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THE HISTORY OF PSYCHEDELIA
Sat 26th April and 3rd May 2003
Presented by David Quantick
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THE BEATLES - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
The essence of the summer of love distilled into vinyl, Sgt Pepper was a major cultural event. Freed from the demands of endless touring, the Beatles settled into Abbey Road for a long haul. Songs such as Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds and A Day in the Life made full use of the studio's primitive recording equipment and stretched the skills of George Martin to the limit. The result was innovative soundscapes the like of which had never been heard before. |
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THE PINK FLOYD - Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967)
The Floyd's debut album still sounds groundbreaking even today. Syd Barrett's songs of fantasy(The Gnome), childhood (Mathilda Mother) and interstellar exploration (Astronomy Domine) serve as launchpads for incredible musical explorations and improvisations. Drenched in echo, reverb and tape effects, Piper is a defining album of British psych. Of course, a heavy diet of acid and mandrax plunged Syd into a dark night of psychosis from which he has never re-emerged, leaving his colleagues to recruit David Gilmour and conquer the world. But for many, Piper remains their greatest moment. |
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THE GRATEFUL DEAD - Anthem of the Sun (1968)
There's a definite haze hanging over this album, unsurprising as it was recorded and mixed under the influence of heavy duty San Francisco LSD. In an attempt to replicate the hallucinatory quality of their live show the Dead ran up massive studio bills, but created an album of dense textures and long shifting free form jams. The results aren't entirely successful, but as a document of the Dead's lysergic lifestyle it's indispensable. |
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COUNTRY JOE AND THE FISH - Electric Music for Mind and Body (1967)
Country Joe McDonald and pals had their roots in folk and jug bands, and something of that can be found in the good natured jams of their debut. However, they also adopted fuzz guitars, Farsifa organ and the obligatory eastern influences, as well as launching into some inspired freak outs (Bass Strings, Section 43). Throw in some counter culture politics, free love and good humoured hedonism and you have a heady brew perfect for rapidly changing times. |
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THE DOORS - The Doors (1967)
LA bands always maintained a harder edge than their San Franciscan counterparts, and nowhere was this more apparent than with The Doors. Tuning in and dropping out wasn't a option for Jim Morrison - this was music as spiritual quest to Break on Through (To the Other Side), with the band as 'erotic politicians'. From the dreamy textures of The Crystal Ship to the psyched up garage blues of Back Door Man, The Doors is one of the great debut albums. The sense of creeping unease reaches its zenith on the oedipal nightmare of The End, about as far away from marmalade skies as it's possible to get. |
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THE SMALL FACES - Ogden's Nut Gone Flake (1968)
They created a perfect summer of love tune with Itchycoo Park, but Ogden's took things one stage further. Largely conceived on a boat trip down the Thames in the company of various girlfriends, dogs and intoxicating chemicals, it's a vibrant mix of the bands' patented R'n'B ruanch, music hall knees up and psychedelic whimsy. It's also one of rock's first concept albums (at least on side two), with its tale of Happiness Stan's search for the missing half of the moon. Unfortunately the band broke up months later, unable to repeat Ogden's huge success. |
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JEFFERSON AIRPLANE - Surrealistic Pillow (1967)
The Airplane's brand of folk rock inspired psychedelia gave them a number of big hits, not least the truly bizarre White Rabbit, a blend of Ravel's Bolero and Lewis Carroll. Pillow is their best and most focussed album, before drugs and excessive studio noodling got in the way of good songs. |
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VARIOUS ARTISTS - Acid Drops, Spacedust and Flying Saucers (2001)
The true home of British psych was the 45, many of which flared briefly then were lost in obscurity. However, this superlative box set collects dozens of classic mind expanding moments, ranging from the famous (The Who, Small Faces) to the obscure (Penny Peeps, The Tickle), with lots of strange diversions along the way. Expertly remastered at Abbey Road and kitted out with great sleeve notes from the team at Mojo magazine, it's an essential primer which opens a window into a strange Technicolor yesteryear. |
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JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE - Electric Ladyland (1968)
Free to experiment, Jimi produced this majestic double album, the purest expression of his psychedelic spirit. Covering a multitude of bases from screaming acid rock to ethereal sonic textures via supercharged blues and funk, Ladyland is Hendrix's definitive statement and remains something of a sacred text for guitar heroes everywhere. |
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THE BYRDS - The Notorious Byrd Brothers (1968)
Eight Miles High was an early entry in the psychedelic canon in 1966, but Notorious is perhaps the Byrds' greatest psych moment. A vivid panoply of inspired songwriting and electronic trickery, Notorious overcame a troubled genesis to become one of the defining albums of its era. David Crosby was fired before it was completed, but not before contributing the powerful anti-war song Draft Morning and the airy Dolphin's Smile. Eleswhere, the idealism of Wasn't Born to Follow is drenched in electronic phasing, while backwards guitars and throbbing bass underpin Change is Now. However, within months of the album's release the Byrds had turned their back on psychedelia for the more reassuring sounds of traditional country. |
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