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John, Paul, George, & Ringo were the greatest rock band of all time and they played every kind of music a rock band can play during their time together.

I'm the type of Beatles fan that appreciates all of their music but I do have do have a special appreciation for their more psychedelic songs. And that's what this article is all about, the best five psychedelic songs of The Beatles in no particular order.

1. "I Am The Walrus"

Without a doubt one of the all time great psychedelic masterpieces. Everything about this song from the bizarre lyrics to the imaginative chord changes to the amazing production makes it one of the greatest psychedelic songs not only by The Beatles but by any band, ever.

This is one of those songs that can be heard countless times without ever growing tired of it. I'm sure I've heard this song close to 1,000 times yet I still find it fresh. There's so many layers, so many little twists & turns that I still hear new things in the song even when I listen to it now.

2. "Strawberry Fields Forever"

I often look at "I Am The Walrus" & "Strawberry Fields Forever" as brothers of sorts. They both have so many amazing ideas and incredible production. While "Strawberry Fields Forever" is more of an introspective "acid" song, "I Am The Walrus" is a bit of a "freak out."

"Strawberry Fields Forever" is a song that would have been great even if it were played simply on an acoustic guitar but it was taken to an incredible level by the remarkable production and the imaginative arrangement.

3. "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds"

I almost didn't include this track because it's almost become a cliche in some ways. But in the end, the song is still great. The vocal effects on John Lennon's voice are great. Paul McCartney's bass is fantastic. And as usual the song's production is incredible.

4. "A Day In The Life"

The final track on Sgt Pepper's is usually thought of as a "psychedelic" song at least not like the first three songs I Listed are, but it very much is. The orchestral freak out is a truly insane psychedelic bit of music for one thing. But it's certainly much more than that. I personally feel this is the greatest song of all time, psychedelic or not. It's lyrically amazing and musically deep. The arrangement is one of The Beatles greatest achievements.

5. "Sun King"

This song reminds me a lot of Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon (which of course came out about 4 years after this track did on Abbey Road.) I sometimes wonder if David Gilmour, the guitarist of Pink Floyd, was influenced by this song. They surely heard it.

For the most part I am referring to the guitar tone.

The "ahh ahh" bits are very Beatles and are also very psychedelic.

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Marvin J. Markus is a writer for the Music By Day music blog where he often writes about The Beatles.
Markus is also a huge Radiohead fan.

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