I'd heard the 13th Floor Elevators mentioned as a cult 1960s US Garage Rock band, and was aware of Julian Cope's love for them, so on seeing this compilation for not very much at all in a sale, I thought I'd pick it up and find out more.
It's yet another one which hasn't had too many trips around the CD rack, so will feel almost like a first listen.
It opens with the band's debut single You're Gonna Miss Me, a sound almost typical of such bands, that of crude promise, which is contrasted by the next song, also a single, Step Into This House, much more developed and with a fuller, more ambitious sound. Fire Engine, an early B-side, is much more early promise in four chord rock'n'roll. Livin' On, their final single is forgettable, as is 1967 single She Lives In A Time Of Her Own, but there's a bit more to Reverberation which sounds darker and more interesting.
However, I'm beginning to struggle now - Earthquake and Tried To Hide are listenable rock, but Scarlet and Gold, Nobody To Love and You Don't Know are awful. I Don't Ever Want To Come Down has the makings of a decent rock song, but the audio quality isn't good. Levitation, however, is much more like it, a great song. I Had To Tell You and Splash are slower and less interesting, even limp.
There's a couple of covers - a live version of Van Morrison's Gloria which isn't great, but there's a lot to like about Roky Erickson's delivery of Dylan's Baby Blue.
The penultimate track on this compilation is Slide Machine, which rocks an enjoyable three and a half minutes, but sadly, we have to listen to the tired and feeble May The Circle Remain Unbroken before we can finish.
I've been disappointed by this CD. There are a few very good tracks, and I'd prefer to remember Roky Erickson and the band by those. But there's so much filler, that it's not a great listen.
2* -There's about 20 minutes of really good stuff in this hour long compilation.
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