Voices Green And Purple (A Look At The Greatest Psychedelic Recordings)

"There is no season when you are grown~You are always risen from the seeds you've sown~There is no reason to rise alone~Other stories given have sages of their own."-Tommy Hall

Nov 10, 2022

Growing up in San Francisco, walking down Haight Street regularly after High School was out, pondering what it was like to live through the Summer of Love…wishing I could have experienced that moment in time: it was inevitable that I would be drawn to the psychedelic music that came out of that era. In the mid-80s you could still find relatively inexpensive classic psych records from the late 60s and early 70s in the bins of Revolver Records and Street Light. You could submerse yourself in the incredible compilations that had been more-recently produced like the game-changing Nuggets and Pebbles releases, The Garden of Delights series, Acid Visions and so many more.

By freshman year of High School I was digging in deeply to the genre, with three bands being my triumvirate of psych brilliance: The Electric Prunes, with one of the quintessential psych singles I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night, The Chocolate Watchband, the psychedelic meets garage powerhouse from Los Altos via a riot on the Sunset Strip, and The 13th Floor Elevators, hailing from Texas with their transcendental lyrics and iconic fuzz-guitar-meets-jug-band sound. I collected their records, played them to death, read whatever I could about them, and bought records of other bands that were mentioned in the articles I could find. I was a rabid consumer of lysergic sounds.

Psychedelic music is much like the surrealist art movement, an unexpected and powerful defier of reality and in some cases the social and political unrest of the day. It is blissful escapism, it presents dreamy utopias…intriguing looks into strange, wonderful worlds that are ever-changing and free…often deeply philosophical, pondering what it is meant to be an evolved human. And some of it is just pure, tripped-out nonsensical bliss. Leave your body behind.

The best way to get into psychedelic music is to connect with other fans of psychedelic music. There used to be a store called Mod Lang in El Cerrito that was a ground zero for paislied discoveries, which is where I first heard July, and when I started working at Warner Bros., record collecting legend Geoffrey Weiss would make me tape after tape from his vast and far-out collection while writer and Imperial Dog Don Waller would host me for sessions in his Laurel Canyon house, where he would spin single after single of psych/punk/garage brilliance while hopped up on his delicious and addictive coffee cookies.

Last week, I decided to ask a bunch of friends—writers, musicians, enthusiasts—to offer up their favorite psychedelic records, stressing that I did not want a list of records they THOUGHT defined the genre, but records that they found themselves listening to the most on a regular basis. And many got back to me, with inspired lists that included albums I knew, that I forgotten about, and some that I had not yet heard (which blows my mind after all these years of collecting). As psychedelia is somewhat amorphous…shifting…melting and undefined…each contributor ingested my ask in different ways. Some gave me a list of albums, some sent over a list of singles…there are lists that contain new AND old bands and there are lists that show that the “psychedelic” moniker can be more liberally used for different kinds of bands and sounds. Some simply listed their favorites, and some gave wonderful analysis. All of the lists sent to me are below…in no particular order…and they are all super compelling, with the most often sited band being, yes, The 13th Floor Elevators while Pink Floyd’s Piper At The Gates of Dawn reigned supreme from their regal UK throne. As far as modern psych bands mentioned, The Flaming Lips are the torch carriers. Which makes total sense.

I’ll start with my list, which is purely focused on records that came out in the late 60s and early 70s (if I had included more modern music, The Spacemen 3 would have definitely been featured). These lists combined are a triumphant musical answer to Timothy Leary’s question: “What do you turn on, when you turn on?” This newsletter is dedicated to the memory of Greg Shaw, who was such a huge proponent of psychedelic music.

Lost Dreams by The Electric Prunes (which I was lucky enough to work on)
Easter Everywhere by The 13th Floor Elevators
The Best of The Chocolate Watchband by The Chocolate Watchband
July by July
Just Colour by The Lollipop Shoppe
Sell Out by The Who (especially the mono mix)
Pebbles Vol. 3 (Various Artists)
Future by The Seeds
After Bathing At Baxter’s by The Jefferson Airplane
Piper At The Gates Of Dawn by Pink Floyd (especially the original UK mono pressing)
Dreaming With Alice by Mark Fry

Joel Selvin, Critic, Author

Excuse my SF bias…

Bombay by It’s a Beautiful Day
Section 43 (Rag Baby version) by Country Joe & Fish
Viola Lee Blues by The Grateful Dead
LSD-25 by The Gamblers
1982-A by Sons of Champlin
Tomorrow Never Knows by Steve Marcus
Interstellar Overdrive by Pink Floyd
Rainy Day Raga by Peter Walker
Memphis by Sandy Bull
Who Do You Love by Quicksilver Messenger Service

Jaan Uhelszki, Journalist, Creem, Jeckle

I broke it down into old and new…

Forever Changes by Love
Axis Bold As Love by Jimi Hendrix
Buffalo Springfield Again by Buffalo Springfield
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band by The Beatles
Easter Everywhere by 13th Floor Elevators
Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots by The Flaming Lips,
Francis the Mute by Mars Volta
Now Here Is Nowhere by The Secret Machines
Directions to See A Ghost by Black Angels
B.R.M.C by Black Rebel Motorcycle

Larry Hardy, In The Red Records

Underground by The Electric Prunes (although I actually play Lost Dreams more these days)
Easter Everywhere by The 13th Floor Elevators
Piper At The Gates Of Dawn by Pink Floyd
The Best Of The Chocolate Watchband: The Chocolate Watchband
Head by The Monkees
SF Sorrow by The Pretty Things
Another Day, Another Lifetime by The David
The Notorious Byrd Brothers by The Byrds
Their Satanic Majesties Request by The Rolling Stones
Morgen by Morgen

Don Fleming, Velvet Monkeys, Lou Reed Archivist, Producer

Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus by Spirit: The first Spirit album may have been the most psychedelic but all of the first four Spirit albums, ending with ‘Twelve Dreams’ had their unique psychedelic touch. My fav psych band.
Music in a Doll’s House by Family
Future by The Seeds
Vanilla Fudge by Vanilla Fudge
The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor by The 13th Floor Elevators
Odessey and Oracle by The Zombies
Axis: Bold as Love by The Jimi Hendrix Experience
SF Sorrow by The Pretty Things
The Soft Machine by The Soft Machine
Piper at The Gates of Dawn by Pink Floyd

Well, I was wondering why I didn't put any of The Beatles albums on the list and realized that some of their best psychedelic stuff came out on the singles, which were non-LP songs. And also with Donovan, I only had these as singles, not the albums, so I was tripping to these at 45rpm. So here's a dozen psychedelic singles that I played the hell out of, to add to my favs.

The Beatles

Paperback Writer/Rain 1966
Yellow Submarine/Eleanor Rigby 1966
Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever 1967
All You Need Is Love/Baby, You're a Rich Man 1967
Hello, Goodbye/I Am the Walrus 1967
Lady Madonna/The Inner Light 1968

Donovan

Sunshine Superman/ The Trip 1966
Mellow Yellow/ Sunny South Kensington 1966
Wear Your Love Like Heaven/Oh Gosh 1967
Atlantis/I Love My Shirt 1968
Hurdy Gurdy Man / Teen Angel 1968

Iron Butterfly

In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida/Iron Butterfly Theme 1968

Cheryl Pawelski, Omnivore Recordings

Probably more than 10, psychedelic by my own definition of course…

Farewell Aldebaran by Judy Henske & Jerry Yester
Secos & Molhados by Secos & Molhados
The Notorious Byrd Brothers by The Byrds
Merryweather Post Pavilion by Animal Collective
Swaddling Songs by Mellow Candle
Forever Changes by Love
Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots by The Flaming Lips
God Bless The Red Krayola And All Who Sail With It by Red Krayola
Joy Of A Toy by Kevin Ayers
Their Entire Catalog by The Spacemen 3
No Other by Gene Clark
The Velvet Underground and Nico by The Velvet Underground and Nico
Tago Mago & Ege Bamyasi by Can
Os Mutantes by Os Mutantes

And way too many more...

Bill Bentley, Writer, Producer, Texan

1. 13th Floor Elevators/Psychedelic Sounds. Out of the central Texas hills came a sound so advanced, so wondrous, so downright psychedelic that it still seems like a miracle it happened at all. Higher states of conciousness were studied from every angle--from the world on fire to the glorious colors of hallucinations in a church--and then sung by a voice that knew the several levels of human knowledge. Leader Tommy Hall had seen the center of the universe and was committed to sharing it with others. Which he did in 1966.

2. Red Krayola/Parable of Arable Land. Houston is a tough town, dubbed the Murder Capital of the World in 1967 when the Red Krayola trio made their recording debut. Released on the same label as the 13th Floor Elevators, this band saw the darker side of life and used it to take listeners on a wild ride up the ladder of knowledge. Feedback became elixir in their hands, and mental gyrations a way of life. Needless to say, the Red Krayola had a short run at divinity before an early explosion.

3. 13th Floor Elevators/Easter Everywhere. The perfect psychedelic album that almost had a chance at changing the world before the Texas law enforcement dynasty put a knee on the band's life. There are enough revelations of eternal truths on the songs, though, that nothing can stop their march forward. 55 years later the three-eyed man who wrote many of these prophetic lyrics is still yo-yoing where he will: in a Tenderloin den in San Francisco where he lives in a time of its own.

4. Grateful Dead/Anthem of the Sun. When their first album missed the bubbling bullseye, the Grateful Dead regrouped, double-downed on their LSD intake and went for the glory. These suite of songs surely found what they were looking for, and for the next near-thirty years the Dead saddled up the troops and left for the frontier sratosphere. The bus came by and all got on for the journey to never ever land. The musical inventions and celestial visions offered here will not be topped. Cowboy Neal lives.

5. Country Joe & the Fish/Electric Music for the Mind and Body. Being from Berkeley in the 1960s was like being dared to soar in the Bay Area's lysergic galaxy. Which is what Country Joe & the Fish did: what had started in a political zeitgeist became a fast-fueled zoom into cosmic consciousness. Songs like "Bass Strings" and "Grace" proved that it's not where one lives but rather where one dreams. And no band ever had more Technicolor wanderings than this one.

6. Moby Grape/Moby Grape. Roaring into the Haight-Ashbury maelstrom with vivid pride, Moby Grape bowed to no band. Instead they wrote undeniable rock anthems as three-minute jewels, blew apart listeners with a musical prowess still unequaled and then destroyed the quintet's career by having their debut album feature the drummer flipping off their audience on the front cover. No matter how undeniably amazing the band was, it was over before it started. Heartbreak in the City by the Bay.

7. Quicksilver Messenger Service/Quicksilver Messenger Service. Guitar explorations were a San Francisco staple. And no one could explore like this band's John Cippolina. He took a tiny Gibson SG and turned it into a volcano-producing machine. Luckily the man had a band that could keep up with him. This debut album said it all, and even though they never quite reached the same height, it wasn't for lack of trying. Adding a returning lead singer on their third album took them down a different road, but one listen to their song "Silver and Gold" on this first release will permanently sear their mark on the brain forever.

8. Jefferson Airplane/After Bathing at Baxter's. If anyone needs to hear how advanced the rock bands of the 1960s could be, this is the album to start with. It lives as an extended take on everything psychedelic music promised: extended songs, miniscule symphonies and flat-out craziness. Clearly fueld by Owsley's finest, the Jefferson Airplane met their match, which turned out to be themselves, and managed to prove their prowess for all time. No man is an island, as they sing, he's a peninsula. The riddle of life in a lyric.

9. Alexander Spence/Oar. Moby Grape spearhead Alexander "Skip" Spence paid the price for freedom and was sentenced to incarceration in New York's Bellvue Hospital psych-ward in 1969. Literally. He ran the rooms there and when he was released rode a motorcyle to Nashville and recorded OAR in two days at the Columbia Records stduio. Then he left for the California sunshine and never really came back--to reality at least. These are songs created by someone who had seen inside the secret works that demonstrate the real freedom of the human mind. Caution is suggested.

10. Grateful Dead/Aoxomoxoa. As the 1960s slashed its way to an end with the final burning of the bush at Altamont Speedway, the Grateful Dead had already recorded one of their true masterpiece albums with Aoxomoxoa. Not always a happy ride, the music twists and turns the human condition into one that promoses everything but warns of the pitfalls ahead. "China Cat Sunflower" rips open the brainpan only to make its way to the time-old question, "What's Become of the Baby?" In-between all those mental rollercoaster machinations lies a secret to the universe that is still being uncovered by the hallucinoginec warriors of the Modern Age. There won't be anymore so it's best to remember what they all gave us, and keep it close to the heart and mind. Forever.

LSD or else...

Geoffrey Weiss, Manager, A&R Vet, Problematic Record Collector

List One (His favs change from day to day. Scroll down for more from him!)

Morgen by Morgen
Song of a Gypsy by Damon
Easter Everywhere by The 13th Floor Elevators
Del Jones’ Positive Vibes by Del Jones
CQ by The Outsiders (Holland)
Apache / Inca by Satya Sai Maitreya Kali
Jazz Raga by Gabor Szabo
The Eleventh House by Bob Reitman
Piper at the Gates of Dawn by Pink Floyd
Take a Picture by Margo Guryan

Alec Palao, Writer, Musician, Producer

Here’s a basic list, unashamedly on the pop-psych side of things as is my speed.

Subway (Smokey Pokey World) by Tickle
Grace by Country Joe & The Fish
Camillia Is Changing by Chameleon Church
Hearts To Cry by Frumious Bandersnatch
Double Sight by One In A Million
You Can’t Ever Come Down by Joe Byrd & Field Hippies: Make sure you keep the “waiting to die” segue, of course.
It’s A Sin To Go Away by We All Together
The Real Thing by Russell Morris
Winston Built The Bridge by Bump
Plastic People by Fringe

Tim DeLaughter, Polyphonic Spree

I really don’t have a long list of psych records, BUT, I have a few that I go to. In no particular order, just what pops in my mind:

Begin Plus by The Millennium: It may not be considered psych, but I feel there’s definitely an elasticity there. The track “The Island” is a fav.
In Search of the Lost Chord by The Moody Blues
Days of Future Passed by The Moody Blues: I wore this record out and still hit it from time to time. A lot of inspiration came from this record, especially for the latest Spree record coming in 2023.
In the Court of the Crimson King by King Crimson: I know it’s more progressive but I still consider the residue psychedelia, and in my mind it’s far out.
The Psychedelic Sounds of The 13th Floor Elevators by The 13th Floor Elevators: Being from Texas, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention The 13th floor Elevators…
Magical Mystery Tour by The Beatles
Head by The Monkees: “The Porpoise Song” is a staple in the Spree’s repertoire, we also had the honor of playing the song with the Monkees in England at a festival Bellingham.
Odessey and Oracle by The Zombies: A masterpiece

….Hell, I consider easy listening to be psychedelic, with artists such as Percy Faith, Montavani, and Paul Weston to name a few, they tell stories with classical instrumentals that take trips that never leave the farm! I love that stuff.

Steve Krakow, Plastic Crimewave, Illustrator

Ok kind of an eclectic mix here…!

Future Games by Spirit
Lemmings by Bachdenkel
Country Life And My Wife by Sansone and McDonald
Gagaku and Beyond by Herbie Mann
War of the Gods by Billy Paul
The Name of the Terrain by Denny Zeitlin
Into the Pandemonium by Celtic Frost
Paradise Lost by Lost Nation
I’d Rather Suck my Thumb by Mel Brown
T on the Lawn 4 3 by Rustic Hinge and the Provincial Swimmers

Jason Woodbury, Writer, DJ, Record Man

The United States of America by The United States of America
The Noise Made by People by Broadcast
Songs of Experience by David Axelrod
No Pussyfooting by Fripp and Eno
Inspiration Information by Shuggie Otis
The Soft Bulletin by The Flaming Lips
Since I Left You by The Avalanches
Revolver by The Beatles
Zug by Yves Jarvis
Grayfolded by The Grateful Dead and John Oswold

Sylvie Simmons, Writer, Ukuleleist

The first ten psychedelic songs by British artists I remember hearing…my first forays down the rabbit hole, as a sprog in London….

Strawberry Fields by The Beatles
Tomorrow Never Knows by The Beatles
Paper Sun by Traffic
Arnold Layne by Pink Floyd
Itchycoo Park by The Small Faces
A Very Cellular Song by The Incredible String Band
Hole In My Shoe by Traffic
Day in the Life by The Beatles
Vacuum Cleaner by Tintern Abbey
Hurdy Gurdy Man by Donovan

Geoffrey Weiss, Bingo Masters Records

List Two (Because his favs change from day to day)

The Churchills by The Churchills
Bohemian Vendetta by Bohemian Vendetta
Bent Wind by Bent Wind
Parallelograms by Linda Perhaps
Safe as Milk by Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band
Faintly Blowing by Kaleidoscope
Other Way Out by Sundial
Lazer Guided Melodies by Spiritualized
Stoned Guitar by Human Instinct
Album No. One in Two Sides by Peter Grudzień

Michael Minky, Minky Records, Musicologist

Top Psychedelic Songs

Alice In Blunderland by Captain Beefheart & Magic Band: Best guitar solo from original Mother Elliot Ingber
Careful With That Axe Eugene by Pink Floyd
River of Fever by Flesh Eaters: Take It Magazine flexidisc version
Psychotic Reaction by Brenton Wood
Beacon From Mars by Kaleidoscope (US): A bit of mideast psych from David Lindley & Co.
Faintly Blowing by the Kaleidoscope (UK)
Birds of Fire by Mahavishnu Orchestra
You're Gonna Miss Me by The 13th Floor Elevators
Satanic Majesty Request—The Whole LP by The Rolling Stones
Up In Her Room by The Seeds
Dragonfly by Thee Midnighters
Let's Spend The Night Together by Muddy Waters (from Electric Mud)

Andy Zax, Musicologist, Producer

Horizontal by The Bee Gees
A Gift From Euphoria by Euphoria
Family Entertainment by The Family
Live Dead by The Grateful Dead
Levi-Strauss Salesman’s Record, Fall 1967 by Jefferson Airplane et al.
Tangerine Dream by Kaleidoscope
Forever Changes by Love
The Plan by The Osmonds
The United States Of America (mono mix) by The United States Of America
White Light/White Heat by The Velvet Underground

Mike McGonigal, Maggot Brain, Producer

David, I did not follow the suggestions, sorry. Hope you like this, though:

THE BEST RECORD TO ACTUALLY GOBBLE UP STRYCHINE-HEAVY ACID TO IN THE 1980s

FLIPPER, Album Generic Flipper (Subterranean, 1982): Nothing takes a bad trip and flips it on its ass like this perfectly maniacal and beautifully nihilist dirge symphony. The urban myths surrounding the band—that Falconi was attempting to replicate PTSD-induced visions of bombs exploding with his guitar, and that the group had nearly perfected the “brown note” with the bass so be careful to not actually shit your pants when you see them live—gave them the aura of living trixter gods. No other band had that kind of power at the time, not Necros or the Buttholes, no one. And heavy-dosing to Flipper was the most fun way to run the gauntlet of your own mind. We all know how drugs make you so suggestible and stuff and it turns out that having “Nothingnothingnothingnothing” running through your brain was a good thing in the real world. It prepared you better than the flowers in the hair that had animated your elders, most of them former psychedelic warriors. I have a soft spot for “To rot beneath the earth!/ As we rot and live and breathe. No tears wasted no sorrow no pity/ No, no crying no loss!”

SOMEHOW THE BEST PSYCHEDELIC RECORD IS ARGUABLY THE FIRST PSYCHEDELIC RECORD

13TH FLOOR ELEVATORS, The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators (International Artists, 1966): You can climb the mountain, but did you build it in the first place? Were you your own guide along the way or did you pay these other sherpas to carry all the shit up with you? And how the hell is it that this thing is so consistently amazing when the guy on the jug is making piddley-pooh noises up and down all the time? Where in hell is the first press I bought at a record show for $15 in 1983?

I HAVE LIKE 28 YEARS CLEAN AND SOBER THESE DAYS BUT IF I DO DOSE AGAIN BEFORE I DIE WHAT WOULD I WANT THE SOUNDTRACK TO BE?

MUSTAPHA SKINDRANI, Musique Classique Algérienne - Stikhbar (EM reissue as Istikhbars And Improvisations, 2012): An actual application of sounds which one would want to get lost inside of leads me to consider music that creates its own world. This is the principal application of the psychedelic experience by/through/with music. Fuck a microdose, I would macrodose, but make it mushrooms so I can come back after a few days, and not get another heart attack or anything like that. Sublime plinkety-plonkety, minimalist music with percussive elements would be ideal. Piano works by Julius Eastman, La Monte Young, Emahoy Tsegué-Mariam Guèbru, and Charlemagne Palestine would probably be the best—but this here mid 1960s recording by the Algerian pianist and composer Skindrani almost has as much silence as it does sound. Not that it’s a Morton Feldmanwork; it almost swings at moments. But it constantly forces you to listen due to subtle pauses. And it’s just gorgeous, too. I can’t think of a better accompaniment to an adventure to the center of the mind than these gentle improvisations which meld classical and Chabbi styles.

THE ONLY PSYCHEDELIC RECORD I MYSELF RELEASED, WHICH I LOVE SO MUCH

FANTASTIC PALACE, Early Recordings/ Hello the Mellow Man (Audio Dregs, Social Music, 2013): Working on this with Eric Mast in Portland, we paired two very limited cassette releases of unexplainable instrumentals. It sounds like happy time in the Chrome universe (or, conversely, like dark psychedelic soundtrack jams). To me, it's always sounded like circus music meets the Faust/ Wümme aesthetic. It totally would have been on the NWW list if it had been issued earlier. Back in the early 1990s, my first failed record label was a collaboration with Shimmy Disc called See Eye. We only released a few things; the very best was the Fantastic Palace side of the Chinny Chin Chin record. There was never any information released then as to who made these hypnotic four-track home recordings, but with the reissue we could finally reveal that it was all the work of noted (and highly psychedelic) visual artist Alexander Ross.