The Beatles’ psychedelic period began in May 1966 with the release of “Paperback Writer” or, more accurately, the B-side of that single, “Rain”. Although the Beatles consistently broke new ground, “Rain”, was different from anything they had released previously. With its backwards vocals and Eastern-tinged melody line, the song sounded, well…trippy.

Although credited to Lennon-McCartney, “Rain” was clearly John’s baby. Lennon would continue to be the dominant force throughout the Beatles’ psychedelic phase, which mostly concluded by the end of 1967 with the release of Magical Mystery Tour. Although there were a few more psych songs forthcoming from the Fab Four, they essentially ended their psychedelic output at a time when many musicians were just beginning their lysergic explorations.

It was during this phase (1966-67) that George Harrison started producing songs that reflected his interest in traditional Indian music. Although Harrison had played the sitar on the Beatles’ folksy Lennon-McCartney hit “Norwegian Wood” (one of the first pop/rock songs ever to feature the sitar), it really wasn’t until “The Inner Light” off of Revolver that he developed his raga-rock style—a style that seemed to fit in seamlessly with Lennon’s psychedelic musings.

Revolver was the first of the three Beatles psychedelic-themed albums, the other two being Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and the aforementioned Magical Mystery Tour—both from 1967.

Although some will argue, The Beatles are the best band of all-time, so it comes as no surprise that their psychedelic output is the best psychedelic music ever made.

By 1968, The Beatles had seemingly moved on from hallucinogenic drugs in favor of a naturalistic lifestyle based on Transcendental Meditation. That’s not to say they had completely abandoned the psychedelic sound, as 1968’s The Beatles (aka The White Album) contained a couple of undeniably trippy tunes (i.e., “Dear Prudence”, “Wild Honey Pie”).