Released: 1965
Various offshoots, sideways nods and general borrowings on any best of list from this decade will always come sourced from Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968, the compilation by Patti Smith Group guitarist Lenny Kaye. Originally released in 1972, Kaye’s notes contained the first ever use of the term “punk rock”, and as a body of work it’s spent that last forty years changing perceptions of how the era actually sounded, a worthy alternative to the endless by-the-winners medley of stuff by Mick, Keith, Paul and John.
The Seeds are another outfit who may well have been left in relative obscurity over a similar timeframe were it not for their inclusion on the album’s first version, a much-condensed execution of Kaye’s original concept for eight separate installments, brutally abridged to a single double.
Formed in LA around scene maven Sky Saxon, by 1965 their line up had swelled to a quintet. At their peak locally the band had a cult following that rivalled many others and boasting Daryl Hooper’s gothic keyboards, Saxon’s growled vocals and some spectral guitars, Pushin’ Too Hard became a national hit, whilst in the same city The Doors began to spread their wings. One of these outfits carved a niche for themselves. The other we remember because of Lenny.
The Voice Of Unreason 