Guide to British Music of the 1960s
September 1997
Book Review
Kaleidoscope Eyes: Psychedelic Music from the 1960s to the 1990s.
By Jim Derogatis.
Jim Derogatis's book takes a wide brief for the development of psychedelic music and is probably richer for this. The downside, however, is that some groups do not get the coverage they probably deserve. The books traces the history of psychedelia from the development of LSD to the rise of psychedelic music during the 1960s and the way in which it has evolved ever since.
There is a thread which runs through psychedelic music and Jim Derogatis traces this from the beginnings in the early 1960s through milestone records like Tomorrow Never Knows, artists like the Grateful Dead and Pink Floyd up to modern dance and hip hop culture that has been influenced by this genre. The author claims that it is "an attempt to connect the dots" throughout musical history. Psychedelia did not begin and end with Haight-Ashbury and San Francisco in the mid to late 1960s but it had its roots much earlier and it is still heavily influential in much of today's music. Psychedelia may have its root in LSD and the developing drug culture over the years but the book is about the music that is linked in with this. Being stoned or high on LSD was not what created great music. The Beatles, for example, were not capable of playing in this state. Also, the drugs scene has had many casualties. It is important to look at psychedelia from a more positive perspective and the music provides this.
Covering the whole of psychedelic music is a very tall order and it can be debated whether Jim Derogatis really achieves this. The Small Faces and the Yardbirds, for example, are limited to less space than the Creation. One may wish to say that The Yardbirds' Happening Ten Years Time Ago and the Small Faces' Itchycoo Park are classic pieces of British psychedelia. The book does attempt to link all the aspects of psychedelic music and so there are bound to be some casualties.
Other bands, however, are covered in far more detail. These include the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd and the Incredible String Band. The Who's contribution to the psychedelic era is recognised as Armenia City in the Sky although it could be argued that the closest they came to psychedelia was I Can See for Miles. The Who were never really a psychedelic group.
I think this is a book that can provoke a lot of discussion about what should be and not be included. It represents a good guide to the music and tries to place it into the context of musical development. Other comments are welcome.
ISBN: 1-85702-599-7
First published 1996 by Fourth Estate.