Strange Light From the East - Eastern Influenced Western Music 1965-72 [3CD]
Preorder — Out 08/28/2026
About This Release
1965-1972 period saw Western music transformed through the integration of Eastern music and philosophy and raga influences. Iconic tracks by The Byrds, The Yardbirds, and The Paul Butterfield Blues Band pioneered the fusion of modal jazz, Indian classical music, and psychedelic rock. These experiments laid the foundations for progressive rock, proto-punk, and world music, permanently altering the technical and creative landscape of modern music. The dawn of the British folk revival broke in 1965 when Bert Jansch's "folk-baroque" finger style revolutionised tradition, providing the early morning light for a burgeoning psychedelic scene which, by 1972 had traveled from folk clubs to the high-concept landscapes of progressive rock, exemplified by the Eastern-tinged sitar-guitar on Yes's 'Siberian Khatru'. Western artists utilised Eastern forms as a new musical bedrock. The Byrds transitioned from folk-rock into the uncharted territory of 'Eight Miles High', a track widely cited as the first true U.S. "Raga Rock" single. Driven by Roger McGuinn's solos - inspired by Ravi Shankar and John Coltrane - it proved pop could embrace complex modal structures. Similarly, The Yardbirds' Jeff Beck used high-fuzz pedals to mimic a sitar's drone on 'Heart Full Of Soul'. As the daylight intensified, ambitious excursions pushed genre limits. The Paul Butterfield Blues Band bridged the gap between traditional forms and the jam-band aesthetic with 'East West', a masterpiece of modal jazz and Indian classical music. Kaleidoscope's 'Egyptian Gardens' remains one of the most authentic examples of the trend, blending Middle Eastern scales into world-music fusion. Even the driving rhythms of Shocking Blue's 'Love Buzz' showed how the raga sound was integrated into emerging hard rock. This "strange light" provided the blueprint for the complex musical architecture that followed. The technical rigours of progressive rock grew directly from these experiments; Jimmy Page's DADGAD tuning on 'White Summer' became a Led Zeppelin staple. The influence even reached into the shadows, as The Stooges traded garage-rock for the ritualistic intensity of 'We Will Fall'. From the "space-age" pop of The Riot Squad to the "Indo-Afro" experiments of The 40 Watt Banana, this era of cross-pollination forever altered the horizons of Western musicians.
Tracklist
1
Bert Jansch - Anji
2
The Yardbirds W/ Jeff
3
Beck - Heart Full Of Soul
4
The Byrds - Eight Miles High
5
The Riot Squad - I Take It That We're Through
6
The Cyrkle - Turn Down Day
7
The Mirage - Tomorrow Never Knows
8
The Misunderstood - I Unseen (Ibc Acetate) -The Paul Butterfield Blues Band - East West
9
Tuesday's Children -Strange Light From The East
10
Big Jim Sullivan - She's Leaving Home
11
Dantalion's Chariot -This Island
12
The Flower Pot -Wantin' Ain't Gettin'
13
The Zodiac - Libra - The Flower Child
14
Kaleidoscope - Egyptian Gardens
15
West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band -Buddha
16
The Yardbirds W/ Jimmy
17
Page - White Summer
18
The Fugs - Hare Krishna
19
The Misty Wizards - It's Love
20
Hi Revving Tongues - (The Psychedelic) Illusion
21
Spirit - Girl In Your Eye
22
The Lemon Pipers - I Need Someone (The Painter)
23
The Twilights -Devendra
24
Chad ; Jeremy -Sunstroke
25
Boeing Duveen ; The Beautiful Soup - Which Dreamed It
26
Spencer Davis Group -After Tea
27
July - The Way (Unreleased Version)
28
Tales Of Justine - Sitting
29
On A Blunestone
30
East Of Eden - Waterways (Demo)
31
Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera - Air
32
Tomorrow - Real Life Peppermint Dream
33
The Rascals - Sattva
34
Incredible String Band -Koeeoaddi There
35
Pretty Things - Bracelets
36
Merrell Fankhauser ;
37
Hms Bounty - A Visit With Ashiya
38
The Ceyleib People -Menyatt Dyl Com
39
The Nirvana Sitar ; String Group - Head
40
The Stooges - We Will Fall
41
Blossom Toes - Just
42
Above My Hobby Horse's Head
43
Humble Pie - The Light Of Love
44
Pentangle - Once I Had A Sweetheart
45
Walter Horton ; Martin Stone - Netti Netti
46
Shocking Blue - Love Buzz
47
Clark-Hutchinson -Impromptu In 'E' Minor
48
Lynne Pike - Given Time
49
Jeremy Harmer - Tuesday P.M.
50
Blonde On Blonde -Spinning Wheel
51
The Hubbels - Hippy
52
Dippy Funky Monkey Double Bubble Sitar Man
53
Third Ear Band - GhettoRaga (Edit)
54
John Renbourn -Lamento Di Tristan
55
The Fox - Butterfly
56
Meic Stevens - Yorric
57
Ananda Shankar -Jumpin' Jack Flash
58
Nitai Dasgupta - BaithaTano
59
Abacus - Song ForBrunhilde
60
The 40 Watt Banana -Nirvana
61
Pandit Kanwar Sain
62
Trikha - Folk Piece In Kahrwa
63
Wizz Jones - American Land
64
Yes - Siberian Khatru