Celebrated archival label Light in the Attic Records have announced the first-ever posthumous tribute to the psychedelic rock luminary and pioneer Roky Erickson with ‘May The Circle Remain Unbroken: A Tribute To Roky Erickson’ which lands on July 17th as an exclusive Record Store Day vinyl release. The release, which has the full support of the Roky Erickson estate, was produced by Bill Bentley (executive producer of the 1990 Erickson tribute album ‘Where The Pyramid Meets The Eye’, on Sire Records) with associate producers Matt Sullivan and Wyatt Bentley, with mastering by the GRAMMY-nominated engineer John Baldwin and design by Darryl Norsen. Pressed at RTI on special RSD color wax (clear with purple hi-melt) and available at participating independent retailers, the release is complemented by a 16-page booklet featuring rare photos, liner notes by Bentley, and a bonus RSD-only flexi disc featuring an unreleased track, titled ‘Love Hieroglyphics,’ performed by Erickson circa the early ’70s. You can see the artwork below.
The starry-eyed pied piper of Austin, Texas’ burgeoning 60s rock scene, the recently deceased Erickson was one of the pioneers of psychedelic music. First, as an original member of The 13th Floor Elevators (who formed in 1965) and again as a solo artist, Erickson delivered his message through song.
With The 13th Floor Elevators, Erickson invented a brand-new style of rock & roll, one that was slightly unhinged while it explored the influence of LSD on music. After three years, the group imploded with mental health and legal challenges, ending with Erickson being incarcerated for several years in the “Hospital for the Criminally Insane” in Rusk, Texas. When he was released in the early ’70s, the musician continued on his own trail, recording songs that had come to him in his far-flung cerebral wanderings.
The participants range the whole world of modern music, and each chose one of Erickson’s originals to stamp their own imprint on. Artists featured on the album include: Lucinda Williams, Billy F Gibbons, The Black Angels, Margo Price, Mosshart Sexton (Alison Mosshart & Charlie Sexton), Neko Case, Mark Lanegan & Lynn Castle, Jeff Tweedy, Gary Clark Jr & Eve Monsees, Ty Segal, Chelsea Wolfe, and Brogan Bentley.
The songs range from Erickson’s debut iconic original, ‘You’re Gonna Miss Me,’ recorded when he was a member first in The Spades, to some of Erickson’s later songs, such as ‘If You Have Ghosts,’ which heard him exploring some of the outer limits of the human psyche. Each new recording is a modern take on the sound that Erickson gave the world over a half-century of writing, recording, and touring.
Here is the tracklisting:
Side One
1. Billy F Gibbons – (I’ve Got) Levitation
2. Mosshart Sexton – Starry Eyes
3. Jeff Tweedy – For You (I’d Do Anything)
4. Lynn Castle & Mark Lanegan – Clear Night For Love
5. The Black Angels – Don’t Fall Down
6. Neko Case – Be And Bring Me Home
Side Two
1. Margo Price – Red Temple Prayer (Two-Headed Dog)
2. Gary Clark Jr. & Eve Monsees – Roller Coaster
3. Ty Segall – Night Of The Vampire
4. Lucinda Williams – You’re Gonna Miss Me
5. Chelsea Wolfe – If You Have Ghosts
6. Brogan Bentley – May The Circle Remain Unbroken
Bonus RSD-only flexi disc:
1. Roky Erickson – Love Hieroglyphics
[…] revealed in April that a new tribute album is on the way to founding member and the leader of the 13th Floor […]