Easter Everywhere

13th Floor Elevators

album cover

Psychedelic Rock, with Emphasis on the Psyche

The 1960s opened so many doors. Suddenly seekers like Tommy Hall, whose instrument was the electric jug, found themselves playing in rock bands like the 13th Floor Elevators. And singers like Roky Erickson, who later struggled with mental illness (he spent years in an institution where he was subjected to electroshock and other radical therapies), became oracles of the acid age. In this time of rapidly expanding consciousness (and unusual tolerance for cultural quackery), bands that walked their own twisted road could become voices of a generation even before they fully developed a "voice."

The 13th Floor Elevators were among the trippier of those outfits. Formed in a garage in Austin, Texas, the band had a minor hit called "You're Gonna Miss Me" in 1966, which was included on the debut The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators. Easter Everywhere, the considerably more disciplined follow-up, cranks up the band's strengths while occasionally pushing toward more extreme psychedelic weirdness. Erickson can be heard yelping and occasionally babbling about assorted inner crises. When he drops the veil and chooses to flat-out rock, as on "She Lives (in a Time of Her Own)," he's unexpectedly effective, a frontman who knows how to harness his demons.

Erickson, who's cultivated an adoring following for his subsequent solo works, seems to turn on the crazy at will: Tucked between the audacious cuts and the hallucinogenic explorations are more tender contemplations that feature his remarkably focused vocals—the original "I Had to Tell You," a cover of Bob Dylan's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue." These showcase the inventive work of guitarist Stacy Sutherland, whose fills and meandering asides are one reason this music endures still. Listen carefully and you'll hear that the consequential action is often going on behind him, as the musicians scramble to follow him into those trippier realms.

Genre: Rock
Released: 1967, International Artists
Key Tracks: "She Lives (in a Time of Her Own)," "Slip Inside This House."
Catalog Choice: Roky Erickson: Never Say Goodbye.
Next Stop: Daniel Johnston: Fun
After That: ? and the Mysterians: 96 Tears.
Book Pages: 773–774