The year 1967 was a turning point for psych-rock, with albums like Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Big Brother And The Holding Company, and Little Games by The Yardbirds being released that year. Here are some more of the most popular psych-rock albums that prove 1967 was a big year for the genre.
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The Doors — The Doors
The lasting psych-rock legacy of The Doors started from the beginning with their debut self-titled album. It featured their breakthrough single “Light My Fire”, “Break On Through (To The Other Side)”, and “Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)”. The album was received fairly well at the time. Crawdaddy! wrote that “the birth of [The Doors] is in this album, and it’s as good as anything in rock. The awesome fact about The Doors is that they will improve.”
Absolutely Free — The Mothers Of Invention
Absolutely Free was another innovative piece of psych-rock work from The Mothers Of Invention. The group’s second album was released on the same day as the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band due to significant delays. If it had been released on time, The Mothers Of Invention would have predated the Beatles with their innovative gapless tracks.
Absolutely Free fared considerably better than the previous album Freak Out! and has been retrospectively described as “fabulously inventive” by AllMusic. However, there were some critics who claimed it was a heavy-handed novelty album and more or less dismissed it.
The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn — Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd debuted in 1967 with The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn. This album peaked at no. 6 in the United Kingdom and started the band on a successful career in psych-rock. This was another 1967 album that was favorably reviewed. The magazine Record Mirror wrote at the time that there was “plenty of mind-blowing sound, both blatant and subtle here, and the whole thing is extremely well performed.”
The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn is retrospectively lauded as one of the great psychedelic albums of the time. Additionally, it is often considered one of Pink Floyd’s early concept albums.
Incense And Peppermints — Strawberry Alarm Clock
In the world of psych-rock, Strawberry Alarm Clock’s Incense And Peppermints is considered a cult favorite. It was also a chart success, reaching no. 11 on the Billboard 200. The title track was hugely influential in the psych-rock scene and hit no. 1 on the Hot 100 as well. Overall, it could be argued that Strawberry Alarm Clock didn’t find nearly as much success as the other bands here, but they are still highly regarded.
Featured Image by Andrew Whittuck/Redferns
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