All That May Do My Rhyme
All That May Do My Rhyme is an album by the American musician Roky Erickson.[1][2] It was released in 1995 on Trance Syndicate Records, an independent record label founded in 1990 by King Coffey, drummer of Austin, Texas, band the Butthole Surfers.[3]
| All That May Do My Rhyme | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1995 | |||
| Genre | Folk rock, roots rock | |||
| Label | Trance Syndicate | |||
| Producer | Speedy Sparks, Stuart Sullivan, Casey Monahan | |||
| Roky Erickson chronology | ||||
| ||||
The album was a packaging of new songs with ones issued on the 1985 Clear Night for Love EP.[4][5] An unlisted track, "We Sell Soul", is a 1965 song by Erickson's band the Spades.[6] All That May Do My Rhyme was Erickson's first studio album in about a decade.[7]
Production edit
The album was produced by Speedy Sparks, Stuart Sullivan, and Casey Monahan.[8] Paul Leary, Barry "Frosty" Smith, and Charlie Sexton contributed to All That May Do My Rhyme. Lou Ann Barton sang on one of the two versions of "Starry Eyes".[9] Sumner Erickson, Roky's brother, played tuba on the album.[10] The album was released at the same time as a book, Openers II: The Lyrics of Roky Erickson, that collected Erickson's poems and lyrics.[11]
Critical reception edit
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | [12] |
| Chicago Tribune | [13] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [14] |
| MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide | [8] |
| Lincoln Journal Star | [15] |
| Record Collector | [16] |
| Rolling Stone | [17] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 8/10[18] |
Rolling Stone determined that, "if Erickson covers a lot of territory, it is because his music has always functioned as a living archive of musical form, exploring the seams between supposedly incongruous genres."[17] The Boston Globe wrote that "Erickson looks at loves lost and sought in ballads given a light, melodic touch."[19] The Austin American-Statesman deemed the album "arguably his most accessible and listener-friendly to date, with the sort of buoyant melodicism, lyrical invention and shimmering jangle that the R.E.M. generation can accept as a kindred musical spirit."[20]
The Philadelphia Daily News stated that "the psychedelic pioneer brings his Bob Dylanesque phrasing and charmingly vulnerable voice to a mixed bag of old and new material that focuses more on love than on his past themes of demons and aliens."[21] The Santa Fe New Mexican concluded that "We Are Never Talking" "could almost be mistaken for a long-lost Blood on the Tracks outtake."[22] The Chicago Tribune determined that "best of all is the plaintive 'Please Judge', in which Erickson pleads, 'Don't send or keep the boy away'."[13]
AllMusic wrote that "Roky's most excessive traits are mostly absent; he sounds sort of like an eccentric, updated Buddy Holly."[12] Record Collector thought that his "dishevelled yowl elevates [the songs] into the otherworldly realm, spookily channelling both his fractured mind and convincingly extra-terrestrial soul."[16]
Track listing edit
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I'm Gonna Free Her" | |
| 2. | "Starry Eyes" | |
| 3. | "You Don't Love Me Yet" | |
| 4. | "Please Judge" | |
| 5. | "Don't Slander Me" | |
| 6. | "We Are Never Talking" | |
| 7. | "For You (I'd Do Anything)" | |
| 8. | "For You" | |
| 9. | "Clear Night for Love" | |
| 10. | "Haunt" | |
| 11. | "Starry Eyes" | |
| 12. | "We Sell Soul" |
References edit
- ^ "Roky Erickson Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
- ^ Buckley, Peter (October 18, 2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (1999) "Trance Syndicate Records" in The Virgin Encyclopedia of Heavy Rock, Virgin Books, ISBN 0-7535-0257-7, p. 454
- ^ "In Memoriam: Roky Erickson, July 15, 1947 – May 31, 2019". Lone Star Music Magazine. June 2, 2019.
- ^ Stewart, Alison (Apr 1995). "Reviews". CMJ New Music Monthly. No. 20. p. 32.
- ^ "Roky Erickson and the Aliens". Trouser Press. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
- ^ Wood, Nick (Jan 19, 1995). "Reviews". Dunmow Observer. p. 24.
- ^ a b MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 393.
- ^ "Roky Erickson: All That May Do My Rhyme Album Review". The Austin Chronicle.
- ^ Hall, Michael (December 1, 2001). "A Long, Strange Trip". Texas Monthly.
- ^ "Openers II: the Lyrics of Roky Erickson". My City Paper.
- ^ a b "All That May Do My Rhyme". AllMusic.
- ^ a b Kot, Greg (12 Feb 1995). "Still Risky, Still Real: Legends Re-Emerge, with Force, on New Albums". Arts. Chicago Tribune. p. 12.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 3. MUZE. p. 304.
- ^ Wolgamott, L. Kent (Mar 26, 1995). "Records". Lincoln Journal Star. p. 6H.
- ^ a b "All That May Do My Rhyme". Record Collector.
- ^ a b Hill, Trent (May 18, 1995). "Recordings — All That May Do My Rhyme by Roky Erickson". Rolling Stone. No. 708. p. 90.
- ^ Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. 1995. pp. 134–135.
- ^ Hayhow, Pete (1 June 1995). "Roky Erickson All That May Do My Rhyme". Calendar. The Boston Globe. p. 17.
- ^ McLeese, Don (19 Jan 1995). "Where the pyramid meets the rhyme". XL ENT. Austin American-Statesman. p. 5.
- ^ Darroch, Doug (21 Apr 1995). "All That May Do My Rhyme Roky Erickson". Features Yo!. Philadelphia Daily News. p. 70.
- ^ Terrell, Steve (24 Feb 1995). "Terrell's Tune-Up". Pasatiempo. The Santa Fe New Mexican. p. 9.