IdleRich
IdleRich
Something I've been wondering about for a while. What music is actually psychedelic? I mean, I really like so-called garage-psych but in general I wouldn't really say that I find it psychedelic in any of the usually accepted senses of the word (the wiktionary defintion which seems to fit with my idea says "Of, containing or generating hallucinations, distortions of perception, altered awareness etc"). So what music (if any) does distort perceptions?
Although I've been thinking about this for a while the impetus to actually ask someone (you lot) was finally given by the latest Fact's psych chart compiled by one of the guys from FSOL which I saw posted on vinylvulture. Not what most would call psych but something to get the ball rolling.
Although I've been thinking about this for a while the impetus to actually ask someone (you lot) was finally given by the latest Fact's psych chart compiled by one of the guys from FSOL which I saw posted on vinylvulture. Not what most would call psych but something to get the ball rolling.
01: WHITE NOISE
'LOVE WITHOUT SOUND', from AN ELECTRIC STORM
(ISLAND, 1969)
Bored with some aspects of quantized computer dance and instrumental music without a voice or message, not to mention the narrow-mindedness of much songwriting of that time, we wanted to discover a more exotic, exploratory and innovative song-form. In other words, lyrical innovation alongside studio wizardry. After four years of Madchester having ruled the airwaves, the indie song wasn't really expanding our soul and neither was pure instrumental electronica..Surely there was a mutant hybrid ? Actually, there was: White Noise's An Electric Storm. Delia Derbyshire from the Radiophonic Workshop, sped-up tape loops, backwards sound effects and the strangest vocal narrative - recounting a story of "labyrinth thighs". We were elated.
02: APHRODITE'S CHILD
666
(VERTIGO, 1972)
Attracted by the cover of 666 with its strange old testament prophecy adorning the stark red sleeve - we were kind of looking for any music espousing alternative god concepts or mysticism - Brian and I found this record independently of each other. Truly exploratory spirits at work here, expanding the concept of the song again along and pushing the limits of studio experimentation too. Cosmic prog-rock with Vangelis at the controls, it might just be the best thing to come out of Greece since feta cheese!
03: THE ROLLING STONES
'2000 LIGHT YEARS FROM HOME', from THEIR SATANIC MAJESTIES REQUEST
(DECCA, 1967)
Dismissed as a poor copy of the Beatles' Sgt Pepper's when released in '67, Their Satanic Majesties Request is actually a very distinctive and unique album. Also deserves mention for having (in its original form) the grooviest holographic sleeve art I've ever seen. Jagger has never sounded so cosmic, so disembodied: "We're so very lonely / We're 2000 light years from home..."
04: THE BEATLES
'TOMORROW NEVER KNOWS', from REVOLVER
(PARLOPHONE, 1966)
This is in every archivist's list of definitive psychedelia, and rightly so. But after ten years of electronic dance music it could be appreciated according to a whole new set of criteria - this this is the original groove. The studio as instrument: drumloops and backwards tape FX hypnotise as Lennon puts layer upon layer of his vocals through the Leslie speaker (part of the Hammond organ, don't you know?), riffing on the theme of a Timothy Leary book while strung out on LSD. What's revolutionary about 'Tomorrow Never Knows' is the spiritual content of the lyrics which, by plundering the Tibetan Book of the Dead, tap literally into thousands of years of ancient mysticism - providing the perfect counterpoint to the most innovative ever use of the Abbey Road mixing desk . It's far trippier and inventive than much of so-called experimental music of the last 30 years!
05: DONOVAN
BARABAJAGAL
(EPIC, 1968)
Dismissed by some, but catapulted to fame early in his career as the UK's answer to Dylan, Donovan in fact carved out and now occupies his very own hallowed and unique musical space in the annals of time. On Barabajagal, aspects of jazz and eastern-tinged acid-rock collide under the watch of producer Mickey Most.
06: LEON RUSSELL
'THE BALLAD OF HOLLIS BROWN', from STOP ALL THAT JAZZ
(SHELTER, 1974)
It's not conventionally classified as psychedelic, but this Dylan cover - sung by Leon with his unmistakable bluesy growl, underpinned by dirty analogue synth, and backed up with a gospel choir - is a revelatory record which to this day forces a re-think of the 'P' word.
07: SERGE FRANKLIN
'LA MOUSSON', from FREE SITAR
(MONDE MELODY, 1970)
One factor common to both the trad archivist's definition of "psychedelic" and our own is the desire to filter everything new and hitherto unexplored into the musical lexicon. One of the first alternative languages to be incorporated into the rock 'n roll of the late 60s was the Indian raga...The ancient spiritual freeform improvisation on a Vedic theme...The sitar, the veena, the dilruba, the tablas, the modality and time signatures of the east were a revelation to western musicians looking to liberate themselves musically, spiritually and recreationally. Thus there was an explosion of sitar beat and experimentation with the drone plus the integration of mysticism into the lyrical form. Free Sitar is one of the best examples of an an ancient Indian instrument being deployed in a western setting to create a new form of acid raga!
08: MILES DAVIS
'RATED X', from PANTHALASSA
(COLUMBIA, 1998)
What do you get when you combine the freeform expressionism of one of the greatest musicians of all time with the bass-heavy studio wizardry of Bill Laswell? The answer is Rated X. It achieves in five minutes what drum 'n bass briefly promised to deliver in the 90s, with a heavy voodoo mantra groove snapping on Billy Cobham snare - shamanistic, genre-defying genius.
09: VANGELIS
'LET IT HAPPEN', from EARTH
(VERTIGO, 1976)
By the time we hit the 70s, the doors of perception had well and truly opened. Like many others, Lennon included, Vangelis was never the same again and all subsequent work was infused with an extra dimension. A latterday Balearic monster!
10: DEVENDRA BANHART
CRIPPLE CROW
(XL)
If you're looking for a modern exponent of joyrous, spiritually attuned cosmic re-ordering, then look no further. I am John the Baptist to this man's Jesus: I knew he would arrive and here he is. A masterpiece of psychedelic nursery rhymes from a modern magical minstrel.