are also on _I Think Of Demons_, and
are from the 1980 sessions which spawned the overlapping LPs _Roky Erickson
and the Aliens_ and _The Evil One_ - this CD collects all 15, including the
essential "Bloody Hammer")
Roky/Explosives: _Casting the Runes_ (live) (I have seen this on CD!  Not sure
of the legitimacy of the release, but it's truly excellent.  Some track
overlap with the above, but essential versions.)
Roky: _Gremlins Have Pictures_ (live/studio - great version of "Heroin", and
the plangent "Warning (Social and Political Injustices)")

plus:

various artists: _Where the Pyramid Meets the Eye_ - superb tribute album with
absolutely stellar line-up, including ZZ Top, REM, Julian Cope, Jesus and Mary
Chain, Butthole Surfers, Thin White Rope, Primal Scream...

After that tread very carefully!

- Andy

Andy Gilham/Andy_Gilham at msn.com/Andy_Gilham at compuserve.com
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Andy_Gilham