Artist:   Roky Erickson & Bleib Alien
Song:   "Starry Eyes"
Album: I Have Always Been Here Before
Label:   Shout! Factory
Year:    1975

This song first appeared in the mid-‘70s like an outer spaceship landing on Earth. Roky Erickson had gone from being the lead singer in ‘60s psychedelic pioneers the 13th Floor Elevators to inmate in a hospital for the criminally insane. And that’s a long, long way to fall. When he was released, Erickson proclaimed himself a reverend and a Martian, and then recorded a single produced by Sir Doug Sahm. “Starry Eyes” is the A-side; “Red Temple Prayer (Two Headed Dog)” was on the other. What is ultimately so fascinating is “Starry Eyes” is like an inspirational nod to the West Texas rock of Buddy Holly, complete with compelling hiccups, as if the ‘50s star came back with more reverb and a slightly hallucinatory outlook on life. It really is an unabashed love song, those moments when eyes lock and the world opens into an expansive wonder of possibilities overflowing with passion. Considering what Roky Erickson had been through the previous half-decade, the song is also a near-miracle: “When I’m alone I feel and hear you/I wish that I could reach right out and touch you.” He had a long time being locked-up to dream those words, his voice so full of feeling it’s almost too much to take. In certain circles, this 45--naturally released originally on Mars Records--was the battle cry of a psychic astronaut returning home. Unfortunately, the next 25 years weren’t too kind to one of rock’s most adventurous explorers. Today, though, it’s a different story as Roky Erickson has come back from the outer boundaries and lived to sing about it.