Pink Floyd - The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
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Free Music Notes for The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
Free Music Review: Best value set of Piper
Hit: 5 Stars
Whilst today stereo is the norm, in 1967 it was a small minority market and much more time was lavished on the monaural version than on the stereo mix, which would be done in a day or two, after the mono master had been completed, and was often not released until after the standard mono version. Consequently, there were often significant differences between the two. I can remember spending far too many teenage hours comparing mono and stereo versions of albums by the Beatles, the Pink Floyd and others on headphones using a customized mono record player with a stereo cartridge wired to a second amplifier. To me, a psychedelic record such as Piper cried out for stereo effects, and thanks to the crisp production of the late Norman Smith and the sound engineering of Peter Bown at Abbey Road, I was not disappointed.
It was an exciting time at Abbey Road, too, as the Beatles were ensconced at the same time in another studio working on Sergeant Pepper, and met the Floyd while they were working on Pow R Toc H. The Pretty Things also started work on SF Sorrow there, again with Norman Smith (who also engineered Sergeant Pepper), before the Floyd's sessions were complete.
Piper was the only album that Syd Barrett made in full with the Floyd. He wrote eight of the nine songs and contributed his unique space guitar flourishes to Interstellar Overdrive and the noodly Pow R Toc H. Piper At The Gates Of Dawn is really a benchmark album of the genre now known as psyche. Roger Waters may now dismiss it as juvenilia, but I still listen to it more often than is probably healthy.
The stereo version has been newly remastered for this edition, and sounds superb. A mono version of the album has been out before, but this is apparently the first time the authentic mono mix as on the original vinyl album has been remastered, and it clocks in some seventeen seconds longer than the new stereo re-master. In particular it seems an edit of Flaming (used as an American single which had The Gnome on the flipside) was used in error on some mono editions, though at 2.43 now it is barely a second longer than the 1997 mono CD version that I already had, but though I wonder now in what way the 1997 edition did differ from the original album and why, I certainly have no complaints with the 2007 re-mastering.
The bonus disc is probably the strongest bait to attract the Pink Floyd enthusiast. It is logical that it should contain the five tracks released on singles that year (the sixth, Scarecrow, was taken from the album), and it is good to have them in catalogue again, but many collectors will already have these on the 6-track mini-LP released in 1997 or from the Shine On 1992 box set. They collect in one place all the released material that feature Syd Barrett, apart from the three tracks on A Saucerful Of Secrets.
The real treats here are the final four tracks. The French Edit of Interstellar Overdrive is a substantially re-mixed mono version of Take Two (the one used on the album) of Interstellar Overdrive, unheard since it first turned up on the French EP of Arnold Layne in 1967, and the CD also includes Take Six, a previously unreleased take recorded three weeks later, which shows the extent of variation between performances of this largely improvised piece, and is great to have. There's a rare stereo mix of the extraordinary Apples And Oranges single, too, which is said to be previously unissued but might be the same as the one on the French vinyl LP The Best Of The Pink Floyd; and finally an unreleased early version of Matilda Mother, recorded at their first Abbey Road session. The song was inspired by Hilaire Belloc's Cautionary Tales and this version has lyrics that were changed on the released version, possibly to avoid copyright problems. Obviously missing are the unreleased gems Vegetable Man and Scream Thy Last Scream, although as these were recorded for a potential single for release in 1968, long after Piper had been released, they could just as justifiably be included on an edition of A Saucerful Of Secrets.
The packaging is nice and glossy and has a facsimile of a booklet of Syd's art collage notebook as well as photos and album lyrics. Given that the primary market for a package such as this must be the avid collector, the booklet surprisingly lacks any technical details at all about the mixes, recording dates, sources and so forth.
This clearly is the definitive ultimate edition of Pink Floyd's debut album, until the next re-issue of it, and corrects the shortcomings of previous releases that most of us hadn't been aware of. Cynicism aside, this is an important sixties album for a number of reasons and deserves to be heard in both mono and stereo mixes, and the bonus disc and lavish packaging make it a considerable treat, especially for collectors.
Free Music Review: First Floyd Concept Album
Hit: 5 Stars
I find it surprising that no one can hear the concept in the record that the band made with Syd. It starts with outer space bleeps and ends with infant-like duckcall sounds very much back on earth. For me the first seven trax on "Piper" are all variations on the descending riff ideas bookended by "Astronomy" and "Interstellar" and shows Syd and gang exhausting the limits of British psychedelia. The last four numbers continue the ego subversion with bucolic metaphors and metaphysics and a special whimsical humor, but all indicate acceptance and retreat and a kind of fragile humanity. The Syd story is all right here encapsulated!Free Music Review: Pink Floyd's best album
Hit: 5 Stars
I know...I know..."but Dark Side of the Moon or The Wall is the greatest!". WRONG!
Will all due respect to these great albums Syd Barrett's Pink Floyd is the TRUE Floyd!
This album (and their previous singles) defines psychedelia with their wonderful, whimsical lyrics and music.
From the beginning..."Astronomy Domine" leads you to the center of the universe while "Chapter 24" (taken from the I Ching) makes a very positive statement that makes you believe that your place in the world is a good one as long as you believe.."action brings good fortune" as Syd would sing.
The last song "Bike" is a wonderful, catchy ditty that is on some other P.F. compilations like Relics for example.
In conclusion,
If you are a Pink Floyd fan and you don't have this album pick it up and I hope you'll enjoy it.
Free Music Review: An Update On A Highly Resonant Piece Of Art
Hit: 5 Stars
Assuming that the reader already considers this LP to be one of the greatest albums ever recorded, I can curtail my sales pitch by mentioning that it is a timeless landmark in the psychedelic period of pop culture and a fascinating insight into the mind of an unfurling schizophrenic. This was the LP that made me want to write songs. I wasn't aware of the myriad possibilities that Syd Barrett pioneered. It should not be forgotten that the rest of the band (and producer Norman Smith) did an excellent job in translating Syd's tragic genius. The presence of the mono mix is quite revealing as certain instruments are more to the fore than in the stereo mix, and are often heard with less effect. "Interstellar Overdrive" and "Flaming" come to mind as examples. Also, the inclusion of the Syd-era singles make the collection more worthwhile, as they are amazing as well. However, with Syd now having passed, I have to wonder why the principles are holding back on such craved rarities as "Scream Thy Last Scream", "Vegetable Man", "Lucy Leave", "king Bee", "I Get Stoned", "In The Beechwoods" and the backing track to "She Was A Millionaire". The first two have been widely distributed on bootlegs and are quite objectively two of the greatest songs Syd ever composed, even if they are acutely unnerving. Moreover, "Millionaire" is a song that will be lost forever unless some record of its existence is produced. I'm afraid that no one has the lyrics anymore or could remember the melody. I do know that it was considered as a single. If Rick Wright could remember any of the missing parts, I and several other musicians would LOVE to finish that song. It was a waltz! (food for your imagination...)
To sum up, YES - BUY IT. But on behalf of Syd fans everywhere: when will we be able to hear the outtakes that we've been dying to hear?
Free Music Review: Floyd's debut gets royal treatment for its 40th birthday
Hit: 5 Stars
Pink Floyd's debut album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn was originally released in August of 1967 and was re-released in two different versions for its 40th anniversary in September of 2007 by Capitol Records (a 2-CD version remaster and this 3-CD box set).
In August of 1967, Pink Floyd released their debut album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn in the UK and a month later in the US as The Pink Floyd.
This was the first introduction to a band that would conquer the world in a few years time. The band consisted of bassist Roger Waters, drummer Nick Mason (credited as Nicky on this album's original sleeve), keyboardist Rick Wright and guitarist/vocalist and main songwriter Syd Barrett, whom was the mad genius of the band.
The members of the band were in groups known as The Abdabs, The Megadeaths and The T-Set among others until Syd hooked up with childhood friend Roger and Roger's architectural school classmates Rick and Nick and another friend Bob Close to form the group The Pink Floyd which was named after two old Georgia bluesmen Pink Anderson and Floyd Council. Bob Close left after recording Syd's demo of Lucy Leave.
Throughout 1966, the band were a concert sensation in London's underground music movement and proceeded to get a deal with EMI in Europe and was signed to EMI's US affiliate Capitol under the subsidary Tower (way before the record chain existed).
The band's first two singles were "Arnold Layne" and "See Emily Play" which were both Top 20 hits in England (both appear on this deluxe edition).
Then, the group's entered Abbey Road Studios to record their debut sometime in March of 1967 with producer Norman Smith, whom worked with The Beatles from 1962-65. Ironically, The Beatles were in the same building finishing their classic contribution to rock history Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
All but one track on Piper was written or co-written by Syd Barrett. His songs were whimsical works of art.
The original UK album started with "Astronomy Domine", which was about going into space to explore the universe (strangely this song was eliminated off of the original American vinyl release). Next is "Lucifer Sam", a tale about a Siamese cat. "Matilda Mother" and "Flaming" (which was also left off of the original US vinyl release) follow and are great songs. Next is the first of two instrumentals "Pow R Toc H" which grabs the attention. Next was Roger Waters' first song written for the band "Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk" which is a silly song with some excellent jamming.
The second half of the album starts with "Interstellar Overdrive" which was a number the band had played live before signing with EMI and was written by the band. "The Gnome" follows and is about a gnome named Grimble Crumble. "Chapter 24" follows and is my favorite Syd track. "The Scarecrow" follows and is a funny but great song. The album concludes with the whimsical "Bike" (also left off the original US vinyl release in favor of "See Emily Play") which then turns into a collage of sound effects and duck-call noises.
The album showed Syd at his best before LSD caused his behavior to become erratic and unpredictable and his songwriting skills started to go down the drain.
The US version of the album hit the lower reaches of the Billboard Top 200 while the UK version hit #6 in England and the UK version would eventually be released in the US on the double album A Nice Pair in 1973 and properly on CD on its owm in 1987.
The 2-CD set (and this 3-CD set) has two different mixes of the album both newly remastered by longtime Floyd associate James Guthrie. The first disc is the original mix Syd Barrett commissioned for the band and has some different mixes on some of the tracks as opposed to the original stereo mix we are familiar with which is on disc two of the 2-CD remaster.
This collector's edition features a third disc of the band's first three 1967 singles "Arnold Layne", "See Emily Play" and "Apples and Oranges" plus the B-sides "Candy and a Currant Bun" and "Paintbox" all newly remastered and are the original mono mixes. Then we get a unique edit of "Interstellar Overdrive" which was from a French EP. Next is the CD debut of the stereo mix of "Apples and Oranges" which is stunning. Next is an early take of "Matilda Mother" with alternate lyrics as opposed to the finished product and a great version. We close the third disc with the sixth take of "Interstellar Overdrive" which is possibly one of the best versions I ever heard. Also, the packaging for this 40th anniversary is literally a cloth book and also features unissued photos and a sketch facsimile of a notebook Syd Barrett did in 1965 and is a superb package.
This new remastered 3-CD version of the Piper album trumps the original CD, the 1994 remastered CD and 1997 mono mix remastered CD issues by a longshot.
Excellent start to an outstanding career.