The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators

Background

The August 1966 album back cover credits the words "the psychedelic sounds of: The 13th Floor Elevators", which is purported to be the first use of the word "psychedelic" in reference to the music within. Two other bands also used the word in titles of LPs released in November 1966: The Blues Magoos' Psychedelic Lollipop, and The Deep's Psychedelic Moods.

In 2005, The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators was remastered and reissued in compact disc format by Charly Records, a British record label specialised in reissued material. It included bonus tracks of the band's 1966 performance at the Avalon Ballroom, a music venue in the Polk Gulch neighborhood of San Francisco, and both sides of a single, "We Sell Soul" and "You're Gonna Miss Me", from Roky Erickson's pre-13th Floor Elevators band, The Spades.

In 2009, the original mono version was released as part of the "Sign of the 3-Eyed Men" box set. The set also featured a new, alternate stereo version which retained the band's original intended track listing, as well as false starts on some of the tracks (the International Artists label had altered the track listing without the band's consent when the album was first released). Both versions on the box set featured different bonus tracks, some that were previously unreleased.

The album was included in Robert Dimery's 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Original band track listing

1. "You Don't Know (How Young You Are)" (Powell St. John)
2. "Through the Rhythm" (T. Hall, S. Sutherland)
3. "Monkey Island" (Powell St. John)
4. "Roller Coaster" (T. Hall, R. Erickson)
5. "Fire Engine" (T. Hall, S. Sutherland, R. Erickson)
6. "Reverberation" (T. Hall, S. Sutherland. R. Erickson)
7. "Tried to Hide"* (T. Hall, S. Sutherland)
8. "You're Gonna Miss Me" (R. Erickson)
9. "I've Seen Your Face Before (Splash 1)" (C. Hall, R. Erickson)
10. "Don't Fall Down" (T. Hall, R. Erickson)
11. "The Kingdom of Heaven (Is Within You)" (Powell St. John)

Side one

1. "You're Gonna Miss Me" (R. Erickson) – 2:24
2. "Roller Coaster" (T. Hall, R. Erickson) – 5:00
3. "Splash 1 (Now I'm Home)" (C. Hall, R. Erickson) – 3:50
4. "Reverberation" (T. Hall, S. Sutherland. R. Erickson) – 2:46
5. "Don't Fall Down" (T. Hall, R. Erickson) – 3:00

Side two

1. "Fire Engine" (T. Hall, S. Sutherland, R. Erickson) – 3:22
2. "Thru the Rhythm" [sic] (T. Hall, S. Sutherland) – 3:05
3. "You Don't Know" (Powell St. John) – 2:38
4. "Kingdom of Heaven" (Powell St. John) – 3:05
5. "Monkey Island" (Powell St. John) – 2:38
6. "Tried to Hide" (T. Hall, S. Sutherland) – 2:43

2005 Charly Records bonus tracks

1. Everybody Needs Somebody to Love (Russell, Wexler, S. Burke) - 5:15
2. Before You Accuse Me (El. McDaniel) - 2:33
3. I'm Gonna Love You Too (J. Mauldin, N. Sullivan, N. Petty) - 1:53
4. You Really Got Me (R. Davies) - 6:17
5. Roll Over Beethoven (C. Berry) - 2:46
6. The Word (J. Lennon, P. McCartney) - 2:49
7. Gloria (V. Morrison) - 3:55
8. She Lives (In a Time of Her Own) (R. Erickson, T. Hall) -3:03
9. We Sell Soul (The Spades) (R. Erickson) - 3:21
10. You're Gonna Miss Me (The Spades) (R. Erickson) - 3:25

Personnel

Production