Piper at the Gates of Dawn, other early Floyd, and Syd's The Madcap Laughs - don't remember what year Syd's came out, might be a little late for "the psychedelic era"; at least something by the Grateful Dead (hard to choose); gotta mention the local boys, the 13th Floor Elevators and Shiva's Head Band; Mr. Fantasy for sure - psychedelics are dripping off every note; The Mothers of Invention, Freak Out - but Zappa stayed psychedelic for years and never even did the drugs; The Moody Blues might get an Honorable Mention - Days of the Future Passed is from the era and pretty trippy, but not the sound most people today would call psychedelic; Magical Mystery Tour, which is more psychedelic than Sgt. Peppers, though not quite as good an album, maybe; any of Jimi's first three albums but I'd vote for the first, Are You Experienced?; The Doors' Strange Days is a good choice and deserves more attention, but the eponymous and Waiting for the Sun certainly fit the bill too; In a Gadda da Vida, sure, but I'd vote for Metamorphosis... Strange how many I can think of off hand. It says something about the importance of that sound. Or maybe it just says something about me... Nah, that couldn't be it!
Thank you for this: I was 17 in 1967 and so into all of this as it came out. But in 1967 there was no categorization of “psychedelia*.....there was only the music as it was releases and played on AM radio. Within the year you had FM radio emerge and then the great underground FM stations in the cities and college towns that went beyond the AM tracks and played entire album sides. Those couple or years 1966, ‘67 and ‘68 were, hands down, my favorite period in music.
everyones opinions on this subject and any music is going to vary, thats what makes these kind of countdowns so good for me and i love all the albums you have shown, the moving sidewalks flash is so cool i have that on cd, love donovan so good, theres a great doc from a few years ago where he goes back to india and revisits where it all started awesome, really liked this cheers
A good first selection, a couple of albums would not be on my list but that is the great thing about music. I know Nuggets is a true classic and of course I have it but for me the two comps The Psychedelic Years / The Psychedelic Years Revisited on Knight/Sequel are much better. But that is taste for you!
I think way more than half of Satanic Majesties Request. The ending song on each side sucks but I love the rest. I don’t think Odessey and Oracle or Smily Smile are very good.
Could it be that you might subconsciously want to rank psychedelic songs rather than albums, since you seem to be conferring psychedelic status to some albums based on "just this one song alone?" In any case, a list of psych songs would be fun to do as well. It does occur to me there are some albums that are so thoroughly acid-drenched that we wouldn't have to turn a blind eye to a song like "Flowers and Beads" in order to have In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida count as a psychedelic album. Just a thought.
My only complaint is that you didn't rate Cheap Thrills by Big Brother & the Holding Co higher. IMO, James Gurley has the most acidic guitar solos ever on that album, especially, The Combination of the Two. And acid rock is synonymous with psychedelia.
WHOA.... VISUAL AND LIGHTING EFFECTS AT AMITY TRACKS. MINDS ARE BLOWN, MAN, WHAT A TRIP!!!!
Looing forward to Part 2. :)
Piper at the Gates of Dawn, other early Floyd, and Syd's The Madcap Laughs - don't remember what year Syd's came out, might be a little late for "the psychedelic era"; at least something by the Grateful Dead (hard to choose); gotta mention the local boys, the 13th Floor Elevators and Shiva's Head Band; Mr. Fantasy for sure - psychedelics are dripping off every note; The Mothers of Invention, Freak Out - but Zappa stayed psychedelic for years and never even did the drugs; The Moody Blues might get an Honorable Mention - Days of the Future Passed is from the era and pretty trippy, but not the sound most people today would call psychedelic; Magical Mystery Tour, which is more psychedelic than Sgt. Peppers, though not quite as good an album, maybe; any of Jimi's first three albums but I'd vote for the first, Are You Experienced?; The Doors' Strange Days is a good choice and deserves more attention, but the eponymous and Waiting for the Sun certainly fit the bill too; In a Gadda da Vida, sure, but I'd vote for Metamorphosis...
Strange how many I can think of off hand. It says something about the importance of that sound. Or maybe it just says something about me... Nah, that couldn't be it!
Glad you're covering this topic because I'm kind of a nerd for this kind of music. Nice list so far.
Thank you for this: I was 17 in 1967 and so into all of this as it came out. But in 1967 there was no categorization of “psychedelia*.....there was only the music as it was releases and played on AM radio. Within the year you had FM radio emerge and then the great underground FM stations in the cities and college towns that went beyond the AM tracks and played entire album sides. Those couple or years 1966, ‘67 and ‘68 were, hands down, my favorite period in music.
everyones opinions on this subject and any music is going to vary, thats what makes these kind of countdowns so good for me and i love all the albums you have shown, the moving sidewalks flash is so cool i have that on cd, love donovan so good, theres a great doc from a few years ago where he goes back to india and revisits where it all started awesome, really liked this cheers
Very cool! So The Chambers Brothers "The Time Has Come" made it to the top 15. :)
The driving force behind The United States of America album followed with Joe Byrd and the Field Hippies. Spotty, but trippy.
✌
A good first selection, a couple of albums would not be on my list but that is the great thing about music. I know Nuggets is a true classic and of course I have it but for me the two comps The Psychedelic Years / The Psychedelic Years Revisited on Knight/Sequel are much better. But that is taste for you!
Going back 50 +/- years the criteria would be it's Friday, just got paid, what album would go along with the tab of acid you just bought.
How would you describe the sound of '60's garage rock?
Garagey.
@@amitytracks thanks
you have to be high to enjoy the Grateful Dead, but when you are high there is no better band to hear.
I dunno. I think James Gurley's and Sam Andrew's guitar work boost Big Brother's psychedelic quotient into the stratosphere.
Good choices. Part 2 should be a barnburner.
I'd have Odessy & Oracle a bit higher. I love every track. But I'm a sucker for catchy pop melodies.
Glad you've got Steve Miller, The Doors and Dr. John here. Donovan a bit of a joke in England.
I know he's not taken too seriously sometimes (his own fault, at times), but at his best I thought he was really great.
I think way more than half of Satanic Majesties Request. The ending song on each side sucks but I love the rest. I don’t think Odessey and Oracle or Smily Smile are very good.
I more admire Odyssey and Oracle than love to listen to it.
Could it be that you might subconsciously want to rank psychedelic songs rather than albums, since you seem to be conferring psychedelic status to some albums based on "just this one song alone?" In any case, a list of psych songs would be fun to do as well. It does occur to me there are some albums that are so thoroughly acid-drenched that we wouldn't have to turn a blind eye to a song like "Flowers and Beads" in order to have In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida count as a psychedelic album. Just a thought.
It could be.
My only complaint is that you didn't rate Cheap Thrills by Big Brother & the Holding Co higher. IMO, James Gurley has the most acidic guitar solos ever on that album, especially, The Combination of the Two. And acid rock is synonymous with psychedelia.