60’s Psychedelic Rock: The Cute Melodies Begin
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Psychedelic rock from the 60’s was all about pushing boundaries and expanding minds. The music was playful and often featured catchy melodies. But it wasn’t all fun and games. This type of rock also tackled some pretty heavy topics.
The Beatles’ “Rubber Soul”
While The Beatles’ “Rubber Soul” is not the first album of psychedelic rock, it is the first album to have overtly cute melodies(1). This is an important distinction, because it sets “Rubber Soul” apart from the proto-psychedelic albums of the 50’s and early 60’s.
The album’s sound
Rubber Soul is considered one of the greatest albums of all time. It was a departure from the band’s earlier work, with a more sophisticated and experimental sound that utilized folk rock, soul, and psychedelia. The album features some of the band’s most famous songs, including “Drive My Car,” “Norwegian Wood,” and “In My Life.”
The album’s influence
Rubber Soul was influential in both its composition and sound for popular music and is regarded as one of the most significant albums of the 1960s. It was also influential in the development of psychedelic rock, raga rock, and reggae. It has been ranked the greatest album ever made by various publications.
The Beach Boys’ “Pet Sounds”
“Pet Sounds” is the eleventh studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released on May 16, 1966. It was initially met with a lukewarm critical and commercial response in the United States, peaking at number 10 in the Billboard 200, a significantly lower placement than the band’s preceding albums. In the United Kingdom, the album was hailed by the music press and was an immediate commercial success, peaking at number 2 in the UK Top 40 Albums Chart and remaining in the top ten for six months. With its release, “Pet Sounds” became the band’s best-reviewed album to date.
The album’s sound
Pet Sounds is often cited as one of the first psychedelic pop albums. Brian Wilson’s arrangements, which made fuller use of the studio’s possibilities than any previous pop record, included pyrotechnics like sound effects, reversed tapes, microphone placements in toilets to achieve unusual reverb effects, and careful attention to stereo panning. The denser textures were made possible by the addition of a third touring bassist and keyboardist to the Beach Boys’ regular live lineup.
The album’s influence
Pet Sounds is widely regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time. In 2004, it was ranked number two in Rolling Stone’s “The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time” list, and in 2006, it was voted the greatest album of all time by NME magazine. In 2003, Stylus Magazine ranked it number two in their list of the 100 greatest albums of all time. In 2012, Slant Magazine ranked the album at number four on its list of “Best Albums of the 1960s”. In 2015, Pitchfork named it the 13th greatest album of all time. In 2017, it was voted the greatest album of all time in an international poll conducted by British newspaper The Guardian.
The Byrds’ “Younger Than Yesterday”
As the 60’s came to an end, so did the Beatles’ reign on the pop charts. With their final album, “Abbey Road,” released in late 1969, the band left an opening for other groups to take their place. One such group was the Byrds, a Los Angeles-based quintet who had already seen moderate success with their first two albums, “Mr. Tambourine Man” (1965) and “Turn! Turn! Turn!” (1966).
The album’s sound
Younger Than Yesterday is the fourth album by The Byrds, released on February 6, 1967 by Columbia Records. The album marked a slight change in direction for the band, who incorporated pop and rock elements into their folk rock sound.
The album’s sound was more polished than that of the band’s previous releases, due largely to the addition of horns and keyboard instruments on several tracks. The Byrds also began experimenting with country rock on the album, which would become one of their signature sounds in the years to come.
While the album did not match the commercial success of its predecessor, Turn! Turn! Turn!, it was well-received by critics and is now considered one of the band’s finest albums. In 2003, Younger Than Yesterday was ranked number 288 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
The album’s influence
Younger Than Yesterday was influential in the development of psychedelic rock, and its prominence in the genre was only heightened by the success of the singles “Eight Miles High” and “So You Want to Be a Rock ‘n’ Roll Star”. The album’s jangly, folk-rock sound would also prove influential to subsequent generations of alternative and indie rock musicians. In 2003, Younger Than Yesterday was ranked number 95 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
