Timothy Leary: Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out (1966) RARE

A very rare recording of the first Timothy Leary record to be released. No music, just him speaking quietly. Of all of his audio releases, I consider this one to be the most controversial, most dangerous, and most straightforward speech on what his goal really was. This record is very different from the 1967 version which has the same title. The 1967 version is a guided tour of an LSD session. This record is simply a quiet speech by Timothy Leary with no music or effects. He talks about life at the Millbrook, NY estate, how it’s a center for psychedelic research and basically what kind of stuff goes on there. He also talks about how LSD is a touchy subject for older people and authorities and so he speaks towards a younger generation. He talks about how drugs can be used as a tool and that he expects the upcoming generation to begin using these tools in a responsible and intelligent manner. Unlike many of his other recordings, this one really doesn’t spend a lot of time trying to describe a psychedelic experience, if at all. It doesn’t talk about migration, or cellular trips, or intelligence increase, or really anything he’s talked about in his later writings and works. This is more of a personal, one-on-one type dialog directed towards young, open minds, with the intent of getting them to avoid the old establishment and to gently drop out of society and begin using drugs to expand their minds. After listening to this, I can see why Nixon named him “The Most Dangerous Man in America“. Mostly because he is very convincing and what he is proposing is a giant blow to the establishment and great potential for upsetting society. Of course this was about 50 years ago, so we know how it all really ended-up playing out. For anyone who is a big fan of Timothy Leary’s work, or just very curious about him, this is really good one to start with because it’s easy to relate to without having had an actual LSD session yourself. This was recorded about 2 years after he and Richard Alpert (Ram Dass) wrote The Psychedelic Experience and in the same year (1966) that he wrote Psychedelic Prayers after the Tao Te Ching. Both this album and the Psychedelic Prayers book are examples of the rarest and most appreciated works of Timothy Leary, it really was the peak of his time. I make no claim to copyright. It has been published for historical record.