Psychedelic Rock

A Sixties reconfiguration of the drug explorations undertaken by the Beats in the 1950s, the psychedelic era we most associate with music began in the mid-1960s when The Beatles, Dylan, and many others experimented with mind-expanding substances such as LSD.
The use of psychedelics is a fascinating story, thoroughly explored by Rob Chapman in his book "Psychedelia And Other Colours". For our purposes, we will simply note that while drug use—even its association with music—is as old as human history, the 1960s saw a flowering of creativity and exploration that produced multi-hued clouds of wonderful music. The introduction of new instruments, particularly from the East, and an explosion of colour in fashion and art all fed into a fertile scene that flowed across the world from the twin hubs of Swinging London and the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco. Albums to explore from 1964-1967 include Revolver (The Beatles), Are You Experienced (Jimi Hendrix Experience), Disraeli Gears (Cream), and Fifth Dimension (The Byrds).
The music sought to capture something of the mind-expanding experience of acid, often using studio techniques and sound manipulation, while a different style involved both the musicians and the audience tripping while the music unfolded in live performance. The latter was more closely associated with the American West Coast scene, particularly The Grateful Dead (eg:1969’s Live/Dead).
Other variants duly appeared, including acid-folk, stoner rock, psychedelic pop, and psychedelic soul. Psychedelic rock certainly did not come down after the 1960s; countless bands have continued to explore inner space to this very day. Neo-psychedelia might include The Bevis Frond and Tame Impala, while the Paisley Underground scene in the US included Dream Syndicate and even The Bangles. Turn off your mind, relax and float downstream.