Jon Savage’s Guide to Psychedelia

Quite some time ago, I promised to list "100 Mind-expanding Masterpieces", i.e. psychedelic tunes, originally found in a nice booklet given away in the 1st or 3rd edition of Mojo magazine. This was when the editor was trying to imitate the class and creditability of the 70's Zig Zag magazine  - and subsequently the listings were reprinted in Mojo itself a couple of years later. Well before Nick Hornsby got into this thing, Jon Savage produced the lists and excellent annotation. This was the same Jon Savage who has written the definitive history of the Sex Pistols and English punk England's Dreaming. A minor complaint: alas Savage can't resist taking an occasional  pop at prog, in some write-ups where and when psychedelic bands were to  later moved in that direction - and you have ask to why, with such little variation between psychedelic and early prog versions of groups? And as it is reported the editor of the current Mojo is around: this booklet is also labelled at the top of the front cover: A Mojo Music Guide 1 - I don't remember seeing booklets 2 or 3; did  the giveaway booklet prove too expensive and so instead such "guides" had to be  printed in the body of the magazine? If so, a shame - or is this a publishing opportunity for the future to compile all these lists together between the covers of a single book? (Remember you read it here first!).

Savage splits his list into two, starting with the UK 50 in the first half, and the US 50 in the second half. The lists are sensibly in chronological order, and I have  included dates of recording(?) of 1st and 50th in each list for reference:

UK 50

Beatles: Tomorrow Never Knows (April/May 1966)

Rolling Stones: Paint It Black

Dovovan: Season Of The Witch

Creation: Making Time

Yardbirds: Happened 10 years Time Ago

Cream: I Feel free

Beatles: Strawberry Fields Forever

Pink Floyd: Interstellar Overdrive

Smoke: My Friend Jack

Small Faces: Green Circles

David McWilliams: Days Of Pearly Spencer

Poets: In Your Tower

Move: I Can Hear The Grass Grow

Jimi Hendrix: Are You Experienced

Troggs: Night Of The Long Grass

Traffic: Paper Sun

John's Children: Midsummer Night's Scene

Attack: Colours Of My Mind

Beatles: It's All Too Much

Small Faces: Itchycoo Park

Jimi Hendrix: The Stars That Play With Laughing Sam's Dice

Pink Floyd: Mathilda Mother

Rolling Stones: We Love You

Kaleidoscope: Flight From Ashiya

Pretty Things: Defecting Grey

Who: Relax

herd: From The Underworld

Hollies: King Midas In Reverse

23rd Turnoff: Michaelangelo:

Svensk: Dream Magazine

Idle Race: Imposters Of Life's Magazine

Eric Burdon & The (New) Animals: San Francisco Nights

Troggs: Love Is All Around

Tintern Abbey: Vacuum Cleaner

Dantalian's Chariot: Listen To The Madman

Simon Dupree & The Big Sound: Kites

Beatles: I Am The Walrus

Tomorrow: Revolution

Fairport Convention: It's Alright Ma, It's Only Witchcraft

Status Quo: Pictures Of Matchstick Men

Apple: The Otherside

Mirror: Faster Than Light

Nirvana: Rainbow Chaser

Big Boy Pete: Cold Turkey

Family: Me My Friend

Crazy World Of Arthur Brown: Fire

Nice: Diamond Hard Blue Apples Of The Moon

Pink Floyd: Jugband Blues

Jimi Hendrix Experience: 1983

Blind Faith: Can't Find My Way Home (Sept 1969)

US 50:

Byrds: Eight Miles High (RCA first version) (Dec 1965)

Bob Dylan: Visions Of Joanna

Country Joe & The Fish: Section 43 (ep version)

Jefferson Airplane: Blues From An Airplane

Someone To Love: Great Society

Charlatans: Alabama Bound

Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band: Electricity

Oxford Circle: Foolish Woman

13th Floor Elevators: Roller Coaster

Vejtables: Feel The Music

Count 5: Psychotic Reaction

Lowell George & The Factory: The Loved One

Sons Of Adam: Feathered Fish

Love: 7 & 7 Is

Beach Boys: Good Vibrations

Sopwith Camel: Frantic Desolation

Kadeidoscope (LA): Keep Your Mind Open

Seeds: Mr Farmer

Electric Prunes: Get Me To The World On Time

Mystery Trend: Johnny Was A Good Boy

Moby Grape: Omaha

Third Bardo: 5 years Ahead Of My Time

Jefferson Airplane: White rabbit

Doors: Crystal Ship

Tim Buckley: Hallucinations

Chocolate Watch band: Are You Gonna Be There (At The Love In)

Big Brother & The Holding Company: Ball & Chain

Painted Faces: Anxious Color

Beau Brummels: Magic Hollow

Love: The Red Telephone

Strawberry Alarm Clock: Incense & Peppermints

Buffalo Springfield: Broken Arrow

Byrds: Change Is Now

Otis Redding: (Sitting On The) Dock Of The Bay

Balloon Farm: A Question Of Temperature

Sly & The Family Stone: Dance To The Music

Quicksilver (Messager Service): Pride Of Man

Grateful Dead: That's It  For The Other One

Iron Butterfly: In A Gadda Da Vida

Steppenwolf: Magic Carpet Ride

Steve Miller: Song For Our Ancestors

Tommy James & The Shondells: Crimson & Clover

Lothar & The Hand People: Machines

Spirit: A Dream Within A Dream

White Lightning: William

Youngbloods: Darkness Darkness

Kak: Electric Sailor

Grateful Dead: Mountains Of The Moon

Jimi Hendrix: Star Spangled Banner

Skip Spence: War In Peace (Sept 1969)

Interesting reading, but clearly personal - I would find a number of alternatives, e.g. Great Society's live 1965 or '6 recording of White Rabbit.

marktheshark wrote: I'm surprised the Beatles' A Day In The Life is not on the UK list. Or the Moody Blues Legend Of A Mind.

You have to remember this is one fan's choices - and Savage is not a fan of prog (which might suggest Moodies omission). However, in a strange way somebody not enthused by prog, could put together a list uncluttered and confused by prog preferences - and Savage's inclusion of 3 Floyd tracks, tends to support my case the group were not considered prog in the early days. 

I  put a cassette or two of his recommendations together soon after that booklet was published, finding about 50% of the tunes, and then heard a pleasant collection of music - in fact here Country Joe & The Fish was my real discovery, followed by the Steve Miller track. The real challenge to anybody is put together at least one list of 50 tunes, and then provide some good readable annotation. It is impossible to please even few people some of the time.