Pink Floyd’s influence in rock music is still felt today, decades after they first debuted. Their sound evolved quite a bit through the years, but their most well-known and revered works are definitely in the psychedelic rock genre. Let’s look at just a few times Pink Floyd defined psychedelic rock!
1. “Any Colour You Like”
“Any Colour You Like” is (debatably) the trippiest song from The Dark Side Of The Moon. This wholly instrumental track was written collaboratively by David Gilmour, Nick Mason, and Richard Wright.
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“Any Colour You Like” features only scat vocals and a synthesized sound that seamlessly blends into a killer guitar solo. The techniques and effects heard in this song were very advanced at the time, too. Gilmour used two different guitars and a Uni-Vibe effect to create a solo that harmonizes with itself. Wright used a synth, fed through a tape loop, to control the in-and-out nature of the keyboard solo.
2. “Interstellar Overdrive”
“Interstellar Overdrive” is one of Pink Floyd’s most well-known psychedelic rock tracks from their debut 1967 album The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn. This early-career work is a classic from Syd Barrett. One can’t help but wonder what other psychedelic soundscapes Barrett could have put together as part of Pink Floyd if he had been in a better state of mind and health.
3. “Alan’s Psychedelic Breakfast”
This trippy track comes from Pink Floyd’s 1970 album Atom Heart Mother. “Alan’s Psychedelic Breakfast” is one of the least-polarizing songs on that album, and is also an excellent piece of work penned by the band’s drummer, Nick Mason. It’s quite a conceptual song, complete with interesting musicality and sound effects as roadie Alan Styles rants about breakfast.
4. “Several Species Of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together In A Cave And Grooving With A Pict”
This long-winded title by Pink Floyd is top-notch experimental psychedelic rock. “Several Species Of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together In A Cave And Grooving With A Pict” was a standout, bizarre track from the 1969 album Ummagumma. The nature sounds are odd enough, but Roger Waters’ distorted and spacey vocals make this song almost disturbing in a way.
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