Original released on LP International Artists IA-LP-I (mono)
(US 1966, October 17)
Did the 13th
Floor Elevators invent psychedelic rock? Aficionados will be debating that
point for decades, but if Roky Erickson and his fellow travelers into inner
space weren't there first, they were certainly close to the front of the line,
and there are few albums from the early stages of the psych movement that sound
as distinctively trippy - and remain as pleasing - as the group's
groundbreaking debut, "The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators". In
1966, psychedelia hadn't been around long enough for its clichés to be set in
stone, and "Psychedelic Sounds" thankfully avoids most of them; 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. Roky Erickson's vocals are
strong and compelling throughout, whether he's wailing like some lysergic James
Brown or murmuring quietly, and Stacy Sutherland's guitar leads - long on
melodic invention without a lot of pointless heroics - are a real treat to
hear. And nobody played electric jug quite like Tommy Hall... actually, nobody
played it at all besides him, but his oddball noises gave the band a truly
unique sonic texture. If you want to argue that psychedelia was as much a frame
of mind as a musical style, it's instructive to compare the recording of
"You're Gonna Miss Me" by Erickson's earlier band, the Spades, to the
version on this album - the difference is more attitudinal than anything else,
but it's enough to make all the difference in the world. (The division is even
clearer between the Spades' "We Sell Soul" and the rewrite on
Psychedelic Sounds, "Don't Fall Down"). 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.
