Psychedelic Rock

Along with Revolver and The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators, what makes Pet Sounds such a valuable album both musically and culturally is that it is one of the first psychedelic rock masterpieces with its artful experiments, psychedelic lyrics, new sounds on guitars, organs, pianos and other instruments. Pet Sounds created worlds that only existed on tape and which couldn't necessarily be duplicated on stage, even with the help of an orchestra. The resulting album is a touching plea for love and understanding. While psychedelic drugs inspired the Beatles to look at the problems in the world around them, they made Brian Wilson turn his attention inward and probe his emotional longings and his deep-seated self-doubts.

Rock and roll music produced in the 1950s and early 1960s mostly reflected a generation craving to escape from convention but unable to take the final jump. Strong drugs like LSD, mescaline, peyote and mushrooms were being mixed with blow and alcohol as a way to disconnect from fact. While under the influence of these substances, musicians and artists felt as if they’d entered a higher sphere of awareness. Words were no longer needed to make linear sense – they could reflect a changed fact of the drug experience.