The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators

I don't believe I've ever heard of The 13th Floor Elevators before this so I went in blind. Obviously, the name of the album and the cover art gave away the psychedelic experience I was about to have (while driving to and from work...). And what a groovy time it was man. Roller Coaster, Splash 1, Don't Fall Down, and You Don't Know were my favorites. I think by the time I got to You Don't Know I started to really hear a strange instrument. It was like a vibration of some kind with a rhythm. Upon looking up the Wikipedia page for the album I saw that one of the band members played an "Electric jug." I needed to know more and honestly the electric jug presence on the internet is very low. But this lead me to Tommy Hall's Wikipedia page where I find out he is now a registered republican and never wants to play the electric jug again. Anyway, the electric jug was cool on one track but by the end of the album I was kind of getting annoyed by it. So no wonder it never took off. We could have had Taylor Swift backed by electric jug. We could have had emo bands of the early 2000's moping over an electric jug sound. But luckily for all of us the Boomers in the 60's decided the electric jug just wasn't meant to become the most popular instrument. Best thing they ever did. Thanks Boomers.

My favorite psychedelic album ever. Unfortunately spotify doesn’t have the tripped out philosophy behind each song from the liner notes.

...DOOKADOOKADOokadookadookadOOKADOOKADOOKADOOKADOOKADOOkadookadookadookadookadookaDOOKADOOkadookADOOKADOokadookadookaDOOKADOOKADOOKADOOKADookadookadookadOOKADOOKADOOKADOokadookadookadookadooka...

shit

1/5

A movie needledrop classic that immediately indicates the 60s are happening. It's a great example of the early psych formula: pulsating bass and droning open strings to induce a trance, some swirly whirly organ and very reverby guitars, a bit of fuzz to break from reality and some vaguely heady lyrics to suggest you open your mind and head out there. The songs borrow heavily from surf rock and chuck berry style blues rock, but arranged in the new trippy style. Play it loud and freak out the squares, man! Very funny that Zappa's debut album came out the same year and was already basically a parody of the California psych scene within months of it starting.

It’s all good and interesting to varying degrees, just not something I’m going to return to a whole lot.

3.5/5

Interesting...the electric jug behind all the songs was semi distracting/annoying. Outside of that I am a decent fan. 2.5/5

Classic early Psychedelic album, up their with the best of the 60’s has its flaws but more than deserves to be on the list.

To me this is THE definitive psychedelic album. Certainly among the pioneers of the genre. At their best, they meld surf and garage rock into a hair raising sonic assault - often verging on proto punk. But there's a lovely sensitivity there as well. They don't overdue the effects, or include things like sitars, but the electric jug gives them an exotic, immediately identifiable sound of their own. I love that they came from Texas, and remained there, rather than fleeing for the coasts. Perhaps that was not necessarily by choice though, especially after Roky's mental breakdown and incarceration. Roky Erickson's story is fascinating - certainly a bit tragic, but there is a beautiful redemption there as well. I'd definitely recommend the documentary "You're Gonna Miss Me" that came out on him around 2007. He's like an American Syd Barrett that miraculously kept coming back again and again over the years despite the odds. A beautiful, if tortured, soul.

Ihan jees psykeilyä, 3/5

A wild ride that doesn't make much sense

Had never heard this album before. I knew the opening track because it was on the High Fidelity soudtrack, but found I really liked the whole album.

I like a lot of this. I'd never heard of this band before so this is a genuine little hidden gem. They have a lot of elements from similar 60's bands, like the jangly guitars, bluesy riffs and vocals... some surf in there. It's kind of the Doors meet the Rolling Stones, with a bit of Dick Dale thrown in, or sitting somewhere in that space. The jug was pretty interesting at first, but jeez do they use a lot of it! It would have been better used sparingly I think. Still.... Groovy!

As a side note, the first song was SO familiar and I knew I'd heard it in a film I knew well - turns out it's the start of High Fidelity, apt!

First song is a hit. the rest is just psychadelia.

Very psychedelic, very 60s. Enjoyable, although not sure it needed (at least) two versions of each song!

Very samey, hated that sound effect they used on most songs.