Psychedelic Freakout!

Please listen to the colours...

We are truly entering the Wonderland of British music at this moment. Although I love many genres of music, I believe that UK psych just might top my list of favorites. Here is an excellent introduction into this gorgeous land of tangerines, eiderdowns, gnomes, gladiolas, frozen dogs, fairycakes and lemonade...

The psychedelic experience in the UK differed a bit from its US counterpart. Whereas US psych music often provided radical political platforms for the counterculture (such as reaction to the war in Vietnam, civil rights, etc.), UK psych tended to take the listener on a journey back to childhood to again experience a simpler time, or as a way to tell wonderful stories about a variety of interesting characters. Some bands might take a dadaist/surrealist approach to the absurdity of life, while others emphasized toyland and tea with aunties. It is a delightfully rich form of erudite, literate escapism. (That isn't to say that the British Underground was entirely apolitical, far from it.)

Please enjoy this wonderful article by psych expert David Welles as he writes about his favorite UK psych albums. This article appeared in a 2003 issue of the UK magazine Record Collector. I agree with his marvelous choices; Welles also runs his own record label that specializes in re-issuing long-lost psych classics. If you haven't delved deeply into this genre, hopefully this blog entry will inspire you do go further into Alison's Wonderland....

Coming soon - an in depth piece on Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett...