The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators

Started strongly and then made 34 minutes feel like a very long time. Almost like they threw every musical genre going into a bag, added an electric jug, and took pot luck on what came out 2*

Decent psychedelic rock but unless you’re really in the mood, it ran just a bit too long. 2.75/5

this is why I hate 60s psychedelic stuff. it's just "we took a load of drugs and then whined on a guitar for a bit".

Some grimey psych that I enjoyed more than I thought I would

another 60s psychedelic rock, sound pretty high like tripping in the sky

More '60s hippies - I could have done without this! And it's a letdown, since it starts off really well, but aside from the song “You're Gonna Miss Me,” nothing else really grabs my interest :-(

Horrible!!!

(Solid 7/10) A delightful psychedlic romp, with jangly guitars, energeric vocal performances and a unique spin on the sound by utilizing a Jug in the ensemble. It's quite electrifying, the thin and reverby production might be due to limitations of the technology at the time, but in a way it makes it feel tastefully raw and almost like a live performance. The first half of the album is the strongest for me, but really there's no single bad song in the bunch. I heard this a while back, and really liked it back then, and to my pleasure it still holds up even now for me. A good listen!

Front to back 5/5 BANGER. I was surprised to see this on the list but so happy it is. Roky Erickson is a legend! Tomorrow better be good or else the beginning track will be telling the truth!

Yea I’m not listening to an hour and 27 minutes of the same song twice. I found the original version which is much more compact and digestible. And I’m glad I did because this was your regular run of the mill psychedelic album. There are times when you can tell someone is high and it helps the music, this was not one of those times.

Today's listen is *The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators* by The 13th Floor Elevators, an album I was looking forward to hearing. This is a wonderfully strange record. It's a bit all over the place, mixing early psychedelic rock with raw garage rock and an almost psychobilly feel in places. There's a real energy to the music, and I particularly enjoyed the rough, slightly chaotic sound. It's not especially polished, but that's part of its charm. The opening third of the album is excellent. There's some great guitar playing, plenty of attitude and a wonderfully distinctive sound. "You're Gonna Miss Me" is an absolute belter and a fantastic way to open the record. It's raw, catchy and full of energy, exactly the sort of music I enjoy. Unfortunately, as the album progresses, I found myself losing interest a little. The songs start to sound quite similar, and what initially feels exciting and unusual becomes rather repetitive. There's plenty to enjoy, but I think the album could have benefited from a little more variety. By the end, it felt longer than it needed to be. That said, I still enjoyed listening to it. There's something very appealing about the band's sound, and I can appreciate how adventurous and unusual this music must have been when it was first released in the 1960s. It's rough around the edges, slightly mad and good fun. Overall, *The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators* is an enjoyable album with some excellent moments. It starts brilliantly and loses a little momentum as it goes on, but there's enough energy and character here to make it worth a listen. I wouldn't call it a classic from start to finish, but I certainly enjoyed it. Favourite track: "You're Gonna Miss Me". What a great song! Full of energy, attitude and a fantastic garage-rock sound. Least favourite track: Nothing particularly bad. The album becomes a little repetitive towards the end, but it's still a fun listen overall. Album artwork: Very cool, colourful and wonderfully psychedelic. A brilliant cover that perfectly captures the spirit of the music.

Solid psychedelic album, just not something I personally connected with Might give it another chance in a different mood or setting

eh not my fave

Heard one song from it before. Finally a solid psychedelic album, some other albums from the era sound a bit more repetitive and boring 3/5

A bit all over the place but quite good fun.

Feel like this is very much "my dad's music" but it was good enough.

Now you are absolutely talking RGP, what a super treat on a wet Autumn early Thursday morning in Watford. A great LP, one of my favourite songs is “Fire Engine” and I always like to think that Davy Henderson named his band after it!!!!!!! Four lovely stars❤️❤️❤️❤️ Tom.

Didn't do a whole lot for me which may be because I couldnt hear the lyrics Favorite song: Reverberation

I was a little hopeful that this would sound like a psych album given it’s the first one and… my hopes were granted. Wish all the other 60’s psych rock albums actually felt as psychedelic as this does

Definitely one of the most Psychedelic sounding albums on the list. idk this real raw sound doesn't appeal to me, it just feels like it misses the refinement I like in albums. Although, I can see why this is on the list (I can't say that about a lot of other psychedelic rock stuff).

3/5

Would not buy

Ništa spektakularno ali kad se uzme u obzir godina izlaženja poprilično impresivno.

early psychobilly kinda, i lowkey fuck with it

Хорошие мужики я под них дремал в 18 лет

Great album, really enjoyed it, a bunch of different old vibes in it and one or two cover songs, really liked it.

Hva i svarte

This was pretty overwhelming. I often enjoy the more pleasant side of this genre but this wasn't one of those albums. That "duckaduckaDUCKAduck" sound will haunt my dreams for life. I need a lie down after that.

I enjoyed the first third. Then it just got repetitive and way too long.

Average psych rock but enjoyable

Ei

No entiendo el motivo de este álbum de estar en esta lista. Sinceramente, a qué artista influyó? No tiene sentido. Ojo no me parece un álbum desastroso pero no lo pondría en esta lista.

Far out mannnnn

Roky rules

I’m conflicted and don’t think I like it. The pigeon noises are grating. Rating:2/5 GEMV (09.10.2026)

What makes music ‘psychedelic’? Longer instrumental sections? No pop appeal? An instrument that sounds like bubbles giggling? This sounds like music of its time. Maybe it was ahead of its time? I wasn’t alive, I don’t know. Not bad. 3 stars

3.5 rounded down. Mick Jagger-like vocals (other than Monkey Island, where he sounds like Janis Joplin). Pretty decent 60s psychedelic rock/pop. I like that he makes monkey noises on Monkey Island. It’s a vibe. This isn’t my favorite musical style, though, so won’t ascend to a 4.

Ripper of a psych rock album. Very understandable how Roky influenced so many in the Austin scene and beyond.

Not on Apple Music. Rating based on other album.

Oh yippee 🙄 Joka biisissä toistuu tosi ärsyttävä ääni / elementti. Ei oo mun musaa.

This was fun. I’d never heard of this band. Def psychedelic and trippy. They used a weird whistley instrument thingy.

The psychedelic years brought a lot of crap in the form of music... but that’s not the case here; this one is really good.

Is it from the 60s? No but it seems like it could have been. Perfectly listenable but unnecessarily long

Really surprised how much I like this - was not expecting to like a psychedelic album.

Grooovy maaaan!

Not really my thing. The whole album passed me by like loud, poorly recorded noise. I don't really do this kind of music.

The 13th Floor Elevators put “psychedelic” in the album title, but to my ears the music still sounds closer to raw garage rock than the psychedelia I associate with 1967. The electric jug adds a strange bubbling sound, and the band certainly has energy, but I kept expecting the songs to take me somewhere a little more peculiar. There’s charm in how rough and eager it all sounds. Still, having heard what other bands would do just a year later, I find this less adventurous than the title suggests. That may be an unfair expectation to bring to an early record, but it’s where I end up: happy to hear the beginnings, more excited by what followed.

Well it was different-kept me occupied on the tarmac in Rome waiting for a plane to take off. Particular mention for the electric jug.

Quite a mash up, good in places, but perhaps electric jugs should stick to boiling water.

Sounded a bit like the Rolling Stones. But not nearby as good.

Wish I could give half points. Not a 3 or a 2. Not the most interesting music to me but maybe something that just didn’t click on first listen. Some cool guitar riffs

Þessi fær þrjár bara fyrir jug-hljóðfærið.

After I saw the Album Cover, the tags and the titel i expected it to be worse. But wasn't good either

The psychedelic vibe and hippy feel of it are very 60’s. I kinda feel like they totally had a feel for that and influenced the hell out of the rest of that “movement” with both the use of the term “psychedelic” and this sound. The record really rocks at times, it’s “far out” at times and it is interesting at times. This sound isn't uniquely theirs, but it this record certainly did contribute to that counterculture sound of the era. It is the first known recording to use an amplified jug… yes, that’s a thing. But there’s a particular tone on something - perhaps that very jug, which is distracting, annoying and deeply irritating throughout the record. It’s a high warble sound. It makes the record uncomfortable even during the parts I liked. But throughout, there’s that odd sound that just makes it hard to get through and makes me not want to listen again. I feel and hear the influence. I’ve listened. And I will likely never revisit it.

Psychedelic, sure.. I didn't expect it to be quite that bad.

65

I don’t even think this would sound good on psychedelics.

Day1000 - it sounds exactly how i thought it would, a mix of every sixties psychedelic band

Mad whirring sound they've added here, no idea what that is but it's epic.

Wow, this was great and the reason I love this list so much. I loved the psychedelic guitar sounds so much.

Oh man another 60s psychedelic rock album? That's like, six in a row now.

Did Christopher Walkin produce this? "What this album needs is more electric jug!" Besides that bit of annoyance, the album is raw, engaging, and just plain classic psychedelic rock.

I mean, they have one good song and then other songs that sounds like it

So many albums on this list are just middle of the road. This was on but felt very dated, I'm sure it was a fresh and exciting sound as the time, and perhaps influential, but these days it sounds like a time warp.

Boring

Far out.

This could be good if I was taking shrooms but alas I am straight edge. So this is shit.

Arguably the first Psychedelic Rock album. In that regard, it is of the utmost historical important. Outside of that context, it's still pretty good, but not really on the level of the real masterpieces of the genre. Key tracks: You're Gonna Miss Me Splash 1 You Don't Know (How Young You Are)

gutes album würde es wieder hören

how exhausting

The stupid fucking wobbling noise got irritating 2 songs in. This sucks. Its like if a joke band like The Monkees didn't know they were a joke. Maybe a little harsh, but very few albums on this list have given me such a visceral feeling of rage.

Much less the psychedelic than expected. If I’m pushing the button for the 13th floor, I want to get a lot higher

I not knew the opening track from “High Fidelity” and everyone after that movie came out would talk about this band like they discovered them from the beginning (even though they were born in the 70s). So I wrote them off. Track 2 “Roller coaster” is great and feels like a surf song. Love it. On track three. This album is way better than I expected.

This album encapsulates everything you could want from ‘60s psychedelic music: a gritty garage rock sound, unconventional instruments, and raw production techniques that amplify the psychedelic vibe. For those familiar with this album, the distinctive bubbling and warbling noise of the “electric” jug stands out. Despite its name, it’s actually a ceramic jug. Tommy Hall used a microphone to amplify its sound, integrating it seamlessly with the other instruments. This album remains a fan favorite within the psychedelic community, thanks to its uniqueness and forward-thinking approach that helped redefine the ’60s counterculture movement.

poopy

tbf really enjoyable

Didn’t love running to it

That's just not for me

1.8 kinda ass, it was well made to an extent, but there was no part of the songs that i kind of looked forward to. It was boring and stale in that sense. Not trying to hate I am just trying to contextualise my issues with the album

I knew You're Gonna Miss Me. This was fine, kind of boring. It was very 60's and psychedelic.

Decent enough psychedelia

I'm all for psych rock and alternative music from this time period, but this is a little too dense for me to truly enjoy.

Some really good old music, except most of the vocals ruined it for me. Too goofy

Meh. Don't care too much one way or the other. Not too bad.

I was into it--my only exposure to Roky had been a tribute album that R.E.M. was on, so it was nice to hear some lyrics. The jug was weird, but overall the songs were great and I would totally buy an old used version of this album and show it off.

This was perhaps worth listening to as a time capsule of a moment. But it’s an awful listen.

Hell yeah. I like Easter Everywhere more but the early days definitely deserve major reps. Admittedly, the jug is quite annoying but they (probably apocryphally) tuned it based on how much weed was in it and that's based. Review review: the top review guy is the biggest coward I've ever laid eyes on. Roky gets an extra star for old mate.

I enjoyed this more than I was expecting to Playlist add: “Reverberation”

6/10… psychedelic rock / *1966

This had some interesting aspects. I didn’t finish both albums but it was solid enough.

This one was super interesting. You could hear the influence on the genre

Talk about your drugged out jug band. For this, their debut album, these guys tripped at every rehearsal, recording, and performance in their native Texas in the 60's, when LSD wasn't yet illegal, but marijuana was! So legal troubles with pot and the health effects of heavy drug use cut them down early (well, after 3 albums), but they still pioneered the psych rock sound at the cost of their bodies and livelihoods. I can hear their influence in Matt Berry's music, and the seeds sown for many other artists. That it sounds a lot like most other psych rock outfits in the 60's-80's shows how strong an impression they made on the scene. The weird woobly sound present in many tracks may be the amplified jug player, which I find awesome in concept but excessive on first listen. Ymmv!

I actually enjoyed this much more than I thought I would - it's weird and goofy and very dated, but also very listenable. Not something would return to often, but an interesting footnote all the same, probably quite influential.

Liked it. Not enough to run out and buy it, but better than a lot of the stuff on the list.

There are a lot of 60s albums that just sound like typical 60s albums.

This is getting a lot of grace for when it came out. This is the type of psychedelic work that rightly got reigned in and refocused. The Kingdom of Heaven would really hit if you were in their headspace. They know what they're doing but there's some real nonsense sound work going on here. The fact that it's a debut makes a lot of sense

It probably isn't important for people know that the electric jug exists or what it sounds like. The audio engineering is pretty poor.

This was OK. I doubt that I’ll remember anything about it tomorrow. I added “You’re Gonna Miss Me” to my playlist.

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Sound quality is quite bad. Typical 70s rock