Psych Rock Appreciation Thread

[readytoignite]

i call false psych on the atm. was listening to them and various kawabata bleatings from the ground up (2nd cassette, when they were a musica transonic side project), saw them a bunch of times from 98 or so on and nothing was any good except la novia. i just gave up after a while.

only positive thing to come out of the whole deal was a minor boost in global awareness for rosina de peiera. oh yeah, and getting two french sluts to follow them around to make a "documentary" a few years back

most heavy duty crimson fans i know think red is the sine qua non. i'm not personally juiced about the whole rio scene (henry cow and whatnot) but there was an unbelievably heavy (and great) robert wyatt live set that came out a few years ago. run don't walk, etc.

i like how there's some kind of orthodoxy where krautrock != psych but yet the bands that qualify as such are so extremely different from each other. listen to some of those early kdm ash ra tempel tapes and tell me that's not unequivocally psychedelic.

that psychic ills record came out on the social registry, automatic grounds for sinking into oblivion.

hey, i just got the jones to listen to sundial's cover of "magic potion" followed by hawkwind's second!

[readytoignite]

Dungen, from sweden, do an amazingly musical take on pysch-meets-folk. plenty of people on here seem to know them already, but i think they're highly underrated.

you obviously don't live in nyc. they (he) have some great songs but overall yura yura teikoku pretty much kills dungen at what they do.

leningrad blues machine (pre-zeni geva & ybo2) are much more psych (in a demented blue cheer sort of way), they have a retrospective comp on charnel house that's worth tracking down. and while you're at it add the gasaneta cd on psf (the forefathers of high rise -style excess)

[jeepster]

you obviously don't live in nyc. they (he) have some great songs but overall yura yura teikoku pretty much kills dungen at what they do.

leningrad blues machine (pre-zeni geva & ybo2) are much more psych (in a demented blue cheer sort of way), they have a retrospective comp on charnel house that's worth tracking down. and while you're at it add the gasaneta cd on psf (the forefathers of high rise -style excess)

umm, i live in CT. that obviously means i don't live in NYC.

i will check out that other dude though.

[partytaco]

Any Phil Perlman Projects...Relatively Clean Rivers, Electronic Hole, etc...

Damon

Zerfas

Satya Sai Maitrya Kali

Bob Trimble

Golden Dawn

YaHoWha/Fathr Yod

Le Stelle Di Mario Schifano

Rick Saucedo

Flower Travelin' Band

Bubble Puppy

D.R. Hooker

KAK

These are all good.....a lot of garbage (90% of it I would safely say) from the psych years as anyone who has spent time collecting this stuff will tell you....

[jeepster]

i'm really interested in jac holzman's & lenny k's nuggets series, should i get them all, or are there specific ones i should look out for? i think my dad might have an old LP of one of them.

[readytoignite]

just go for the deluxe box of the first issue and you should get the idea. in this day of relentless archival strip mining (c.f. partytaco's recommendations, many of which are servicable but maybe one of which is geniunely great) it's not going to be mindblowing or anything.

[linkejeuk]

With what is mentioned now, this seems more a psych/prog/kraut/acidfolk/artrock thread.

Only for the better, I would say.

Anyway, I love lots of this stuff, som fav records are:

13th Floor Elevators-The Psychedelic Sounds Of & Easter Everywhere

West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band-Vol.2 & Part 1

Bubble Puppy-A Gathering of Promises

The Electric Prunes-Underground

Pretty Things-S.F.Sorrow

Pink Floyd-Pipers at the Gates of Dawn

Incredible String Band-The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter

yahowha 13 - Penetration: An Aquarian Symphony

Pearls Before Swine-Balaklava

Donovan-Sunshine Superman

Chrysalis-Definition

Kak-Kak

Xhol Caravan-Electrip

Amon Düül II-Phallus Dei

Magma-Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh

Red Krayola-God Bless The Red Krayola & All Who Sail With It

Moolah-Woe Ye Demons Possessed

The Millennium-Begin

Flower Travelin' Band-Satori

Bue Cheer-Vincebus Eruptum

AMM-AMMMusic

This is mostly ignoring my obession with italian and french/belgian prog, krautrock and psychfolk, and more recent stuff. But 'psych' is a genre that's meant to be 'openminded' I guess. To much to mention really, to much cross genres as well. So much great stuff in the more free jazz direction. And so much great stuff beyond the 60's and 70's obviously.

I can never decide if I like the happy lighthearted psych stuff more, or the gloomy doomy heavier stuff.

Anyway, carry on.

[jetlenoir]

I'm going to throw some space and german stuff in here along with some prog, even though people like to pretend that they're completely distinct. Space is to some degree, but krautrock was a stupid lable given to a community by a germanophobic british press who wanted to distinguish themselves from the german bands, many of whom blew the british out of the flippin' water. For that reason, I have a lot of german groups here and i'm leaving out can, faust, and neu because we all already know all about them...

Linkejeuk, thanks for bringing up magma. Even though they do try a little too hard, imo.

-Cluster/Harmonia/Roedelius (just look into early roedelius solo, selbstportrait albums are a good place to start. Not very psych, but just good. He was seminal to german "psych." If you like that, move onto the later stuff.)

-The Muffins (late 70's early 80's DC prog outfit definately worth checking out.)

-Soft Machine

-Popol Vuh

-Ashra

-early Kraan (check out the Andy Nogger and Let it Out albums)

-Cosmic Jokers (with reservations)

-Turid (decent 70's prog/folk from sweden)

-Fairport Convention

-Anything produced by or involving Conny Plank. His unsuck to suck ratio is pretty decent.

-Liliental (obscure but good band that released one fantastic album. Members include Conny Plank and Asmus Tietchens. Tietchens is a notable and incredible sound designer, if you're into more ambitious electronic comp and dronish stuff)

- Oh, and Heldon/Richard Pinhas!

-One last namecheck: An album by Conny Plank and Dieter Moebius (of cluster/harmonia) called Rastakraut Pasta. Definately check it out...

Give it a whirl. Don't tell your friends, though.

[jeepster]

hawkwind! (10)

[grail]

Jackie-O Motherfucker are fantastic. If you get the chance to see them play live, DO IT.

[keagan]

I saw jackieomotherfucker in portland once. I wouldn't call them psychedelic rock at all though, more like avantgarde whatever.

[readytoignite]

for some reason this list gets on my nerves. though i hate italian prog so what do i know. not even going to respond to the post that suggests ashra and cosmic jokers without recommending the ash ra tempel s/t or schwingungen.

wcpaeb - highly overrated + even fans don't rate the first one

isb - both cob are 10x better

kak - get the first two blue cheers first, pilot third

xhol caravan - 3rd tier noodle at best. annexus quam beziehungen and limbus 3/4 are better at this steez

ad II - yeti and dance of lemmings crap all over phallus dei

ftb - best of their records but again the flowers' challenge is way better. there was also a pre ftb boot which is pretty hot. julian cope go to hell

blue cheer - ignore outside inside at your own peril

amm - great record but not psych. taj mahal travellers is a better example of this kind of music from a psych perspective

With what is mentioned now, this seems more a psych/prog/kraut/acidfolk/artrock thread.

Only for the better, I would say.

Anyway, I love lots of this stuff, som fav records are:

13th Floor Elevators-The Psychedelic Sounds Of & Easter Everywhere

West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band-Vol.2 & Part 1

Bubble Puppy-A Gathering of Promises

The Electric Prunes-Underground

Pretty Things-S.F.Sorrow

Pink Floyd-Pipers at the Gates of Dawn

Incredible String Band-The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter

yahowha 13 - Penetration: An Aquarian Symphony

Pearls Before Swine-Balaklava

Donovan-Sunshine Superman

Chrysalis-Definition

Kak-Kak

Xhol Caravan-Electrip

Amon Düül II-Phallus Dei

Magma-Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh

Red Krayola-God Bless The Red Krayola & All Who Sail With It

Moolah-Woe Ye Demons Possessed

The Millennium-Begin

Flower Travelin' Band-Satori

Bue Cheer-Vincebus Eruptum

AMM-AMMMusic

This is mostly ignoring my obession with italian and french/belgian prog, krautrock and psychfolk, and more recent stuff. But 'psych' is a genre that's meant to be 'openminded' I guess. To much to mention really, to much cross genres as well. So much great stuff in the more free jazz direction. And so much great stuff beyond the 60's and 70's obviously.

I can never decide if I like the happy lighthearted psych stuff more, or the gloomy doomy heavier stuff.

Anyway, carry on.

[jetlenoir]

for some reason this list gets on my nerves. though i hate italian prog so what do i know. not even going to respond to the post that suggests ashra and cosmic jokers without recommending the ash ra tempel s/t or schwingungen.

As far as Manuel Gottsching (ashra) goes, why bother mentioning the only two albums that anyone ever talks about besides E2/E4 as if one has the responsibility to do so? Sounds like a credibility contest. I agree that italian prog sucks, because prog sucks with very few exceptions. It seems like a lot stuff people list on here is music that makes up for its creator's lack of character with virtuosity or make-believe "experimentation."

Amon Duul 2: Charged with phony hipsterisms that don't age well. Sentenced to death.

We forgot Living Colour...

[ghostdeini]

do the flaming lips count?

[linkejeuk]

to readytoignite:

haha, well that's why it's a list of personal favs. If someone wants a credible canonic list of psych stuff, there are far better sources out there to find out about that then asking superfuture. but whatever, it's music, I know what I enjoy, that's why it's my list and not yours.

I mostly don't care if records are considered a bands best records. If you want a consensus choice of a bands best album, go to AMG or something. If it's your personal opinion, well, good for you. just enjoy the stuff you like, and I'll go listen to some prog or italian symphonic hideousness instead.

[readytoignite]

As far as Manuel Gottsching (ashra) goes, why bother mentioning the only two albums that anyone ever talks about besides E2/E4 as if one has the responsibility to do so? Sounds like a credibility contest. I agree that italian prog sucks, because prog sucks with very few exceptions. It seems like a lot stuff people list on here is music that makes up for its creator's lack of character with virtuosity or make-believe "experimentation."

Amon Duul 2: Charged with phony hipsterisms that don't age well. Sentenced to death.

We forgot Living Colour...

well i agree it has to do with credibility inasmuch as recommendations for second tier records tends to undermine same. i mean i love jane's "here we are" but i would never confuse it with essential listening unless you're compiling a list of european zep knock-offs.

anyway for someone who writes off entire genres as sucking, you don't seem to take too kindly to people questioning your own favorites. fair play to linkejeuk on this point.

to be honest i'd rather trade all my ash ra records (incl inventions, the best of the lot) for the good achim reichel ones. not sure how ar got missed during the first kraut revival but glad to see him getting his due in hipster circles these days.

[jetlenoir]

well i agree it has to do with credibility inasmuch as recommendations for second tier records tends to undermine same. i mean i love jane's "here we are" but i would never confuse it with essential listening unless you're compiling a list of european zep knock-offs.

anyway for someone who writes off entire genres as sucking, you don't seem to take too kindly to people questioning your own favorites. fair play to linkejeuk on this point.

to be honest i'd rather trade all my ash ra records (incl inventions, the best of the lot) for the good achim reichel ones. not sure how ar got missed during the first kraut revival but glad to see him getting his due in hipster circles these days.

I might have missed something. Which did you actually question?