May The Circle Remain Unbroken: A Tribute To Roky Erickson will materialize at indie record stores the next Record Store Day, July 17. The compilation, produced by my friends at Light in the Attic records, features the likes of Neko Case, Lucinda Williams, Mark Lanegan, Lynn Castle, Gary Clark Jr. and other artists paying homage to the great psych rock pioneer Roky Erickson (1947-2019) of the immortal 13th Floor Elevators. Above, Wilco's Jeff Tweedy takes on "For You (I'd Do Anything)" From the album description:
Urgently and deeply, as if shot out of a cannon, [Erickson's] music traveled from the heart to the deepest reaches of higher consciousness.
With The 13th Floor Elevators, Erickson invented a brand-new style or rock & roll, one that was slightly unhinged while it explored the influence of LSD on music. After three years, the group imploded with mental issues and legal challenges, ending with Erickson being incarcerated for several years in the Hospital for the Criminally Insane in Rusk, Texas. When he was released in the early '70s, the musician continued on his own trail, recording songs that had come to him in his far-flung cerebral wanderings.
