Albert Hofmann, the chemist who discovered LSD, died recently at the age of 102. His discovery changed the world in ways large and small, good and bad. Don’t forget that Doc Ellis pitched a no-hitter on acid. Here’s a collection of acid rock, the musical style Mr. Hofmann indirectly helped create.

The Zig Zag People “Little Bit Of Soul” (Music Explosion)
Uncle Flakey pointed me at this album, which was at the extremely cool Redtelephone66 blog. The Zig Zag People recorded an entire album of acid rock covers of bubblegum songs. And I’m so very glad they did.

Curfew “Ode To Billie Joe” (Bobbie Gentry)
This song is sort of a paint-by-numbers primer on how to do acid rock. It’s got the weird time changes, the totally unnecessary keyboard solo in the middle, and the shouted vocals.

Blue Cheer “Summertime Blues” (Eddie Cochran)
You listen to this and you wonder what kind of ungodly noise these kids could have made if they actually knew how to play their instruments. Mister Mitch reminded me that they became much less interesting as they became more “musical” on their later albums.

Fever Tree “Ninety-Nine And A Half (Won’t Do)” (Wilson Pickett)
They’re pretty insistent, even if they don’t sound as desperate as Wilson Pickett. Or even Creedence Clearwater Revival.

Vanilla Fudge”Ticket To Ride” (The Beatles)
And here’s the softer side of acid rock. It’s mellow and dreamy but still completely drug-addled. I remember reading a quote from one of the guys in the Fudge to the effect that when they played in bars the owners couldn’t understand why the audience didn’t drink. I think it was the blotter.