“Psychotic Reaction” By Count Five

While learning about psychosis and neurosis in a Health Education class, a friend leaned over to guitarist John Byrne and whispered: “You know what would be a great name for a song? Psychotic Reaction!” The title fit perfectly with the lyrics Byrne had been thinking of that day, and some months later he and his bandmates recorded what would become a top #5 hit in the summer of 1966.

I’ve always adored this song and its schizophrenic feel. Half of the track is one of the thickest grooves ever laid to wax, a groove that pays perfect homage to Bo Diddley and Muddy Waters. And in the other half, you have a confusing psychedelic aside with lyrics lamenting young unrequited love.
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The Count Five were rushed into the studio to record an album and capitalize after the success of this single. The album and following singles didn’t do well, and they broke up in 1969. They would reunite for a couple of concerts over the years before Byrne passed away in 2008. I always wondered what they would have been like had they not been rushed to record, and were given the leeway to take their time developing their sound instead.