''The Evil One'' is a 1981 solo debut album by American psychedelic rock singer Roky Erickson, after his time with the band

13th Floor Elevators The 13th Floor Elevators was an American rock band from Austin, Texas, United States, formed by guitarist and vocalist Roky Erickson, electric jug player Tommy Hall, and guitarist Stacy Sutherland. The band was together from 1965 to 1969, ...

. The songs were recorded in 1979 with producer

Stu Cook Stuart Alden Cook (born April 25, 1945) is an American bass guitarist, best known for his work in the rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR), for which he is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Career Cook, along with Doug Clif ...

, former bass player of Creedence Clearwater Revival. Some material from those sessions was also released on the 1980 CBS UK album ''Roky Erickson and the Aliens'', later reissued as ''I Think of Demons''. Cook played bass on two tracks, "Sputnik" and "Bloody Hammer." The album was re-released on April 16, 2002 by

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

record label

Sympathy for the Record Industry Sympathy for the Record Industry (also known as Sympathy Records or Sympathy 4 the R.I.) is a mainly independent garage rock and punk label formed in 1988 by Long Gone John. The first Sympathy release was the Lazy Cowgirls' ''Radio Cowgirl'' ...

as a double-CD titled ''The Evil One (Plus One)''. The second disc is made up of a 48-minute appearance from August 20, 1979 on California radio station

KSJO KSJO (92.3 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to San Jose, California, and broadcasts to the San Francisco Bay Area. KSJO airs a Bollywood music radio format branded as Bolly 92.3. It is owned by Silicon Valley Asian Media Group ...

's ''The Modern Humans Show,'' on which Erickson plays rough mixes from the album and talks about music and horror films.

Reception

The album is considered by many critics to be an eccentric

cult classic A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...

. ''

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'' reviewer Jason Heller called the album "brilliant. ... In a spasms of feral, lip-twisted fury, he snarls about demons,

zombie A zombie ( Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in w ...

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mischief or deat ...

s, ghosts, and demons again with all the intensity of a

rabies Rabies is a viral disease that causes encephalitis in humans and other mammals. Early symptoms can include fever and tingling at the site of exposure. These symptoms are followed by one or more of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, ...

victim." Heller noted that Erickson's interest in horror and sci-fi imagery drew comparisons with the progressive hard rock of

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and

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...

, as well as punk rock. ''

Austin Chronicle ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogra ...

'' writer Scott Schinder called Erickson's 1980s albums, released after his half-decade involuntary stay in a Texas psychiatric hospital, "the clearest glimpse into his raging musical soul." He described ''The Evil One'' as "the mother lode. It's the disc on which Erickson comes across most clear-eyed, and the source of many of his best-loved solo songs." '' Billboard'' writer Morgan Enos said that ''The Evil One'' "brims over with propulsive bangers about harrowing visions. ... Every moment slams with a galvanic precision." Mark Demin of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

wrote that "''The Evil One'' shows just how strong a rocker (Erickson) could be -- and how good a band he could put together. Great stuff, and certainly the best representation of Roky's "latter-day punk" period." ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' writer Hank Shteamer called the album "soulful and assured," noting that Erickson seemed fully at home even on the darkest material. Tony Bennett of the Duluth News Tribune noted that Erickson's personal troubles did not diminish the passion and intensity of his music, saying that "while his songs are unusual, indeed, the man could sing like a banshee. ... His voice possesses the traits that the greatest rock singers own. Energy, passion, good pitch, soul -- he's got it all."

Legacy and influence

In an obituary for Erickson after his 2019 death, British music magazine ''

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...

'' singled out ''The Evil One'' as perhaps Erickson's most influential album, calling it "an important precursor to the psychobilly and horror metal genres" for its "strange, cinematic approach to psychedelia." The magazine also praised "Night of the Vampire" as "easily the greatest vampire song in history. ... Roky paints on the vampire as he lives in the cultural subconscious, a being of film, literature, and ancient myth all at once." The song "Two Headed Dog (Red Temple Prayer)" inspired the name of 1980s

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psychedelic/post-punk band Red Temple Spirits. "Night of the Vampire" was covered by Entombed on its split EP with

New Bomb Turks The New Bomb Turks are an American punk rock band formed at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, United States, in 1990. The founding members are Jim Weber, Eric Davidson, Bill Randt, and Matt Reber. Sam Brown replaced Bill Randt on drums ...

, released 1995 on

Earache Records Earache Records is a British independent record label, music publisher and management company founded by Digby Pearson in 1985, based in Nottingham, England, with offices in London and New York. The label helped to pioneer extreme metal by rel ...

. "If You Have Ghosts" was covered by Ghost in 2013 on its covers EP ''

If You Have Ghost ''If You Have Ghost'' is the first EP by the Swedish heavy metal band Ghost. It was produced by Dave Grohl and released on 20 November 2013 by Republic Records. Four of the five tracks are covers of other acts; " I'm a Marionette" and "Waiting ...

''.

Track listing (1981 415 Records LP)

Track listing (1987 reissue)

''The Evil One (Plus One)'', second disc

Personnel

: Producer, bass on "Bloody Hammer" and "Sputnik" * Roky Erickson: Vocals and guitars *Duane Aslaksen: Guitars and vocals *Bill Miller: Electric autoharp *Andre Lewis: Electronic keyboards *Steven Morgan Burgess: Bass *Fuzzy Furioso: Drums Additional musicians: *Jeff Sutton: Drums on "Bloody Hammer" and "Sputnik" *Scott Matthews: Drums on "White Faces" *Brian Marnell: Background vocals on "Creature With the Atom Brain" and "I Walked With a Zombie"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evil One 1981 albums Roky Erickson albums