Search - 13th Floor Elevators :: Bull of the Woods

Dear Doctor Doom.....um, yea..so, how've you been?

autopilot_nocontrol | la, ca | 12/25/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"It seems like most of the bitching about this album stems from a spoiled rigidness on "production" and "studio quality". These people write scathing letters of disappointment to their congressman when a piano key or guitar pluck doesn't sound like it was being played in their very room. Did your guys' vaginas get all sandy when you heard the Stones' "Out of our Heads"? Huh? Ohh...i guess ole Hips and Lips get some slack 'cuz they don't get no satisfaction (no no no, hey hey hey). Listen, biatches...when the musicianship doesn't tend to ramble (even then, it's still enjoyable), like on "Rose and the Thorn" and "Scarlet and Gold", Sutherland's sprawling acid-drenched, wet-as-hell guitar work is pretty incomparable as far as I've heard. The Elevators can still work that echo like they did on "Psychedelic Sounds.." while their subtle feedback and distortion almost has sexual intercourse with the distinct, strange and damn catchy falsetto chants, like "Till Then". The galloping heavy psych-folk and tight harmonies of "With You" and "Down by the River" conjure up the Dead, in more ways than one. And Cream couldn't come up with better trippy-ass blues-raunch than "Livin' On" and "Barnyard Blues" even if they had Robert Johnson stand in for Clapton and plugged a wah-pedal to his guitar.



Erikson's last wails and howls on the former and "Never Another" is kind of foreboding, racked with a kind of psychological desperation and frustration only a cult-followed Texan psych-garage band leader- who feigned insanity til he went insane (really)- could only have. And they add those horns to already farkin' sublime "Dear Doctor Doom" without any psychedelic pretense, while Erikson harmonizes flawlessly with Sutherland and the rest of the gang. And to botch this up 'cuz of some fuzz in yer speakers. I WAS RAISED ON FUZZ GODDAMNIT! IT BUILDS CHARACTER!...ahem, yea. This album is the audio psych-rock equivalent to a bottle of purple Nyquil. You know you'll trip balls on that shiite...yummy."

Progressive even for the '60s

Ian Hough | 03/26/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I've been listening to '60s music for over 25 years, and this is one of the few albums of that time that really fits the description of 'strange, but groovy'. I've been an Elevators fan for almost as long, and for me this one really kicks. It was the perfect release for '68. The first two tracks alone are worth the acquisition. I love all three albums and 'Bull of the Woods' is a good closer to the trilogy. If you're going to get the first two (highly recommended also), then complete the set with this one. Pure Texas psychedelia ala the 13th Floor!!!"

Almost as good as the first two

Ludix | Upton, MA United States | 10/26/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Only the absence of Roky's manic energy makes BULL OF THE WOODS a bit of a letdown compared to PSYCHEDELIC SOUNDS and EASTER EVERYWHERE. If anything, BULL has the weirdest songs and trippiest-sounding production of the three albums. Ghostly background vocals, bizarre horn arrangements (yes, horns!) and somberly mystical lyrics make this set a must-own for conoisseurs of the psychedelic genre. The audio quality is pretty miserable, but oddly enough, the thin, grungy sound seems to work with this material, producing a proto-Flying Saucer Attack effect. If you own the first two Elevators LPs (and you'd damn well BETTER own them if you care about psych-pop), don't hesitate to check this one out."