Paisley Underground Series, #20: The 13th Floor Elevators- The Psychedelic Sounds of The 13th Floor Elevators (1966) / Easter Everywhere (1967) / Bull of the Woods (1968) MP3 & FLAC

"If you fear I'll lose my spirit like a drunkard's wasted wine. Don't you even think about it;
I'm feeling fine."

Exhaustively documented in Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era 1965-1968, the mid-sixties saw the rise of countless local D.I.Y. Garage-Rock music scenes throughout the U.S. that, in many ways, laid the groundwork for the psychedelic movement later in the decade and also the Punk movement that first cropped up in NYC in the mid-to-late seventies. While most of the bands comprising these local scenes were short-lived and destined for permanent obscurity, The 13th Floor Elevators, from Austin, TX., transcended their provincial origins by being one of the first bands to openly advocate the use of psychotropic drugs as a form of mind expansion as well as allowing the effects of this practice to overtly influence their music. Another characteristic that set The 13th Floor Elevators apart from their Garage-Rock contemporaries was their musical sophistication, which manifested itself not only in their playing, but also in their tendency to draw from multiple genres to create their distinctive brand of psych-rock. Led by one of the most tragic figures of the rock-era, Roky Erickson, arguably rock 'n' roll's first real counter-culture "wildman" figure and electric jug player Tommy Hall, who claimed to have participated in LSD experiments at UT Austin in 1964, The 13th Floor Elevators led a dangerously precarious (in a legal sense) bohemian existence in amidst the ultra-conservative culture of their home state, something that eventually necessitated an extended stay in San Francisco in 1966-1967, where they helped foment the quickly developing Bay Area psychedelic scene and reconnected with fellow Austin native Janis Joplin (Joplin is rumored to have been influenced by Erickson's distinctive vocal style). Just before their visit to the Bay Area, the band had released their classic debut album, The Psychedelic Sounds of The 13th Floor Elevators, which was something of a clarion call for an impending revolution in rock music. Aided by a breakthrough single, "You're Gonna Miss Me," which landed Erickson, Hall & co. on, of all things, American Bandstand, The 13th Floor Elevators' debut album was a minor commercial success despite their humble Garage-Rock origins; however, what truly set the album apart was its palpable sense of its own pioneering status. In 1966, there were a number of bands toying with adding psychedelic elements to their songs, but in the case of The 13th Floor Elevators, they were pretty much inventing psych-rock from scratch by investing their songs with a manic sense of emotional urgency and broadening their musical palette to include sonic textures falling far outside the purview of conventional pop music (not the least of which were Hall's simply bizarre contributions on the electric jug). After returning to Austin in early 1967, the band began recording what would become their masterpiece, Easter Everywhere, an unparallelled piece of late-sixties psychedelia that features a more polished and confident sound than its precursor matched with a cohesive set of consistently fine songs. From the acid-drenched slow-burner "Slip Inside This House," to the beautifully mournful folk ballad "I Had to Tell You," Roky Erickson's vocals are simply stunning in their ability to convey everything from unhinged passion to wistful melancholia, and Stacy Sutherland's lead guitar work is an exercise in understated melodic brilliance. Sadly, a year after the release of Easter Everywhere, Erickson was arrested for the possession of a single marijuana joint, which, in Texas at the time, was prosecuted in outlandishly harsh ways. In order to avoid a 10 year prison term, Erickson pleaded insanity; consequently, he was institutionalized and repeatedly subjected to electroshock therapy until his release in 1972.  As a result of Erickson's fate, The 13th Floor Elevators slowly fell apart, finally disbanding in 1969 after releasing Bull of the Woods; however, few if any bands were as instrumental in the rise of psychedelia and the unprecedented revolution that rock music underwent during the late 1960s.

The Psychedelic Sounds of The 13th Floor Elevators  

(Charly ~ 2010/1966 ~ Deluxe Remastered 2 CD Edition)

Disc I: Original Mono Album

Tracklist-

 1. You're Gonna Miss Me  (2:31)

 2. Roller Coaster  (5:05)

 3. Splash 1  (3:53)

 4. Reverberation  (2:47)

 5. Don't Fall Down  (3:01)

 6. Fire Engine  (3:20)

 7. Thru the Rhythm  (3:08)

 8. You Don't Know  (2:56)

 9. Kingdom of Heaven  (3:09)

10. Monkey Island  (2:41)

11. Tried to Hide  (2:48)

Disc II: Original 1966 Stereo Mix

Tracklist-

 1. You Don't Know (How Young You Are)  (2:58)

 2. Through the Rhythm  (3:08)

 3. Monkey Island  (2:39)

 4. Roller Coaster  (5:06)

 5. Fire Engine  (3:20)

 6. Reverberation  (2:49)

 7. Tried to Hide  (2:48)

 8. You're Gonna Miss Me  (2:31)

 9. Splash 1  (3:54)

10. Don't Fall Down  (3:01)

11. Kingdom of Heaven  (3:09)

-Bob Sullivan's Original Stereo Desk Mix-

12. Fire Engine  (3:21)

13. Monkey Island  (2:44)

14. Roller Coaster  (5:05)

15. Thru the Rhythm  (3:04)

16. Tried to Hide  (2:53)

Discs I & II- MU: Lossy (MP3@320) 

Discs I & II- MU: Lossless (FLAC)

Easter Everywhere 

(Charly ~ 2010/1967 ~ Deluxe Remastered 2 CD Edition)

Disc I: Mono Version

Tracklist-

 1. Slip Inside This House  (7:55)

 2. Slide Machine  (3:39)

 3. She Lives (In a Time of Her Own)  (2:57)

 4. Nobody to Love  (2:57)

 5. (It's All Over Now) Baby Blue  (5:09)

 6. Earthquake  (4:44)

 7. Dust  (3:58)

 8. I've Got Levitation  (2:40)

 9. I Had to Tell You  (2:26)

10. Postures (Leave Your Body Behind)  (6:20)

 Disc II: Stereo Version

Tracklist-

 1. Slip Inside This House  (8:06)

 2. Slide Machine  (3:41)

 3. She Lives (In a Time of Her Own)  (2:56)

 4. Nobody to Love  (3:00)

 5. (It's All Over Now) Baby Blue  (5:18)

 6. Earthquake  (4:50)

 7. Dust  (3:59)

 8. Levitation  (2:38)

 9. I Had to Tell You  (2:30)

10. Postures (Leave Your Body Behind)  (6:33)

-Bonus Track-

11. Fire in My Bones (Outtake)  (3:05)

Discs I & II- MU: Lossy (MP3@320)

Discs I & II- MU: Lossless (FLAC)

Bull of the Woods  

(Charly ~ 2004/1968 ~ Remastered & Expanded Edition)

Tracklist-

 1. Livin' On  (3:23)

 2. Barnyard Blues  (2:52)

 3. Till Then  (3:18)

 4. Never Another  (2:27)

 5. Rose and the Thorn  (3:37)

 6. Down by the River  (1:50)

 7. Scarlet and Gold  (5:00)

 8. Street Song  (4:57)

 9. Doctor Doom  (3:18)

10. With You  (2:11)

11. May the Circle Remain Unbroken  (2:42)

-Bonus Tracks-

12. Fire in My Bones  (2:04)

13. Wait for My Love  (3:27)

14. Splash 1  (3:06)

15. Right Track Now  (3:03)

16. Before You Accuse Me (Live)  (3:59)

17. You Gotta Take That Girl (Live)  (3:18)

18. I'm Gonna Love You Too (Live)  (2:10)

19. Everybody Needs Somebody to Love (Live)  (4:10)

20. You Can't Hurt Me Anymore (Live)  (4:04)

21. Original Radio Spot for "Bull of the Woods" Album  (1:00)

MU: Lossy (MP3@320)

MU: Lossless (FLAC)

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