Journey to the Center of the Mind (song)
| "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" | |||
| Released | June 1968[1] | |||
| Recorded | 1967 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:11 | |||
| Label | Mainstream | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | Bob Shad | |||
| The Amboy Dukes singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"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 US Billboard Hot 100 [2] , No. 20 on the US Cash Box Top 100[3] and No.19 in Canada.[4]
In popular culture
The song was featured in The Room (Six Feet Under), an episode of the first season of Six Feet Under (TV series).
Original recording
"Journey to the Center of the Mind" featured a psychedelic rock,[5] garage rock,[6] hard rock[7] and acid rock sound.[8] It features lyrics written by the Dukes' second guitarist Steve Farmer,[9] and melody written by Ted Nugent.[10][11] The song was recorded with a higher budget than their past work. During the recording there was considerable tension amongst the band members, and a few of them quit after the album was released, in the summer of 1968. Nugent would often create an uneasy environment for the other band members when he didn’t receive enough attention.
Other versions
The song was covered by Slade (as "Ambrose Slade") in 1969 on the album Beginnings, by The Ramones in 1994 on Acid Eaters[12] and by Sun City Girls in 2001 on Libyan Dream. It was included in the compilation album Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968, on the 1998 CD reissue as a bonus track.
Ted Nugent remade the song on his 2007 album Love Grenade.
The lyrics are generally thought to be referring to drug use.[13][14][15][16]
References
- ^ a b Dean, Maury (2003). Rock and Roll. Algora. p. 337. ISBN 0875862071.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2011). Top Pop Singles 1955-2010. Record Research.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2014). Cash Box Pop Hits: 1952-1996. Record Research.
- ^ "RPM Top 100 Singles - August 26, 1968" (PDF).
- ^ Maury Dean (2003). Rock and Roll. Algora Publishing. p. 337. ISBN 978-0-87586-207-1.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Ankeny, Jason. "The Amboy Dukes | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Maury Dean (2003). Rock and Roll. Algora Publishing. pp. 662–. ISBN 978-0-87586-207-1.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ R. Serge Denisoff (1 January 1975). Solid Gold: The Popular Record Industry. Transaction Publishers. pp. 14–. ISBN 978-1-4128-3479-7.
- ^ Nils I. Bateman; David M. Petersen (1971). Targets for Change: Perspectives on an Active Sociology. Xerox College Pub.
- ^ CD Review. WGE Pub. 1993.