Various Artists - Where the Pyramid Meets the Eye: A Tribute to Roky Erickson

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. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide

Name Credits Andrew Innes Engineer, Programming, Producer Andrew Weatherall Producer Andy Paley Vocals (Background), Producer, Clarinet (Alto) Angry Samoans Performer Ann Magnuson Producer Aston Martin & The Moon Discs Drums Ben Cohen Guitar Bill Bentley Liner Notes, Executive Producer, Album Supervision Bill Berry Drums Bill Ham Producer Bill Noland Keyboards, Producer Billy Gibbons Producer Bongwater Producer, Performer Bruce Hughes Producer, Guitar, Vocals Bruce Thomas Drums Butthole Surfers Producer, Performer Chris Thomas Performer, Vocals, Producer Dave Crawford Melodica Dave Rick Producer David Leonard Vocals (Background) Donald Ross Skinner Bass, Vocals Doug Sahm Vocals, Producer, Performer Dusty Hill Producer Ed Winters Guitar (Electric) Frank Beard Producer Frank Orrall Guitar Gary Floyd Vocals, Vocals (Background), Percussion Gary Gold Drums Gary Hickinbotham Producer Gibby Haynes Producer Glenn Fukunaga Bass Guy Kyser Guitar, Vocals Hector Watt Guitar Herculon Velveteen Guitar Jah Beethoven Organ James MacMillan Producer, Bass Jean Constant Gindreau Photography Jeff Producer Jeff Heiskell Vocals Jeff Palmer Bass, Vocals (Background) Jeffrey Lesser Producer Jim Franklin Illustrations Jim Reid Producer John Golden Mastering John Keane Producer, Guitar John McFee Producer John Wesley Harding Vocals, ?, Guitar (Acoustic), Performer Johnnie Marshall Organ, Tympani [Timpani] Johnny Sughrue Guitar (Acoustic), Vocals Julian Cope Synthesizer, Performer, Vocals, Guitar, Producer Keith Knudsen Producer Ken Craddock Organ Kevin Laffey Producer Kevin White Vocals, Vocals (Background) King Coffey Producer Kramer Producer Kurt Howell Producer Lou Ann Barton Vocals, Performer Lynn Perko Drums, Percussion Lyres Performer Matthew Abourezk Drums Michael Stipe Vocals Mike Mills Bass Mike Stewart Producer O'Brien Guitar Paul Leary Producer Peggy Hambright Organ, Vocals Pete Thomas Drums Peter Buck Guitar Poi Dog Pondering Producer, Performer Primal Scream ?, Performer R.E.M. Performer, Producer Raoul Duplott Vocals, Producer Richard Gottehrer Producer Richard Lloyd Performer, Vocals, Producer, Guitar Rob Grenoble Vocals (Background) Rockin' Tabby Thomas Performer Roddy Colonna Drums Roger Kunkel Guitar, Bass Shandon Sahm Drums, Vocals Shawn Sahm Vocals, Guitar Sister Double Happiness ?, Performer Slye Fuller Vocals (Background) Southern Pacific Performer, Producer Speedy Sparks Bass Steve Donnelly Guitar Stu Cook Producer Susan Voeltz Violin T Bone Burnett Guitar (Acoustic), Performer, Producer, Vocals, ?, Metronome Tabby Thomas Performer, Vocals Ted Cho Mandolin The Jesus and Mary Chain Producer, Performer The Judybats Performer, ? The Mighty Lemon Drops Performer Thin White Rope Producer, Performer Tim Stutz Vocals, Bass (Electric) Tom Recchion Art Direction Tony Martin Programming, Recorder, Producer Vibrating Egg Performer, ? William Reid Producer ZZ Top Producer, Performer