Part 1 UK Psych 1966-1968

Welcome to my personal history of Psychedelia. The is the first of four programmes and will focus upon the years 1966 and 1967 and will concentrate on releases by British artists.

The second show will look at releases in the US by US acts within the same period.

The third show will then focus on the UK in the period 1968 and 1969 – then back to the US for the same period.

So…lots of great music…if you have any suggestions the get in touch ! [email protected]

The Beatles – Tomorrow Never Knows – Revolver –August 1966

And so to begin…to my mind, this is where music absorbed the age of Psychedelia.

The Beatles were still a year away form visiting India for the first time but here they bring the mysticism of the East…and what a legacy it proved to be.

Lennon written (but of course credited to Lennon-McCartney) following his first experience of LSD, this track was groundbreaking particularly for its pioneering use ofsampling, tape manipulation and other production techniques.

Plus….its bloody exciting ! 

The Rolling Stones – Paint It Black – Aftermath – May1966

More sitar ! The song was inspired by a series of short sitar pieces written and played by Brian Jones.

It was then picked up by Jagger and Richards and is a comment on grief and loss. We now are used to hearing it without remembering or realizing it was a groundbreaking release. Mixing Eastern European sounds with India raga.

Best heard very LOUD…

Donavon – Sunshine Superman – Sunshine Superman – July 1966

As with many of the best compositions during this periodSunshine Superman was released as single where it reached number one in the US. In the UK it climbed as high as number 2.

The appears to have had an alternative life whereby a Sunshine Superman was deployed as a character or series of characters in comics issued by DC Comics who also published Superman comics.

The Yardbirds – The Nazz Are Blue – Roger the Engineer– July 1966

Taken from the only Yardbirds album to feature Jeff Beck on every track. Beck having replaced Clapton in the band lays out his stall as another London based guitar God.

Todd Rundgren later named his first recording band The Nazz after the song – see the US episode to follow in a fortnights time.

The Kinks – Too Much on My Mind – Face to Face – October 1966

The Kinks never invested much of their time dallying with psychedelia, well at least Ray Davis didn’t appear to. However, the album Face to Face can now be seen as a sort of psychedelic bridge between the proto-punk of their early years and the very British almost musical hall swerve they took later on in the decade.

Whatever…just revel in the cosmic vibes from this superb track. 

Oh !…and check out the album cover. Groovy…

Donavon – Mellow Yellow – Mellow Yellow – October 1966

The song was rumoured to be about smoking dried banana skins. It may also be and ode to a ladies device for relaxing in private…

Cream – N.S.U. – Fresh Cream – December 1966

A song that is similar to Paint It Black insofar that it addressessome of life’s ever-present negatives.

Written by Jack Bruce and played at Cream’s very first rehearsal. 

It may also refer to N.S.U. which is an acronym for “Non-Specific Urethritis,” a form of venereal disease which one of the group was rumoured to have been afflicted with at the time. 

The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Stone Free – b side –December 1966

But he was a Yank ! indeed…but his first two albums were produced and recorded in England and the two other members of the trio were English. Capice ?

The b-side of Hendrix’s first single Hey Joe. Often played in concert up to Hendrix’s early death. 

When played live Hendrix would often stretch out and the song became a vehicle for some fierce improvisation. Check out the versions on Band of Gypsies Live at The Filmore East.

The Incredible String Band – Maybe Someday – The Incredible String Band – June 1966

Was there ever such a group as the Incredible String Band ?

The original incarnation was a trio consisting of Robin Williamson, Mike Heron and Clive Palmer and they released their debut in June 1966 and was produced by Joe Boyd.

Boyd favoured Williamson’s and Heron’s original compositions over Palmer’s traditional offering thus marginalising Palmer as a result. Palmer duly left the group and hit the trail to Afghanistan.

Williamson and Heron too briefly went on their separate ways – but soon hooked up again as we shall discover later on.

For the moment however, I have chosen the lead track written by Heron as an indicator of what would be in store for you should you chose to enter ISB world !

The Who – Happy Jack – A Quick One While He’s Away – December 1966

Rather like Ray Davies, Pete Townsend was beginning to write pop songs that sought to move away from the blues-based material of their early years.

Townsend apparently claimed that “Jack” was a song based on a man who lived on the beach where Townsend holidayed each year. Possibly in the Isle of Man.

The Misunderstood – I Can Take You to the Sun – Single – December 1966

The Misunderstood were an American band originating from California in the mid-1960s.

The band moved to London early in their career, and although they recorded only a handful of songs before being forced to disband, they are considered highly influential in the burgeoning psychedelic scene.

I can Take You to the Sun was recorded in London and the band pioneered the concept of a live light show during performances.

John Peel was a huge fan claiming much later in his career of a performance by the band he witnessed in 1966 as being one of the top ten performances by any band that had he everwitnessed.

Mick Softley – Am I The Red One – Single – 1966

Poor Mick Softley. Originally a folk singer, Softley left the music scene and started a family. Persuaded by Donavon to return to the business, Softley came from the same folk world as the members of the ISB (see above) Bert Jansch, John Martyn, John Renbourne etc.

I feature here a track that has been described as a “pure swirling psych classic” Nice…. 

Pink Floyd – Arnold Layne – Single – March 1967

Aah…The Pink Floyd.. Everybody’s idea of the typical 60s psychedelic band due to the swirling footage taken during performances at various “Happenings” around hippsterLondon during the mid 60s.

Known initially as The Pink Floyd Sound the name was soon trimmed to the sharp version that continued into the 21^stcentury.

But back in 1967 the band had caught the eye of EMI and signed to the label and released Arnold Layne as their first single. Written by Syd Barrett the song was apparently based upon a real person.

According to Roger Waters, “Both my mother and Syd’s mother had female students as lodgers so there were constantly washing lines full of bras and knickers on and ‘Arnold’ or whoever he was, often helped himself”. The song was then quite naturally banned from several radio stations.

The Move – I Can Hear the Grass Grow – Single – March 1967

The band constantly avowed that they were not psychedelic but this their second single firmly paces them within the scene. The songs title came from a letter from an unknown individual that read “I listen to pop music on the radio because where I live it’s so bloody quiet that I can hear the grass grow.”

The Moody Blues – Fly Me High – Single – May 1967

A single released prior to the band flying their mellotron into the heavens, Fly Me High despite being a quality tune failed to fly into the charts….but that was soon to happen….

The Beatles – Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band – May 1967

Another Lennon classic. Taken from one the most famous albums of all time, “Lucy”had it her origins in a drawing the infant Julian Lennon showed his father. The subject was one Lucy O’Donnell.

Whither Lucy now ? is she in the sky and does she have diamonds… a question for the ages.

Procol Harum – A Whiter Shade of Pale – Procol Harum –May 1967

Probably THE summer sound of sixty seven. A morose fanfare for thousands of weddings.

It always leaves me kinda seasick….

Tomorrow – My White Bicycle – Single – May 1967

Another Pysch band that failed to progress further. My White Bicycle is another one of these well-known tracks that nobody ever seemed to buy or at least remember buying.

Recorded at Abbey Road at the same time at Sgt. Pepper it never really lost its stabilisers even though weekly music mag Sounds claimed it to be the “psychedelic anthem” of the summer of 67.

Guitar man Steve Howe late went on (and on) to join Yes and in a roundabout way found his way to fame the day after tomorrow.

  The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Third Stone from The Sun – Are You Experienced – May 1967

The title indicates Hendrix’s interest in science fiction and refers to Earth and its position as the third planet away from the Sun in the Solar System.

The Bee Gees – To Love Somebody – Bee Gees 1^st – June 1967

Taken from the Bee Gees’ first album, the song was apparently written for Otis Redding who had expressed his admiration for the Gibb’s brother’s material. Alas, Otis left us too soon and never got the chance to love somebody ever again.

The Hollies – Water on the Brain – Evolution – June 1967

An album track from Evolution, another album recorded just as the Beatles were perfecting Sgt. Pepper.

The album cover artwork was created by art collective the Fool, with the superb psychedelic cover photo shot by Karl Ferris who is credited with creating the very first psychedelic photograph used for an album cover.

The Small Faces – Green Circles – The Small Faces – June 1967

With lyrics given to the band by their friend Michael O’Sullivan, the subject matter supposedly being the result of a dream. He is therefore listed as a writer for the song and became the only person not in the group on the album to receive a writing credit.

The Incredible String Band – First Girl I Loved – The 5,000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion – July 1967

More from The ISB. Now down to a duo Williamson and Heron mashed up world music with psychedelia and never really cleaned up the mess. Featuring a cornucopia of instruments, some were actually in tune, the album proved to be a great success and influence on many who should have known better.

I mean…Jackson Brown even covered the track chosen here.

The Move – (Here We Go Round) The Lemon Tree – b-side – August 1967

The b-side to the single Flowers in the Rain which is remembered as being the first record to be played on Wonderful Radio One.

I thought it would make a nice change to hear this probably long forgotten track.

Pink Floyd – Astronomy Domine – The Piper at the Gates of Dawn – August 1967

Space Rock took off right here. Regarded as one of the greatest psychedelic albums of that and any time this where whimsy was doused with rocket fuel. Plus it featured Gnomes…

Exhilarating and timeless. Syd’s greatest moments. An essential in any 60s record collection.

Astronomy Domine is one of the greatest album openers ever. Fact.

The Rolling Stones – We Love You – Single – August 1967

Considered one of The Stone’s most experimental songs and one of my personal favourites the b-side Dandelion was chosen for a-side release in the US. The track featured Brian Jones on mellotron.

A perfect psychedelic performance.

The Who – I Can See For Miles – The Who Sell Out –October 1967

To my mind the greatest of all the Who’s singles it was Pete Townsend’s hope for the number one spot. He was to be disappointed however and didn’t take it well. 

It might have been a consolation then when Paul McCartney claimed it was the inspiration for Helter Skelter.

David McWilliams – The Days of Pearly Spencer – Single -October 1967

The high point of McWilliam’s career. I recall the record being on constant rotation on the Pirate stations. Allegedly McWilliams said he had written the song about a homeless man encountered in Ballymena, Northern Island.

The song brought in very little at the time for McWilliams at a time when publicity for the record was thought to have cost over £20,000. That’s over £450,000 in today’s money.

The Moody Blues – Dawn Is a Feeling – Days of FuturePassed – November 1967

The album represents a significant creative turning point for the band as they shifted away from RnB covers. One prominent element of the group’s new musical direction was the use of the mellotron which could, when it worked, produce a string sound that could live replace an orchestra.

Thus the band moved into the realms of psychedelia and even progressive rock.

The album takes as its theme the move through the hours of a day and the chosen track deals with the slowly unfolding day.

Cream – Tales of Brave Ulysses – Their Satanic Majesties Request – November 1967

Crtic Matthew Greenwald calls it, “One of a few overtly psychedelic songs to have aged gracefully … Lyrically, it’s a relatively factual and colourful rendering of the great Greek tragedy”

Contains for me some of Clapton’s most sensitive playing.