As you may have guessed from my name, I enjoy psychedelic music quite a bit. And like many of the other writes on this blog, I am a huge Beatles fan. So that leads me to this inevitable post about some of my favorite psychedelic Beatles songs.

First let me clarify what I mean by psychedelic because different people seem to have different definitions. To me it means music that is “trippy.” That’s a very vague definition I know, but it’s the only one that makes sense to me. I don’t dig the idea that “psychedelic music” is some specific genre that includes only a certain type of instrumentation and from a certain era (some people think that psychedelic music is specific to the ’60s for example.)

To me psychedelic music is any music that can me feel like I’m tripping, even when I’m not. With that said, here are my favorite psychedelic Beatles songs in alphabetical order. And no, this isn’t a complete list. I know I’m leaving off some great ones. But feel free to add your favorites that I’ve left off in the comments!

“A Day in the Life”

Brilliant. Brilliant. Brilliant. I always think it’s a bit of a laugh when people say that Sgt. Pepper is overrated. How can an album that ends with the greatest song ever recorded be overrated? The “I’d love to turn you on”/orchestral build-up bits always manage to melt my face.

“Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite”

Sounds like being at the circus. It’s the crazy instrumentation and the cut-up tape instrumental break down that really do it for me. Also, an awesome bass part by Paul, but that was par for the course for Sgt. Pepper songs.

“Blue Jay Way”

Possibly the most heavily effected song The Beatles recorded, there’s a crazy amount of over the top effects on everything (the phase effect on the drums being most noticeable.) The little snippets of backwards vocals that come in during the verses are the bits that really trip me out.

“Dear Prudence”

Possibly my favorite Beatles bass line (and that’s saying a lot.) I love everything about this song. One of my all time favorites. The build-up that begins at around 3:20 gives me the shivers every time.

“Fixing a Hole”

The instrumentation and feeling of this song are so unique. This may be the most perfect representation of what makes the Sgt. Pepper album special. And the lyrics are brilliant, some of the best lyrics Paul ever wrote.

“Flying”

I love the very “laid back” groovy sort of psychedelia of this one. The somewhat bizarre “la la la” vocals kill me. The last 30 seconds or so with all of the backwards noises really gets me off too.

“I Am The Walrus”

The kitchen sink sounds incredible. I think this track represents The Beatles pushing the idea of studio as an instrument to it’s zenith.

“I’m Only Sleeping”

What a beautiful laid back dreamy tune this is. The harmonies, the backwards guitar, a great bass line (as usual) contributed by Paul McCartney. I love the lyrics and how the backwards guitar solo comes in after the “waiting for a sleeping feeling” line.

“It’s All Too Much”

One of The Beatles most underrated songs, probably because it’s hidden away on the Yellow Submarine album. It’s definitely among their most “epic” songs. The horns, the giant hand claps, the guitar. Love it. And it’s got a great unique sound to the recording. I

“Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”

I’ve heard that the original mono mix is actually trippier than the stereo mix that most of us are familiar with. I’ve read that there’s a lot more echo on “LSD” in the mono mix. It’s one of the songs I’m most curious to hear in mono when The Beatles Mono Box Set comes out on 9/9/9.

“Magical Mystery Tour”

Love the bus sounds. Love the crazy horn. Love it.

“Rain”

Everything about this song is brilliant. Some of Ringo’s best drumming, one of Paul’s greatest bass lines, amazing lyrics & vocals by John. It’s perfection. Oh yeah and the backwards vocals towards the end were an inspired addition. It’s one of the many brilliant Beatles songs that was never included on a Beatles album. It can be found on the non album tracks Past Masters compilation.

“Revolution #9″

I love how I still manage to hear new bits in this even though I’ve heard it so many times. I love that The Beatles included something this insane on one of their albums. I think a strong argument can be made that there’s never been a weirder track on a #1 album. “What’s The New Mary Jane” on Anthology 3 maybe?

“She Said She Said”

Acid rock done right. The lyrics are about an encounter John had with Peter Fonda while they were on acid. I love the “When I was a boy, everything was right” bit.

“Strawberry Fields Forever”

There’s so many cool things about this song that I hardly know where to start. Probably the most groovy thing about it is the way that two different recordings of the song were stitched together even though they were in different keys and tempos. The “stitch” is at about 1 minute in.

“Tomorrow Never Knows”

It’s amazing to me that “Tomorrow Never Knows” was actually the first song recorded for Revolver. It was also the first song The Beatles recorded with Geoff Emerick as the lead engineer. I recently read his book (Here, There, and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of The Beatles) and it’s really great to read about all of the inventive things they were doing at this time to come up with unique sounds. There’s probably no better example of that than this song. Even 43 years later it still sounds like the future.

“What’s The New Mary Jane”

One of the highlights of Anthology 3 for me is this absolutely insane song. My favorite bit is the really spaced out section in the middle.

“Within You Without You”

A lot of people seem to think of this as a weak point on Sgt. Pepper some some even say that it shouldn’t have been included on the album. I definitely disagree with that. I think it’s essential part of Pepper because it’s the song that takes you the most “far out,” it’s the song that really adds weight to everything else that’s on the album. It’s a real “close your eyes and take the trip” tune and I particularly like the instrumental breakdown that begins at about 2:20 into it. I also love how you go into this completely different vibe right after with “When I’m 64.”

The Beatles Remastered Box Sets

Almost all of these songs (except for “What’s The New Mary Jane” which is only on Anthology 3) are included in the newly remastered Beatles Box Sets which can be purchased online at The Beatles Amazon.com Store.

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