Music of the Spheres - The Ultimate 13th Floor Elevators' Vinyl Box Set

Aren't these just vinyl copies of the recent deluxe CD reissues? I assume they will sound very similar.

 

OK, I just finished Headstone The Contact Sessions.

On content, I can only say WOW. Maybe my new favorite album of all time. I give it a 10 on performance. It just flat kicks. It's tremendous. It is, to my mind (and my ears) a true lost 60s classic. It is a great rock record. Garage-y (sorry), punky, but with a psych vibe simmering on side 1 then brought up to full boil on side 2.

Sound is good -- bearing in mind these are NOT audiophile recordings. Punchy, powerful mono. The drums are crisp, clear -- in word, wonderful. Up high in the mix, as is the lead guitar.

This has to be one of the great lost 60s "what if" candidates -- I would think on a par with The Beach Boys "Smile."

Here's the track list:

You're Gonna Miss Me
Tried To Hide
Everybody Needs Somebody To Love (fantastic cover of this song -- you will forget the 'Stones after hearing this)
Take That Girl
You Can't Hurt Me Anymore
I'm Gonna Love You Too

Monkey Island
Roller Coaster
Now I'm Home (Splash 1)
Where Am I (Thru The Rhythm)
Fire Engine


Back to sound quality -- it's not perfect, but I'm very pleased with it. There is a slight, repeating dip in volume from Take That Girl through I'm Gonna Love You To, the same kind of sound you might get from a slight bubble warp (the record is perfectly flat) or (my first thought) a kink in a reel. But that's a slight problem considering the undeniable historical significance of this LP.

Today I listened to a psych/garage classic -- a true NM stereo copy of (Turn On) The Music Machine on Original Sound. It's a classic and an album I've loved for 3 decades now. Not to diss it -- but Headstone...blows it clean away both barrels blasting.

Back to sound quality -- I assume people on this thread already know what to expect, but if not, the recording on Headstone... reminds me of the original sound of the The Seeds debut LP on GNP Crescendo, but more powerful. Good for independent label garage, but not really audiophile.

But if you love this music, no matter.

Here's what the booklet says about Headstone...

Although no documentation for the Contact album sessions have survived, mid-February '66 would seem a logical date following the bust on the 27th January and the fact that several of the songs were published on 23rd February. Over the years it has been wrongly presumed these were only demo recordings, however Walt Andrus and Roky Erickson both confirm this should have been the bona fide first album. More time and attention was afforded to these tracks than recording the first single. Many garage bands of the day elected to record a radio friendly cover tune as one side of their single and their own composition on the other side. The Elevators structured their album accordingly -- one safe teen side (the hit single plus a selection of safe cover material and non-threatening originals) while the full psychedelic agenda was unleashed on side two. Now it's time to reinstate the Contact recordings as The 13th Floor Elevators' lost first album...The title, Headstone, is Tommy Hall's original title for the album that later became The Psychedelic Sounds Of...

One note -- terming side 1 "a safe teen side" is grievously short shrifting these great mid-60s rock and roll tracks. Not to be dismissed IMO.

But back to the "what if." If that dating is correct (February 1966), then Headstone would have been an absolutely unique record had it been released that Spring. Hell, it's a unique record today, but it is hard to imagine what the impact would have been had it been released not long after it was recorded.

It's late -- but I'm really tempted to listen to it again. Damn fine rock 'n roll.

Dale

PS: I have an original IA mono press of The Psychedelic Sounds Of...Back in the 70s I bought that UK import of it along with the import of Easter Everywhere (what label was that? Radar?) and I've loved the music ever since I first heard it in a used record store in 1977 or 1978, but I am by no means a 13th Floor Elevators expert, so please forgive mistakes if I've made any.

PSS: Just want to add, like the booklet paragraph notes, these don't sound like demos at all. These are full, worked out arrangements and performances. It sounds like a finished album to me.

 

Here's a little email exchange I had earlier this evening with Burning Shed:

Hello,

I received my box today. Thank you.

I'm sorry to report the following:

Headstone The Contact Sessions and Live In California are mis-labeled/reversed.

Side 1 of Headstone The Contact Sessions can be found on Side 2 of Live In California, and Side 1 of Live In California can be found on Side 1 of Headstone The Contact Sessions.

I've only just begun playing the vinyl, so I do not yet know if there are any other problems.

Sincerely,
Dale Sinner

PS: Headstone...sounds great, though.

REPLY:

Hi Dale,

International Artists only informed us after the box sets had been sent out that there was an error with the labels on Headstone and Live.

They are considering re-printing the unsold sets - basically this means that those of you who bought early will have more collectible sets than the remaining ones.

Everything else should be ok. IA have checked everything and this labelling is the only issue. If I were you I'd hang on to what you've got. The 'value' will only be enhanced by it being recognisable as one of the very early pressings.

Kind regards

 

The Elevators "Paradise Lost" CD from The Netherlands has the Contact Records/Gordon Bynum sessions songs in perfect quality, unlike the distorted versions on this set or the previous Snapper CD box. It also is the only source for The Spades "You're Gonna Miss Me" and "We Sell Soul" from the original 1/4" mix-down master (any other decent-sounding versions are clones from this CD).

 

How do you know that the version on this set is distorted?
Did you get one?
Wondering about the CD box set issue now, because that's all I have.

And wondering how the Paradise Lost release would be so superior...... any ideas?

 

ok, so side 1 of 'Live' plays side 2 of 'Live', and the actual side 1 of 'Live' is on side 1 of 'Contact', while side 1 of 'Contact' plays on side 2 of 'Live' since side 2 of 'Live' is on side1.
This might be ok if they were offering a free re-press, but instead they tell you it's more collectible this way! Ha.

Well I guess it's not the end of the world.

Still would like to know about the individual album packaging. Since these are almost certainly clones of the latest CDs, for me it's more about having nice/pretty, mint, LP-sized versions of the...er, LPs (plus that box cover is very cool).

 

The bloke who described it here noted the same problems on the same songs from the vinyl "Headstone" as are present on the "3-Eyed Men" CD version (which I've heard and done an 'A/B' comparison with the same tracks on the "Paradise Lost" release. I do know exactly why the sources used for "Paradise Lost" were better...but I've got to plead the 5th here to protect the innocent and well-intentioned.

 

Don't sell your original pressings

Got mine today. I've just checked stereo versions of "Easter Everywhere" and "Psychedelic Sounds". Major disappointment. From master tape? No way, this is the same bad sounding crap we've heard a thousand times before. Another big lie from IA.
Below are samples from vinyl I just ripped, followed by a sample from the original LP version. Check the differences.
Roller Coaster: this stereo version is almost mono (vs. wide stereo on the original LP) and sound quality is awful (very harsh midrange).
http://www.mediafire.com/file/0k8g56zo0deioci/Roller Coaster Stereo MotS - Orig.flac
Baby Blue: Roky's voice is metallic, there's virtually no bass.
http://www.mediafire.com/file/xz9rrl667bkvzns/Baby Blue MotS - Orig.flac

 

Thanks for your insights.
Protect the innocent?
I'm just a curious music lover.....

To all of you just now receiving your vinyl sets: I remember the (natural) buzz I got the day I finally got the CD box set - it is so beautiful - I am so thrilled for your excitement when you get your vinyl!

 

This pathetic dodge by Burning Shed has been carped about on at least one other forum (and I'm sure it will be mentioned elsewhere soon if not already.)

How on Earth is is possible to screw up something this badly (ie: sides of records mispressed on the wrong LPs!) on a project of this magnitutde after all of the other prior production kinks that delayed its' release? One would reasonably assume that LISTENING TO THE TEST PRESSINGS would reveal this problem right away!

This bulls**t about "early pressing sets" being more "collectible" and having increased "value" is really offensive. Burning Shed really ought to repress both of these LPs CORRECTLY and then resend the corrected pressings to all who ordered and received these botched pressings (though I seriously doubt they would ever do this, despite that fact that they really should.)

I may go ahead and contact Burning Shed and (politely) demand that they send me corrected pressings at their expense (I know, insert laugh track here), which I feel I am owed. Maybe other like-minded Don Quixotes here could join the cause.

 

Since no one has responded to my question about the quality of the sleeve artwork, I'll assume either (a) I'm on everyone's ignore list, or (b) the artwork is nothing special. I'm guessing (b), although I can't rule out (a).

 

Oh, Bonjo, so sensitive you are..... lol
I'm sure you're a great guy and everyone is just immersed in listening to their vinyl or contacting Burning Shed for repressings.
From viewing the video that was posted in this thread about the production of this box it looks like the jacket reproductions were spot on.
I know that the CD box was really, really well done.

I personally could roll with the pressing mistake, although, yes, I would like proper versions as well. Gimme, gimme. Don't you think they probably did the full 3,000 at one time and that is supposed to be it? Hugely expensive to redo them, but good luck to you, Giantleech!

 

Agreed. It's BS to me. I'd rather have correctly labelled Lps.

But, I did come for the music, after all, so I'm glad I at least have it.

Yep again. Like the Doors vinyl box from a few years ago.

Dale

 

The artwork looks nice to me, but I'm a listener -- haven't paid special attention to it yet. I'll get pics up later in the week.

Dale

 

Not being an expert (obviously), would you mind giving me some details on the Paradise Lost release? Headstone...sounds so cool to me if there's a better source I want one.

Frankly, what distortion there is on the copy in this set is consistent with a lot of garage I've heard in the past, so with nothing to compare it to it still sounds good to me, but it must be pretty clear I'm floored by the coolness of the music.

Dale

 

I'm listening to the stereo version of Psychedelic Sounds Of ... as I type. You're right. Not good. No better IIRC than the old 70s UK import I had all those years ago...

Did IA or someone write that we had a master tape source coming in this one?

Dale

 

as I said a while ago (on page 1 of this thread) I wrote BS (that's Burning Shed, not bu****it) asking if this time they were using the true stereo masters, and reported their reply... so the reappearance of the Masterfonics tapes was expected. The reported mispress was not
Doc

 

That's unfortunate to hear. I just hope that I can buy a legit copy of Easter Everywhere (definitely mono, if the stereo is that bad) down the line at the record store.

 

I think a lot of people were buying this box set in hopes that the Easter Everywhere LP's were going to sound better than previous versions... Originals are pretty pricey in nice shape from $275 to $500 for stereos and Monos are crazy rare and very expensive. I just broke down and ordered this a few days ago and from what I'm reading I'm thinking I jumped the gun. I'd really like to hear more listening reviews of the quality and sound fidelity of the pressings. The packaging looks amazing but that's just not enough to justify the expense, considering I own the CD Box already. Talk to us people!

From the sound clips up above, seems the originals which have always had a kinda bad wrap are sounding better to my ears.

There are no real reviews of this set online yet so please enlighten us! Do I bother opening my set or leave it on the shelf and sell it in hopes of getting my cash back??

 

artwork is fine...but sound quality is....

Artwork:
Sleeves are OK (I've seen much worse), labels are very bad (blurry and color doesn't match the original), see pictures below (original on the left). The box itself is really nice, but the book is more a booklet, not a real hardback book (like in sign of the 3 eyed men).

 

So the records only look ok, they used the same masters as the recent CDs, and two of the records were mis-pressed.

oh well, I'm happy to save the money, but I was really hoping this was going to be a great set.

 

More listening:

Psychedelic Sounds Of...MONO: OK, but my IA original mono is much better.

Psychedelic Sounds Of...STEREO: Bad, but so was my 70s UK Radar

Easter Everywhere MONO: Good. I really enjoyed this -- never heard it before. Lots more bass than the "stereo" and the cleanest sound quality of the lot so far.

Easter Everywhere STEREO: Bad. Is any of this true stereo? At one point I thought I heard some true stereo, but overall this sounds like some kind of duophonic or something.

Bull Of The Woods: Some cuts better than others, but not very good sound quality. But then, I've heard it before, so maybe this is how it sounds?

So far, I have to say I can't recommend this set. It's a disappointment for sound quality, though I still like Headstone...and the mono Easter Everywhere.

With as much cult status and demand there is for 13th Floor Elevators material, why can't anyone get it together to have a consistently good sounding reissue set?

Dale

 

Any word on the new song included in the box "Someday My Love"?

 

"Someday My Love" is a decent song, but like most of B.O.T.W. not in the same realm as the P.S. & E.E. material.
My favorite song on is "Reverberation" (mono demo acetate) on the Summet Sounds EP. The bass is crazy!
I guess I'm OK with this set, but I'd like to know what those in the business think about a company that puts out a rather expensive product that's flawed and then does not offer any compensation. Plus my copy of P.S. is a bad pressing at the end the the final track side 2 of the stereo disc. Maybe some of the others are like mine.
It's a beautiful set, but with all it's errors this is kind of a disapointment!

 

Is it the same take as 'Til then, or Wait for my Love? I'm curious because that's the one "previously unreleased" track that was put on there.