Recorded at Summit Sound Studio, Dallas, Texas. Includes original release liner notes by Lelan Rogers.

This release features a special gatefold LP style CD sleeve.

13th Floor Elevators: Roky Erickson (vocals, guitar); Stacy Sutherland (guitar); Benny Thurman (bass); John Ike Walton (drums); Tommy Hall.

Recorded in 1966.

There are so many compilations and reissues out on the 13th Floor Elevators that it's difficult to recommend one, but this small-scale, triple-CD box set does make the cut, if only for care and comprehensiveness. Essentially, this is everything they ever recorded for International Artists, the four official albums augmented by such choice bonus tracks as the Spades' version of "You're Gonna Miss Me" (plus its B-side, "We Sell Soul"), and the live 1966 San Francisco sides. Each is housed in a miniature reproduction of one of their original LP sleeves, and all of it is supported by a nicely annotated booklet. The sound on this box is exceptionally good, given 2002 standards. ~ Bruce Eder

Did the 13th Floor Elevators invent psychedelic rock? Aficionados will be debating that point for decades, but if Roky Erickson and his fellow travelers into inner space weren't there first, they were certainly close to the front of the line, and there are few albums from the early stages of the psych movement that sound as distinctively trippy -- and remain as pleasing -- as the group's groundbreaking debut, The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators. In 1966, psychedelia hadn't been around long enough for its clichés to be set in stone, and Psychedelic Sounds thankfully avoids most of them; while the sensuous twists of the melodies and the charming psychobabble of the lyrics make it sound like these folks were indulging in something stronger than Pearl Beer, at this point the Elevators sounded like a smarter-than-average folk-rock band with a truly uncommon level of intensity. Roky Erickson's vocals are strong and compelling throughout, whether he's wailing like some lysergic James Brown or murmuring quietly, and Stacy Sutherland's guitar leads -- long on melodic invention without a lot of pointless heroics -- are a real treat to hear. And nobody played electric jug quite like Tommy Hall...actually, nobody played it at all besides him, but his oddball noises gave the band a truly unique sonic texture. If you want to argue that psychedelia was as much a frame of mind as a musical style, it's instructive to compare the recording of "You're Gonna Miss Me" by Erickson's earlier band, the Spades, to the version on this album -- the difference is more attitudinal than anything else, but it's enough to make all the difference in the world. (The division is even clearer between the Spades' "We Sell Soul" and the rewrite on Psychedelic Sounds, "Don't Fall Down"). The 13th Floor Elevators were trailblazers in the psychedelic rock scene, and in time they'd pay a heavy price for exploring the outer edges of musical and psychological possibility, but along the way they left behind a few fine albums, and The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators remains a potent delight. ~ Mark Deming

The 13th Floor Elevators might have been remembered simply as one-hit wonder of the '60s--the Texas equivalent of the Count 5, for example--had it not been for two things. First, they were the only rock band in history to feature a guy playing a continuous obligato on electric jug, which added a deeply weird element to even their most straightforward three-chord rockers. Second, and perhaps more importantly, they were fronted by a genuine howling weirdo and cult figure-to-be, the incomparable Roky Erickson.

Roky, who took more acid trips than Jerry Garcia had hot meals, was nonetheless a gifted songwriter who sang every word (however bizarre) as if his life depended on it. This debut album--reputedly the first rock album on which the word 'psychedelic' appears-- features the band's sole national hit, the garage punk classic "You're Gonna Miss Me." The other material here is nearly as good, however, including the Stones-y "Reverberation" and the oft-covered "Fire Engine."

The 13th Floor Elevators might have been remembered simply as one-hit wonder of the '60s--the Texas equivalent of the Count 5, for example--had it not been for two things. First, they were the only rock band in history to feature a guy playing a continuous obligato on electric jug, which added a deeply weird element to even their most straightforward three-chord rockers. Second, and perhaps more importantly, they were fronted by a genuine howling weirdo and cult figure-to-be, the incomparable Roky Erickson.

Roky, who took more acid trips than Jerry Garcia had hot meals, was nonetheless a gifted songwriter who sang every word (however bizarre) as if his life depended on it. This debut album--reputedly the first rock album on which the word 'psychedelic' appears-- features the band's sole national hit, the garage punk classic "You're Gonna Miss Me." The other material here is nearly as good, however, including the Stones-y "Reverberation" and the oft-covered "Fire Engine."