Cover of The 13th Floor Elevators The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators
Lord Of Nothing

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For fans of the 13th floor elevators,lovers of psychedelic rock,listeners interested in 1960s music history,collectors of classic rock,explorers of experimental music
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LA RECENSIONE

The genesis of psychedelia is here, in these grooves, in this expanded space filled with luminescent reverberations.

"You're Gonna Miss Me" is the most famous song, perhaps overrated, but nothing more than an entertaining raga; already "Roller Coaster" stands as an ode to lysergic ecstasy with its mind open to decades of future music. The exhausting juggling that characterizes the whole album here is fascinating and paradigmatic; in "Splash 1" begins what ended in "You're Gonna Miss Me", love. The song is almost blues, delicate and sorrowful with lysergic splashes here and there. "Reverberation" is the fruit of an acid trip, evidently, and comes from a hidden and strange corner of the minds of Hall, Erickson, and Southerland; "Don't Fall Down" is a negligible little song like "You Don't Know"; "Fire Engine" is psychopathic, and Hall's exhausting use of the jug starts to become truly annoying.

The other songs neither add nor subtract anything from the album, which remains a milestone more for what it started than for its actual quality, since it is still rather crude.

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Summary by Bot

The 13th Floor Elevators' debut album is recognized as the genesis of psychedelia, featuring standout tracks like "You’re Gonna Miss Me" and "Roller Coaster." While some songs highlight innovative sounds and expanded musical spaces, others fall short or feel repetitive. The album's rawness and experimental nature make it more important historically than for its refined quality.

Tracklist Videos

01   You're Gonna Miss Me (02:30)

02   Roller Coaster (05:07)

03   Splash 1 (Now I'm Home) (03:56)

04   Reverberation (Doubt) (02:51)

05   Don't Fall Down (03:03)

06   Fire Engine (03:23)

07   Thru the Rhythm (03:10)

08   You Don't Know (How Young You Are) (02:59)

09   Kingdom of Heaven (03:11)

10   Monkey Island (02:40)

11   Tried to Hide (02:47)

The 13th Floor Elevators

American psychedelic rock band formed in Austin, Texas, in 1965. Fronted by Roky Erickson with Tommy Hall’s electric jug and Stacy Sutherland’s guitar, they pioneered a raw, hallucinatory garage-psych sound. Their key releases include The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators (1966), Easter Everywhere (1967), and Bull of the Woods (1969).
06 Reviews

Other reviews

By psychopompe

 The 13th Floor Elevators embody the most spontaneous and sincere idea of psychedelia.

 This very instrument with its disorienting sound… gives the compositions a subtly unsettling and deeply hallucinogenic character.


By CaseyJones

 "You’re Gonna Miss Me" created an epochal song, a forerunner of a very cerebral and distorted album.

 Forty years later, the charm of the work remains intact in its raw, and perhaps even desperate, sound.