Who Are the Best Psychedelic Rock Bands Today?
Psychedelic rock is making a comeback in a big way. Here are some of the best psychedelic rock bands today that are keeping the genre alive and well.
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960. With members John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, they became widely regarded as the foremost and most influential band in history. Rooted in skiffle and 1950s rock and roll, the group later utilised several genres, ranging from pop ballads to psychedelic rock, often incorporating classical and other elements in innovative ways. In 1963, their enormous popularity first emerged as “Beatlemania”; as the group’s music grew in sophistication following their 1964 debut album, Please Please Me, led by primary songwriters Lennon and McCartney, they came to be perceived as an embodiment of the ideals shared by the era’s sociocultural revolutions.
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd is one of the most well-known and celebrated psychedelic rock bands of all time. Formed in 1965, the band rose to prominence in the late 1960s and early 1970s with their groundbreaking and iconic albums The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, A Saucerful of Secrets, More, Ummagumma, Atom Heart Mother, Meddle, and Dark Side of the Moon. Pink Floyd is known for their expansive and experimental soundscapes, which often explore themes of existentialism, mental illness, and the human experience. The band has been incredibly influential on many subsequent generations of rock musicians.
The Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential rock acts of the 1960s because of Morrison’s cryptic lyrics and charismatic but unpredictable stage persona. After Morrison’s death in 1971, the remaining members continued as a trio until disbanded in 1973. Despite a lack of commercial success after 1967, the Doors’ popularity has persisted; according to one poll, they were ranked number 41 on a list of the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time.”
doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were one of the most controversial and influential rock acts of the 1960s because of Morrison’s cryptic lyrics and charismatic but unpredictable stage persona. After Morrison’s death in 1971, the remaining members continued as a trio until disbanded in 1973. Despite a lack of commercial success after 1967, The Doors’ popularity has persisted; according to one poll, they were ranked number 41 on a list of the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time.”
Led Zeppelin
Psychedelic rock, sometimes called acid rock, is a style of rock music that was inspired by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. The music is intended to replicated the experience of altered consciousness and is often characterized by elongated jams, abstract lyrics, and trippy sound effects.
Psychedelic rock bands typically used electric guitars, drums, bass guitars, and keyboards to create their sound. Some of the best-known psychedelic rock bands include The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and The Who.
The Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of country, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, rock, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock. The band’s sound varied greatly over its 30-year career; their earlier songs tended to be shorter and simpler than their later work.
The Grateful Dead’s history began with the formation of the Warlocks, a band led by Jerry Garcia that evolved out of the Mother McCree’s Upstairs Jug Champions in early 1965. The Warlocks changed their name to the Grateful Dead in December 1965 after Garcia saw the word “grateful” in a dictionary. The band played its first show under that name on May 5, 1966, at Magoo’s Pizza Parlour in Menlo Park.
The Grateful Dead went on to play more than 2,300 concerts; Garcia estimated that they performed for 25 million people during their career. They toured relentlessly throughout their career, playing more than 500 concerts per year in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In 1973, they played a total of 123 concerts; by 1974 they were playing more than 200 concerts per year. As member Bob Weir said about this period: “We were on the road for close to 300 days a year … every single day …crisscrossing America several times a year.”
The band was notorious for its private mansion parties—known as “acid tests”—during this time; LSD use was widespread among members and concertgoers. The Dead also became known for their unique style of improvisational music; as Lesh once said: “We didn’t have hits … but we had long jams … We didn’t have any hits because we weren’t trying to make hits … Our main goal was just to make it groovy.”
