Journey to the Center of the Mind (song)

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"Journey to the Center of the Mind"
Single by the Amboy Dukes
from the album Journey to the Center of the Mind
B-side"Mississippi Murderer"
ReleasedJune 1968 (1968-06)[1]
Recorded1967
Genre
Length3:11
LabelMainstream
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Bob Shad
The Amboy Dukes singles chronology
"Baby, Please Don't Go"
(1968) 		"Journey to the Center of the Mind"
(1968) 		"You Talk Sunshine, I Breathe Fire"
(1968)

"Journey to the Center of the Mind" is a song released by the Amboy Dukes in June 1968.[1] It reached No.16 on the Billboard charts in 1968[2] and No.19 in Canada.[3]

Original recording[edit]

"Journey to the Center of the Mind" featured a psychedelic rock,[4] garage rock,[5] hard rock[6] and acid rock sound.[7] It features lyrics written by the Dukes' second guitarist Steve Farmer,[8] and melody written by Ted Nugent.[9][10] The song was recorded with a higher budget than their past work. During the recording there was a lot of tension amongst the band members, and a few of them quit after the album was released, in the summer of 1968. The single helped define the psychedelic era as it peaked at No.16 on the Billboard charts.[11][12]

Other versions[edit]

The song "Journey to the Center of the Mind" was covered by Slade (as "Ambrose Slade") in 1969 on the album Beginnings, by The Ramones in 1994 on Acid Eaters[13] and by Sun City Girls in 2001 on Libyan Dream. "Journey to the Center of the Mind" was included in the influential compilation album Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968, on the 1998 CD reissue, as a bonus track.

Nugent remade the song on his 2007 album Love Grenade.

The lyrics are generally thought to be referring to drug use.[14][15][16][17]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Dean, Maury (2003). Rock and Roll. Algora. p. 337. ISBN 0875862071.
  2. ^ A collective effort of many writers (29 April 2014). The World's Largest Collection of What You've Never Read, Thought, Heard, Imagined, Considered or Dreamed: How to Think in Your Right Brain OR Yes! Something for Everyone. AuthorHouse. pp. 36–. ISBN 978-1-4969-0462-1.
  3. ^ "RPM Top 100 Singles - August 26, 1968" (PDF).
  4. ^ Maury Dean (2003). Rock and Roll. Algora Publishing. p. 337. ISBN 978-0-87586-207-1.
  5. ^ Mike McPadden (1 May 2012). If You Like Metallica...: Here Are Over 200 Bands, CDs, Movies, and Other Oddities That You Will Love. Backbeat Books. p. 31. ISBN 978-1-4768-1357-8.
  6. ^ Swanson, Dave (30 April 2015). "How the Amboy Dukes Bridged Psychedelia and Hard Rock on 'Journey to the Center of the Mind'". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  7. ^ Ankeny, Jason. "The Amboy Dukes | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  8. ^ David A. Carson (2006). Grit, Noise, and Revolution: The Birth of Detroit Rock 'n' Roll. University of Michigan Press. pp. 144–. ISBN 0-472-03190-2.
  9. ^ Maury Dean (2003). Rock and Roll. Algora Publishing. pp. 662–. ISBN 978-0-87586-207-1.
  10. ^ Department of Music Theory The University of Michigan Walter Everett Associate Professor of Music and Chair (7 November 2008). The Foundations of Rock : From "Blue Suede Shoes" to "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes": From "Blue Suede Shoes" to "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes". Oxford University Press. pp. 274–. ISBN 978-0-19-971870-2.
  11. ^ MRRL Hall of Fame, "Amboy Dukes"
  12. ^ Ken Goffman; Dan Joy (18 December 2007). Counterculture Through the Ages: From Abraham to Acid House. Random House Publishing Group. pp. 1271–. ISBN 978-0-307-41483-0.
  13. ^ Everett True (17 May 2010). Hey Ho Let's Go: The Story Of The Ramones: The Story of The Ramones. Omnibus Press. pp. 468–. ISBN 978-0-85712-060-1.
  14. ^ James Franklin Harris (January 1993). Philosophy at 33 1/3 Rpm: Themes of Classic Rock Music. Open Court Publishing. pp. 133–. ISBN 978-0-8126-9241-9.
  15. ^ R. Serge Denisoff (1 January 1975). Solid Gold: The Popular Record Industry. Transaction Publishers. pp. 14–. ISBN 978-1-4128-3479-7.
  16. ^ Nils I. Bateman; David M. Petersen (1971). Targets for Change: Perspectives on an Active Sociology. Xerox College Pub.
  17. ^ CD Review. WGE Pub. 1993.
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