Feed Your Head: Hidden Gems of the Psychedelic Era
by Sean Johnson
The late 1960s was a watershed era for experimentation in popular music, where the emergence of commercially-available electronic equipment coupled with a milieu of social upheaval and gratuitous drug consumption gave rise to psychedelic music: that which aimed at enhancing or replicating hallucinogenic drug use by way of elaborate studio productions, Eastern instrumentation, freeform compositions, surrealistic imagery, and so forth. Though many names of the era—The Doors, Pink Floyd, The Zombies, Love, Jefferson Airplane—have since been ingrained within Western culture, a number of stellar artists have eluded mainstream success, attributable perhaps to their less-palatable nature, limited distributions, or simply ill fate. Herein are twenty excellent psychedelic recordings of the late 60s that have undeservingly succumbed to obscurity.
1. Friendsound – Joyride
United States
RCA Victor
1969
Appropriately described on the back-cover as a “musical free-for-all”, Joyride is an extended, improvisatory psychedelic jam session that thankfully refrains from excessive self-indulgence, instead creating a veritable aural collage of heavy acid-rock grooves and musique concrète-inspired studio trickery (overdubs, field recordings, and reverse playback are just a few elements employed). It’s no wonder that this album, firmly on the vanguard of rock experimentalism, failed to capture a wide audience.
2. Pärson Sound – Pärson Sound
Sweden
Subliminal Sounds
(Recorded 1966-1968, released 2001)
Unbelievably ahead-of-its-time raga/drone rock out of Sweden that shares more in common with avant-garde luminaries of the Dream Syndicate (Conrad, Young, et al) than any of its contemporaries in the popular-music sphere, sans perhaps The Velvet Underground (who employed a similar, more subdued strain of “eternal music” on tracks like Venus in Furs). Listening to these perpetually-expanding suites of heavy Eastern-tinged psychedelia is an entrancing experience, comparable only to the peaks of German kosmische musik that were still light-years away. Bewilderingly, these recordings never saw the light of day until 2001, when they received an archival boxset release. The world still isn’t ready.
3. Toshi Ichiyanagi – Opera Yokoo Tadanori wo utau
Japan
The End Record
1969
A curious anomaly of the then-blossoming experimental music scene of Japan, this record by the Fluxus-aligned musician Toshi Ichiyanagi (who studied alongside other avant-garde visionaries like John Cage) is an amalgamation of disparate, seemingly-infusible elements such as enka, tape music, and psychedelic rock. Though an academic mode of composition takes the foreground, the album is as mind-altering as any acid-drenched freak-out of the time.
4. Dave Bixby – Ode to Quetzalcoatl
United States
(Self-released)
1969
A highlight of American private-press obscura, Ode to Quetzalcoatl is perhaps the most personal and stark recording on this list: a lone, drug-damaged guitarist singing repentance and salvation, an antithesis to the hedonistic acid-sunshine of the mainstream Flower Generation scene (though tinges of psychedelia prevail throughout the record, hence its placement here). Fans of Nick Drake and other purveyors of intimate songwriting will find much to like from this singular artist. A timeless, transcendent work, regardless of one’s religious afflictions.
5. C.A. Quintet – Trip Thru Hell
United States
Candy Floss
1969
Despite selling under 1000 copies upon release, this relic has amassed a sizeable cult following over the years, attributable to its uniquely demented “The Doors meets Night of the Living Dead” creep-show atmosphere. Organ dirges, ghoulish cries, acid-guitar solos, and otherworldly electronic effects take the listener on a carnival ride of nostalgic thrill. A trip through hell, indeed.
6. The Zodiac – Cosmic Sounds
United States
Elektra
1967
With its celestial artwork, astrological subject matter, and liner notes specifying that it “must be played in the dark”, this cult album composed by electronic pioneer and Moog-maestro Mort Garson was likely the most far-out music available at record stores in ’67. Sonically, it is a rich tapestry of acid jams, non-Western instrumentation, alien electronics, and spoken-word narration, suitable for any traveler of the cosmos.
7. The Beat of the Earth – The Beat of the Earth
United States
Radich
1967
The epitome of the “jam”, this debut album of Orange County-based outfit The Beat of the Earth consists of a single continuous, sprawling track that refuses to let up in intensity for the entirety of its 42-minute duration. Among the most drugged-out and unhinged sonic documents of the era, its alternate title is aptly fitting: “This Record is an Artistic Statement”.
8. The Spoils of War – The Spoils of War
United States
Elektra
1967
Among the earliest cases of a rock band employing prominent use of electronics, The Spoils of War deserve a place next to other exalted names of proto-electronica like Silver Apples and White Noise, yet have sadly been relegated to cult obscurity since their inception. A hint of hippie folk-rock works wonders within their framework of punch-card computer-generated sounds, creating an off-kilter and thoroughly intriguing sound.
9. Les Yper Sound – Too Fortiche / Teen Tonic / Psyché Rock / Jericho Jerk
France
Fontana
1967
Decades later honored with a track-title reference on the retro-chic indietronica band Stereolab’s 1996 LP “Emperor Tomato Ketchup”, Les Yper Sound were a short-lived French outfit who showcase arguably the greatest sense of discipline and virtuosity out of the early electronic-rock bands. This is no doubt thanks to the lead of musique concrète pioneer Pierre Henry, whose technical prowess does not submit to dry academia, instead utilizing avant-garde techniques in a playful, light-hearted fashion. The third track, Psyché Rock, is notable for serving as the template for the theme song of Futarama.
10. Music Emporium – Music Emporium
United States
Sentinel
1969
A private-press obscurity released in 300 copies, the sole album by this Los Angeles group is a masterpiece of dreamy psychedelia, with classically-inspired organ playing and male/female vocal harmonization taking the forefront to a thundering rhythm section. With the proto-dream pop perfume-haze of “Gentle Thursday” acting as a counterpoint to the angst-ridden “Cage” and “Sun Never Shines”, this album offers a wide palette of tripped-out sounds. Good luck securing an original LP pressing, though: copies go for around $6,000.
11. Ultimate Spinach – Behold and See
United States
MGM Records
1968
Though the whole album is a solid offering of East Coast ‘Bosstown Sound’, the track “Mind Flowers” is a bona-fide masterwork: a lengthy excursion into the ethereal realm, employing copious amounts of electronic effects to create a hallucinatory listening experience.
12. Harumi – Harumi
Japan
Verve Forecast
1968
The first LP of this double-gatefold album is a forgettable pastiche of cliché-ridden American psychedelic pop by a Japanese musician, neither offensive nor noteworthy by any means. The second LP, meanwhile, is a different beast altogether: the front-side is a cacophonous, hypnotic jam that predates the sound of Damo Suzuki-era Can by several years. On the flip-side is “Twice Told Tales of the Pomegranate Forest“, a 24-minute tapestry of traditional Eastern instrumentation and reverb-laden surrealistic monologues; a meditative, spiritual journey. Despite a lukewarm first half, the deep end of this album secures Harumi’s place in the annals of psychedelic history.
13. Erica Pomerance – You Used to Think
Canada
ESP
1968
Erica Pomerance, a multidisciplinary artist from Montreal, deserves a place next to other exalted vanguard folk names of the time—Tim Buckley, Nico, Robbie Basho—but perhaps she is too outré even for listeners of those musicians. Her often off-tune crooning is likely to still test the patience of even the most die-hard Joanna Newsom fan, and the free jazz-esque cacophony of “Koanisphere” is fated to turn off those listeners who would seek something more structured. Stick with the record’s jagged grooves, though, and you will be rewarded with a truly remarkable artifact of late 60’s hybridization.
14. Intersystems – Free Psychedelic Poster Inside
Canada
(Self-released)
1968
Likely the most enigmatic album here, this Canadian private-press release is as anti-commercial as it comes: a disorienting proto-industrial, spoken-word, DIY electronic-noise endeavor with few points of reference in the 1960s, it anticipates the likes of Throbbing Gristle: a band still a decade away from emergence.
15. Joe Byrd and the Field Hippies – The American Metaphysical Circus
United States
Columbia
1969
Recorded after his parting with the seminal group The United States of America (who, while among the greatest of all psychedelic bands, are a bit too well-known for a spot on this list), this album sees Joe Byrd continuing where he left off with a hazy acid-trip of West Coast garage rock, exotic non-Western instrumentation, and of course: an impressive display of groundbreaking electronic synthesis.
16. Aorta – Aorta
United States
Columbia
1969
A Chicago-based affair of progressive psych-pop that is decidedly more soulful and blues-inspired than most similarly-minded acts of the time. Creative studio production anchors the catchy songwriting of the record, which, while immediately accessible, simultaneously boasts an adventurous flavor that cements this debut release as arguably one of the first prog albums to emerge from the era.
17. The Red Krayola – The Parable of Arable Land
United States
International Artists
1967
The psychedelic freak-out par excellence. Psychedelia taken to such a formless extreme that this record could be said to be more grounded in the electroacoustic improvisational school of AMM and Musica Elettronica Viva than any known rock idiom. In essence, herein lies the starting point of the experimental current of the music underground: noise, industrial, krautrock, and post-punk are all traceable by varying extents to this watershed release.
18. Peter Ivers – Knight of the Blue Communion
United States
Epic
1969
Straddling the line between avant-garde jazz instrumentation, intermodulator trickery, garage-blues fusion, and a playful whimsy predicting the likes of Rock-in-Opposition luminaries such as Henry Cow (the female vocalist even sounds vaguely reminiscent of Dagmar Krause), this debut album is as unorthodox as they come.
19. Fifty Foot Hose – Cauldron
United States
Limelight
1967
Yet another electronics-pioneering addition to the list, Fifty Foot Hose were a San Franciscan outfit responsible for some of the most forward-thinking music of 1967. This appropriately-titled debut album is a swirling cauldron brew of oscillators, theremins, audio generators, and acid-drenched guitars, seamlessly interwoven amongst an otherworldly, often-unsettling atmosphere. The fact that they were namedropped by industrial mavericks Throbbing Gristle as a prime influence should be telling of what lies in store here.
20. The Godz – Contact High with the Godz
United States
ESP
1966
A discordant, primitive, and ineptly-played sort of raga freak-folk that is all the better for its outsider qualities. Much like Jandek, The Godz exist in a primal realm entirely outside of musical norms: as if picking their instruments up for the first time, they stumble through arrhythmic, shambled compositions, perfectly embodying the free-spirited nature of the time.
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