1968: The Year of Psychedelic Rock
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1968 was a game-changing year for music, with the release of some of the most influential psychedelic rock albums of all time.
The Beatles – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is the eighth studio album by English rock band the Beatles, released on 26 May 1967. It was an immediate commercial and critical success, spending 27 weeks at the top of the albums chart in the United Kingdom and 15 weeks at number one in the United States.
Recording and composition
Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London during the winter of 1966–67. Martin originally envisaged a “concept album that would represent a performance by the fictional Sgt. Pepper band”, and he persuaded the group to Investigate contemporary psychedelic culture for inspiration. Harrison, who was also interested in Sgt. Pepper, had recently visited San Francisco and been influenced by the city’s Haight-Ashbury scene, as well as LSD experiences he hadmicrodosing while on holiday in Greece. The album’s title was inspired by drummer Ringo Starr’s temporary replacement, Billy Kinsley of Merseybeats, whose name led to the working title Billy Shears and Pepperland.
Release and reception
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was released on 2 June 1967 in the United Kingdom, on 1 June 1967 in the United States, and on 26 May 1967 in Australia. In the UK, it spent 27 weeks at the top of the charts, a record that remained unbroken for 15 years. In the US, it spent 19 weeks at number one on the Billboard 200 album chart, a record that still stands.
The album was ranked number one in many year-end and decade-end polls for top albums of all time. In 1998, Q magazine readers voted Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band the “greatest album of all time”, and it came second in a similar poll conducted by Mojo magazine in 1995. In 2000, VH1 placed it at number four on its list of greatest albums of all time, while Rolling Stone ranked it number one on its list of “The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time” in 2003.
The Beach Boys – Pet Sounds
1968 was a historic year for music, and The Beach Boys’ album Pet Sounds was a big part of that. The album was a departure from the band’s previous work, and it featured a more mature and introspective sound. It was lauded by critics and is now considered one of the greatest albums of all time. Let’s take a closer look at this groundbreaking work.
Recording and composition
The Beach Boys began recording Pet Sounds in December 1965, shortly after the completion of their previous album, The Beach Boys Today!. Brian Wilson, the band’s primary songwriter and producer, initially conceived of the album as a track-by-track response to the Beatles’ recently released album Rubber Soul. As its recording progressed, Wilson drew inspiration from avant-garde composers such as Karlheinz Stockhausen and found new ways to utilize the studio as a compositional tool. He also incorporated guitars, bass guitars, and pianos into the arrangements in lieu of the heavier instrumentation featured on The Beach Boys Today!.
In May 1966, the Beach Boys released Good Vibrations, which served as a preview of the psychedelia-influenced direction that Wilson would take with Pet Sounds. The following month, Wilson began work on what he later described as “the kids’ record”, referring to his intention to create an album for children. This project would eventually evolve into Smile. Although Smile was never completed, its recordings were eventually released in 1967–68 on The Smile Sessions compilation album.
Release and reception
The Beach Boys’ album Pet Sounds was first released in 1966, to mixed reviews. However, it was re-released in 1968 to critical and commercial acclaim. It is now considered one of the best albums of all time.
Pet Sounds was largely influenced by The Beatles’ album Revolver, which had been released two years earlier. The Beach Boys wanted to create an album that would be equally as innovative and experimental as Revolver. To do this, they enlisted the help of producer Brian Wilson, who had recently quit touring with the band due to mental health issues.
Wilson recruited a number of session musicians to play on the album, including keyboardist Bruce Johnston and guitarist Glen Campbell. He also utilised new recording techniques, such as using a theremin on the track “I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times”.
The album was released in May 1966 to mixed reviews. Many critics felt that it was too experimental and strange-sounding, and that it lacked the catchy pop hooks of the band’s previous albums. However, some critics praised its ambition and creativity. despite its mixed reviews, the album reached #2 on the Billboard 200 chart.
In December 1967, The Beach Boys returned to the studio to begin work on their next album, Smile. However, due to creative differences between Wilson and the other members of the band, Smile was never completed. Wilson instead decided to focus on completing Pet Sounds. He re-recorded some of the tracks and added new ones, resulting in an entirely new version of the album. This revised version was released in May 1968 to overwhelming acclaim from critics. It is now considered one of the greatest albums of all time.
Jimi Hendrix – Electric Ladyland
1968 was the year of psychedelic rock, and what a year it was. With album releases from the likes of Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones, it was a year that truly changed the face of music. For Jimi Hendrix, 1968 was the year he released his third and final studio album, Electric Ladyland.
Recording and composition
The double album was recorded throughout 1967 and 1968 in New York, Los Angeles, and London. Most of Electric Ladyland was recorded between March and May 1968. Hendrix wrote many of the album’s songs during a period when his dependence on drugs, particularly LSD, was at its highest. He had become frustrated working within the confines of conventional recording studios, and wanted to expand his musical experiences by experimenting with various hallucinogens. In a 1968 Rolling Stone interview, he stated that he took LSD ” frequently”, sometimes taking “as many as nine hits at a time”.
Several tracks on Electric Ladyland feature unique instrumentation and experimental recording techniques. The song “Voodoo Chile” features an electronic device called the Octavia pedal, which Hendrix specifically designed to recreate the sound of a sitar. The outro solo in “All Along the Watchtower” is one of the earliest examples of an delays pedal being used in rock music. Hendrix’s former bandmate Noel Redding plays bass on several tracks on Electric Ladyland, including “Voodoo Chile”, “Crosstown Traffic”, and “Gypsy Eyes”.
Release and reception
Electric Ladyland was released in October 1968 by Track Records in the UK and Reprise Records in the US. It peaked at number one in the UK, where it spent two weeks at the top spot, and at number two on the US Billboard 200, where it stayed for six weeks.
The album received positive reviews from music critics. In a five-star review for The Guardian, Roy Carr described it as Hendrix’s “aural equivalent of LSD”, while John Milward of Rolling Stone declared it “the best damn rock & roll album this side of Sgt. Pepper”. In a more mixed assessment, Dave Marsh of Creem wrote that Electric Ladyland is “not always an easy record to listen to” but praised its ambition, concluding that “it may be the best album ever made”.
The album was ranked number 55 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In 1998, Electric Ladyland was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
The Doors – Waiting for the Sun
1968 was a year of great change and a time of political and social turmoil. It was also the year that the psychedelic rock band The Doors released their third studio album, Waiting for the Sun. The album was a departure from the band’s previous sound and explored more experimental and psychedelic territory.
Recording and composition
The Doors began recording Waiting for the Sun in February 1968 at Elektra Sound Recorders in Hollywood, California. The band had previously attempted to record the album at Sunset Sound Recorders in August 1967, but those sessions were aborted due to disagreements with producer Paul A. Rothchild. Rothchild was once again behind the console for the February 1968 sessions, which were overseen by Elektra president Jac Holzman.
The band made substantial changes to the song arrangements during the recording process. “Not to Touch the Earth” was originally titled “All Spyder’s Children”, while “Spanish Caravan” was first known as “An Anonymous Ethnic instrumental”. “Yes, the River Knows” was an early version of “Riders on the Storm”, and “five to One” was a reworked version of an earlier song called “No More”, which featured different lyrics and a different melody.
The Doors spent a total of 70 hours recording Waiting for the Sun, and the album ended up costing $62,000 to produce. Although it was one of the most expensive albums recorded up to that point, it was still considered a bargain by Elektra’s standards. In an effort to keep costs down, the band opted to use a single microphone placed in front of drummer John Densmore’s kit, rather than using multiple microphones to capture each instrument separately. This unusual technique resulted in a muddy sound on some of the tracks, but it also helped to give the album a more live feel.
The album’s cover art was designed by painter William Sautter and photographer Joel Brodsky. The iconic image shows lead singer Jim Morrison sitting in lotus position with his arms raised above his head, surrounded by a ring of fire. The artwork was inspired by a photograph of Morrison that Brodsky had taken during one of The Doors’ concerts at New York’s WPLJ studios in May 1967.
Release and reception
The Doors’ third studio album, Waiting for the Sun, was released on July 4, 1968. It became their second No. 1 album and included their fourth and final No. 1 single, “Hello, I Love You”.
The album was plagued by delays due to disagreements within the band over the record’s creative direction. The band members had differing opinions on what kind of album they should make following the success of their previous album, Strange Days (1967). Drummer John Densmore wanted to continue in the direction of Strange Days and explore more experimental territory; keyboardist Ray Manzarek wanted to make a more commercial pop record; and guitarist Robby Krieger wanted to focus on songwriting. These creative differences caused tension within the band, which led to protracted recording sessions that ended without a completed album.
The Doors finally completed Waiting for the Sun after several months of stop-and-start recording. The result was an album that blended elements of each member’s desired direction. The end result was a more commercial record than Strange Days, but one that still retained the experimental edge that made The Doors unique.
Waiting for the Sun was released to positive reviews from critics and was a commercial success, becoming the band’s second No. 1 album in the US. It has since been viewed as one of The Doors’ strongest albums and an important work in psychedelic rock.
Pink Floyd – A Saucerful of Secrets
One of the most important albums in the history of Psychedelic Rock was released in 1968, Pink Floyd – A Saucerful of Secrets. It was a album that was truly ahead of its time, and would go on to influence a whole generation of musicians.
Recording and composition
Pink Floyd began recording A Saucerful of Secrets in April 1968, just two months after the release of their debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. By this point, the band’s original frontman and principal songwriter, Syd Barrett, had left the group due to his increasingly erratic behaviour and deteriorating mental health, and they were now being led by guitarist and singer David Gilmour.
The album’s title track was one of the first songs to be written and recorded for the album. It was an ambitious and experimental piece, clocking in at almost 13 minutes in length. The song was built around a simple two-chord riff played on a Mellotron keyboard (an early type of synthesizer), with elements of improvisation and sound collage added in later.
The rest of the album was made up of shorter, more straightforward songs penned by either Gilmour or bassist Roger Waters. These included “Remember a Day”, “See-Saw”, and “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun”. The latter was another experimental track, inspired by Tibetan Buddhist meditation music.
Release and reception
A Saucerful of Secrets was released in June 1968, with the lead single “Point Me at the Sky” appearing in October. The album peaked at number nine on the UK Albums Chart, and at number 40 on the US Billboard 200. In a contemporary review for The Village Voice, Robert Christgau found that Pink Floyd had not yet found their sound, writing that “the only thing remarkable about them is how uninteresting they are”. Christgau particularly panned Barrett’s contributions and felt that the band’s jazz and blues leanings were their strongest suit. In a more mixed assessment, Rolling Stone critic Vince Aletti found Barrett to be the group’s most interesting member but criticised his songwriting skills, concluding that “he just doesn’t have enough ideas to fill out an entire side of an album”. In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote that while the album suffered from disorder and inconsistency, it showcased moments of brilliance from both Barrett and Gilmour.
According to author Nicholas Schaffner, A Saucerful of Secrets was where Pink Floyd began to find their footing as a band following Barrett’s departure. He praised Wright’s keyboards for providing “a good deal of textural interest”, and Gilmour’s guitar playing for its use of feedback. Schaffner also complimented Mason’s drumming as being more powerful than on previous efforts.
