VA - Where the Pyramid Meets the Eye: A Tribute to Roky Erickson (1990)

Roky Erickson often seems to be better known in rock circles for his well publicized psychological maladies and his less-than-gentle treatment at the hands of Texas' judicial system than for his music - and that's a shame. While Roky's habit of informing anyone who asks that he's a Martian or is in contact with Satan makes for good fanzine copy, the best reason to be interested in Erickson is his songwriting - there's a graceful, vivid surrealism to his lyrical style that's endured far better than most of the noodlers who came out of the psychedelic rock movement, and his later bursts of horror film fancy conjure up a troubling tension that's laughed at only by the shallow or ignorant.
When Erickson's legal problems came to a head in the late 1980s, longtime fan and Sire Records executive Bill Bentley assembled Where the Pyramid Meets the Eye: A Tribute to Roky Erickson to raise money for Erickson, as well as drawing attention to the unique beauty of his music. Like most multi-artist tribute albums, the results are a bit uneven; some of these artists seem to have appeared out of convenience rather than any great love of Roky's music, and a few of the interpretations are simple miscalculations (Thin White Rope's Guy Kyser really goes overboard on his version of Burn the Flames). But there are a several moments of very real beauty and power here, especially from the artists who share Erickson's Texas heritage - Doug Sahm and ZZ Top rock out on their contributions, the Butthole Surfers' version of Earthquake is one of their finest moments on wax, and T-Bone Burnett's take on Nothing in Return is a heart-tugging gem.
The 13th Floor Elevators' first two albums are still the best place to sample Erickson's music (and the latter-day All That May Do My Rhyme is a fine album, for which Erickson actually receives royalties - hint, hint), but Where the Pyramid Meets the Eye is a sincere if inconsistent tribute to his work, and shows how well his songs can translate to the styles of other artists.
Source: All Music Guide

Tracklist: 1. ZZ Top - Reverberation (Doubt), 2. John Wesley Harding & The Good Liars - If You Have Ghosts, 3. Poi Dog Pondering - I Had to Tell You, 4. Judybats - She Lives (In a Time of Her Own), 5. Primal Scream - Slip lnside This House, 6. Bongwater - You Don't Love Me Yet, 7. Julian Cope - I Have Always Been Here Before, 8. Doug Sahm & Sons - You're Gonna Miss Me, 9. Southern Pacific - It's a Cold Night For Alligators, 10. Richard Lloyd - Fire Engine, 11. Vibrating Egg - Bermuda, 12. R.E.M. - I Walked With a Zombie, 13. Butthole Surfers - Earthquake, 14. Lou Ann Barton - Don't Slander Me, 15. Sister Double Happiness - Red Temple Prayer (Two Headed Dog), 16. Thin White Rope - Burn the Flames, 17. Chris Thomas - Postures (Leave Your Body Behind), 18. T Bone Burnett - Nothing In Return, 19. The Jesus & Mary Chain - Reverberation (Doubt).

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