The Best Psychedelic Rock and Blues Rock Songs

Listening to the best psychedelic rock and blues songs is a great way to relax and unwind. Here are some of our favorites.

Psychedelic Rock

Psychedelic Rock, also called Psychedelia, is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. The style is sometimes characterized by distorted guitars, electronics, and experimental sound effects, and is often used to reference the drug culture of the 1960s and 1970s.

“A Whiter Shade of Pale” – Procol Harum

“A Whiter Shade of Pale” is a song by the British band Procol Harum, released on 12 May 1967. The single reached number one in several countries, including the UK and Canada, and has been covered by many artists. The song was written by Gary Brooker and Keith Reid, and was inspired by two poems, “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” and “What Is Life?”

The song’s opening lyric, “We skipped the light fandango”, is an allusion to the line “Dance not knowing how or why” from the poem “Rime of the Ancient Mariner”. The lyric also references other lines from Coleridge’s poem: “turned a whiter shade of pale”, “the crowd called out for more”, and “all clientele was dismissed until further notice came”.

“In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” – Iron Butterfly

“In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” is a psychedelic rock song released in 1968 by the American band Iron Butterfly and included on their second studio album, In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida. The song, which is more than 17 minutes long, is credited as the first hard rock song to exceed 10 minutes in length. It was also a significant chart hit, reaching number 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States and number 8 on the UK Singles Chart.

The song was written by band members Doug Ingle and Karl Precoda and recorded over two days in May 1968 at Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles. The lengthy recording process was due to Ingle’s difficulty in playing the organ solo for the extended length of the song. In total, more than 100 takes were recorded before Ingle finally nailed the solo.

The song’s distinctive opening bass riff was played by Precoda, while Ingle played all of the other instruments on the track. The title of the song is derived from an incident during recording when engineer Jerry Hansen misheard Ingle’s instructions to “play it again” as “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida”.

Despite its length, “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” was a commercial success upon its release and has since become one of the most iconic songs of the psychedelic rock era. It has been covered by a number of artists over the years, including Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne, Santana, and most recently, Foo Fighters.

“Paint It, Black” – The Rolling Stones

“Paint It, Black” is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released as a single in 1966. It reached number one in both the United Kingdom and the United States, becoming the group’s first and only record to top charts in both countries.

The song was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and produced by Jimmy Miller. It is credited with being one of the first popular songs to use a sitar, an instrument more commonly associated with Indian classical music and Hindustani music. The song’s instrumentation also includes drums, bass, tambourine, maracas, and vibraslap.

“Paint It, Black” became a standard for many bands during the late 1960s and 1970s and has been covered by numerous artists.

Blues Rock

If you’re a fan of the blues, but you’re looking for something a little bit different, then you might want to check out blues rock. This genre of music takes the traditional sounds of the blues and infuses them with elements of rock ‘n’ roll. The result is a unique and fresh sound that is perfect for fans of both genres. In this article, we’ll be counting down the best psychedelic rock and blues rock songs.

“Crossroads” – Cream

Crossroads is a 1966 studio album by the British supergroup Cream. The album was released in the United States on 30 October 1966 and in Britain on 14 November 1966 by Reaction Records and Polydor Records. It was also released in Italy by Carosello Records, who started streaming it online in 2016.

The album peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200, and became one of the biggest-selling albums of 1967, selling more than two million copies in the United States alone. In 2003, Crossroads was ranked No. 195 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time; it is also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

On March 12, 2004, a royal blue vinyl pressing of Crossroads was released as part of Record Store Day in limited quantities to independent record stores around the world.”Crossroads” is a song written and first recorded by American blues artist Robert Johnson in 1936. It has been referred to as “one of the most famous blues songs of all time” and has been recorded by many artists, including Cream, who included their live version from 1968 working towards their final dissolution as a group on Goodbye (1969).

“Born Under a Bad Sign” – Albert King

“Born Under a Bad Sign” is a song written by Booker T. Jones and William Bell, first recorded by rockabilly singer Bobby Saxton in 1966, and later made into a hit record by Albert King in 1967.

The song is told from the perspective of a man born under a bad sign, who has “nothing but bad luck”. Despite this, the man remains optimistic, singing that “if it wasn’t for bad luck, I wouldn’t have no luck at all”.

The song has been covered by a number of artists, including Cream, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, and Stevie Ray Vaughan.

“The Thrill is Gone” – B.B. King

The Thrill is Gone” is a song released in 1969 by the American blues singer B.B. King. It was co-written by King and Roy Hawkins, and became amassive hit, reaching number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number three on the R&B chart. The song won a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance in 1970.

The original recording of “The Thrill is Gone” was made by Hawkins in 1955, and was released as a single by Chess Records. However, it was not a commercial success, only reaching number 97 on Billboard’s R&B chart. In 1969, King recorded his own version of the song with his band, which featured the use of electric guitars and an up-tempo rhythm. The song became one of his most famous recordings and helped to secure his position as one of the world’s leading blues musicians.