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Vinyl: "PSYCHEDELIC SOUNDS OF THE 13TH FLOOR ELEVATORS" 1967 2nd PRESS ~ RARE PSYCH LP
178.50 USD
49.99 USD
30 Oct 2022
23 Oct 2022
19 bids
3310
179
United States
Used
INTERNATIONAL ARTIST
Not Specified
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"THE PSYCHEDELIC SOUNDS OF THE 13TH FLOOR ELEVATORS"
THE THIRTEENTH FLOOR ELEVATORS
TITLE: "THE PSYCHEDELIC SOUNDS OF THE 13TH FLOOR ELEVATORS"
LABEL: INTERNATIONAL ARTISTS ~ IA-LP-1 / L.P. - 1A - No. 1
PRESSING: 1967 2nd PRESSING ~ FIRST BACK COVER VARIANT
FORMAT: VINYL BLACK LP ~ STEREO ~ 1967 FIRST BACK SLEEVE VARIANT
RELEASE DATE: JANUARY 1967 ORIGINAL RELEASE: OCTOBER 17, 1966)
RECORDED AT: Summit Sound Studio, Dallas, Texas
PRODUCERS: Lelan Rogers & Gordon Bynum
PUBLISHER: TAPIER MUSIC CORPORATION
PRINTING: TANNER 'N' TEXAS, INC. SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS
COVER ART: JOHN CLEVELAND
MATRIX (A): ETCHED (S) 1-A #1 B1 SIDE 1
MATRIX (B): ETCHED (S) 1-A #1 B1 SIDE 2 (w/ CROSSED OUT LETTER AFTER 'A')
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I've been going thru my massive vinyl record collection this summer and pulling out some LPs that I thought that someone else would want for their collection. I've been collecting records for over 40 years and it's time to pass some of them on to the next generation of collectors.
This week on EBay I am offering up this fantastic original 1967 Copy of "THE PSYCHEDELIC SOUNDS OF THE 13TH FLOOR ELEVATORS"
This is the second pressing, with the first alternative back cover, released in January 1967. This is my original copy that I've taken great care of for many years. I've owned this copy for nearly 40 years.
This is a January 1967 release of this classic psych LP. It has the crossed out 's' in the Matrix on side 2, which, along with 2 lines of text, instead of 3, under the IA Logo, is the way to identify these early pressings. It also still has Track 4 Side 1, misspelled as 'Reverbaration' on the label. It has the 'Tapier Music' and the full address for the printer on the back label.
It should be noted that the vinyl looks quite chewed up and scratched. It is. The good news is that the record still plays thru all the damage with only some pops and clicks. See my full description of the jacket and vinyl condition below.
This is normally a very high-dollar record. The Discogs Median sales price this morning was almost $400. I'm starting this at a reasonable $50 as I want it to go to a good new home.
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THE PSYCHEDELIC SOUNDS OF THE 13th FLOOR ELEVATOR
This is the great psychedelic first album by The 13th Floor Elevators, 'The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators' released in the Fall of 1966.
This was one of the few albums from the early years of the Psych movement that really sounded trippy, psychedelic and different.
People forget that this album came out of the very early Psychedelic scene in Texas, well before the San Francisco Scene became a thing. The 13th Floor Elevators were true trailblazers in the psychedelic rock scene.
The 13th Floor Elevators were one of the earliest bands to set the foundation of the psychedelic sounds of the 60s. The odd songwriting, the trippy lyrics and atmosphere, odd instrumentation, and hypnotic sounds on the album were unlike almost any other music at the time - an unquestionable milestone for music.
This album is hailed as one of the First true Psychedelic albums, from start to finish, but people don't realize that it was also a trailblazer, sowing the seeds of Garage and Punk as well.
The album really is a mind-twisting, zonked out, down right hallucinogenic trip into the inner space of consciousness, which is what the band intended. Among the trippyest albums I have ever had the pleasure of listening through.
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Many of the songs on this album feel like a drug-fueled battle between fuzzy, angry guitar solos, frantic electric jug playing, and Roky's growling voice. The album is fueled by equal measures of chemicals and insanity, in a good way.
The album was recorded at Summit Sound Studios, Dallas, in the summer of 1966. Some collectors, with critical ears, claim the production and mixing is lacking, but that wasn't the Band's intent. It's recorded purely and simply. The lack of studio trickery, overdubs, and lack of extended guitar solos squarely places the record in the garage rock and proto-punk traditions. It's raw and powerful, which adds to it's charm. These guys lived the psychedelic lifestyle and it's reflected in their work. The Elevators were just a bunch of spaced out kids with something to say.
This is a very Psychedelic album, but the Band's Psychedelic leanings weren't all mellow, laid back, pretty shapes and colors. They took their Psychedelia seriously, as an active force of social, musical, and psychological change. It was a very deeply felt philosophy.
The liner notes on the back cover, written by "Elevators", was mostly written by Tom Hall and laid out his Narcotic and Psychedelic philosophy on life. Man's freedom to change his mind chemically and find new ways to view the world. He describes how all the songs are connected to the band's philosophy.
As Jug master Tommy Hall said of the album: "I was real interested in introducing people to the ideas and insights I was gaining through my use of LSD"
This album just drips spaced-out, acid-drenched Texas garage rock. Among the trippiest albums from the era. A true mind-expander.
This raw and raucous debut by the Texan Psych band is a 'must have' for every psych and garage collector. Mindblowing!
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At the peak of their success, the band appeared on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand TV Show. After they performed, Clark innocently asked Hall, “Who is the head of the band?” Hall's response was, “We’re all heads.” I think that sums up the Elevators.
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CONDITION:
I tried to show good hi-resolution photos of the cover, labels and vinyl in my pictures.
VINYL: Please Note that the vinyl has some serious marks, scuffs and scratches, making it look much worse than it plays.
A collector friend of mine summed it up nicely by stating, "It Looks Like Somebody Ice Skated on it". It does, BUT, amazingly it plays through all the damage and sounds quite good, with only a few pops and clicks. Quite tolerable to the ears.
I was reluctant to play this on my high-end system, and spun it first on my Son's lower end system. It played thru fine. I then played it on my high end turntable, several times, and it plays thru all the scratches and scuffs amazingly well.
It does have a few pops and crackles, but amazingly tracks thru fine with no skipping.
I played it several times, partly to double check that it tracked OK, but also because I had forgotten what a great album it was. It's an amazing album and has a great soundstage in Stereo.
So, what I'm saying is that this LP plays MUCH better than it looks. I own a great re-issue of this and haven't played this original '67 copy in many years, but was pleasantly surprised. It plays OK and has no major play issues other than some pops and crackles.
I figured that somebody would like this 1967 original pressing for their collection despite the vinyl flaws. As you know if you're reading this, ANY early pressing of this album is exceedingly rare. Plus the original Jacket is just fantastic, the reissues don't come close to the DIY look, feel and colors of an original.
LABELS: This pressing has the early Teal Blue and Silver ' International Artist' labels.
The labels are in great condition, no marks or writing. The spindle holes are clean, suggesting minimal or very careful play. The labels look fine, compared to the condition of the grooves, noted above. These early IA labels still have track 4 misprinted as 'Reverbaration' which was corrected on later pressings.
JACKET:
This 1967 Jacket looks and feels fantastic. It just oozes 60s Psychedelia. The colors are fantastic, the pink and green text on the back has a great DIY Underground Press look and feel to it. John Cleveland's trippy cover artwork is still bold and bright; a real Psychedelic Statement at the time. The sleeve is made of old school, thick cardboard and there are no seam splits or corner bumps. There is some mild ringwear to the cover which I tried to show in a close-up photo, but the cover still looks great.
There is a small stain on the back cover, to the left of the 'all-seeing eye' at the top of the pyramid.
Overall, still in great condition for an original 50+ year old Psych record. A real survivor.
There's just a very cool, and very real 'energy' that you can sense holding this old jacket in your hands. You don't get that holding the reissues.
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THE 13TH FLOOR ELEVATORS
The 13th Floor Elevators were a remarkable band.
Roky Erickson seems to have ended up with all the credit for the Elevators all these years later, but it was really a cohesive tight band, with each member adding something unique and special.
The Thirteenth Floor Elevators were really the brainchild of Tommy Hall.
Tommy Hall was a Science major at U of Texas in Austin. He was Intelligent, philosophical and curious, and soon hooked with up a group of Austin bohemians who were experimenting with peyote. That soon led to LSD, which was legal in the summer of 1965, which Hall believed was a tool for reaching higher levels of psychological and spiritual evolution.
Hall also played Jug in a Folk band. Hall 'psychedelicized' his Jug by electrifying it and placing the microphone close to the opening, which gave the jug a haunting, spacey, spiritual sound. He added psychedelic lyrics and invented a whole new musical territory.
Hall recruited several local musicians from Kerryville, TX; Stacy Sutherland (guitar), Benny Thurman (bass), and John Ike Walton (drums) and formed the early version of the Elevators.
The final link was Roky Erickson.
Erickson was a local Teen who was in a band called the Spades. They had a regional 1965 hit with a song Erickson wrote called “You’re Gonna Miss Me.” Erickson was a decent guitar player with a powerful voice, and sooned joined the Elevators.
They were good enough to get a recording contract with a small Houston record company called International Artists. In January 1966, the band recorded two songs for producer Gordon Bynum to be released as a 45 single. The songs were Erickson’s “You’re Gonna Miss Me”, which he had previously recorded with the Spades, and Hall-Sutherland’s “Tried to Hide.” Both of these ended up on the Album.
"You're Gonna Miss Me" is one of the best opening tracks of any album ever made. It's quite edgy for the time, with the electric jug and guitars going wild.
A furious break-up song, sung by Erickson with spite and revealing the dark recesses of his mind. “You’re Gonna Miss Me” eventually broke nationally, peaking at #55 on the Billboard charts, and becoming the band’s one and only “hit.” It was used to great effect in the Film 'High Fidelity'
Most of the Lyrics and many of the songs on this first album were written bt Hall. The others added their skills and influence to flesh out the songs. drummer John Ike Walton's drumming tied it all together.
Erickson then laid down his wild-man growling vocals over the songs to create a unique atmosphere.
Stacy Sutherland's melodies and piercing guitar puts the perfect mood on the songs. His playing is a real treat to hear. His slashing, stinging, ripping guitar work perfectly punctuates Erickson's growling confrontational vocals. Stacy Sutherland's playing on this album here is a benchmark for any psychedelic guitar player.
Hall's acid poetry flows thru every song on 'The Psychedelic Sounds' (aside from "You're Gonna Miss Me", Erickson's lone contribution).
Hall's psychedelic, bluesy, electrified Jug was the main creative force and is what really sets this album apart and sends it into space. The Jug acts as percussion, lead instrument and bass, all at he same time.
Hall's strange, unhinged electric jug sound rather dominates this album. Some people can't handle a full album of it, but it is very psychedelic and different. Nobody played electric jug quite like Tommy Hall, and his oddball noises gave the band a truly unique sonic texture. Trippy and psychedelic.
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The Elevators went on to record several more albums but by 1968 the band was being destroyed by conflicting opinions and heavy drug use.
Roky Erickson was then arrested, again, in 1969, for Marijuana possession. It was the end of the group for all practical purposes. The penalty at that time for being caught with one joint was twenty years in jail.
Erickson tried to avoid a long jail sentence by pleading insanity on the advice of his lawyer. That backfired and Erickson ended up getting committed to a mental institution called Rusk State Hospital. There he was subjected to repeated shock treatments and powerful psychoactive drugs. He was never the same.
He was eventually released and went on to record some solo material, which, oddly, was more popular than the Elevators ever had been.
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Add this fantastic album to your collection today. It would make a great addition to any vinyl record collection.
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I’m recently retired and downsizing and letting go some gems and rarities from nearly 45 years of vinyl record collecting. Check out the many other fantastic 45s and 33s coming soon to my page!
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