Psychedelic Lunch

Welcome to our “Psychedelic Lunch” series where we find out how deep the rabbit hole really goes and explore psychedelic tunes from the 60’s to today. Weekdays At Noon EST. Enjoy the trip

Timothy Leary – Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out 1966 & 1967

A curio to say the least. There are two versions with this title. The first one was released in 1966 which is simply a spoken word meditation with Dr Leary’s almost mysterious hushed voice discussing his work and the advantages of “dropping out” and expanding your mind. The second one and the one on this list is a whole different beast. Recorded a year later, it was a soundtrack to a documentary. Like the earlier release, it is spoken word but with sparse haunting mostly guitar and tabla music over it. Unlike the direct plainspoken narration of the earlier record, this sounds as if the voices are beamed down from somewhere in the stratosphere. Although credited to Leary, it also features vocals from Dr Ralph Metzner, Rosemary Woodruff and Maryvonne Giercarz. It’s a freaky listen and one that the first time I heard it, in college on a “cough cough” trip, scared the bejeezus out of me. Calling this a singular work does not do it justice. While strange, its obvious influence on the culture at the time cannot be overstated. So pull up a chair, turn on, tune in and give this a whirl if you dare.