The 13th Floor Elevators - (I've Seen Your Face Before) Live

13th Floor Elevators


Live





Label: Big Beat Records
Catalog#: WIK82
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: Germany
Released: 1988
Genre: Rock
Style: Garage Rock, Psychedelic Rock   [Discogs]

Tracklist
A1 - Fire Engine
A2 - Tried To Hide
A3 - Levitation
A4 - Don't Fall Down
A5 - Kingdom Of Heaven
A6 - You're Gonna Miss Me
B1 - Reverberation (Doubt)
B2 - Monkey Island
B3 - Roller Coaster
B4 - Splash 1
B5 - She Lives In A Time Of Her Own

Credits
Drums – John Ike Walton
Guitar – Stacy Sutherland
Vocals, Guitar – Roky Erickson
Jug [Amplified] – Tommy Hall
Bass - Bennie Thurman or Ronnie Leatherman

You're Gonna Miss Me here (mp3@320)

Live

Recorded at The New Orleans Club, Austin, late 1966 or 1967 (see notes).

THE THIRTEENTH FLOOR ELEVATORS - the much-discussed mid-sixties legends whose name and music have become better known and more influential in the past fifteen years than either ever were during the brief period the group was together. Musically and philosophically the Elevators were in a class of their own, and far ahead of their time, describing themselves as 'psychedelic' as early as late 1965; and it took talent, vision and a large amount of guts to do so in the reactionary social climate of Texas. The full story of the Elevators has yet to be told in detail but the major events are well-known; how the band came together in spring 1965 from folk musicians and University of Texas and high school graduates; the fiery live shows and off-beat, chemically inspired outlook on life that first amazed local Austin audiences and then the rest of Texas; the trips to San Francisco that ensured a place in the psychedelic hall of fame and meant for some years they were considered a Bay Area unit; and the handful of incredible records that survived to add to the powerful legacy of the band.

The Elevators' three official studio albums, "Psychedelic Sounds", "Easter Everywhere" and "Bull Of The Woods" are all widely available and are required listening, but as anyone who was lucky enough to have seen the group will tell you, it was live that they were at their best. Several live tapes have surfaced since the Elevators' fame grew in the mid-seventies, and indeed this is the fourth different album of live recordings to have appeared. According to those who should know, the band peaked as a live act in the first year of existence. The aforementioned tapes largely date from this early period and clearly reaffirm such a reputation. However, what makes this album notable is that it is chronologically the latest to have been released, with the exception of the live jam that appears on the "Fire In My Bones" LP (Texas Archive). That was recorded in 1967; to attempt to ascertain the date of this particular appearance requires a little detective work.

An immediate factor is the song list, all of which are band or band-related originals. The previous live albums are noteworthy for the inclusion of several covers, ranging from songs the band released on singles (Bo Diddley's 'Before You Accuse Me', Buddy Holly's 'I'm Gonna Love You Too') to wild interpretations of garage band staples like 'Gloria', 'You Really Got Me' and 'Everybody Needs Somebody To Love'. Most of the material here is from the first album and the inclusion of 'Levitation' and 'She Lives' (early and mid-1967 singles respectively) suggest a date after the release of "Psychedelic Sounds" in late 1966. What makes matters confusing is the claim by the tape's source that the performance is no later than September 1965. The recording was made by Walt Andrus, whose Houston studio and production company recorded many of the International Artists acts. Andrus was unlikely to have been with the Elevators much before mid-1966, when International Artists licensed 'You're Gonna Miss Me' from Austin label Contact. Somebody who was involved with Contact was Gordon Bynum, the "young up-and-coming producer" of 'You're Gonna Miss Me', who apparently helped arrange this taping for the group. The venue is Houston's famed La Maison Ballroom, where the Elevators played regularly throughout their career; the Texas Archive album "Elevator Tracks" includes five tracks recorded at La Maison in the summer of '66, and they do sound earlier in comparison to what we have here.

The sound of the band is another important point in determining the date. Listening to the set, it appears to have been performed by the same line-up who recorded the first album. Certainly, the nucleus of Roger 'Roky' Erickson (vocal and guitar), Tommy Hall (electric jug) and Stacy Sutherland (lead guitar) are present, and the drumming is probably that of John Ike Walton, detectable by his idiosyncratic, cymbal-dominated style. Walton, an imposing figure, and reportedly so powerful his kit had to be chained to the stage, left the band on less than amicable terms just prior to the making of "Easter Everywhere", in June 1967. The bass player could either be Bennie Thurman, who played on "Psychedelic Sounds", or his replacement Ronnie Leatherman (who is pictured on the cover of "Elevator Tracks").

Whatever the truth, the tape was probably not intended for commercial release as the performance is fairly subdued (by the standard of the earlier live tapes) and an unusual, disjointed atmosphere pervades, perhaps due to inter-band wrangles, hassles with police (to act or even look like the Elevators did then was to 'flip the bird' to authority) or, no doubt, increasing drug usage. The lack of crowd noise is surprising because by 1967 the Elevators were finally being accepted as the innovators they were and subsequently became one of Texas' top crowd drawers. However, this album provides a fascinating glimpse at the development of the band; and while not containing classic Elevators recordings, it offers exceptional clarity and hitherto unheard live renditions of many of their best songs, and thus can only add to the phenomenon that was and is THE THIRTEENTH FLOOR ELEVATORS.

Sleeve Notes by Alec Palao.

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Happy New Year 1967 !
Ευχαριστώ πολύ για την παραχώρηση του δίσκου τον φίλο μου τον Κώστα Ελ..
Μας λείπεις εσύ ρε, και μας λείπουν και οι μουσικές σου.