1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: 72. The 13th Floor Elevators – The Psychedelic Sounds of - (1966)

 

This is, apparently, the first time that the word “psychedelic” is applied to this kind of music, the electric drone, fuzzy guitar, jazz or Indian-inspired occasionally atonal soloing, dream-like vocals, and occasionally a bit of sitar. Not on this album, but they do have the “electric jug”. This is a ... jug, as you might find in the folky jug bands, but with amplification. Not only that, but the jug player, Tommy Hall, plays it in a fashion that is more vocalising than the usual style as if it were a brass instrument. The result is a distinctive “wibbling” sound that pervades all of the tunes on this album.  

Sometimes I write up my thoughts in full after listening to an album, sometimes I make some sketchy notes and fill it in later. For this album, I didn’t note down, and couldn’t remember later, any stand-out tracks, which I think says something about the album as a whole; it’s more an experience than perhaps a collection of truly notable songs. 

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