the best of the old san francisco sound

hi. i'm going to amoeba on the haight tomorrow and i was hoping some of you might have suggestions for hippie music i should check out.

i'm a big fan of the dead, but besides a few beatle's cd's ("1" and "sgt pepper's lonely hearts club band"), "surrealistic pillow" by jefferson airplane, and "box of pearls: the janis joplin collection", i don't have much hippie music, nor do i know much about which specific albums are good (for any old band), let alone which bands i might like.

i find i really like the old mellower, less loud music. jefferson airplane would be an example of that; and i'm a big fan of the old san francisco sound and psychedelic music sound. do any of you have any albums/ bands you think i should check out?

alternately, do you reccomend any albums or bands from the sixties or seventies that you think are totally awesome, but aren't all that mellow? i am looking for some new music to expand my horizons

thanks!

 

San Francisco sound... the ones that come to mind are Moby Grape, Santana, The New Riders of The Purple Sage (nearly The Dead.. *cough cough*), The Dead themselves, and Big Brother/Janis.... searching thru allmusic, I found Ace of Cups (all-girl psychedelia.. how interesting..), Pacifac Gas & Electric (blues band), and The Sopwith Camel (these guys sound really interesting too... the first San Fran psychedelic band to record for a national label and have a top 40 hit.. they didn't get too good reviews tho )

Damn, I thought there'd be more... oh well

 

Quicksilver Messenger Service

 

Country Joe & The Fish (Album: Electric Music For The Mind And Body), Moby Grape (Moby Grape), Quicksilver Messenger Service (Happy Trails), It's A Beautiful Day (Its A Beautiful Day), The Charlatans (The Amazing Charlatans)

 

Thank GOD someone else has heard of It's a Beautiful Day! I thought I was going crazy or something...
You might also try some old blues-ish stuff. It's not all exaaaactly hippie music but it is where it came from...people like Bessie Smith and such.
But actual hippie music, I'd suggest Blue Cheer, Big Brother and the Holding Company, John Coltrane, Bob Dylan, Donovan, Canned Heat, Ravi Shankar, LOVE, Janis Joplin. John Mayall, Mothers of Invention, Sly and the Family Stone, Cat Stevens...there's tons of people out there, love, but I won't go on as this list could get very long...

 

Strawberry Alarm Clock

 

right now im really into jefferson airplane and bob dylan, hes not too psychedelic but really cool! and crown of creation by jefferson airplane is my favorite album, but i think any of them are really good though.

 

pick up the album "dear mr. fantasy" by traffic, it'll blow you away. great underground british psychedelic band, steve wynwood you can't go wrong!