@heartny My favorite too! I love The Monkees! I think there are some better country tunes than this one, but Mike Nesmith did a lot of great country songs.
@melwin Yeah, my favorites of his are probably “What Am I Doin’ Hangin’ Round?” and “The Door Into Summer”, but the former is all twang and the latter is more straight psych-pop. I thought “St. Matthew” split the difference nicely.
@melwin I assume you have checked out Nez’s solo albums?
I always thought his cover of Tumblin’ Tumbleweeds would have fit well in The Big Lebowski. Nez made some amazing psychedelic and straight country.
That was very… bizarre. Very bizarre. I still prefer my psychedelic rock without country in it though. You’re not exactly going to love a combination of two styles, if you love one and hate the other, so it’s for a very, very, very narrow stripe of open-minded country-lovers, as the psychedelic rock movement was arguably against everything the country movement is for.
It’s a welcome surprise to find psych country mentioned here…but I’m saddened to see that no Gram Parsons songs were listed. Gram coin the term Cosmic American Music for the country hippies. He always wanted to have his ashes spread inJoshua Tree, so after his untimely death his manager Phil Kaufman stole his body from a runway at LAX and took him to the desert, no joke! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gram_Parsons
I vote for his song Ooh Las Vegas
Why no vote for none of the above? I think I’ve heard maybe one of these before and I’m not going to listen to the rest now (or probably ever), but voted for Turtles All The Way Down instead anyway because I liked the name.
“Just Dropped In” is a great song, but doesn’t really qualify as psych country. Though they had many influences, The First Edition was first and foremost a rock band. Kenny Rogers didn’t become full-on country until later.
@sammydog01 I’ve lived in the south for almost 35 years after being dragged here as an infant, and I still can’t stand most of it. The classic stuff is great, but there’s a lack of authenticity in the modern stuff that puts me off. Millionaires affecting an over the top southern twang that never knew hardship in their lives singing about how great 'murica is… If I hear country I want to feel the pain and perseverance of a hardscrabble life :. I’m sure there’s some of that out there, but I don’t have the patience to go and find it XD
Appreciate the pub for Sturgill, he’s the deal. But I’ll note that Kenny Rogers and the New Edition weren’t a country outfit – they had three songs chart low on the country charts (one a cover) and several on the mainstream charts. Rogers became a country artist when he went solo and several of those songs now are thought of as country (i.e., Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love To Town).
Personally I believe the Monkee’s Pleasant Valley Sunday is a better example of countrified hippie music. Then of course if you really want to goose a certain segment of the population there is
Listening to all of them, Kenny Rogers, The Monkees, and The Byrds songs are the only ones that I’d ever put in my playlists. The Lynn Castle one sounds OK, but the lyrics are fairly clumsy. The Sturgill Simson is interesting, but too country for me. As for the last one, I have very few pure instrumental tracks on my playlist, but it doesn’t sound bad.
. . . really meant to (thought I did actually) delete that embed above, not sure why it didn’t go poof. Sorry!
I haven’t listened to that Sturgill Simpson nugget yet, but he got my vote for his epic cover of “The Promise.”
Goddamn, this Tom Hall song is great.
I was going to vote for the Turtles all the way down song, but it was way too twangy.
Monkees, FTW!
@heartny My favorite too! I love The Monkees! I think there are some better country tunes than this one, but Mike Nesmith did a lot of great country songs.
@melwin Yeah, my favorites of his are probably “What Am I Doin’ Hangin’ Round?” and “The Door Into Summer”, but the former is all twang and the latter is more straight psych-pop. I thought “St. Matthew” split the difference nicely.
@heartny @melwin How about that new album, huh? Fantastic. My jam of the summer.
@melwin I assume you have checked out Nez’s solo albums?
I always thought his cover of Tumblin’ Tumbleweeds would have fit well in The Big Lebowski. Nez made some amazing psychedelic and straight country.
@Garfield43 You’re right about Tumblin’ Tumbleweeds. I have listened to some of Nesmith’s solo stuff but not all of it I’m sure.
@JasonToon I’ve heard a few songs on the new album, but I’m still struggling to listen to the Monkees without Davy.
I like the sound of the Monkees song the best, but “Sing a Song About Love” is twisted in just the right way.
Why is there no voting option that I still don’t like country?
@RiotDemon Don’t worry, it’ll come around. Life just hasn’t kicked you in the teeth enough times yet is all.
@borisparsley I’d disagree, but no need to talk about the shit in my life.
Maybe I’ll just never come around.
That was very… bizarre. Very bizarre. I still prefer my psychedelic rock without country in it though. You’re not exactly going to love a combination of two styles, if you love one and hate the other, so it’s for a very, very, very narrow stripe of open-minded country-lovers, as the psychedelic rock movement was arguably against everything the country movement is for.
Outstanding playlist up and down, @jasontoon. Thank you.
@borisparsley Thank you! Er, you’re welcome! Whatever, glad you liked it!
Seriously? For psychedelic country you kidz have missed the mark. Try Primus.
Also a great video interpretation of the Charlie Daniels Band classic.
@mfladd the Devil video was good, too bad they couldn’t of used the original audio.
It’s a welcome surprise to find psych country mentioned here…but I’m saddened to see that no Gram Parsons songs were listed. Gram coin the term Cosmic American Music for the country hippies. He always wanted to have his ashes spread inJoshua Tree, so after his untimely death his manager Phil Kaufman stole his body from a runway at LAX and took him to the desert, no joke! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gram_Parsons
I vote for his song Ooh Las Vegas
@khachtel
Hey there from NE FL. “100 years from now” is a Gram Parsons’ song. He was definitely “a head of his time.” @khachtel
Why no vote for none of the above? I think I’ve heard maybe one of these before and I’m not going to listen to the rest now (or probably ever), but voted for Turtles All The Way Down instead anyway because I liked the name.
@Al_Coholic I almost did that but then made the mistake of listening. Not at all what I was expecting…
How could you miss this???
Sheesh!
“Just Dropped In” is a great song, but doesn’t really qualify as psych country. Though they had many influences, The First Edition was first and foremost a rock band. Kenny Rogers didn’t become full-on country until later.
I used to dislike country music. Then I married a southerner. After twenty years it grew on me.
@sammydog01 I’ve lived in the south for almost 35 years after being dragged here as an infant, and I still can’t stand most of it. The classic stuff is great, but there’s a lack of authenticity in the modern stuff that puts me off. Millionaires affecting an over the top southern twang that never knew hardship in their lives singing about how great 'murica is… If I hear country I want to feel the pain and perseverance of a hardscrabble life :. I’m sure there’s some of that out there, but I don’t have the patience to go and find it XD
@HemlockTea you might enjoy this:
Meh.
Appreciate the pub for Sturgill, he’s the deal. But I’ll note that Kenny Rogers and the New Edition weren’t a country outfit – they had three songs chart low on the country charts (one a cover) and several on the mainstream charts. Rogers became a country artist when he went solo and several of those songs now are thought of as country (i.e., Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love To Town).
Personally I believe the Monkee’s Pleasant Valley Sunday is a better example of countrified hippie music. Then of course if you really want to goose a certain segment of the population there is
A proto-hippie singing country
@cranky1950 I think Papa Gene’s Blues is the best Monkees country hippie tune.
Can’t vote! WTF???
Oh the carnage! Thanks for the research and playlist, but to much of a bad trip for me. I prefer my psychedelia with love and peace, thank you.
That Kenny Rogers song was also the theme for the game “Stick it to the Man.”
Listening to all of them, Kenny Rogers, The Monkees, and The Byrds songs are the only ones that I’d ever put in my playlists. The Lynn Castle one sounds OK, but the lyrics are fairly clumsy. The Sturgill Simson is interesting, but too country for me. As for the last one, I have very few pure instrumental tracks on my playlist, but it doesn’t sound bad.
The Monkeys. Not because it was the best, but because I was exactly the right age when they were on. Davy was my first love!
@smilingjack I cried when Davy Jones passed away. Loved The Monkees since I was a teen.
@melwin Me too!
I still think this is the best type of country music:
I don’t know how to embed video. Derp.
@melwin just paste the direct link, not the embed code.
@RiotDemon Thank you. I was making it harder than it really was.
I just ran across “Who’s Gonna Mow Your Grass by Buck Owens”
There’s also a version from Hee Haw complete with a proto-music video, but that version’s not as psychedelic.