Psychedelic Soul
tagStarted 1968Peak 1968-1974Last big hit 1973
Located in 1 route
Soul fused with acid-rock studio trickery: fuzz and wah-wah guitar, phasing, panning, tape echo, extended grooves, and socially conscious lyrics. Vocals stretch into call-and-response choruses over sprawling arrangements. Heavier, trippier, and more orchestral than straight Motown, it traded tight pop for immersive, mind-expanding sonic spectacle.
History
Emerged in 1968 as Sly & the Family Stone, the Temptations, and producer Norman Whitfield at Motown absorbed Hendrix-era rock and counterculture. Whitfield's productions for the Temptations and Undisputed Truth, plus West Coast funk, made it a late-60s/early-70s force before sliding into 70s funk and disco. It later seeded sampling for hip-hop and neo-soul.
Defining artists
Essential listening
- Psychedelic Shack — The TemptationsSpotifyYouTube
- Everyday People — Sly & the Family StoneSpotifyYouTube
- Smiling Faces Sometimes — The Undisputed TruthSpotifyYouTube
- Time Has Come Today — The Chambers BrothersSpotifyYouTube
- Maggot Brain — FunkadelicSpotifyYouTube
- Papa Was a Rollin' Stone — The TemptationsSpotifyYouTube
Sources
- AllMusic
- Rolling Stone
- Britannica