More Psychedelic Sounds................

...........once again some kind soul w/ really bad handwriting has gifted me an amazing find. As you may have read in a previous blog The 13th Floor Elevators are going to be the recipient of the box set treatment come spring 2009. "Sign of the 3 Eyed Men" will be released in limited editions of 3,000 & will include the following...........



& here is the cover art for the box set.............



& the front & backs of the promo disc..........

Front



Back



From what I can gather this came out in January & is limited to just 1,000 copies so the promo sampler is going to be just as rare if not more rare then the actual box set. There also appears to be nothing exclusive to the promo in itself but does give a great glimpse into what the box set will contain. Here is a disc by disc listing.............



Now some of this stuff has been previously released. Obviously the 3 studio LP's....... Psychedelic Sounds of...., Bull of the Woods & Easter Everywhere were & have been out for quite awhile..... Some have had semi-legit releases. "Live in California! Avalon Ballroom (Stereo) had been floating around for quite some time now. The first appearance of this material was on an LP bootleg called "Live at The Avalon '66" on (no label given - FP 100 out of Italy). It came out originally in 1978. The copy I scored in Cali in '98 at a little store who's name eludes me is a second pressing on Lysergic Record Co. (LP 025.) issued in 1980. Dave Gibbons from Moxie Records (there's a whole 'nother story right there 'bout that guy......) issued it & if you have ever heard the "Boulders" series he put out then you already know the sound (let alone vinyl) quality he is "famous" for.



& here is a bootleg listing for it from the Roky Erickson CD Club...... (along w/ the "Sumptin' Else" material....)



ROKY ERICKSON CD CLUB - RELEASE #7
13th Floor Elevators - "Avalon 1966"
9/2or3/66 Avalon Ballroom, San Francisco, California, 2nd gen soundboard clone
1. Everybody Needs Somebody To Love
2. Before You Accuse Me
3. You Don't Know
4. Splash One (Now I'm Home)
5. I'm Gonna Love You Too
6. You Really Got Me
7. Fire Engine
8. Roll Over Beethoven
9. The Word
10. Monkey Island
11. Roller Coaster (missing track, French LP source)
3/25/66 speed-corrected, Sump'n Else TV Show, WFFA-TV, Dallas, Texas
12. You're Gonna Miss Me
13. Fire Engine
14. You Really Got Me
15. Roll Over Beethoven
5/9/66 speed-corrected, Sump'n Else TV Show, WFFA-TV, Dallas, Texas
16. Mercy, Mercy
17. Tried To Hide
18. Gloria
19. Fire Engine
20. You're Gonna Miss Me
21. Roller Coaster
Notes:
Number 7 is something really special! Really Special! Special! This is a processed clone of a known 2nd gen soundboard recording of the famous "Avalon '66" recording. This quality BLOWS AWAY ALL that came before including the original, French label boot. This is the definitive version. If that wasn't sick enough, we added on the speed corrected Sump'n Else TV Show tracks. These are the same recordings Sundazed botched by putting out at too fast a speed. These are slowed down to the correct pitch so Roky and crew don't sound like Alvin And The Chipmunks.

& here is the "Sumptin' Else" material that "Psychedelic Microdots Vol. 2 Texas Twisted also covered.





It is also featured on the "Live! In Texas" disc of the box set set. Along w/ the entire contents of this bootleg............




& here is more titles in the box set already out as illegal pirates & bootlegs....................

Psychedelic Sounds (Mono) has been issued previously as a pirate called .....



ROKY ERICKSON CD CLUB - RELEASE #21
"The Monodelic Sounds Of"
The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators LP (mono mix)
(from an unplayed mono copy; we broke the seal to rip this)
1. You're Gonna Miss Me
2. Roller Coaster
3. Splash One (Now I'm Home)
4. Reverberation (Doubt)
5. Don't Fall Down
6. Fire Engine
7. Thru the Rhythm
8. You Don't Know
9. Kingdom of Heaven
10. Monkey Island
11. Tried to Hide
3/25/66 speed-corrected, Sump'n Else TV Show, WFFA-TV, Dallas, Texas (mono)
12. You're Gonna Miss Me
13. Fire Engine
14. You Really Got Me
15. Roll Over Beethoven
5/9/66 speed-corrected, Sump'n Else TV Show, WFFA-TV, Dallas, Texas (mono)
16. Mercy, Mercy
17. Tried To Hide
18. Gloria
19. Fire Engine
20. You're Gonna Miss Me
21. Roller Coaster
Notes:
We have the mono mix of the Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators LP. This is the Mother of all psychedelic music! This is the very first psychedelic LP by the very first psychedelic band. The first modern Rock LP and the blueprint for everything that followed (Psychedelic, Punk, Alternative). Yeah, it all dat peoples, it all dat. It's a legend, a fucking legend! Why is this mono mix special? Well... Back in the day at International Artists, an Engineer, stewed on Listerine probably, added some sort of horrible echo/reverb effect to the final mix of the stereo version. This was a bad mistake; it dated the mix and it sounds like you're listening to the band play from down a concrete hallway underground. This is the mix that has been reissued on CD countless times. The mono LP mix escaped and this is the "real" mix of this legendary and influential LP. With this mix, it's a totally different ball game. The band sounds right upfront and in your face, urgent with fervor. These guys were trying to turn on the whole world. This is one of the foundations of all things 'Elevators. Now, you NEED this CD. This recording was taken off an unplayed mono copy. We broke the seal to rip this. To make matters even worse, we added on the speed-corrected Sump'n Else TV Show tracks from 1966. They're in mono too. It's mono madness! The 'Elevators, live on stage, spewing their subversive message out to the kids over Dallas television; right under the noses of the Establishment because they didn't care to listen to the words. That soon changed.
"Forget about San Francisco: The American capitol of psychedelic rock was Austin, Texas, and no band soared higher than Roky Erickson and the 13th Floor Elevators. In addition to acid-tinged garage rockers such as the crazed-love anthem, "You're Gonna Miss Me," the Elevators' debut included tracks such as "Reverberation (Doubt)," "Roller Coaster," and "Splash 1," which viscerally evoked the sounds of their titles while offering lyrics that provided a philosophical structure for the psychedelic experience." --Jim Derogatis

Psychedelic sounds (Alternate Stereo) has been previously issued a a pirate called............



ROKY ERICKSON CD CLUB - RELEASE #2
"Psychedelic Sounds Alternate Mix"
The 13th Floor Elevators Psychedelic Sounds Alternate Mix
From the "Psychedelic Sounds" sessions,
10/66 Summit Sound Studio, Dallas, Texas, unless noted:
1. You're Gonna Miss Me (Contact 45 sessions outtake, Andrus Studios, 1/66)
2. Roller Coaster (alternate mix)
3. Splash One (Now I'm Home) (Houston demos 6/66)
4. Reverberation (Doubt) (official take)
5. Don't Fall Down (alternate mix)
6. Fire Engine (alternate mix)
7. Thru The Rhythm (alternate mix)
8. You Don't Know (alternate mix)
9. Monkey Island (alternate mix)
10. Tried To Hide (Contact 45 sessions outtake)
6/66 Houston Demos, Gold Star Studios:
11. You Gotta Take That Girl
12. Before You Accuse Me
13. You Can't Hurt Me Anymore
9/67 "Easter Everywhere" Sessions, Walt Andrus Studios, Houston, Texas:
14. Dust (alternate mix)
15. Splash One (Now I'm Home) (acoustic, session uncertain)
16. Right Track Now (session uncertain)
3/68 "Beauty And The Beast" Sessions,
IA (formerly Gold Star) Studios, Houston, Texas:
17. Livin' On (Gold Star acetate)
18. I Don't Ever Want To Come Down (Gold Star acetate)
19. Never Another (official take)
20. Wait For My Love
21. Dear Dr. Doom (official take)
22. Fire In My Bones (session uncertain)
23. May The Circle Remain Unbroken (official take)
Notes:
This release reproduces the running order of the original LP using alternate takes. The sound is much better than on the Collectables or Decal releases; the songs were run through sound restoration software with impressive results.
Kingdom of Heaven had to be omitted because there is no alternate or improved mix available. Following that are three songs from the Houston Demos sessions that are available here without the canned audience sounds added on the "Live" album.
Then comes the only known alternate mix from the "Easter Everywhere" sessions, a great version of "Dust," followed by two Roky and Clementine Hall duets that may be from this session also. Following that are the 7 songs that are known to have been recorded for the never completed "Beauty And The Beast" LP. Three of these songs are familiar versions that appeared on the "Bull Of The Woods" LP, but all 7 are put together to get an idea of what "Beauty And The Beast" would have been like.
Tracks 17,18 date from the Spring 1968 Beauty And The Beast sessions. There is a single existing copy of this 10"acetate. It was discovered at the former Gold Star Studios in the mid-1980's and was sold in a Goldmine magazine auction to a private collector in 1985. This acetate was the source of the previously lost/forgotten song I Don't Ever Want To Come Down which was first released on the Elevator Tracks LP in 1987.

Easter Everywhere (Mono) has been issued as a pirate called..........
ROKY ERICKSON CD CLUB - RELEASE #33
THE 13TH FLOOR ELEVATORS
EASTER EVERYWHERE (MONO EDITION)
1. Slip Inside This House
2. Slide Machine
3. She Lives (In A Time Of Her Own)
4. Nobody To Love
5. Baby Blue
6. Earthquake
7. Dust
8. Levitation
9. I Had To Tell You
10. Postures (Leave Your Body Behind)

Easter Everywhere (Alternate Stereo) as well as A Love That's Sound has partially been issued as a pirate called.....



ROKY ERICKSON CD CLUB - RELEASE #32
THE 13TH FLOOR ELEVATORS
COMPLETE EASTER EVERYWHERE
1. Slip Inside This House
2. Slide Machine
3. She Lives (In A Time Of Her Own)
4. Nobody To Love
5. Baby Blue
6. Earthquake
7. Dust
8. Levitation
9. I Had To Tell You
10. Postures (Leave Your Body Behind)
11. Never Another [Easter Everywhere outtake]
12. Dust [Easter Everywhere alternate]
13. Splash 1 [Easter Everywhere session]
14. Right Track Now [Easter Everywhere outtake]
15. I Don't Ever Want To Come Down [Beauty ... track]
16. Fire In My Bones [Beauty ... track]
17. Livin' On [Beauty ... track]
18. Til Then [Beauty ... track]
19. Dear Dr. Doom [Beauty ... track]
20. Wait For My Love [Beauty ... track]
21. May The Circle Remain Unbroken [Beauty ... track]
22. Bull Of The Woods 60-second radio spot
23. Levitation [backing track]

& let's not forget these pirates that cover some of this box set as well.........





ROKY ERICKSON CD CLUB - RELEASE #43
The 13th Floor Elevators - Attack of the LP's
VOLUME 1
13th Floor Elevators - Psychedelic Sounds Of & Live, IA Stereo LPs, 70:25
Lineage: Technics SL-BD22 Turntable > Yamaha RX-V800 Receiver > AMS Tech TravelPro Laptop > Cool Edit (minor edits) > wav > Flac Frontend > Flac (no SBE)
Psychedelic Sounds Of:
1) You're Gonna Miss Me
2) Roller Coaster
3) Splash 1
4) Reverberation
5) Don't Fall Down
6) Fire Engine
7) Thru The Rhythm
8) You Don't Know
9) Kingdom Of Heaven
10) Monkey Island
11) Tried To Hide
Live:
12) Before You Accuse Me
13) She Lives In A Time Of Her Own
14) Tried To Hide
15) You Gotta Take That Girl
16) I'm Gonna Love You Too
17) Everybody Needs Somebody To Love
18) I've Got Levitation
19) You Can't Hurt Me Anymore
20) Roller Coaster
21) You're Gonna Miss Me

Because of the historical importance & rarity of these recordings, and their inherent cleanness & clarity, I've opted to apply the 'do no harm' philosophy.
I have not therefore used any auto declick software, equalization, noise reduction or any other processing.
I have only performed basic edits and a manual declick/depop where needed but have otherwise left the recordings untouched as they are, in my opinion, clean enough as is.





VOLUME 2
13th Floor Elevators - Easter Everywhere & Bull Of The Woods, IA Stereo LPs, 79:38
Technics SL-BD22 > Yamaha RX-V800 > AMS Tech TravelPro > Cool Edit (minor edits, custom declick) > wav > Flac Frontend > Flac (no SBE)
Easter Everywhere:
1) Slip Inside This House
2) Slide Machine
3) She Lives (In A Time Of Her Own)
4) Nobody To Love
5) Baby Blue
6) Earthquake
7) Dust
8) Levitation
9) I Had To Tell You
10) Postures (Leave Your Body Behind)

Bull Of The Woods:
11) Livin On
12) Barnyard Blues
13) Till Then
14) Never Another
15) Rose And The Thorn
16) Down By The River
17) Scarlet And Gold
18) Street Song
19) Dr. Doom
20) With You
21) May The Circle Remain Unbroken

Because of the historical importance & rarity of these recordings, and their inherent cleanness & clarity, I've opted to apply the 'do no harm' philosophy. I have not therefore used any auto declick software, equalization, noise reduction or any other processing. I have only performed basic edits and a manual declick/depop where needed but have otherwise left the recordings untouched as they are, in my opinion, clean enough as is. Enjoy!

& some of the bonus material has already been issued on pirate collections as well.............



ROKY ERICKSON CD CLUB - RELEASE #35

THE 13TH FLOOR ELEVATORS
PARADISE FOUND
1. You're Gonna Miss Me
- 1/3/66 first Contact session, Andrus Studio, Houston TX
2. Everybody Needs Somebody To Love
- 6/66 Gold Star Studios, Houston TX
3. I'm Gonna Love You Too
- 45 rpm single; 6/66 Gold Star Studios, Houston TX
4. Before You Accuse Me
- 45 rpm single; 6/66 Gold Star Studios, Houston TX
5. You Can't Hurt Me Anymore
- 6/66 Gold Star Studios, Houston TX
6. Make That Girl Your Own
- 6/66 Gold Star Studios, Houston TX
7. Monkey Island
- 10/66 Summit Sound Studio, Dallas TX
8. Thru The Rhythm
- 10/66 Summit Sound Studio, Dallas TX
9. Roller Coaster
- 10/66 Summit Sound Studio, Dallas TX
10. Fire Engine
- 10/66 Summit Sound Studio, Dallas TX
11. Levitation
- 45 rpm single; 12/66 Andrus Studio, Houston TX
12. She Lives (In A Time Of Her Own)
- 45 rpm single; 12/1/67 Andrus Studio, Houston TX
13. Dust [alternate version]
- 9/67 "Easter Everywhere" sessions, Andrus Studio, Houston TX
14. Slide Machine
- LP track, "Easter Everywhere" mono mix, 9/67 Andrus Studio, Houston TX
15. Nobody To Love
- LP track, "Easter Everywhere" mono mix, 9/67 Andrus Studio, Houston TX
16. Slip Inside This House
- LP track, "Easter Everywhere" mono mix, 9/67 Andrus Studio, Houston TX
17. Right Track Now
- 9/67 "Easter Everywhere" sessions, Andrus Studio, Houston TX
18. Splash 1
- 9/67 "Easter Everywhere" sessions, Andrus Studio, Houston TX
19. Never Another
- LP track, "Bull Of The Woods",
9/67 "Easter Everywhere" sessions, Andrus Studio, Houston TX
20. Fire In My Bones
- 3/68 "Beauty And The Beast" sessions, IA Studios, Houston TX
21. I Don't Ever Want To Come Down
- 3/68 "Beauty And The Beast" sessions, IA Studios, Houston TX
22. Livin' On [without horns]
- 3/68 "Beauty And The Beast" sessions, IA Studios, Houston TX
23. Scarlet And Gold
- 45 rpm single,
11/68 "Bull Of The Woods" sessions, IA Studios, Houston TX
24. May The Circle Remain Unbroken
- 45 rpm single,
3/68 "Beauty And The Beast" sessions, IA Studios, Houston TX
25. May 1967 Larry Kane Show

& some more are present here..................



ROKY ERICKSON CD CLUB - RELEASE #15
"The High Baptismal Flow"
13th FLOOR ELEVATORS - The High Baptismal Flow
aka How Much Is That Vinyl In The Window?
Disc 1
mono 45 mixes:
1. You're Gonna Miss Me (IA 107a, Contact 45 session, 1/66)
2. Tried To Hide (IA 107b, Contact 45 session, 1/66)
3. Reverberation (Doubt) (IA 111a, 45 session, 9/66)
4. Fire Engine (IA 111b, Psych Sounds session, 10/66)
5. Levitation (IA 113a, 45 session, 1/67)
6. Before You Accuse Me (IA 113b, edit, 45 session, 1/67)
7. She Lives (In A Time Of Her Own) (IA 121a, 45 session, 1/67)
8. Baby Blue (IA 121b, Easter session, 9/67)
9. Slip Inside This House (IA 122a, edit, Easter session, 9/67)
10. Splash One (Now I'm Home) (IA 122b, 45 demo session, 6/66)
11. I'm Gonna Love You Too (IA 126a, Contact demos, 4/66)
12. May The Circle Remain Unbroken (IA 126b, Beast session, 2/68)
13. Livin' On (IA 130a, Beast session, 2/68)
14. Scarlet And Gold (IA 130b, Bull session, 8/68)
misc:
15. Don't Fall Down (alt with long intro)
16. Fire Engine (alt version, Epitaph LP)
SPADES - Zero 10002 - Nov/Dec 1965
17. You're Gonna Miss Me
18. We Sell Soul
backing tracks:
19. Roller Coaster (instrumental, aborted, Demos Everywhere LP)
20. You Don't Know (backing track)
21. Don't Fall Down (backing track)
22. Levitation1 (backing track)
23. Levitation2 (backing track)



Disc 2
8/66 La Maison Ballroom, Houston, Texas:
1. Everybody Needs Somebody To Love
2. Satisfaction
3. I'm Down
4. Roller Coaster
5. I Feel Good
2/18/67 jam w/Conqueroo members, Houston, Texas:
6. She Lives (In A Time Of Her Own)
1966-68 raw session tapes:
7. Monkey Island
8. Roller Coaster
9. Fire Engine
10. Through The Rhythm
11. Tried To Hide
12. May The Circle Remain Unbroken
13. I Don't Ever Want To Come Down (cut)
14. Living On
15. Living On
16. Tried To Hide
17. Tried To Hide
18. Reverberation (Doubt)
19. Tried To Hide
20. Kingdom Of Heaven
Notes:
Most of this material has never been on CD. At best it languished on 35-year-old vinyl, unavailable and unknown except to a few hunter/gatherer hoarder/waster scavenger/collector-types.
So -- the title is: "The High Baptismal Flow a/k/a How Much Is That Vinyl In The Window?" What we have here is two discs of prime 13th Floor Elevators material from a variety of sources. Between this and our previous Elevators discs, this accounts for nearly everything in circulation.
The heart and soul of CD1 is the Elevators' singles, A's and B's in chronological order. These would have made a fine LP in its own right, had anyone at International Artists had the vision to issue it. (The master tapes are almost certainly lost now.) This would have worked well as a "Best Of," a quick overview of what the band was all about, and a great starting point for new listeners. Nobody ever did, so it falls to us to keep it alive for the real fans and to help take care of Roky as we do.
Every last 45 is ripped from the original vinyl; decent copies too. For an indie label in TX mostly concerned with making a quick buck, International Artists' 45s sounded pretty good. Even so, it took a couple of software packages and hours of work to get these ready for CD. If you want, you can still hear a hint of vinyl now and then but you'll need headphones to do it. Smooth. Beyond that, we have a pair of alternate mixes, the Spades' pre-Elevators single featuring Roky, and some backing tracks at the end.
Disc 1:
Tracks 1-19 ripped directly from the original vinyl and processed from there
Track 15 appears on ROKCDR2 "Psychedelic Sounds Alternate Mix" but includes a slight glitch at one point and doesn't feature the false start included here.
Track 16, "Fire Engine" from the "Epitaph For A Legend" LP appears also on ROKCDR2 "Psychedelic Sounds Alternate Mix." The take is the same, but the mix is not.
Disc 2:
Tracks 1-6 are ripped from the original vinyl and processed from there.
Tracks 7-20 are rough mixes, raw session tapes. Occasional studio chatter can be heard between tracks.
Track 9 is an alternate mix, notable for its lack of backing vocals.
Track 13 is heard here from a tape playback, rather than the more common acetate source. It seems to have been truncated on purpose; the noise at the end is a reel-to-reel tape coming to a halt. Had the acetate not been found, nothing more would have remained of this song.
Track 20 is a rough mix; no alternate version has ever surfaced.

So this box set is eliminating a lot of pirates & boots from my collection & replacing them w/ discs of superior sound quality.

I can do without the "Death In Texas" CD ............... live Elevators discs (no matter how well recorded) always sound bad..............

What I can not find on this set is the I.A. Studio Sessions............. & it is actually for one song. ONLY ONE SONG!!!!!

The box is missing "I Don't Ever Want To Come Down". The box set has the rare issue of Tried To Hide & Reverberation from the French E.P. .........







....but not "I Don't...."? After all of this compare & contrast do I really have to keep 1 pirate? & just for one song? It is available on the pirate....
ROKY ERICKSON CD CLUB - RELEASE #35 THE 13TH FLOOR ELEVATORS PARADISE FOUND.....
& on the bootlegs ....



&.....



...now disc 1 called "Headstone: The Contact Sessions" pretty much wipes out the bootleg......... except for "The Beauty & The Beast" session & "A Love That's Sound: The Lost 3rd LP" sessions became Bull of the Woods which The Beauty & the Beast sessions were recorded for....






....but not all are included in the box set......

The Complete Reference Guide 0f The 13th Floor Elevators 1965 - 1969 does state that "I Don't Ever Want T Come Down" was originally the hook for "Till Then" off of Bull of the Woods"..... but it also states that Wait For My Love was an early version of "Till Then" as well. My estimate is that "I Don't ...." grew from an idea w/in one song into a wholly different song as "I Don't...." & "Till Then" sound nothing like each other.....Now on "A Love That's Sound: The Lost 3rd LP" it looks like they are releasing "Dr. Doom", "Livin' On" & "Never Another"from The Beauty Sessions. They are even releasing the version of "Livin' On" that was found on the same 2 track acetate as "I Don't..." Why? WHY? WWWHHHYYY????

I guess I am just out of luck. One track..............just one stinkin' track........... Oh well.............
(Unless it is on there lurking hidden under the title "Till Then"....... in this case I could forgive the error....... :) )

Now don't get me wrong here. There are a few songs here that no one has ever even heard of let alone have heard. Like "Sweet Surprise" & "Moon Song" on "A Love That's Sound:....." but just not what I want. Even the pirate PARADISE FOUND has it & right now it is the better sounding copy out there............ so I at a crossroads. I can keep all of the pirates/bootlegs by The Texas Psyche group & get "Sign of the 3 Eyed Men" as gap filler. Or I can get "Sign of the 3 Eyed Men" & use the "Can't Come Down" bootleg as gap filler. Or I can stay where I am at & just get rid of all the miscellaneous discs like "Flivver" & "Elevator Tracks" .........

Anyway........here's a selection of tunes to rev your third eye up to............

I Don't Ever Want To Come Down
You're Gonna Miss Me - Take 6
Fire Engine - Take 8
Roller Coaster - Sumptin' Else TV Show
(She Lives) In A Time Of Her Own - Mono LP Mix

P.S. These tracks directly correspond to my previous Elevators post........... if you did not listen to those yet the I would suggest doing so before you listen to alternates............. either way..........enjoy!

Addendum: The box set has been moved from 3,000 copies to 4,000 copies & From a spring shipping date to June............

Pink Floyd

I think it needs to be brought into light before we gon any farther my friends that one thing will probably be made painfully aware as you continue to read this post. That one thing being is that I am piss drunk. In fact, if it wasn't for spell check, this entire post would read something like this ......"XRYFVYDXU:KDIUCXU>CXCAS^ER(". But I keep looking up & seeing all these little red lines under what are suppose to be words & it is forcing me to be coherent so I guess it is a good thing. Anyway.....on with the show.

Where should I start. Might as well be at the beginning huh........now let's see........... ah,yes. 1986. 14 years old. Stoned. Steve Halabica playing "The Wall - The Movie" while my tiny little brain case was oozing gray matter at an exceptionally unhealthy rate.



I was so toasted that I remember sleeping on the floor of his parent's living room w/ a blanket I found in a corner. When I woke up & was covered in flea bites. My arms, chest & back looked like one giant, itchy bite. Came to find out a tad bit too late that the blanket in which I had chosen to aid in my sleeping comfort was, in fact, the dog's blanket & only caused me an itchiness that which I hope will never be duplicated. His girlfriend Andrea (bless her) covered me in an entire bottle of Calamine Lotion once an hour on the hour for most of the day until more goodies could be procured to help me forget I was in misery.

So why then, with such a miserable memory linked to this band & their music, are they one of my favorite groups? Is it their musicianship? Is it the psychedelic casuality that is the late Roger Keith Barrett? (Syd.) Is it the bitter demise of the band after The Final Cut? (Things got real ugly.) I really couldn't tell you. What I can tell you is that the sounds this band makes are unrivaled in any genre.

Have you ever sat down & listened to the Mono mix of Interstellar Overdrive? There is no panning involved at the end & some of the effects are simply mixed better in Mono. (The Stereo version always irked me.) Absolutely divine!

Pink Floyd - Interstellar Overdrive (MONO).mp3

Or Point Me At The Sky? (My favorite single.) Wondrous!

Pink Floyd - Point Me At The Sky (MONO).mp3

Or even the unreleased single Scream Thy Last Scream? (What was Syd thinking?)

Pink Floyd - Scream Thy Last Scream (MONO).mp3

Yes. There are songs I don't care for. Whole LP's in fact I could do w/out. Take for instance Animals. I understand the concept behind the storyline. 1984. George Orwell. (Bbbbbbbbbooooooooorrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnggggggggggg!!!!!!!!!!!!!) Or The Final Cut. (Too politically & personally based for my tastes.) Ummagumma anyone? (LP 1 is a little too artsy fartsy.....) Then there are LP's that I could not live w/out. Piper At The Gates of Dawn. A Saucerful Of Secrets. More. Meddle. (Thankfully this part of the list goes on & on.....)

Then there are the bootlegs. & loads of them there are......... a literal ton of discs to collect if one has the patience, money & motivation. I have some but not all. I really do try to only collect the recordings made by fans that are at least listenable. Let's face it, there are some horrible sounding recordings out there. Some that have the the mic way too far from the amps.......... or too close....... or just mixed horribly.....or suffer from age artifacts.....or azimuth is off on the transfer....... or recorded on previously recorded tapes........... the reasons go on & on & on as to why a bootleg could sound bad. Thankfully there are gems out there that are worth the listen.

A great website to get an idea on how the sound quality is on any live CD recording is The Pink Floyd Database. They have artwork, track listing, sound rating & a review. (Most of them are on the mark but a few I disagree w/..........) What I dig the most is they have a variety of artwork for each release of a single show. (I.E. if xx-xx-xxxx is released 5 times w/ different artwork by 5 different bootleggers they they generally will have all 5 sets of artwork up) This eliminates which version of which show you may have w/ great ease. If you are looking up LP's though you may want to go to The Pink Floyd Vinyl Bootleg Guide. Once again, they have a sound quality rating, track listing & a very small review. The artwork is not as abundant on different LP's as it is on different CD issues as there are many more CD issues then there are on LP's.

W/ the overall decline of label oriented music sales it is getting relatively easy once again to find numerous shows for sale at used CD stores. If digging through shelves & shelves of Dave Matthews & Phish boots to find what you want is not your cup of tea then may I suggest going to a record convention. There are usually tables & tables & booths upon booths of Beatles, Stones & Floyd recordings. (As well as others mind you. It's just that classic rock still rules the bootleg market.) There are other means of procuring unreleased recordings..... ones that cost very little or no money at all. (Except your initial investment. I.E. Internet connection.)

If you google Pink Floyd trade groups you will get to a site called FloydArtifacts. There are others but this is the one I would use. (This is the only one I regularly used.) They generally will trade you CD-R copies of shows they want for shows you want. This is referred to as a "one for one" trade. (one disc for one disc.) If you are just starting out & have nothing to trade for then may I suggest inquiring about a "B & P" trade or a "two for one" A "B & P" trade is for "Blanks & Postage". This is where yo send the trader blanks for your shows to be burned on & return postage for them to sent the copies back. You may also want to send two or three more in case there is a burn error & a "coaster" is produced. Unspoken etiquette is to send an equal amount of blanks for them to keep for their time but is not necessary. (Say you want four shows. Then send eight blanks. Four for the shows & four for the trader. [Plus two or three for "coasters.] A "Two for one" show is just what it says. Two blank CD-R's for one show. If a show is two CD-R's then any amount stated above is hereby doubled. (One's are now two's. two's are now four's. four's are now eight's & so on.....)

Then there is Bit Torrent. They claim "BitTorrent is the global standard for accessing rich media over the Internet." I will admit, from what I have heard, this is the most popular of them all but there are other programs you could use though such as Azureus, µTorrent & BitComet. (Here is a list of others.) These programs will let you connect to other computers to download files directly from them. Just install the program & then go find what you want. Let's say you want a Pink Floyd show. Google "Pink Floyd torrents" & find a site hosting the "torrent" file. The site you choose (let's say "The Pirates Bay" as an example) will have a search bar on top of the page. Type in who you are looking for. In this instance we are going to look for Pink Floyd. Here are the results of that search. Click on whatever looks interesting to you. Now look for something that says "Download this torrent." Click on "download file" & "save to desktop" (Or a folder of your liking.) You could open the file directly but should the program fail in any way (computer shuts down, missing files etc. etc.) then you would need to retrieve a copy of that file again. If you "Save to desktop" then you have a back up copy already. Now open the program you just installed, drop & drag the file you just downloaded into it & lo & behold you are now a "Leecher". As a "Leecher" you are sucking files from other computers that are doling out the files. Once the download completes the program will roll you over automatically to be a "Seeder". "Seeders" are computers who dole out the files to leechers. It is customary to upload as much as much as you download. This is known as your "Share Ratio". Most sites will block or ban you if you do not maintain at least a .5 (50%) share ratio. Dime-A-Dozen is a good example of this but membership is hard to acquire as it is very popular. The site is updated every 10 minutes so keep trying.....they offer a lot of things you just can't find anywhere else . Demonoid is another good site but the registrations are closed. Unless you know someone who can send you an invitation code you are S.O.L.

Now for the releases. As stated before...... there are good ones & there are bad ones. If this is your first time & you want to get some good shows just remember there is always The Pink Floyd Database. If you don't want to go to another site & do some research then may I suggest looking for shows issued on these lables.

MoLM (Man of Leisure Music.)

FRP (Free Range Pigs.)

Harvested (Self explanatory.)

Those stated above are fan issued & never for sale releases of recordings that are 99% the best sound quality available. (Once in awhile there comes an upgrade.... but that is to be expected.)

A good example of this is "For Reasons I Don't Understand". This was put out by Free Range Pigs (CDR 022/023) in 2002.



Pink Floyd - Cymbaline - Emerson Gymnasium. Case Western. Cleveland, OH. 11-6-71.mp3

The original tape was supplied by someone who only wanted to be referred to a "Jonz". (Psstttt.....it's Jim Jones from Pere Ubu......) Recorded at Case Western University 11-6-71. This is one of the better recordings of live Floyd I have yet to hear. A little bassy in parts but everything is pretty damn clear & you can tell what is going on. Later on it was discovered that the copy of the tape issued had NR (Noise Reduction) applied to it cutting off the sound in the 165000 Hz -22050 Hz ranges. This eliminated tape hiss but removed some ambient sounds of the recording as well. A Master Clone of the tape was later discovered & a "Version 2" was issued. This time the discs were "warts & all" & sounds great. (Even w/ the hiss.....as there is very little of it to begin w/.........) Other Free Range Pigs releases include......

Broadcasting From Europa 1



Pink Floyd - Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun- Broadcasting From Europa 1 6-12-71.mp3

& Complete Concertgebouw 1969.



Pink Floyd - Work - Concertgebouw, Amsterdam 9-17-1969.mp3

The above mentioned show has the added bonus of having an unreleased track in ANY form. No single. No LP. No nothing! This song was written & used solely for the purpose of this concept performance. For more inf on that please see this page. (For once Wiki got something right.) There are several performances & there are several recordings of those performances out there but this one sounds the best & is the most complete as it was tapes off of a re-broadcast made by VPRO. (Wiki seems to be on a roll..........)

Think I'll post one unrelated track to F.R.P. This Is from 10/28/1971. It was recorded in Ann Arbor, Michigan at Hill Auditorium.



Pink Floyd - Careful With That Ax Eugene - Ann Arbor, MI. Hill Auditorium. 10-28-71.mp3

I love the water dripping effect.............. & w/ that I am off to ponder what, after all this time, still attracts me so to this band, these musicians & to the music they create............

The 13th Floor Elevators - Psychedelic Mixes.

First.......... a little (personal) background on this LP before I get into the meat of this post. Then you will possibly be able to understand my obsessive/compulsive about this release a little bit better...........

There are 3 significant points in my life that intersect w/ this release.

The first one being that I was a loner growing up. I had great difficulty relating to other kids & therefore was quiet & withdrawn. This seemed to attract more people then pushed away though as now that I look back I realize that even though I wanted nothing more then to be left alone I never was. There was constant family conflict......... nothing I could rectify as a youth so I took the only option I had available. For months at a time I would not go home. Unusually (from what I understand) I would still go to school (enough to pass) & I even participated in after school activities such as soccer & worked in a haunted house for a season. Anyway I had a very close friend at that time named Ray. Ray would hide me in his attic until his mom left for work (night shift nurse). Then he would wake me (every single time) by playing Fire Engine at top volume. No matter how fucked up I was when I fell asleep we'd get up & pump more into our bloodstreams & head out for a spell. Waking up to Fire Engine every day for months on end is the first part of this puzzle.........

Fire Engine.mp3

The second is after I was sent away to a reform school in Ohio I got a job at The Record Exchange. I was there for the next 15 years. When I first started there were 2 managers who would just constantly fill my head w/ knowledge. One was Vicki who gave me an appreciation for jazz & classical even some world music. Then there was Terry. Terry was eccentric. Terry was odd. Terry was Terry. We had both found out that we grew up in the same area of Ohio under the same circumstances & this created a very strong bond for me. After work Terry would take me down to the basement where we kept the overstock LP's (new & used) & just pull 10 LP's out at a tme & tell me to go listen to them. They were always good. From Caravan to The Dead Boys to The Blue Orchids. He would also make me cassettes. (It was one of his cassettes that played a part in point 3.) One cassette in particular had The 13th Floor Elevators - The Psychedelic Sounds of.... on one side & on the other was The first LP by The Silver Apples. This was the first time I had heard the LP all the way through & not just one song. This is the second piece...........

You're Gonna Miss Me.mp3

The third piece is when in college I had a roommate named Dave. Dave was a drunk. I remember carrying him over my shoulder 3 flights up just to have him puke beer down my back. Anyway........... first week of school. No one is talking, just co-existing. Barely a hello let alone any conversation. I was reading Camus The Stranger on the bottom bunk. Dave got down from the top bunk & put a CD in. It Was Spacemen 3 The Perfect Prescription. He tracks up Rollercoaster & presses play. Then gets back up to his bunk. Halfway in I realize I am singing along but don't know why. Dave climbs back down & catches me singing to it. "Oh.....you like Spacemen 3?" "No......actually it's a 13th Floor Elevators song.........." Out comes the cassette & we compare the 2 groups the rest of the night.

Rollercoaster.mp3

As you can read all 3 moments stand out strongly in my mind. All 3 moments deal w/ one record. The 13th Floor Elevators - The Psychedelic Sounds of The 13th Floor Elevators.

So over the years I have collected Their LP's & CD's. Read books about them & found cool stuff in their solo records, their influences & their contemporaries. But only until recently did I come to find that there were different mixes of this LP. Now I knew there were Mono mixes & Stereo mixes as the Stereo mix was the common one out on CD & there was bootleg Mono mixes floating around on LP. What I mean by different mixes in this instance is this recording has separate mixes for LP, 8-Track & CD. Yes, 8-Track!!!! Now this led me into a whole new category of OCDness. I had to hear all 3 mixes.

Thankfully there is a Google trade group called Texas Psyche (see also Texas Psyche Ranch for their online pressence) that had the resources & time to compile the LP & 8-Track mixes onto CD-R's & make available for trade. From what I understand they were allowed to issue such recordings under the promise that if you received a disc that you send $3.00 per disc to Sumner Erickson for The Roger Kynard Erickson Trust to help w/ Roky's medical expenses. This was back in the late 90's. That right has since been revoked due to a program called Bit Torrent which makes it possible to download a copy & it not be traceable as to who owes how much. (Not that anyone ever sent money anyway........ but this was the reason given as to why there are no more trades on these discs.) Now you have to find them on torrent sites such as Demonoid which actually makes it a lot easier to get copies of them as it seems like they are posted constantly.

Here is the front & back covers for the CD-R releases for the LP & 8-Track release. They made them 2 on 1's. The Psychedelic Sounds of... & Live (which isn't actually live but a collection of single releases w/ the live chatter from a Beach Boys LP lifted off & laid over the fade in's & out's) on one disc.

LP-front


LP-back


8-Track-front


8-Track back


& here is Easter Everywhere & Bull of the Woods.

LP-front


LP-back


8-Track-front


8-Track back


& now the final part of all this. I have selected She Lives (In A Time Of Her Own) to post all 3 mixes of as an example of what I mean. I think it is a good choice as it has background vocals & subtle instrumentation. Listen for the balance of instruments (what's higher & lower in the mix) & how the background vocals stand out or retreat back depending on the mix.

LP-She Lives (In A Time Of Her Own).mp3
8-Track-She Lives (In A Time Of Her Own).mp3
CD- She Lives (In A Time Of Her Own).mp3

Correction. It appears that you still can get the CD-R's through trades w/ Texas Psyche..........
but it also appears that they are not too active anymore as a group per see. To me, it looks like they just issue fan club discs now & post on Bit Torrent sites themselves........... much like the Syd Barrett "Have You Got It Yet" series.............. but that's for another post..........

Real Life Permanent Dreams

In the grand tradition of Nuggets..........



& Nuggets II..........



(You gotta love Rhino Records.)

we now have Real Life Permanent Dreams. While the Nuggets box sets are an extension of the original 2 LP set issued in the 70's & compiled by Lenny Kaye (Patti Smith Group's guitarist) Real Life Permanent Dreams is a continuation on that the theme. Collecting rare & hard to find singles & obscure LP tracks Castle has really put together one hell of a package. They did a beautiful job on The Kinks reissues & this set ranks right up w/ those as far as sound quality goes. The package is spectacularly adorned & the information on the groups abound. While some stalwarts of the scene do make an appearance in this set the tracks chosen are not the regular affair. You won't find the hits......... but what you will find is something that will make you look past the hits & rediscover the artist or group in question. (I.E. The Crazy World of Arthur Brown is present. They used Fire [Unreleased Alternate Version] & after listening to it I found myself dragging out every C.W.o.A.B. disc I could find & scaring the kids w/ "Fire Poem"...........)



Rhino Records set the bar real high w/ Nuggets but Castle & R.L.P.D. comes damn close to meeting the standard. Not bad for a label that started out merely compiling cheap best of packages. They use to employ a company called Shoot That Tiger to do all the artwork & it always looked cheesy.

Here is an example



but since being taken over by Sanctuary (in turn being taken over by Universal) it looks like they are going to be a force to reckon w/ in at least the re-issue department.







(Sorry...........no pics of the booklet............)

Icarus - Yellow Balloon.mp3
Timon - The Bitter Thoughts of Little Jane.mp3
The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown - Fire (alt.version).mp3
Marc Bolan (with John's Children) - The Lilac Hand Of Menthol Dan.mp3

Compilations out the yazoo.........

Must be that time again. About once a year I get a very bad itch. Things start to spin & I get dizzy. The walls close in & the sky falls down & my legs feel like rubber & I hear in my head a screaming voice over & over & over again.......... "I NEED MORE MUSIC!!!!!" This time around I am in hyper-focus mode about compilations....... It started off getting those most fab collections called "Rubble" that fed the fire & spun me into my latest decent into obsession. Thankfully (as not always the case) there has been a bevy of wonderful psychedelic/garage rock collections out there simply for the taking. As you have previously read I am a huge fan of the "Rubble" series. It is the first place I was able to collect some of The Whimple Winch tracks so I look upon them fondly. This time around I was able to snag more major coups w/ the "Pebbles" series. Over the years of collecting I have managed to acquire the first couple of discs. (As w/ the Rubble series previously mentioned). But my obsession requires that I get a whole catalog all at once.(Whether artist or group or series......) That way I can delve headlong into it w/out interruption or be forced to wait patiently until I can score my next fix. So I never really sat down & digested the music or info contained within those hallowed pieces of plastic & paper because I knew that once done I would have to display a certain level of maturity that I simply do not have. The Rubble series was a huge score as I got all 20 finally after years of searchin' 'round........ but that just fanned the flames & I just couldn't leave well enough alone. I had to have more.......... & more is what I got! There are 28 discs in the Pebbles series so I should be occupied for quite a while. This collection has rare, unreleased & obscure goodies ranging from just plain odd to focusing on regional hits of the US to going overseas & finding garage rock rarities these discs cover a good chunk of must have music. The sound is raw...... but a good raw as these tracks are transfered from old 45's. It sounds to me as minimal re-mastering has been applied & maybe some click & hiss removal. If so then kudos to whoever did the transfers as they sound glorious!

Adjeef The Poet - Leek, I'm A Freak.mp3
Elastic Band - Spazz.mp3
Green Fuzz - Green Fuzz.mp3
Higher Elevation - The Diamond Mine.mp3
Kim Foley - The Trip.mp3

The artwork is not slouching either.





The first ten in the series were issued on the BFD Records label. (Big Fuckin' Deal.)
The rest were issued on AIP. (Archive International Productions.) The BFD discs have more odd songs while the AIP's have the bulk of the garage rock selections. I do prefer the BFD's myself but there are many gems to be found throughout the series. Volume 1 originally came out on Mastercharge Records (my guess is that's how they paid for it......) & is now a pretty collectible LP in some circles. Greg Shaw is rumored to have played a hand it this LP's creation & as his A.I.P. label issued the later re-issues I would say that this is a sure bet. If you do not know the name Greg Shaw then you should read "Bomp: Saving The World One Record At A Time".



This is a very nice overview of Bomp Records. They are responsible for some of the coolest & most comprehensive LP's & CD's out on the market today. Known for their rock releases they do venture off that path occasionally. (They were the first to issue Spacemen 3 - Playing With Fire in the states.) Written about Greg posthumously by his ex-wife Suzy Shaw & ex-Deviants frontman & current Sci-Fi writer Mick Farren. (Who also wrote songs for bands like Hawkwind [Lost Johnny] & taught classes at UCLA). Suzy has a nice style that remains friendly & nostalgic all the way to the end. Like listening to an old friend. Now Mick on the other hand......... he's got a style all his own. Not a big fan of his later vampire books but absolutely love the D.N.A. Cowboys series. Get "Bomp".......... get Mick's stuff................... all of it is worth reading. (Over & over & over...............)