Gegen Ende der 60er Jahre war LSD eines der Symbole für Gegenkultur, und auch damals wollten sich die Plattenbosse ganz aktuell geben, einerseits verständnisvoll gegenüber der Hippiekultur, deren Platten spätestens seit Woodstock ja sehr gut gingen, andererseits durften sie aber auch das Establishment nicht aus den Augen verlieren. So kamen Platten wie eben LSD zustande: pseudodokumentarisch aufgeschlossen, mit Interviews von Beteiligten (... under the influence of drugs ... I ate the bark of a tree ...), Befürwortern (wie z.B. Allen Ginsberg, Timothy Leary oder die Greatful Dead) und natürlich Gegnern, wie der Herausgeber Lawrence Schiller. Von letzterem sind auch die sehr komischen Fotos, die den denunziatorischen Charakter dieser Scheibe unübersehbar machen.

At first his contacts were few and difficult. "Many of them were afraid," he says. "They admitted to using the drugs, but when it came to pictures and interviews they said, 'no.' "There were others, however, who were trying to exercise their rebellion, "and some," he says, "who had a sort of missionary quality. They not only wanted to tell about their experiences; they seemed as though they had to."

In the underground sort of life that drug users find themselves living, a very efficient grapevine soon develops, and it wasn't long until Schiller began attaining a greater measure of acceptance. It became generally known that he was not a representative of the law, but that his goal was one of reporting. He was admitted to "acid parties" and at times he was allowed to take photographs. Teenage users began to speak more freely for his interview microphone. Even so, months were spent on the project, hundreds of photos were taken, and thousands of feet of recording tape expended in an effort to capture a comprehensive picture of this startling situation.

When Schiller and Capitol's Alan Livingston finally came together in an effort to produce this documentary album, they found that many facts do not necessarily make the clear picture. The attitudes of the experts and the users -the terrors, the euphoria, the dedication, the casual search for kicks, the "religion" and indeed the new way of life - are as varied as they are controversial. This you will hear when you listen to the record. The story is here but the end is not in sight.