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rocker
Old Love
USA
3606 Posts |
 Posted - 06/09/2006 : 14:19:55
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| Thanks Astrolobe..I'm taking up your suggestion and hopefully this thread will open up the gates I guess regarding the argument of what was regarded as the VERY FIRST band which started off what we kind of know as "psychedlia". As I noted for myself, I'm not sure who it was. From personal experience, I remember hearing a song called "Somebody to Love". For some reason, I knew music changed for me when I heard it. Could it be Airplane who ushered in the sound? Maybe the Beatles with Pepper? Don't know 'bout that one because I think Pepper was really a culmination not an inception. Anyway would love to hear all your good opinionated views...you all are pretty good with the "music muse". |
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Allan
Old Love
USA
560 Posts |
Posted - 06/09/2006 : 15:25:52
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Say what you will...the first band that started it all off for me was The Mothers of Invention-FREAK OUT. I label FREAK OUT as Psychedelic because it put me in that altered dream-like state every time I listened (and partook) to it. That LP was the cross-over for me from English Pop (Yardbirds, Animals [and yet some of their tunes were Psychedelic-I just didn't realize it yet  ] to Psychedelia. Suzy Creamcheese-what's gotten into you?
Allan |
Edited by - Allan on 06/09/2006 15:32:17 |
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astrolobe33
Fifth Love
USA
381 Posts |
Posted - 06/09/2006 : 16:54:01
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| A lot of folks do posit "Freak Out" as IT. Then many discount it, mainly due to the fact that Zappa didn't "do drugs." You naturally get into the argument on what qualifies as "psychedelic" when you get down to looking at the seed level. I do consider the Mother's Freak Out to have some very psychedelic content, but I am of the camp that considers the "Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators" (released October 1966, I think) to hold the most significant claim, being the first band to use the word "psychedelic" in an album title (with the possible exception of the LP "Psychedelic Moods" by The Deep--I'm unclear on this), and to have that album be virtually entirely about the acid experience, mindset, and lifestyle. That record is practically an operations manual, and the Elevators were essentially evangelical in their intent about sending the "message." They were totally bent on turning on the World, in no uncertain terms. |
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Arnstein
Fifth Love
Norway
340 Posts |
Posted - 06/09/2006 : 18:56:10
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Before we ask what the first psychedelic album/band is, we have to ask a simple question; what IS psychedelic rock/music in general? Altough the question is easy, the answer isn't. Here are some answers that might be right:
1. Music that is trying to represent an experience on a psychedelic drug.
2. Music that is made to enhance the trip on a psychedelic drug.
3. Music that fits when you are tripping, no matter why the artist made the music.
I guess there are more answers that might be right too, but that's just what I could think about now. |
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astrolobe33
Fifth Love
USA
381 Posts |
Posted - 06/09/2006 : 21:15:36
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Well, the release date of Freak Out (Jul 1, '66) was a scant forty-five days after Blonde on Blonde (May 16, '66). But to me, Dylan was hitting on it lyrically bigtime on 'Bringing it all back Home' in early '65. Lyrics in "Gates of Eden" "It's alright Ma.." "Mr. Tambourine Man" seem very much 'tuned-in'... even before that, was it on "Another Side.."?--Chimes of Freedom... That reads like a true psychedelic experience.
Some other important early entries were the Byrds' 5D, and the Beatles' Revolver.
Details, details,
Jon |
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jimmyboy
Fourth Love
USA
234 Posts |
Posted - 06/09/2006 : 22:06:47
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I agree with LeeRob about Country Joe & the Fish. Those first 2 records were magical. The sound on those early
Vanguard pressings were truly magnificent like European lp's of the era. |
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bob f.
Old Love
USA
1308 Posts |
Posted - 06/09/2006 : 22:14:27
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well i see it as a lot of artists pretty much evolving and spurting the ear candy psychedelia at the same time. it was a sponaneous and MUTUAL explosion of SEVERAL bands. who came first? well, i'm more concerned with who was there doin it and changing us in around the same time period. maybe 1966 to 1968. there are too many to mention.too many too leave out.
besides the most obvious: Beatles, and the aboved mentioned Country Joe, Jefferson Airplane, 13th Floor, Moby Grape, Byrds, Human Beinz, Electric Prunes, Yardbirds, Quicksilver Messenger Service( especially their epic masterpiece , " The Fool", and yes, Hendrix! who knows who came 1rst, and what is correct psychedelica, and , well, you know.
maybe Ravi Shankar did it first! but then, again sitar music is hundreds of years old. o.k. if i had to nail it down to rock-pop modern psychedelica circa , i'd have to say THE BEATLES who gave us "Tomorrow Never Knows" in 1966. that changed everything!and it got even better after that. Strawberry Fields and Iam THE WALRUS!!!! just my opinion and am just focusing on the most beloved/melodic records of my youth in that period. i'm sure there are records much more mind blowing and out there , but they tend to leave the music world and enter the sound effects world at the expence of a pleasant rock-psychedelia music experience. i'm done ramblin' now. cheers! |
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bob f.
Old Love
USA
1308 Posts |
Posted - 06/09/2006 : 22:40:48
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i'm gonna ramble on a little about The Byrd's " Eight Miles High".
in 1966 when it came out on the Fifth Dimension album, we really loved it and memorized the 12 string guitar melody, despite it's self proclaimed John Coltrane jazz-psychedelia influence! it was Jim Mcguinn's probable impro , but to me , it had always seemed to be meant to be. the solo "psychedelic" guitar part made sense to me , and transcended all words to explain it. THAT'S psychedelic , to me! good night. |
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Allan
Old Love
USA
560 Posts |
Posted - 07/09/2006 : 00:26:01
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Arnstein
I agree with your definitions, and yet there is more to it
quote:
1. Music that is trying to represent an experience on a psychedelic drug.
2. Music that is made to enhance the trip on a psychedelic drug.
3. Music that fits when you are tripping, no matter why the artist made the music.
bobf-I agree with this as well and yet it helps me with MY definition of Psychedelic
quote:
and transcended all words to explain it.
LeeRob
Country Joe & The Fish are amazing. I think I listened to Section 43 at least 10,000 times. Maybe a half million times . And of course, there are SO many more bands. I was just trying to reply to the original post...IM[Most]HO.
quote:
'of what was regarded as the VERY FIRST band which started off what we kind of know as "psychedlia".
Astrolobe33...you know that I'm just crazy about The Elevators. I just wasn't turned on to them early on. I was turned on to Freak Out in the Fall of '66, and that eventually led to much more Psychedelia for me.
Allan |
Edited by - Allan on 07/09/2006 00:35:52 |
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rocker
Old Love
USA
3606 Posts |
Posted - 07/09/2006 : 14:55:12
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You know after reading all the posts I think this psychedelia business is more complicated (as Arnstein brings up!) than I thought.
I think we all know what it is say in a design sense, no problem there, (get out your lavas, paisleys ok?). It's really tough in the music sense I think. So does it follow that psychedelic music is based on the taking of hallucinogenic drugs? Can a band make psychedelic music if they don't use them? (and just an aside about drugs..check out the song that opens the Notorious Byrd Brothers..heh heh McGuinn et al had the "experience" and note how they felt with "Artificial Energy"!)
Little trivia just in case any of you are on Jeopardy or something...Dr Humphrey Osmond, a Canadian psychiatrist coined the term "psychedelic". "To fathom hell or soar angelic...just take a pinch of psychedelic". He said he didn't "relish the thought of driving Aldous Huxley mad". (Huxley tried mesc under his supervision) |
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The sweet disorder
Fourth Love
United Kingdom
218 Posts |
Posted - 07/09/2006 : 18:39:17
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Bob,
Agreement about the Beatles and Revolver etc but I think the first Beatles song that (for me) evokes psychedelic rock is "Ticket to Ride" Those sonic drums!!!!!the seeds of Tomorrow Never Knows lie there. As with most musical trends, usually the band is first and the trend is labelled afterwards. For me the first one must be the 13th floor Elevators as they were the first to mention the word.
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rocker
Old Love
USA
3606 Posts |
Posted - 07/09/2006 : 20:43:52
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Yeah the Beatles really had it together there...one thing I have to say about them was they really tried to express what it was like to go and see what was in each and every one of our "trees".....the songs were right on in Revolver,Sgt Pepper and Yesterday and "Today".....
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TJSAbass
Fourth Love
USA
139 Posts |
Posted - 11/09/2006 : 06:08:03
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| I would agree with "Ticket To Ride" for the drone and "Tomorrow Never Knows" musically. Bob Dylan would have to get the nod for his songs though. Listen to the live performance of "It's Alright, Ma..." on the Live 1964 CD, he just reels out line after mind-blowing line of his then-unreleased new song, and when he's done, the crowd just sits there stunned for about 15 seconds before applauding. I first heard this on a Cleveland college radio station. Pretty cool find while scanning the dial! Many of Bob's early psychedelic gems were then covered by The Byrds, giving them a wider audience. Many do feel though that "Eight Miles High" was the first psychedelic song on the radio. Then the Stones of course mentioned "our first trip" in 19th Nervous Breakdown in 1965 was it? I guess first would depend on where you were, since radio and record releases were so localized back then. From our perspective, it's alot easier to go by recording date, which might not be as meaningful in the context of who-influenced-who back in the day. Good topic! |
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Bobinbed
Fourth Love
Sweden
106 Posts |
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rocker
Old Love
USA
3606 Posts |
Posted - 11/09/2006 : 14:29:38
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Bobinbed..real good overview of the history...and really if we take a look at this things go even farther back than the Mazatecs 'cause we know that other older cultures as well around the world used hallucogenic type drugs in their religious ceremonies..it's very probable that their musisicans used it too..psychedelic rock comes from a long history I think!....Interesting to note that Love isn't mentioned in the chronology. I think intuitively we all know their music to be "psychedelic" but arguably in a different way......man Arthur and the band came from one point but wound up in another when they put their music out...in a way I can't see how their "sound" would be immediately termed "psychedelic"..(maybe some differ?) more like a state of mind...
TJSAbass..agree on Dylan...have you heard "Modern Times"?..the agin' king speaks with experience...amazing guy...his whole life practically recorded in song...we're all in'em too you know?...he
like Arthur & Love keep us shinin' on...
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Bobinbed
Fourth Love
Sweden
106 Posts |
Posted - 11/09/2006 : 19:22:12
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LOVE is mentioned in the chronology - Check March 1966.
- "What do you mean it's a literary high?"
- "It's a Kafka high. It makes you feel like a bug." |
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Psychedelia.."the Everlasting First"
