The The 13th Floor Elevators

The 13th Floor Elevators were one of the pioneering bands of American psychedelic rock, and their small but visionary body of work has won them a devoted following, but they've had a hard time earning the respect and historical notice they've deserved. There are many reasons for this, but the often-shoddy treatment of their recorded legacy doubtless has a great deal to do with it…

The Psychedelic Sounds of… is the Elevators’ ground-breaking debut from 1966 and lays claim to being the first psychedelic rock album—and is certainly the first to use the word 'psychedelic'. Known for founder Tommy Hall’s use of the electric jug and Roky Erickson’s emotive singing of Hall’s poetic lyrics. This edition of The Psychedelic Sounds of… features the mono mix on picture disc vinyl using the original cover artwork, which was recently chosen by the UK’s National Album Day as one of the best 70 album sleeves of all time, and best sleeve from 1966. 2019 Record Store Day exclusive. Limited to 1000 copies.

A spotty but basically worthwhile three-disc set, Collectables' 1966-1967 Unreleased Masters Collection scours the International Artists vault for previously unreleased songs, alternate takes, rehearsals, and demos of songs that appeared on The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators and Easter Everywhere, and a couple of live cuts for good measure…

This collection brings together tracks from the Elevators 1966 performances in San Francisco and Houston, plus bonus tracks from Roky’s solo performances in the early ‘70s.

2023 collection from the psych rock icons. Each original source has been referenced to the earliest vinyl pressing and meticulously transferred at 96khz 24-bit resolution. Multitrack tapes of the original recording sessions have been newly mixed in strict accordance with the records as first released.

This deluxe reissue boasts the superlative, punchy mono mix, heretofore unavailable on CD, along with ten bonus tracks - seven of which are previously unissued - thereby doubling the length of the original album. The 36-page booklet examines the Seeds’ early career in unprecedented detail, based on fresh research and interviews with the surviving participants. Keyboard player Daryl Hooper - the true architect of the Seeds sound - opened his files to share a swathe of incredible, rarely seen illustrations.
Of the great garage punk bands of the 1960s, some were louder (the Sonics), some were angrier (the Music Machine), and some were trippier (the 13th Floor Elevators), but few seemed like a bad influence on so many levels as the Seeds…

Of the great garage punk bands of the 1960s, some were louder (the Sonics), some were angrier (the Music Machine), and some were trippier (the 13th Floor Elevators), but few seemed like a bad influence on so many levels as the Seeds. The Seeds had long hair, a gloriously lamentable fashion sense, an attitude that was at once petulant and lackadaisical, and music that sounded aimless, horny, agitated, and stoned all at once. Is it any wonder America's delinquent youth loved them? The Seeds' aural signature was as distinctive as any band of their era, and they got a bit fancier with their formula as they went along, but they never captured their essential seediness with more impressive concision than they did on their self-titled debut album from 1966…