Psychedelic Rock

The hazy and trippy mood that characterized psychedelic rock wasn’t only limited to music, but also emerged on the album covers, which featured multi-colored and distorted aesthetic, as well as influencing the musicians’ images and performances. Concerts started to become actual shows (especially towards the late ’60s early ’70s), which aimed to recreate the effect of psychedelic trips not only with music but also through the use of liquid light shows and special effects such as confetti or other surprise elements; even the artists’ attires had developed with their music, as now they started displaying mesmerizingly eccentric and accessorized clothes (not only on stage), long hair and stage make-up, as opposed to wearing traditional suits, a look that The Beatles had transformed into a classic in the early ’60s.

According to experts, it was The Byrds, an emerging band from the Californian folk-scene, who was responsible for the development of psychedelic rock, especially in the USA, but also The Beatles, who are to be held responsible for the spreading of the genre in Great Britain.

In California, more specifically in San Francisco, the psychedelic culture was already significantly popular by the mid-60s, where the music scene was quickly progressing, and in 1965, after The Byrds released a chart-topping cover of Bob Dylan’s “Tambourine Man”, many other from the California folk act followed, creating the “San Francisco Sound”, characterized by their psychedelic influence. The San Francisco continued its fast development, and in ’66 saw the very first Trips Festival, held at the Longshoremen’s Hall, which for many of the 10,000 audiences represented their first exposure to acid rock.

Soon the psychedelic culture started to influence popular music thanks to the Beach Boys, who started to include elements of the genre, such as the use of the theremin and lyrical allusions at their experimentation with LSD, within their usually pop records, especially in songs such like “Good Vibrations”. Psychedelic rock became really popular also in Los Angeles, which saw the rising of one of the most successful bands of the era, The Doors, as well as gaining notoriety in other American cities, such as Detroit, Chicago, and New York City. But while in the USA psychedelic culture quickly extended its influence, in the UK, due to the genre being limited only to pirate radios like Radio Luxembourg and Radio London, psychedelic rock started gaining popularity in the late ’60s. Just like in America, British psychedelic rock had its origin within the folk culture, however, it was mostly influenced by the British Blues and Jazz scene, which had a great influence on the developing of the genre: British psychedelia, in fact, was steeped in whimsy and surrealism, less aggressive and minimalist than American acid rock, and it incorporated the influence of Beat poetry and modern jazz. British psychedelic rock reached its climax thanks to The Beatles, who, after experimenting with LSD, started incorporating some of the genre typical traits to their pop-rock sound; “Strawberry Fields Forever” was characterized by unusual chord progression, and included a kaleidoscope of instruments and effects, as well as nonsensical lyrics, and their album “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” (released in 1967) with songs like “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” (which literally stands for LSD), “Within You Without You,” and “A Day in the Life,” represented a colorful palette of psychedelic influences, with unpredictable changes in rhythm texture and melody.

Psychedelia ultimately peaked between 1966 and 1969, which saw the happening of milestone events such as the 1967 Summer of Love and the 1969 Woodstock Rock Festival, which transformed genre in an international musical movement addressing social and political issues as well as drugs and culture. Those years were characterized by artist such as The Rolling Stones, who responded to The Beatles’ “Sgt Pepper” with their album “Their Satanic Majesties Request”, Pink Floyd’s “The Piper”, which to date is classified as one of their best psychedelic works and The Doors’ first hit single “Light My Fire”, which, with a duration of over 7 minutes, became one of the defining records of the genre, as well as 1969 Woodstock Festival, with performances by some of the major psychedelic acts of the time, including Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Santana.

Sadly, by the end of the decade, psychedelic rock started to lose its dominance within the music industry due to a series of events, such as the fatal stabbing at Altamont Free Concert in California, headlined by The Rolling Stones, and a series of deaths including The Stones’ Brian Jones (which signed the origin of what it’s known as the “27 club”), as well as Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac, Syd Barrett of Pink Floyd (all classified as “acid victims”), Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and the Doors’ Jim Morrison (by heroin overdose). However, psychedelic music had a massive impact on other genres, influencing heavy metal, art rock, and other later genres, from punk to rap and trip-hop, and ultimately, contemporary psychedelia, which generated between the ’80s and ’90s mainly in the indie rock scene, and includes names such as Tame Impala, Radiohead, and Muse.