13th Floor Elevators - Sign of The 3-Eyed Men 10-CD Box Set (2009)

Paul Drummond’s love affair with the 13th Floor Elevators continues to be a uniquely fruitful one. First, after years of painstaking research and sourcing interviews with the surviving members of the Elevators and their entourage, came Eye Mind, his hugely detailed biography of this most amazing yet strangely jinxed of bands from the genre-defining first wave of US psych.

Later, having been given unprecedented access to the International Artists masters, Drummond subsequently found himself trusted with the task of assembling what, from day one, was always intended to be the ultimate Elevators box set. With all tracks remastered and remixed by the band’s original engineer and producer Walt Andrus, the 10 CDs that make up Sign Of The 3 Eyed Men include both the original mono and alternative stereo mixes of the Elevators’ two most celebrated albums, Psychedelic Sounds and Easter Everywhere, plus a remastered version of their swansong Bull Of The Woods. Additionally, the box set also includes the first official release of Headstone: The Contact Sessions. Recorded hot on the heels of the Elevators’ legendary debut single, You’re Gonna Miss Me, in February 1966, Headstone was originally slated to be their debut album, predating Psychedelic Sounds by six months. Also seeing the light of day for the first time is a reconstruction of the “lost” third album, A Love That’s Sound (aka Beauty & The Beast). Needless to say, each of these titles come with an impressive array of outtakes, 45 versions, unreleased acetates, backing tracks, alternate mixes and demo and rehearsal recordings.

Completing the 10-CD set are three previously unreleased live collections, Live! In Texas, which features radio broadcasts, TV appearances and audience recordings from Austin, Dallas and Houston in 1966, Live! In California, Avalon Ballroom (from November 1966) and 13th Floor Elevators Live: Death In Texas, which includes the infamous 1967 Houston Music Theatre show and the 1973 reunion in Austin.

Despite their legendary status as trailblazers and the world’s first truly psychedelic band, the Elevators’ career has, until now, been defined by missed opportunities, record company ineptitude, Roky Erickson’s catastrophic mental breakdown and Stacey Sutherland’s desperate attempts to overcome his personal demons. The arrival of this eagerly-awaited box set finally the record straight on the Elevators’ legacy, sanctioned as it is by the surviving members of the band, with its title coming from the Elevators’ selfappointed mystic and electric jug-playing visionary Tommy Hall.

By way of visual accompaniment the set also includes a 72-page book illustrated with vintage concert posters and previously unpublished photos, plus a specially-produced selection of reproduction memorabilia. Thanks to its scope, Sign Of The 3 Eyed Men is the long-dreamed-of trip to the promised land for Elevators fans everywhere. With its release limited to 3,000 numbered copies worldwide and only available from www.internationalartistsrecords.com the message is clear: get your skates on or risk missing out on something very special!