Album: The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators
Artist: 13th Floor Elevators
Born: Austin, Texas
Released: November 1966
Genre: Psychedelia
Influenced: The Doors, Stooges, Television, Primal Scream
Far away in Texas, a very new form of pyschedelic music was evolving out of garage rock, a uniquely American genre of primitive, DIY rock & roll (the "garage" indicates that many bands would start out literally in their parents' garage). One famous example of this sound is Louie, Louie by the Kingsmen. This lineage almost exists outside the pop mainstream, making garage rock a huge source of inspiration for punk rockers in the 70s. 13th Floor Elevators took garage rock in a totally new, mind-bending direction. Trying to nail down what constitutes the psychedelic sound is tough, but the elements on this album include guitar reverb and echo; strange instrument sounds (on this album, it's the electric jug); and wildman vocals combined with obscure lyrics. To get a sense of the electric jug in action, see this (very grainy) footage of the band performing their breakthrough single, You're Gonna Miss Me.
I discovered the band on the brilliant Nuggets compilation, which includes loads of early psychedelic gems from lesser-known bands like the Electric Prunes and the Castaways. The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators is one of the few albums from this wave of psychedelic garage rock bands that stands up on its own. As well as You're Gonna Miss Me, other gems are Splash 1, Fire Engine (later covered by Television) and my favourite, album closer Tried to Hide. Though Tommy Hall was the brains behind the band, charismatic frontman Roky Erickson would become the most famous band member, not least for being an acid casualty and a sort of American Syd Barrett-type figure. All that's far less importanrt than this album's revolutionary sound, which would be highly influential far beyond the emerging west coast psychedelic scene.
Artist: 13th Floor Elevators
Born: Austin, Texas
Released: November 1966
Genre: Psychedelia
Influenced: The Doors, Stooges, Television, Primal Scream
Far away in Texas, a very new form of pyschedelic music was evolving out of garage rock, a uniquely American genre of primitive, DIY rock & roll (the "garage" indicates that many bands would start out literally in their parents' garage). One famous example of this sound is Louie, Louie by the Kingsmen. This lineage almost exists outside the pop mainstream, making garage rock a huge source of inspiration for punk rockers in the 70s. 13th Floor Elevators took garage rock in a totally new, mind-bending direction. Trying to nail down what constitutes the psychedelic sound is tough, but the elements on this album include guitar reverb and echo; strange instrument sounds (on this album, it's the electric jug); and wildman vocals combined with obscure lyrics. To get a sense of the electric jug in action, see this (very grainy) footage of the band performing their breakthrough single, You're Gonna Miss Me.
I discovered the band on the brilliant Nuggets compilation, which includes loads of early psychedelic gems from lesser-known bands like the Electric Prunes and the Castaways. The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators is one of the few albums from this wave of psychedelic garage rock bands that stands up on its own. As well as You're Gonna Miss Me, other gems are Splash 1, Fire Engine (later covered by Television) and my favourite, album closer Tried to Hide. Though Tommy Hall was the brains behind the band, charismatic frontman Roky Erickson would become the most famous band member, not least for being an acid casualty and a sort of American Syd Barrett-type figure. All that's far less importanrt than this album's revolutionary sound, which would be highly influential far beyond the emerging west coast psychedelic scene.
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