roky erickson: don't slander me

If The Evil One was the album that broke Erickson out of the indie ghetto and brought him to a worldwide audience, the follow-up, 1986's Don't Slander Me was the one that showcased his rock and roll sensibilities like no recording before. Losing the more out-there and exotic elements of earlier and future albums, it presents us with Erickson the rocker, playing punk, rockabilly, blues and -- in 'Burn the Flames,' later found on the Return of the Living Dead soundtrack -- even power ballads. Erickson was just 15 when he wrote 'You're Gonna Miss Me,' the song that epitomized the garage rock movement and inspired punks, rockers, and noisemakers ever since. In another life, Erickson and Austin-based band could have been as big as any of the '60s legends still making music today. But fate took Erickson down a meandering path via the Houston psychiatric hospital where he was institutionalized for almost a decade following a diagnosis with paranoid schizophrenia in 1968. Erickson's experiences in the hospital proved to be fertile inspiration for his music -- on leaving, he formed the group Roky Erickson and the Aliens and began penning songs about zombies, demons, vampires, and -- to counter the B-movie monsters, the real-life monsters of social injustice. 2LP housed in a deluxe gatefold 'tip-on' jacket with liner notes by Joe Nick Patoski. Includes download card for the full album, an etching on side D by artist Travis Millard, plus rare/unseen archive photos and ephemera