Classic Rock Bands Who Went Psychedelic
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In the late 1960s, many classic rock bands experimented with psychedelic sounds and visuals. Here are some of the most notable examples.
The Beatles
The Beatles are one of the most iconic classic rock bands of all time. They are also one of the few classic rock bands who went psychedelic. Psychedelic rock is a subgenre of rock music that emerged in the late 1960s. The Beatles’ psychedelic period began with their album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, which was released in 1967.
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 1 June 1967 on Parlophone, and produced by George Martin. The album was conceived as a multimedia project that attached new songs to an unruly mélange of studio clips and footage from the band’s television programmes and past films. Its title refers to Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, a fictional military band featured in two songs on the album.
The album was a commercial success, spending 27 weeks at the top of the UK Albums Chart and 15 weeks at number one in the US. It won four Grammy Awards in 1968, including Album of the Year, which was awarded to Martin. In August 1966, London newspapers reported that Paul McCartney had quit the Beatles due to creative differences arising over their proposed trip to India to study with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi; however, after a period of vacationing in Greece with his girlfriend Jane Asher, McCartney changed his mind and rejoined the band during recording sessions for what would become Sgt. Pepper.
Sgt. Pepper is regarded by music critics as one of the greatest albums of all time and it exerted an enormous influence on popular culture. In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked Sgt. Pepper number one on its list of “The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time”. The album was ranked again at number one by Rolling Stone in 2012 as part of its 50th anniversary celebrations.[8] Several publications have also included it in their lists of greatest albums such as NME’s 100 Greatest Albums Ever (2013),[9] Pitchfork Media’s 200 Best Albums of the 1960s (2002),[10] Mojo’s 100 Greatest Albums Ever Made (1995),[11] Q’s 100 Greatest Albums Ever (1986),[12] Blender’s 500 CDs You Must Own (2006) and Robert Dimery’s 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (2006). In 2017, it was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry by Library of Congress as “culturally, historically, or artistically significant”.
Abbey Road
The Beatles’ final studio album, Abbey Road, was released on September 26th, 1969. The album was an instant success, reaching the #1 spot on the UK charts and #1 on the US Billboard 200. Abbey Road is often considered to be one of the greatest albums of all time, and is one of the most influential albums of the psychedelic rock genre.
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are one of the greatest classic rock bands of all time. They were known for their hard-partying ways and their bluesy rock sound. In the mid-1960s, they began experimenting with psychedelic drugs and their music took on a new sound. They released their psychedlic album, Their Satanic Majesties Request, in 1967.
Their Satanic Majesties Request
The release of The Rolling Stones’ “Their Satanic Majesties Request” in 1967 was a watershed moment in the band’s career. Not only was it their first attempt at a psychedelic album, it was also their first album without original guitarist Brian Jones. Though the album wasn’t well-received by critics at the time, it has since been reappraised as an innovative and ahead-of-its-time work.
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band formed in Hawthorne, California in 1961. The group’s original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their friend Al Jardine. The Beach Boys are one of the biggest-selling bands of all time, with more than 100 million records sold worldwide. The group received their first Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1965. The Beach Boys have frequently been cited as an influence on many subsequent rock and pop music artists.
Smile
After the Beach Boys withdrew from touring in early 1967 to concentrate on making a new album, Smile, group leader and primary songwriter Brian Wilson became increasingly unstable.
In an attempt to recapture the live energy of their performances, the Beach Boys entered the studio with little more than a few instrumental ideas and a title, “Surf’s Up.” The result was one of their most innovative and acclaimed albums, a complex work that touched on many genres including psychedelia, baroque pop, and avant-garde music.
While Smile is considered by many to be the Beach Boys’ best album, it was also their most troubled. Due to Wilson’s mental health issues and disagreements within the band, the album was never completed and remained shelved for nearly 50 years. It wasn’t until 2011 that the Beach Boys finally released an official version of Smile, featuring newly recorded vocals from Wilson and surviving band members.
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin III
Led Zeppelin III is the third studio album by English rock band Led Zeppelin, released on 5 October 1970 by Atlantic Records. Produced by guitarist and bandleader Jimmy Page, it represents a temporary departure from the band’s heavier style of music that had been previously established on their first two albums. This is evident in the inclusion of acoustic material on side one of the record, whereas side two features predominantly rock-based tracks.
The album introduces several now-standard Led Zeppelin tracks such as “Immigrant Song”, “Since I’ve Been Loving You”, and “Out on the Tiles”. In contrast to the band’s earlier work, which was mostly recorded at London’s Olympic Studios, Led Zeppelin III was partly recorded at Stargroves, Page’s country estate in Newbury, Berkshire. With engineer Andy Johns, the group set up a makeshift studio where they experimented with new sounds and recording techniques. Additionally, rooms were soundproofed with egg boxes and duvets to allow for acoustic recordings without bleed-through noise.
The album artwork features a revolving wheel with various images from Indian culture – a nod to both Page’s recent exploration of Hindustani music and his growing interest in Hinduism – which was designed by artist Shepard Fairy. Upon its release, Led Zeppelin III received mixed reviews from critics; however, it was a commercial success and peaked at number one in several countries, including the United Kingdom and United States. The album has been certified six times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Pink Floyd
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn is the debut studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd. It was first released on 4 August 1967, in the United Kingdom by EMI Columbia. The album was produced largely by band founder Syd Barrett, and recorded after Barrett’s forced departure from the band.
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn contains several early psychedelic compositions, such as “Astronomy Domine” and “Flaming”, which were directly influenced by Barrett’s LSD use. The album also features the pop-influenced songs “See Emily Play” and “Apples and Oranges”, which became minor hits in Britain. The final song on the album, “Bike”, is Barrett’s composition about his childhood bicycle; it would later be featured on Barrett’s second solo album, The Madcap Laughs (1970).
A Saucerful of Secrets
Released in 1968, Pink Floyd’s second album is noticeably different in feel from their debut. Syd Barrett’s drug-induced departure and the addition of new guitarist and singer David Gilmour brought a change in musical direction, as the band began to experiment with longer, more psychedelic arrangements. The title track is one of the band’s most purely atmospheric pieces, but the rest of the album isn’t far behind, with extended jams like “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun” and “Careful With That Axe, Eugene” standing alongside shorter, more focused numbers like “Remember a Day” and “See-Saw.”
