13th Floor Elevators' debut album - best version?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Mr Sam, Sep 30, 2007.

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  1. Mr Sam

    Mr Sam "...don't look so good no more" Thread Starter

    Location:
    France
    Thanks for all the recommendations !
     
  2. MikeM

    MikeM Senior Member

    Location:
    Youngstown, Ohio
    Pardon my ignorance, but what is the provenance of the tracks on this collection?

    http://www.emusic.com/album/The-13t...-Interpreter-Vol-1-MP3-Download/11096047.html


    Most if not all seem to be alternate, earlier studio versions. Is "You're Gonna Miss Me" the Spades version? And "Catch the Wind" and "For Brian Jones" are new to me.

    I've lived with the original LPs forever and have the odd compilation with the live stuff (i.e., that includes "You Really Got Me" and "The Word"), but I've somehow missed these.


    Also, thanks Trainspotting, for the tip on the book. I had no idea it was out. I ordered it posthaste today!
     
  3. Raunchnroll

    Raunchnroll Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    Somewhere between the thread and threadcrap - but - I recently saw Roky live at Bumbershoot here last month. Standing in front of me off to the side was Peter Buck. I'll tell you what - Roky rocks at 60 or whatever he is now. He looked pretty good too and sounded great. Big snarling guitar sound and he plays some cool riffs. He did a few Elevators tunes, lots of Aliens tunes, and one or two slower blues numbers which surprisingly (or perhaps not) got a heavy positive response from the crowd.

    SEE THIS MAN IF YOU GET THE CHANCE!! A national treasure he is.
     
  4. Devotional

    Devotional Senior Member

    Location:
    Oslo, Norway
    I was negative about this release when it came out, but that is true. Roky actually receives royalities from it, and should be in your collection for that reason alone. I've bought it to friends, and recommend it as an introduction to Roky.

    It's missing several key Elevators-tracks, and Psychedelic Sounds Of and Easter Everywhere should only be heard on CD (mono and stereo) from needledrops from TexasPsych. You can also donate money to Roky there, or e-mail the trust fund at [email protected] if you want to help Roky.

    Charly and their dupe tapes have been covered before, and the French Spalax-issues beat them. Just bear in mind that they're all bootlegs, and Roky gets nothing!
     
  5. florette69

    florette69 Forum Resident

    Location:
    N France
    That final sentence isn't entirely true. We probably need to define bootleg! A legal case was settled partially in Roky's favour seven or eight years ago which required Charly to pay composer royalties, although the record company retains publishing rights.
     
  6. sberger

    sberger Dream Baby Dream

    Are the Radar lp's mono or stereo? Are they both Porky/Peckham cuts?
     
  7. fldveloce

    fldveloce the moon was a drip on a dark hood

    Location:
    Boston MA
    Stereo. and each is "a porky prime cut".

    Fred
     
  8. BradOlson

    BradOlson Country/Christian Music Maven

    I have made a library interlibrary loan for the Snapper/Charly boxed set of the 13th Floor Elevators catalog
     
  9. sberger

    sberger Dream Baby Dream

    Opinion on the sound?
     
  10. indy mike

    indy mike Forum Pest

    I don't believe any of the reissues of the 13th Floor Elevators material originally issued by International Artists have been made from 1st generation or master tapes. Some unissued IA material on tape for other artists on the label was turned up by Lelan Rogers when the Epitaph For a Legend lp set of odds and sods was put out around 1980. No one knows or has spoken up about where the IA master tapes ended up - maybe left at a studio where storage fees weren't paid and the tapes got pitched, possibly sittting in a previous owner's garage - it's one of life's little mysteries - you're gonna miss me indeed. :shake:
     
  11. Platterpus

    Platterpus Senior Member

    Hold your dough boys. I noticed about a week ago Sundazed has this coming out on vinyl soon.
     
  12. indy mike

    indy mike Forum Pest

    Hmmmmmmm.....
     
  13. rene smalldridge

    rene smalldridge Senior Member

    Location:
    manhattan,kansas
    Hmmmmmmm is right. Does anybody know what source Sundazed will be using on their vinyl release? They are usually pretty reliable but on this particular title- the source is ALL IMPORTANT this late in the game. And will it be mono or stereo?H-mmmm-mmm.
     
  14. Platterpus

    Platterpus Senior Member


    No specifics on their site in regard to the mix or source. Below is more stuff in the works:


    • UPCOMING RELEASES
    April 2008:

    Sundazed Compact Disc

    • LIVERPOOL FIVE: The Best of Liverpool Five CD

    Euphoria Jazz LP

    • KENNY BURRELL: Blue Bash LP

    • KENNY BURRELL: A Night at the Vanguard LP

    • WES MONTGOMERY: Movin' Wes LP

    • WES MONTGOMERY: Smokin' at the Half Note LP

    May 2008:

    Compact Disc:

    • THE BYRDS: Live at Royal Albert Hall 1971

    • THE YOUNGBLOODS: Elephant Mountain

    High-Definition Vinyl LP:

    • SPIRIT: Clear

    • BIG BROTHER & THE HOLDING COMPANY: s/t

    • THE 13th FLOOR ELEVATORS: The Psychedelic Sounds of...

    • BUBBLE PUPPY: A Gathering of Promises

    • THE PRETTY THINGS: Singles '64-68

    • THE BYRDS: Live at Royal Albert Hall, 1971

    7" Vinyl:

    • THE INTERNATIONAL SUBMARINE BAND: mono EP

    • GENE CLARK: "Only Colombe" b/w "The French Girl" single

    • THE BYRDS: Holland, 1971 single
     
  15. rene smalldridge

    rene smalldridge Senior Member

    Location:
    manhattan,kansas
    Just fired off an email inquiry to Sundazed requesting information on what their Psychedelic Sounds Of The 13th Floor Elevators album release is being sourced from and whether it will be Mono or Stereo. We'll see what they say.
     
  16. fldveloce

    fldveloce the moon was a drip on a dark hood

    Location:
    Boston MA
    Sorry for the delay, had my mono cart in..

    Ok, prereqs: the only copies of these albums that I have are the Radar reissues, though I do have You're Gonna Miss Me on the Nuggets set (orig, WLP, mint). I bought the Radar LPs when they came out and haven't played them much -- other than that they certainly still sound mint. Haven't updated my profile, so to suffice, here are the basics of my equipt: Basis 2500/Graham 2.2/Lyra Skala/Herron electronics/Apogee Duetta Sigs with upgraded M/T ribbons and passive crossover, Townshend supertweeters, good but not outrageous wires.

    The rest of this assumes that we all know that the original recordings have a certain charming murk that no release is going to cut through.

    The Radar LPs sound really good. Not a lot of very deep bass or very high frequencies, though the high frequencies sound perhaps tipped up a bit -- but they come across as "open" rather than excessively bright. The bass guitar sometimes gets buried in the murk, but it has good weight (e.g., the intro to Don't Fall Down). Overall, the sound is full, with good body, and though it'll never be mistaken for a modern recording, it's very satisfying.

    In comparison with the Nuggets recording, the Radar pressing is much fuller, richer (viz., more detailed), and clearer, with more realistic heft to Roky's voice. There seems to be more reverb on the Radar, and the Nuggets does seem more up front and in your face, but the better depth to the Radar is not just the reverb -- you can hear further into it, e.g., the organ is easier to distinguish on the Radar. Sounds like the Nuggets has more murk than the Radar.

    However, note that Nuggets places Miss Me at the end of side 2, while it's track 1 on the album. Also, the Radar is about 3-4 dB hotter than the Nuggets pressing (with flat and quiet surfaces).

    Hope this helps.

    Fred
     
  17. audiodrome

    audiodrome Senior Member

    Location:
    North Of Boston
    Although the quality is good, my late 70's Psychedelic Sounds Radar LP sounds like electronically processed stereo to me.
     
  18. fldveloce

    fldveloce the moon was a drip on a dark hood

    Location:
    Boston MA
    I suppose it's possible, neither the Nuggets or Radar have much separation, but I don't hear the phasiness or frequency imbalance that seem characteristic of elec processed stereo. There is definitely some left / right information, but the extra reverb is a question.

    Fred
     
  19. dgsinner

    dgsinner New Member

    Location:
    Far East
    I had the Radar vinyl reissues long ago. Now all I have is You're Gonna Miss Me on Nuggets (vinyl) and a few days ago I got my hands on a very nice (at least the vinyl) original IA mono of Psychedelic Sounds.

    I think the original mono sounds very nice overall, better than the Radar reissues I used to have. That is, taking into consideration the low-fi nature of the recording anyway, the original has a warm, tubey ambiance and a more solid low end. Maybe that's all to be expected, but I was pleasantly surprised. Songs like "Fire Engine", that I used to find kind of painful on the Radar, sound much better balanced. Based on how the original sounds, if the original masters can be used, it sure would be nice to have this reissued.

    Having said that, I still like the way You're Gonna Miss Me on the Nuggets comp. Hotter, maybe a bit of a high end boost (as another poster pointed out), but that serves the song well.

    It'd be nice to have this remastered right and re-released by someone other than Earmark or GetBack or any of the "slap a CD into the player and press a record out of it" reissue labels.

    Dale
     
  20. indy mike

    indy mike Forum Pest

    Here's a link to a site with info about the You're Gonna Miss Me 45 pressings: http://www.lysergia.com/LamaWorkshop/YGMM_Discography.htm Apparently the song ran 2:26 for several pressings until it got Hanna Barbera's HBR label. Apparently, HBR was going to license the song to get it better distribution as International Artists wasn't really set up too well for a song that had some momentum going. HBR faded the song out a little early to about 2:20. Does your IA pressing in mono have the 2:26 length version or the 2:20 version?
     
  21. dgsinner

    dgsinner New Member

    Location:
    Far East
    My IA has 2:24 listed on the label. I think it's the same length as on the Nuggets comp.

    Dale
     
  22. indy mike

    indy mike Forum Pest

    Never the same timing from release to release - they shoulda used a Timex... :D
     
  23. ronankeane

    ronankeane Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dublin, Ireland
    The best sounding currently available version is probably the needle drop circulated by the Texas Psych group. I'm (fairly reliably) informed that the best sounding commercially available CD is probably the Sunspots version. The Charly / Snapper releases are horrible on all levels.
     
  24. indy mike

    indy mike Forum Pest

  25. sberger

    sberger Dream Baby Dream

    How does one get a copy of that needle drop?
     
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