Into the mystic - the visionary and ecstatic roots of 1960s rock and roll

Description

Explores the visionary, mystical, and ecstatic traditions that influenced the music of the 1960s • Examines the visionary, spiritual, and mystical influences on the Grateful Dead, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, the Incredible String Band, the Left Banke, Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground, and others • Shows how the British Invasion acted as the "detonator" to explode visionary music into the mainstream • Explains how 1960s rock and roll music transformed consciousness on both the individual and collective levels The 1960s were a time of huge transformation, sustained and amplified by the music of that era: Rock and Roll. During the 19th and 20th centuries visionary and esoteric spiritual traditions influenced first literature, then film. In the 1960s they entered the realm of popular music, catalyzing the ecstatic experiences that empowered a generation. Exploring how 1960s rock and roll music became a school of... Acknowledgments INTRODUCTION A School of Vision 1 An Experience of Power The Unsuspected Immigrant and the Invisible Institution 2 The Isle Is Full of Noises The Meaning of the British Invasion 3 The Western Rim Los Angeles, San Francisco, and the California Apocalypse 4 The Chimes of Freedom Bob Dylan, Folk-Rock, and Deep America 5 The Vision of the Beloved Troubadours, Love Songs, and the Pretty Ballerina 6 Earthquake Country The Grateful Dead, Acid, and the Mythic Life7 Saving England The Beatles and the World of Sgt. Pepper 8 My Name Is Called Disturbance The Rolling Stones and the Lord of Misrule 9 The Sorrowful Mysteries Van Morrison and Astral Weeks 10 The Proverbs of Hell The Journey of Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground 11 The Vision of Childhood The Incredible String Band and British Psychedelia 12 An Experience of Power Zenta New Year, 1968, the Grande Ballroom, Detroit Afterword Notes Bibliography Index