And let’s not forget that iconic album cover.Īs a lot of people have mentioned, Odessey & Oracle is probably the most striking absence. But a few of their songs stand as psych landmarks, and two of them (“Strange Brew” and “Tales of Brave Ulysses”) opened each side of the original vinyl pressing of Disraeli Gears. Even when they took acid, they were more about playing the blues and improvising. 30: Cream: Disraeli Gears (1967)Ĭream were only partly a psychedelic band.
While you’re reading, listen to our Psychedelic Songs playlist here. All of them are, however, guaranteed to take your head to places it never went before. Some fit the classic model of psychedelic music, the genre while others are just spiritually related to the scene. Some were clearly acid-inspired, but at least one was made by an artist (Prince) who never indulged in hallucinogenics. Some were made in the psych epicenters of San Francisco and Los Angeles, others are from as far afield as Brazil, Texas, and the UK. Most were made during the golden era of 1966-1968, but quite a few came along later.
Look up the word “psychedelic” in the dictionary, and one of the first definitions will be “mind-expanding.” That’s what all of the best psychedelic albums have in common.
