Customer Reviews

Psychedelic Sounds of

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Byrds were an amazing band. Give them credit for starting or catalyzing a few sub-genres of rock; the first to meld Dylan's folk and the Beatles' pop-rock. The first to meld folk-rock with country on "Sweetheart of the Rodeo." But to say they are the first psychedlic band based on their influential single "Eight Miles High" is misleading. The Texas band 13th Floor Elevators took it upon themselves to hybridize garage rock, punk, and the underground culture thriving in England to produce the absolute FIRST psychedelic rock album, their debut "Psychedelic Sounds." It is worth every note of its legacy.

"You're Gonna Miss Me," the lead single and album opener, quickly establishes the band's game plan to find "absolute truth", as indicated from the band's liner notes. The song has lost none of its impact through time nor this remastering; it's still one of the definitive statements of psychedelic rock. The same can be said of the album as a whole. The Stones-y "rollercoaster" and the nightmarish Beatles of "You Don't Know How Young you Are" establish the bands roots and influences, but the album still feels like it was created in a vacuum. The remastering feels like it could have more than just 4 poorly recorded live tracks, but its a small price to pay to have it available again in most music stores. There was no presidence for this music in its time. And if you want to get chronological, they beat Velvet Underground by at least a year as being the first punk band, only 13th Floor didn't have Andy Warhol as their manager, nor his artwork on their debut, so VU systematically gets the nod. "Psychedelic Sounds of..." is an excellent starting point for anyone interested in the genre.

Overall: 8 out of 10.

What a shock to see this available with, for the first time, pretty good sound - the primitiveness of the recording has its limitations, but this is easily the best version of the album I've yet heard. The packaging faithfully restores the original, with no annoying label logos AND there are four live bonus tracks.

For those who've never heard this before, it's a must have if you like garage rock - one of the first really freaked out garage records that's listenable and enjoyable all the way through. And there haven't been that many since!It clearly shaped their sound, conception and lyrical concerns. Another way to look at it is that these guys actually influenced the Rolling Stones, not the other way around.

The over all sound is vaguely similar to a more chaotic and sinister version of the Seeds. The electric jug adds a bizarre element to many songs; it sounds like a weird bubbling synth in a way, and it's undeniably trippy.

A big hand goes out to Fuel 2000, who released this and a career overview CD of the band. I am PRAYING that further releases from the International Artists catalog are forthcoming with the same sort of care put into them that this one has. Please join me in my prayers.

Amen.

If you've made it this far, then you probably already know to buy an Import (such as this one) of this record, since Collectables has issued a version with awful sound. This one sounds as good as it's going to get for this LP (whose masters were apparently lost many years ago)... It's a tremendous rock and roll record, one that had a vast influence in the most creative era of the music's history. (No small feat, considering the other records released at that time ... Blonde on Blonde, Aftermath, Revolver, Highway 61). This one, recorded early in that process, turned all those heads. Not to be missed if you are hip or want to be. It's a great record.

The 13th Floor Elevators were pioneers of the psych-rock genre, as evident in their 1966 debut. They were not exemplary musicians or even great songwriters but the Elevators managed to capture the atmosphere of the counter-culture and convey it more efficiently than any other band of the era.
Unfortunately, the reissue is plagued by poor production and a less than commendable choice of live tracks (including one of the worst covers of Gloria I have ever heard)
Still, a must for psych listeners!

As a fan of psychadelic music I was repeatedly told I had to get this cd. Listening to it you can get a sense of why this album gets this hype but frankly the sound quality is so poor you really have to make an effor to try to appreciate it. Again there are glimpes of great garage/psychadelia and the use of the jug is cool and different.

I would not buy it until someone actually makes an effort to put forward a version that sounds good. Even if the original tapes are terrible I find it hard to believe that they could not have done more with this. This is possibly a five star album but I can't tell for sure due to the sound.

the original phsychedelic sounds of the time . pre the dead . rocky erickson screams and the jug rocks. you must hear it!

I have to be honest - I don't like too much psyche. More of a garage rock fan. These guys represent the linking bridge between the two genres. Did they invent the genre? Who knows, who cares, they did it best, plain and simple. The only other psyche album that gives it competition is "Piper at the Gates of Dawn" by Pink Floyd. Roky Erickson doesn't get enough credit, and doesn't get compared to Syd Barrett as much as he ought to. Both had massive drug problems that often brought the great visionaries down. I guess this doesn't happen that often because Roky's stuff is way more accessible. The Elevators also created the greatest breakup song ever, "You're Gonna Miss Me", put to good use in the movie "High Fidelity". Buy this and the seond album "Easter Everywhere", which is almost as great. Go and buy now.

I WAS THERE..HOUSTON/LOVE ST.LITE CIRCUS/THE CATACOMBS...ELEVATORS AND THAT SIGNITURE "wicketie"SOUND THATS ON MANY SONGS LIKE ROLLERCOASTER...WHO NEEDED SAN FRANCISCO...ROKY AND THE ELEVATORS CONSISTANTLY DID THEIR 20 MINUTE FREAK OUT...WITH BOLD NEW SOUNDS NO ONE HAD EVER HEARD ,,OR HAS SINCE...SLIP INSIDE THIS HOUSE WAS PROPHETIC ANDFULL OF IMAGERY...AND I STILL LISTEN TO SPLASH ONE TODAY..".DON'T PASS IT BY"
ALIAS/KPFT RADIO/HOUSTON

I had the pleasure to grow up in the years when the Elevators performed and lived just down the street from Andrus Studios where Easter Everywhere was recorded.

There is a tribute band in Austin called The Tommy Hall Schedule that does a superb tribute to the Elevators music with state of the art recording quality. I would recommend any Elevators fan getting their cd at their website, www.tommyhallschedule.com. Don't judge the cd quality by the live downloads at their site, though.

I'm afraid not. I hate to be a dissenter, but "Psychedelic Sounds" is quite simply run-of-the-mill 60s garage rock. Some of the tracks are noteworthy (You're Gonna Miss Me), others, however, are unlistenable. How much the sound quality (which is horrible) plays into this is hard to determine.