UK Psychedelia Discussion Forum

Regal Zonophone 2

General Forum
Start a New Topic 
Author
Comment
Beatles - the imaginary psychedelic LP

The Beatles recorded a lot of tracks that could be described as psychedelic, but spread across a lot of different releases. I wanted to put together an imaginary (double? single CD?) LP of their most blatantly psych stuff and came up with this:

The Beatles Psychedelic LP

Rain
She Said, She Said
Love You Too
I’m Only Sleeping
Tomorrow Never Knows
Strawberry Fields Forever
Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
A Day In The Life
All You Need Is Love
All Too Much
I Am The Walrus
Flying
Only A Northern Song
Baby You’re A Rich Man
Blue Jay Way
Glass Onion
Cry Baby Cry
Dear Prudence
The Inner Light
Because
Across The Universe

I quite pointless exercise I know, but no less pointless than watching an episode of a soap or discussing the weather for 30 minutes I suppose. Have I missed any crucial cuts, or included some debatable choices?

Re: Beatles - the imaginary psychedelic LP

Maybe “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite” and “Flying”...

Re: Beatles - the imaginary psychedelic LP

Oh, you listed Flying...

Re: Beatles - the imaginary psychedelic LP

Ah yes, Mr Kite. And perhaps Good Morning, Good Morning too.

I've just noticed how many George Harrison songs there are in that lot....

Re: Beatles - the imaginary psychedelic LP

Thanks for the lists should sound very interesting to listen to has a whole album

Re: Beatles - the imaginary psychedelic LP

Hope you don't mind,but i'll put a few forward,i'm going earlier than Rain and the album Revolver,because i feel Rubber Soul certainly had its more hash smoking moments and a Dylan influence in wording ,phrasing and musical influence on the Beatles.A definite sign that things were changing in the minds of the group.

Norwegian Wood(the bird has flown)-original take on october 1965,with sitar,meant to be the best take,but recut again a week or so later,of course this was included on the Rubber Soul album,the version i mention here was included on the Anthology 2 cd.Its a great song,and showed a change in sound and philosophy.

I'm Looking Through You-Included on Rubber Soul,this version was recorded by mid November 1965,the lyrics and wording clearly show a higher thinking(literally)involved in their lyrics,to me psychedelia is not just what the music conveys,but lyrical content becomes important too in trying to visualise somethng"else".This is an early example in my opinion.

Within You Without You-On the Sgt Pepper album,which for some reason seems to be played down aa an album these days by revisionists.....but in 1967,it was certainly saw as revolutionary as the studio being used as an instrument in itself and the touring had stopped,which was unheard of up to that point,plus the many techniques used in the studio which in 67 were still basic,and used to flavour the songs,was virtually unheard of on this scale,and the time it took to get the whole album together,helped change the way things were done in the recording industry,so yes this was a big leap in pop music,it just so happened to be in the middle of a psychedelic awakening,and opened the doors to groups and record companies what could be done,plus the fact that The Beatles had great songwriters in the camp,even though they went psychedelic,it wasnt too out there to not be accessable to others not involved in a psychedelic awakening.So yes this album was a signpost,things in the evolvement of pop music was underway,people in 2021 forget that,they were still using 4 track and 8 track studios,listen to the marvel of the album from 1967....there was nothing like it,no it wasnt the first psychedelic album......but it was certainly the first psychedelic album to be intentionally fully aimed at the mass market,pop charts and commercial success.....there wasnt many others at this time.Anyway the track i've picked was certainly a move and a step up from the other raga like number on Revolver "Love You To",this was further more fully realised in genuine spiritual quest,"Within You Without You"for me is the psychedelic experience through natural and spiritual awareness,rather than LSD soaked psychedelia,so hence my inclusion in this psychedelic Beatles list,its more a come down pleaser than a psych freaker.

The Whole Magical Mystery Tour US album-Though only an EP in the UK,it was eventually issued as an album in the USA,with added singles of course,to me this is The Beatles most fully realised psychedelic and trippy album,though it was not intentioned to be an album,so those good old American record company execs done me a favour,theres so much on this album,all through a fisheye lense and fairy dust,i cant pick songs from this album,i've got to hear it as a whole,and its a fantastic and exhilirating listen,from total weird outs,to pop gems,it has everything i want in a pop album with as much studio psychedelia in the mix,and of course some marvellous songwriting,and a flop of a movie to go with it,who shows a multicoloured psychedelic arty film film on christmas when most people in the UK have black and white TVs?No wonder it went down like a bomb,but fortunately the music is pure for keeps!!This album did not get released in the UK till November 1976,but was officially included in their UK album catalogue with the release in 1987 of cds.

Of course the obvious choices like Dear Prudence,Glass Onion,have been already chosen from the white album from 1968.Id include some others from this varied and eclectic album,that for me have a psych bent to them.

Wild Honey Pie-ok its just a snippet of a song really that doesnt last 1 minute,but its totally weird and sounds well tripped out with all its springy sounding noises,a stoned bit of fun,but imagIne hearing this tripped out on LSD?

Happiness Is A Warm Gun-A heavy dark sounding piece,like a bad comedown from a trip,and moving onto heavier more damaging drugs,this has tremendous fuzzed guitar,with a beach boys like refrain sounding from another time,just adds to the total delerium of this dark heavy psych cut.

Julia-What,psychedelic??You might be asking yourself,i love this song,it conveys a nice trippy vibe with just double tracked vocals and guitar,no big group freak out with oodles of studio effects,nowadays this may get called acid folk,psychfolk?.......its the guitar picking up and down the threads,and those lovely vocals,it certainly conveys that vibe to me,to others it may just be a nice ditty with guitar and vocals......but thats the beauty of psychedelic,my mind and body,certainly react to this song,we all have preconceived ideas or a rough idea what sounds psychedelic in music,particularly the 60s and early 70s version,but a song like this is simple,sounds basic but very effective,can jolt you away from those preconceived ideas.....i maybe in a minority with this pick. As well as the highs,you need the comedown music too,this is perfect.

Birthday-This is basically a souped up blues rocker on first listen,but theres far more going on in this song than first hits the ears,it's like 2 or 3 songs wrapped into one package,from hard rocking parts,to harmonies and what sounds like a flanged piano part....psychedelic......maybe.....or then again.....maybe not!!

Everybodys Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey-To my ears this is a hard n heavy psych rocker,veering towards the hard rock without the incense,this may have been terrifying in a club if you were having a bad trip,this is the Beatles doing a biker movie soundtrack.

Long Long Long-The White album had its share of lovely quieter songs,ive mentioned one already,but this is pretty mellow affair,and a whiff of incense about,as light as gossamer wings,again the vocals are great with that stoned vibe,and of course the musical accompaniment,though not overtly psychedelic,has a real etheral feel.Count this in!!

Savoy Truffle-This is a pretty groovy mix of psych which sounds like from a year before and the coming horn rock sound,which became so prevalent in the late 60s.

Cry Baby Cry-This just oozes brilliance,to me a pretty psychedelic sounding ditty,with that echoed piano,the snared drum,that electric guitar,the same monotone of the organ all through it.It just stinks of the dieing embers of psychedelia.

As you've probably guessed ,i find the White album a pretty drugged out sounding affair,but not the fairy dust and unicorns of 67,to me its certainly more psychedelic than it ever gets mentioned for,but its the darker side of the trip i get from it,with some nice n mellow moments that i had to include in this list,mention must be made of the sound collage of Revolution 9,with it backwards tape effects and all the other mayhem going on,but in truth is this a song?How often do people listen to this daily?Certainly a product of the psych era,i listened to it tonight for the first time in about 15 years,its certainly aurally very trippy,with it jumping from speaker to speaker.......but not for repeated listen....i suppose some would call it art?Im no arty farty dude,so to me its just a collage of noise.

The Yellow Submarine soundtrack,of course the likes of Only A Northern Song and Its All Too Much were from a while earlier,which in uk music terms and the speed at which it was changing,those 2 songs coudve been left on the cutting room floor,as dated from the year of 1967,but even so called average Beatles songs are far better than most,particulrly from George Harrisons mind.BUT i want to point out the side of the original album that did not feature any Beatles,i'm on about George Martins orchestral score,this indeed has some quite bendy and trippy moments,particularly in Sea Of Time and Sea Of Holes......but that whole score is a joy to listen to...i just wanted to mention that.

Though the material for Abbey Road was after the Let It Be sessions,the group had not good vibes with each other,and obviously not entirely satisfied with those sessions,so Abbey Road came about,and there are songs already mentioned with a psych bent to them like Because with its yummy harpsichord.

Sun King-This is a beautiful number,very much in the Fleetwood Mac Albatross vibe,nice n mellow,and fab for lazy hazy summer days......psychedelic...hmmm.not too sure.

Across the universe-The one recorded for the charity album ,is the best,with its bird song at the beginning,with its understated wah wah guitar and sitar like bits with guitar and a kinda bendy vibe to it,as if the tape is being manipulated.....its a lovely song .