13th Floor Elevators

Formed in Austin, TX, in 1965, the 13th Floor Elevators were one of the first psychedelic rock groups. Their cult status, however, is based on the tragic mental breakdown suffered by their resident musical genius, Roky Erickson, in 1969. Headed by the LSD philosopher-poet Tommy Hall, their first album, despite its exceedingly far-out sound, went as high as number 56 on the Billboard pop chart. The Interpreter, along with the second volume of this set, collects all the extant Elevators material, studio and live tracks included. The first volume sticks fairly close to the Elevators' first album, The Psychedelic Sounds Of (thought to include the first musical use of the word psychedelic), with a few additional live tracks. From the trashy, spaced out blues vamp of "Fire in My Bones" to the beautiful, plaintive "Dust," the album bears out Erickson's tremendous songwriting ability. Other notable tracks include the sweet lament of "For Brian Jones"; the total garage rock absurdity of "Fire Engine," which features Hall's insane electric jug sounds; and their charting hit, "You're Gonna Miss Me." From these cuts, it's easy to see why the Elevators were a seminal acid rock band and good friends with West Coast bands like the Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead. ~ Brian Whitener, All Music Guide