The Ultimate Guide to Forest Folk Psychedelic Music

 

The psychedelic sounds of the 1960’s and 70’s is what I dig. While the psychedelic scene swept the music industry up in the 60’s and 70’s, some of the musicians made albums that had a particular forest flavor to them. The songs’ lyrics told pastoral fairytales, band names of natural objects, and sounds of nature mixed in other effects. The genre-blending sound ranged from folk, blues, psychedelic, garage rock, bubblegum pop, progressive rock and more. Read on to discover the top seventeen forest psychedelic albums of that era... 

 

Forest: Full Circle 

The album that started it all. This was given to me by a couple of friends on my eighteenth birthday, and after one listen, I was never the same. I had to find more bands like this. The folky, psychedelic band of brothers from the UK put out this heavy hitter in 1969 that sounded like a magical life in a pagan pastoral setting. On "Gypsy Girl & Rambleaway", a tale of tragic love plays out among bells, tambourines, and other otherworldly sounds. The closing track "Autumn Childhood" has a haunting quality to it. 

The Seeds: Future

The 1967 third time a charm release by The Seeds, one of the proto-punk psychedelic bands from Los Angeles featured lead singer Sky Saxon who had an elflike quality and sang songs about running away through forests to fairy castles in "March of the Flower Children". "The Flower Lady and her Assistant" is about a gardening girl. The album ends with wacky songs "Falling Off the Edge of My Mind" and "Where is the Entrance Way to Play?" 

The Lemon Pipers – Green Tambourine 

 The Lemon Pipers had a one-hit wonder in the US with the titular track “Green Tambourine” a psychedelic busking song begging the listener to drop some silver in the singer’s tambourine, to help a poor man build a pretty dream. The song was catchy bubblegum pop with electric sitar and a tape echo, while “Through With You” was a nine minute trip in and of itself. 

The Incredible String Band – The Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter 

In the same vein of UK forest folk psych as Fairport Convention and Pentagle, this 1967 release has pastoral pagan songs like “Witch’s Hat” that had images of magical talking hats, wearing black cherries for rings, and following fairies to woodland realms. Panpipes, sitars, and other exotic instruments feature on this album, evident in trippy track “Koeeoaddi There” 

The Leaves – Hey Joe 

Garage rockers The Leaves shot to stardom in Southern California in 1966 with their cover of Hendrix’ "Hey Joe". The real treasures on this album are heavy hit “Dr. Stone” and the all-over-the-place “War of Distortion” with its wild effects and wah-wah pedals.

Crispin St. Peters – The Pied Piper 

Like the pied piper of Hamelin, St Peter’s call to action hit “Pied Piper” was a wonderful one-hit wonder in 1966 that made listeners run to the park to frolic in the fields and dance with any hippie they met on a magical quest for more music. The next year, he released “Free Spirit” an ode to a wild woman living a groovy and swinging lifestyle. 

Jethro Tull – Songs from the Wood 

In the late 70’s Jethro Tull went through their forest folk phase. Songs From the Wood is filled with wonderful woodland tunes. The wild range heard on “Velvet Green” in its tale of wandering the woods all night features flute music that flies too fast. The titular track ‘Songs from the Wood” turns the listener on to the forest folk psych sound. 

The Hollies – Butterfly 

By the late 60’s The Hollies evolved from a basic British boy band into a dreamy pop rock sound on their second album Butterfly. The whimsical wonder of “Pegasus the Flying Horse” and the introspective, moody "Butterfly” were a step outside the box of their earlier work.  

Portobello Explosion – We Can Fly 

Listeners must dig deep to find this 60’s side project from members of British band The Mirage, whose only single was the dreamy “We Can Fly” With lyrics like ‘I can take you places that you’ve never been, if you come along with me, I can show you. Every little thing you see is evergreen, we can talk and maybe I’ll get to know you...’ the song is a rare treat for coinsurers.

Ten Years After – A Space in Time 

In 1971, the world was rocked by the sixth studio album by Ten Years After. “I’d Love to Change the World” is a heavy, haunting ballad about the comedown from their earlier work in the 60’s such as “The Sounds”.

The Factory – Path Through the Forest 

This little-known band from 1968 released an album that was so fuzzy, so distorted and so fun that it is a wonder why they never grew out of cult status. The song ‘Path Through the Forest” is reminiscent of The Seeds sillier songs while “Try a Little Sunshine” was a sunshine pop B-side meant to appeal to the countercultural youth. 

The Sacred Mushroom – Sacred Mushroom 

This blues-rock band had a psychedelic hit in 1969 with their cover of The Kinks Ray Davies "I’m Not Like Everybody Else” the anthem of free thinkers, forest freaks, and the lunatic fringe. The rest of the album is pure blues rock explosion from Cincinnati. 

The Beau Brummels – Triangle 

The haunting lyrics heard on the Brummel's’ song “Magic Hollow” are reason alone to give this record a spin. I want to know if you will go to Magic Hollow with me? Touch the stars as if in a dream, everything you touch is deemed magic... Other highlights of this album include folk favorite "Nine Pound Hammer”.

The Vejtables – Anything 

Southern California garage psychedelic band from 1965 only released a few songs most notable “I Still Love You” on their first album picked up by the Autumn label. The B-side “Anything” became a cult classic for sixties enthusiasts on manifesting worldly riches by becoming a musician. 

Ultimate Spinach – Ultimate Spinach 

It has become practically a rite of passage to listen to Ultimate Spinach’s self-titled album while tripping on LSD. “Ballad of the Hip Death Goddess” is the best song on the album, and it is worth digging into their other albums for “Visions of Your Reality” Their sound is like a time capsule for the San Francisco psychedelic scene, with all the auditory tricks of the trade that defined it. 

Sunforest – Sound of Sunforest 

The only album released English musicians Sunforest, this record’s highlights included groovy epic “Magician in the Mountain” and the introspective ego echoes on "Where Are You.” Their songs paved the way for Led Zeppelin’s Tolkien-inspired stuff. 

Rare Earth – Get Ready 

In 1969, psychedelic began to grow out of pop and into more progressive, jammy blues rock paving the way for the sounds of the 70’s. The whole album is a heavy trip with fantasy influences evident on songs like “Magic Key.” The drawn-out “Get Ready” even has references to Wonderland in lyrics like Tweedle-dee, Tweedledum, look out baby here I come.