- Roky Erickson - vocals (1965-68)
- Duke Davis - bass (replaced Dan Galindo)
- Dan Galindo - bass (replaced Ronnie Leatherman

  (1966-68)
- Tommy Hall - jug (1965-68)
- Ronnie Leatherman - bass (replaced Benny Thurman)

  (1965-66)
- Stacy Sutherland (RIP 1978) - guitar, vocals (1965-68)
- Danny Thomas - drums, percussion (replaced Ronnie

  John Ike Walton) (1966-68)
- Benny Thurman - bass, violin (1965-66)
- John Ike Walton - drums, percussion (1965-66)

 

 

- Roky Erickson (solo efforts)
- The Golden Dawn (Duke Davis, Bob Galindo and 

  Danny Thomas)
- Plum Nelly (Benny Thurman)
- The Spades (Rory Erickson) 

Genre: psych

Rating: *** (3 stars)

Title:  13th Floor Elevators Live

Company: Decal

Catalog: 

Year: 1985

Country/State: Austin, Texas

Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+

Comments: picture disc, includes bonus poster

Available: 1

GEMM catalog ID: 

Price: $70.00

Adding to the band's growing problems, in late 1968 Erickson was arrested for marijuana possession. Busted previously on a possession charge, Erickson had the misfortune of being arrested in Texas. Confronted with the probability of a hefty jail term, rather than deal with a long trial and a lengthy jail term, Erickson accepted questionable advice from his lawyer and pled insanity (in part claiming to have taken some 300 LSD trips). While avoiding a jail sentence, Erickson found himself incarcerated in the Rusk State Mental Hospital. Institutionalized, he was diagnosed schizophrenic and brain damaged (attributed to the massive doses of acid he'd taken). Treatment consisted of large doses of thorozine and other mood-stabilizers. Rather than helping him, the drugs very likely destroyed whatever was left of Erickson's already damaged psyche.

In the wake of the band's apparent break up, anxious to maximize it's financial investment, International Artists released 1968's "The 13th Floor Elevators Live". Hilarious in it's ineptitude, the album featured a hodge-podge of throwaway studio outtakes (a cover of Buddy Holly's "I'm Gonna Love You Too"), "B" sides (their cover of Bo Diddley's "Before You Accuse Me") and what were best described as studio scraps. Among the isolated highlights; the Erickson originals "You Gotta Take That Girl" and "You Can't Hurt Me Anymore". Inexplicably the label decided to market it as a concert set, even though it was evident to everyone except the deaf that the crowd noises were posthumously overdubbed. (In 1992 the English Decal label reissued the set as a picture disc. The reissue originally included a bonus poster.)

"The 13th Floor Elevators Live" track listing:
(side 1)

1.) Before You Accuse Me (Bo Diddley) -
2.) She Lives In a Time of Her Own (Tommy Hall - Roky Erickson) -
3.) Tried To Hide (Tommy Hall - Stacy Sutherland) - 
4.) You Gotta Take That Girl (St. John) - 
5.) I'm Gonna Love You Too (Sullvian - Maudlin - Petty) - 

(side 2)

1.) Everybody Needs Somebody To Love (Russell - Soloman Burke - Jerry Wexler) - 
2.) I've Got Levitation (Tommy Hall - Stacy Sutherland) - 
3.) You Can't Hurt Me Anymore (Tommy Hall - Roky Erickson) -
4.) Roller Coaster (Tommy Hall - Roky Erickson) -
5.) You're Gonna Miss Me (Roky Erickson) - 

Genre: psych

Rating: **** (4 stars)

Title:  Bull of the Woods

Company: International Artists

Catalog: IA LP 9

Year: 1968

Country/State: Austin, Texas

Grade (cover/record): VG-/VG-

Comments: scratch on band 2 side one; minor ring, edge and corner wear

Available: 1

GEMM catalog ID: 

Price: $70.00

With Erickson incarcerated, things only got worse when Sutherland was himself jailed on a pot conviction. Frustrated with the ongoing hassles, Hall discovered God, moved to San Francisco and disappeared from public view. With the band having effectively collapsed, International Artists again turned to the corporate vaults, unearthing a mix of previously completed material and tunes the band had begun recording for their planned third album, tentatively entitled "The Beauty and the Beast". With Rush again producing, you couldn't be blamed for expecting the re-titled "Bull of the Woods" to be a full scale disaster. Wrong !!! The album's a major surprise. Sutherland deserved considerable credit for picking up the compositional slack (the majority of the album co-written with Hall). While the album was clearly cobbled together, the set was far more structured than earlier efforts. The opener "Livin On" was a full tilt rocker, while "Till Then" and "Down By the River" displayed a knack for crafting Byrds-styled folk-rock. That wasn't to imply the band had abandoned their psychedelic roots, or penchant for the oddball. Check out "Dr. Doom" and Sutherland's slashing guitar on "Street Song". Elsewhere the album was rounded out by a pair of previously unreleased Erickson compositions - "Never Another" which starts out as a wonderful rocker, before collapsing into a major league freak out, and "May the Circle Remain Unbroken" (the latter is simply bizarre beyond description). All told, it's one cool LP !!! 

"Bull In the Woods" track listing:
(side 1)

1.) Livin On (Stacy Sutherland - Tommy Hall) - 
2.) Barnyard Blues (Stacy Sutherland) - 
3.) Till Then (Stacy Sutherland - Tommy Hall) - 
4.) Never Another (Roky Erickson - Tommy Hall) - 
5.) Rose and the Thorn (Stacy Sutherland) - 
6.) Down By the River (Stacy Sutherland) - 

(side 2)

1.) Scarlet and Gold (Stacy Sutherland) - 
2.) Street Song (Stacy Sutherland) - 
3.) Dr. Doom (Stacy Sutherland - Tommy Hall) - 
4.) With You (Ron Leatherman) - 
5.) May the Circle Remain Unbroken (Roky Erickson) - 


Having spent three years in jail, Erickson was finally released from Rusk Prison in 1971. He went on the enjoy an erratic solo career (see separate entry). Sadly, Sutherland was shot to death by his wife in 1978 domestic dispute.