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The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators
1966 album by the 13th Floor Elevators From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators is the debut studio album by the 13th Floor Elevators. The album's sound, featuring elements of psychedelia, hard rock, garage rock, folk, and blues, is notable for its use of the electric jug, as featured on the band's only hit, "You're Gonna Miss Me", which reached number 55 on the Billboard Hot 100 with "Tried to Hide" as a B-side. Another single from the album, "Reverberation (Doubt)", reached number 129 on the Billboard's Bubbling Under chart.
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Background
The October 1966 back cover of the album uses the words "The Psychedelic Sounds of: The 13th Floor Elevators", which is purported to be the first use of the word "psychedelic" in reference to the music within.[4] Two other bands also used the word in titles of LPs released in November 1966: The Blues Magoos' Psychedelic Lollipop, and the Deep's Psychedelic Moods.[citation needed]
In 2009, the original mono version was released as part of the "Sign of the 3-Eyed Men" box set. The set also featured a new, alternate stereo version which retained the band's original intended track listing, as well as false starts on some of the tracks (the International Artists label had altered the track listing without the band's consent when the album was first released). Both versions on the box set featured different bonus tracks, some that were previously unreleased.[citation needed]
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Music and lyrics
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The album contains elements of garage rock and R&B, and its overall mood is described as "skewed". The tracks are described as exhibiting a "dark, eerie quality." The vocals of Roky Erickson have been likened to "banshee wailing," and have been described as sounding like "yelp[ing] and [howling] like a man possessed." According to Stephen M. Deusner of Pitchfork, "Erickson's wild-man vocals create an atmosphere where unfettered mayhem reigns."[5] Tommy Hall's amplified jug sounds are described as "alien." Deusner assessed that Hall "provided the psychedelic sound that evokes the chemical weightlessness of a trip. It's the wiggedly-wiggedly of a dream sequence, the sound of your hands melting or of a dimensional door squeaking open [...] [translated] into an aural sensation."[6]
Mark Deming of AllMusic said: "while the sensuous twists of the melodies and the charming psychobabble of the lyrics make it sound like these folks were indulging in something stronger than Pearl Beer, at this point the Elevators sounded like a smarter-than-average folk-rock band with a truly uncommon level of intensity."[7] Music historian Jeff Gold said the album is "roaring, intense [and] at times frightening," adding that it "does come close to conjuring the rollercoaster run of emotions of the drug trip." He described the tracks "Fire Engine" and "Reverberation" as "ominous", and the track "Splash 1" as "almost delicate".[8] Pitchfork wrote: "Erickson's psychedelia was not passive aural wallpapers-- all pretty shapes and colors to listen to while tripping-- but an active force of social, musical, and psychological change."[5]
The album's lyrics have been described as "spaced out," and Stephen M. Deusner of Pitchfork said the album's lyrics were "awash in narcotic philosophy."[8][5] The lyrics to the song "Splash 1 (Now I'm Home)" reflect a mystical connection between Erickson and a woman, inspired by a meeting with Janis Joplin.[9]
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Release
The song "Splash 1 (Now I'm Home)" was released in 1966 as a single from The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators. It was a minor regional hit in Texas but became a bigger (albeit still relatively minor) regional hit a year later when covered by the Clique. It has also been covered by Bongwater and The Mighty Lemon Drops.[9]
Artwork
The album's interior sleeve notes espouse the supposed benefits of psychedelic drug use. The album's back cover reads: "The quest for pure sanity... forms the basis of this songs on this album."[6]
Critical reception and legacy
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The album was included in Robert Dimery's 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[3]
In 2005, Pitchfork gave the album a score of 9.1 out of 10 in a retrospective review. Staff writer Stephen M. Deusner wrote: "What makes these songs so kick-ass is that it's the sound of someone going right off the page of the rock script-- like so many B-movie auteurs of the '60s, he's doing whatever he wants with no one to tell him that's not how it's done. As a result, very few of the songs on I Have Always Been Here Before depend for their impact on the listener's knowledge of Erickson's mental health at the time. This is perhaps the singer's true achievement, which this compilation generously spotlights: even when he was suffering, his strange music sounds wholly idiosyncratic and spiritually curious, the sound of a man who won't let the world's ugliness diminish his enjoyment of life or hinder his search for something solid and secure."[15]
Ryan Bort of Paste wrote: "It’s hard to think of any one record that has influenced an entire genre as much as the 13th Floor Elevators’ seminal debut influenced psych rock. Since its release in 1966, countless bands have tried to imitate the album’s sound, and every psych-oriented group from The Jesus and Mary Chain to The Black Angels are in some way indebted to The Elevators and their visionary frontman Roky Erickson. Though they would continue to record and tour following the release of The Psychedelic Sounds..., nothing they did came remotely close to having the impact and ferocious psychedelic energy of their debut and its incendiary single and leadoff track, 'You’re Gonna Miss Me.'"[16]
Mark Deming of AllMusic gave the album four and a half stars out of five. He wrote: "The 13th Floor Elevators were trailblazers in the psychedelic rock scene, and in time they'd pay a heavy price for exploring the outer edges of musical and psychological possibility, but along the way they left behind a few fine albums, and The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators remains a potent delight."[17]
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Track listing
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- Tracks 12–17 were recorded live at the Avalon in San Francisco, September 1966
- Tracks 18–19 were recorded live in Texas
- Tracks 20–21 were The Spades singles released in 1965
This version was included in the "Sign of the 3-Eyed Men" box set on CD 4 with the following bonus tracks.
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Personnel
- Roky Erickson – vocals, rhythm guitar, harmonica
- Stacy Sutherland – lead guitar
- Tommy Hall – amplified jug
- Benny Thurman – bass guitar (1, 3)
- Ronnie Leatherman – bass guitar (2, 4–11)
- John Ike Walton – drums, percussion
Production
- Produced by Lelan Rogers, except track 1 produced by Gordon Bynum
- Recorded, engineered and mixed by Bob Sullivan
- John Cleveland – cover design
See also
References
Further reading
External links
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