Psychedelic rock is a rock music genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound effects and recording techniques, extended instrumental solos, and improvisation. Many psychedelic groups differ in style, and the label is often applied spuriously.
The Crazy World of Arthur Brown is the debut studio album by the English rock band the Crazy World of Arthur Brown. Released in the United Kingdom in June 1968 by Track Records and in the United States in September 1968 through Atlantic, the album was an international success, propelled by the transatlantic hit single "Fire". It was the only album released during the Crazy World's original incarnation.
The Blues Magoos are an American rock group from The Bronx, a borough of New York City, United States. They were at the forefront of the psychedelic music trend, beginning in 1966. They are best known for the hit song "(We Ain't Got) Nothin' Yet", their only single to reach the Billboard top fifty.
Acid rock is a loosely defined type of rock music that evolved out of the mid-1960s garage punk movement and helped launch the psychedelic subculture. While the term has sometimes been used interchangeably with "psychedelic rock", acid rock also specifically refers to a more musically intense, rawer, or heavier subgenre or sibling of psychedelic rock. Named after lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), the style is generally defined by heavy, distorted guitars and often contains lyrics with drug references and long improvised jams.
The Music Machine was an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1966. Fronted by chief songwriter and lead vocalist Sean Bonniwell, the band cultivated a characteristically dark and rebellious image reflected in an untamed musical approach. Sometimes it made use of distorted guitar lines and hallucinogenic organ parts, punctuated by Bonniwell's distinctively throaty vocals. Although they managed to attain national chart success only briefly with two singles, the Music Machine is today considered by many critics to be one of the groundbreaking acts of the 1960s. Their style is now recognized as a pioneering force in proto-punk; yet within a relatively short period of time, they began to employ more complex lyrical and instrumental arrangements that went beyond the typical garage band format.
Sundazed Music is an American independent record label founded in Coxsackie, New York and currently based in Hillsborough, North Carolina. It was initially known as a '60s-centric surf, garage, and psych label. Over time with the additions of imprints such as Modern Harmonic, Americana Anthropology, Beat Rocket, Dot Matrix Recordings, and Liberty Spike Recordings, their reach spans most genres and many decades while still firmly rooted as an archival label.
Crown of Creation is the fourth studio album by the San Francisco psychedelic rock band Jefferson Airplane, released by RCA Victor in August 1968. The album saw the band continuing their development of psychedelic music, emphasizing acid rock with science fiction themes.
Alexander "Skip" Spence was a Canadian-born American singer-songwriter and musician. He was co-founder of Moby Grape, and played guitar with them until 1969. In the same year, he released his only solo album, Oar, and then largely withdrew from the music industry. He had started his career as a guitarist in an early line-up of Quicksilver Messenger Service, and was the drummer on Jefferson Airplane's debut album, Jefferson Airplane Takes Off. He has been described on the AllMusic website as "one of psychedelia's brightest lights"; however, his career was plagued by drug addiction coupled with mental health problems, and he has been described by a biographer as a man who "neither died young nor had a chance to find his way out."
Moby Grape is the 1967 debut album by rock band Moby Grape. Coming from the San Francisco scene, their reputation quickly grew to immense proportions, leading to a bidding war and a contract with Columbia Records. The album peaked at #24 on the Billboard 200 albums chart in September 1967.
The Great Society was a 1960s San Francisco rock band that existed from 1965 to 1966, and was closely associated with the burgeoning Bay Area acid rock scene. Best known as the original group of model-turned-singer Grace Slick, the initial lineup of the band also featured her then-husband Jerry Slick on drums, his brother Darby Slick on guitar, David Miner on vocals and guitar, Bard DuPont on bass, and Peter van Gelder on flute, bass, and saxophone. Miner and DuPont did not remain with the band for the duration of its existence.
Psychedelic pop is pop music that contains musical characteristics associated with psychedelic music. Developing in the mid-to-late 1960s, elements included "trippy" features such as fuzz guitars, tape manipulation, backwards recording, sitars, and Beach Boys-style harmonies, wedded to melodic songs with tight song structures. The style lasted into the early 1970s. It has seen revivals in subsequent decades by neo-psychedelic artists.
Wake Up...It's Tomorrow is the second album by the American psychedelic rock band Strawberry Alarm Clock, released by Uni Records in 1968. It came as the group was challenged with continuing the success of their debut single, the psychedelic classic and number one hit, "Incense and Peppermints" and the LP that followed. Their second effort would expand upon the arrangements of its predecessor's unique blend of vocal harmonies, psychedelia, and pop music. In addition, the band's atypical lineup, which featured two bassists, would be altered to address studio and performing issues.
Douglas Lubahn was an American psychedelic rock and jazz rock bassist who played with internationally famous bands. His work is featured on three albums recorded by The Doors.
No Way Out is the debut album by the American garage rock band The Chocolate Watchband, and was released in September 1967 on Tower Records. It blended both garage and psychedelic rock influences, and was marked by distorted guitar instrumentals that were early examples of protopunk. It features the band's harder-edged interpretations of songs, with only three original compositions. The album was preceded by two non-album singles, "Sweet Young Thing" and "Misty Lane", and track singles, "No Way Out" and "Are You Gonna be There ". However, none of the singles managed to chart. Like its singles, No Way Out failed to reach the Billboard 200, but it established the group as a popular live act, and later became noted as a garage rock classic.
Fever Tree is the debut studio album by the American psychedelic rock band Fever Tree and was released on March 28, 1968 on Uni Records. It blended multiple influences ranging from psychedelia to baroque pop and folk rock, and was marked by eerie ballads and hard rock numbers. Much of the group's material was penned by the husband-wife songwriting duo of Scott and Vivian Holtzman, along with renditions of contemporary rock songs. The album was preceded by arguably Fever Tree's best known song, "San Francisco Girls ", becoming the group's only nationally charting single. Like its attendant single, Fever Tree was also moderately successful and managed to reach number 156 on the Billboard 200.
The Remains is the debut album by the American garage rock band the Remains, and was released on Epic Records in September 1966. Though the album was largely overlooked at the time of its original release, The Remains has since received recognition as one of the more cohesive efforts of the era.
The Liberty Bell was an American garage rock/psychedelic rock band from Corpus Christi, Texas who were active in the 1960s. They specialized in a blues-based brand of proto-punk influenced by British groups such as the Yardbirds. The band failed to reach wider audience in the time, but have come to the attention of garage rock collectors and enthusiasts in the intervening years since their breakup, with their work appearing on several compilations.
The Paper Garden was an American psychedelic rock band formed in New York City in 1967. After gathering a sizable following in the Northwest, the group recorded their only album, The Paper Garden, in 1968, which promoted several styles ranging from complex orchestration to hard-edged psychedelia. Following its release, the recordings have since become considered one of the more accomplished artistic statements from the psychedelic era.
Music Emporium was an American psychedelic rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1967. Fronted by experimental multi-instrumentalist Bill "Casey" Cosby, the group was created at UCLA, and developed a sound centered around Cosby's keyboards and vocal harmonies. Music Emporium released one ultra-rare self-titled album in 1969, which is praised among psychedelic enthusiasts and has been re-released multiple times.
The Daybreakers were an American garage rock and psychedelic band from Muscatine, Iowa, who were active in the 1960s. They became one of the most popular bands in their region which included the Quad Cities. Jack Barlow, a popular DJ and country music recording artist had them record songs for a planned single at Columbia Recording Studios arranged a contract with Atlantic Records, who released the group's single on their Dial label featuring "Psychedelic Siren" which included siren sound effects generated by a primitive electronic device. Though the song became a big regional hit in Iowa, Atlantic lost interest in the band and they made no further recordings. In the intervening years, their work has come to the attention of garage rock enthusiasts and has been included of several compilations.
