Pink Floyd is one of the great enigmas in the culture of classic rock. They were one of the best representatives of the underground psychedelic London scene of 1967, yet unlike so many other good bands that originated in that era, they were able to successfully evolve into something better and WAY more popular, even after losing their frontman and main creative force after one album. They were a rock band that did great songs despite melodies that were usually very good but not stellar (and I stand by that), and despite having very few "classic" riffs. They were a band that regularly engaged in lengthy, "self-indulgent" instrumental noodling, while almost never displaying raw chops on the level of the instrumentalists of the more popular prog rock bands of the day. They were one of the most technophilian bands I've ever heard in my life, relying on sound effects like mad and featuring all kinds of processed keyboard and guitar noises, yet it is extremely rare to find somebody nowadays who considers a classic Pink Floyd album "artificial" sounding. Their greatest commercial successes were with a concept album that shoved classic rock and smooth jazz styles into a prog rock format, a tribute album to their original frontman (whose main feature is a 25-minute synth-based art-rock suite, split in two), and a double-length rock opera released after the punk revolution. This is a band that makes no freaking sense, and I love them for it.

History has done a really strange job of treating the band's legacy, though. On the one hand, anybody who has ever listened to a classic rock station has had some level of exposure to them. Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall are both easily in the top 5 of albums whose tracks are played most on the radio, and Wish You Were Here is probably somewhere up there too. Critics, by and large, absolutely love them: the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame not only elected them in 1994, but also has an entire wing devoted to the band's history. Yet despite their massive success and following, and despite an ever-growing number of people who have a strong familiarity and love for the band's whole history, the % of music fans who really know the group is pretty small. If one were to ask a typical classic rock fan off of the street to name albums that Pink Floyd had done, 95 times out of 100 the answers would be restricted to Dark Side of the Moon, The Wall and Wish You Were Here. Furthermore, it would happen more often than not that said typical classic rock fan would identify themselves as a "big Pink Floyd fan." Years and years after first getting seriously into the band, the distortion of the band's history by the classic rock radio community as a whole continues to greatly bother me. It's not that the songs that get played most often are bad (though some of the ones off The Wall are a mite overrated), but rather that it just doesn't seem like an unreasonable request for other great songs from the band's lesser known albums to get play once in a while. As great as Time, and Money, and Comfortably Numb, and Wish You Were Here, and Run Like Hell might be, it doesn't seem right for them to completely overshadow Astronomy Domine, or Cymbaline, or One of These Days, or far too many others. This doesn't affect me directly, of course, since I never listen to the radio anymore, but when a "big Pink Floyd fan" says they aren't even familiar with Animals, I always have to take a second to bite my tongue.

Along those lines, Rolling Stone is just as culpable in the distortion of the band's history as presented to the general public. Given the fact that the band has its own wing in the R&R Hall of Fame (run by Rolling Stone), you'd think that would mean that RS loves their catalogue, throwing out stars to them in a way reserved only for the Beatles and the Stones. Naturally, this is not the case at all. A look at the Rolling Stone Rock and Roll Album Guide shows that DSOTM and WYWH get 5 stars, Piper at the Gates of Dawn and The Wall get 4 a piece, and all the rest 2 or 3. Given that the guide makes it a point to denounce the remainder of the band's catalogue as experimental garbage, it confuses me how a set of four albums can somehow merit this much praise. I agree with the love for Pink Floyd, but I most certainly do not always agree with the reasons that most people and establishments give for loving them.

The thing is, it's not that I see the band's pre-DSOTM period, which contains its lesser known albums, as better overall then the albums made in the band's commercial peak ('73-'79). Frankly, it's not close: DSOTM and Animals are firmly entrenched in my top 50, with WYWH in my top 150, while the pre-DSOTM period has one top 100 album (Piper), a probable top 150 album (Ummagumma, with a live album that would be rated much higher but also with an inconsistent studio offering) and a couple of others that might make it into my top 200 (I've never actually bothered to rank my collection out that far, this is just a guestimate based on my site's ratings). There's little question in my mind that the band really figured out how to best focus its talents around 1972, around the time of Live at Pompeii and the DSOTM sessions.

On the other hand, while the earlier albums still found the band in its "research and development" stage, that doesn't mean they should be dismissed. The classic albums did a good job of refining the band's earlier ideas into something more easily swallowed by the general public, but many of these ideas were, in my opinion, done just as interestingly on the earlier albums, if not more so. One thing that I've never wavered on over the years is that Echoes is the best thing Pink Floyd ever did, and many of the more outstanding elements of that track were at least used as crib-notes in bits and pieces later on. Pink Floyd was doing effective acoustic ballads well before Wish You Were Here and Mother; the eerie screams that pop up in Another Brick in the Wall (2) and Run Like Hell are adapted from Careful With That Axe, Eugene, and there are a half dozen other examples. Point is, the separation between the "experimental" albums and the "normal" albums is certainly not as clear cut as many like to make it out to be, and dismissing the former while embracing the latter seems like a mistake to me.

Moving onto the band members themselves, I'd have to say that Pink Floyd had one of the most fascinating internal dynamics of any band that I know. Originally, the band was clearly led by guitarist/singer/songwriter Syd Barrett, whose tweaked sense of whimsy, love of guitar feedback and unfortunate fondness for LSD helped make Piper one of the classics of 1967. Keyboardist Rick Wright was the most prominent "backing" member of the group, contributing a healthy share of vocals and bunch of interesting organ parts, but no original songs, while bassist Roger Waters (who got one token song on the first album) and drummer Nick Mason seemed solid but not indispensable. When LSD started to destroy Barrett's ability to function, though, the band hired guitarist David Gilmour as a stage replacement, and eventually as a full-time replacement. Most of A Saucerful of Secrets features Gilmour instead of Barrett, and by the time of More Barrett was gone, off to attempt a short-lived solo career.

From that point on, sorting out the roles of the various members of the band becomes a little complicated. Roger Waters took it upon himself early on to be the band's "leader," but while it is true that Pink Floyd eventually became, in essence, his backing band, the group was very much a "democracy" for a good number of years. Roger may not have been the main songwriter for most of the band's life, but he was certainly the band's dark, bitter soul, and he brought a number of things to the table. He was an effective lyricist, a good writer of bittersweet acoustic ballads, a master of atmospherics and an aggressive user of sound effects to help drive home his points and make the overall sound more powerful. He was also, at the least, a competent bassist: he played very few passages that were at all flashy, and he had little interest in hardening up the band's sound with his instrument, but the few times he brought his instrument to the front betrayed solid abilities. His voice was never that great, but then again it's hard to imagine somebody else singing most of his parts.

Rick Wright's importance to the band waned over time, but for a good while he was critically important to the band's output. He contributed a small number of songs with just his name in the credits, a couple of which are among my favorites of the group, but most of the time he shared credits with Waters and Gilmour and combined his ideas with theirs into something fantastic. His voice was probably my favorite in the group, and while his keyboard parts were almost never "fancy" (apart from some of his excursions on Piper), they were, on the whole, some of the best written and best played keyboard passages I've ever heard in a rock context. The man was an absolute master of making his keyboards prominent while keeping them unobtrusive, and as an added bonus he probably had better taste in synthesizer tones than any other prominent keyboardist of the 60's and 70's (while not being afraid to stick to piano and Hammond organ when necessary). He's definitely the only art-rock keyboardist whose reputation has held up well (among people who aren't prog rock fans) in the ensuing decades, and as much as I love my Wakemans and Emersons and, uh, Minnears, I will always have a soft spot for Wright. Unfortunately, he faded in importance pretty quickly after Wish You Were Here, as first Waters and then Gilmour took total control of the group (though he had a mild rejuvenation on The Division Bell).

David Gilmour, then, is somebody about whom I feel somewhat ambiguous. As with most fans of the band, I'm less than thrilled on the whole with the songs exclusively credited to Dave, and the man had a lot of difficulty coming up with good lyrics. His approach to guitar playing was also not exactly my ideal, as his solos tended to be so obviously pre-planned and careful and completely devoid of spontaneity that they're close to the antithesis of what "true" rock playing is supposed to be. I mean, there's just something a bit creepy about the fact that the solo in the studio version of Comfortably Numb was never actually played like that; it was culled from about fifty versions of that solo, with each note extracted from one of the many selections available (this is the main reason that that solo made an infamous list of the 100 worst guitar solos ever). On the other hand, though, while I have an instinctual problem with his overall approach to guitar playing, which makes it seems like every note was focus group tested before release, and which inspired a legion of arena rock guitar players in the 80's, it's hard to escape the fact that he was REALLY FREAKING GOOD at that horrid approach. I only sometimes love a Dave guitar passage, but I almost always like them, and that has to mean something. His love of cool noisemaking, particularly in using echo effects on his guitar, is also something that shouldn't be overlooked; the masterful use of sound effects throughout the band's career is almost as much David's doing as Roger's. Guitar playing aside, he had co-writing credits on a lot of great songs in the band's career, as he had a knack of taking Waters' raw ideas and molding them into something more enjoyable and, in some cases, more musical. And, well, I really like the guy's voice, even though it sometimes sounded a little rough live.

Nick Mason was the least important person in the group by far, as he never really demonstrated a particular mastery of holding a groove or the ability to throw in a bunch of neat fills, but he was certainly servicable. Some of his best parts in the studio were supposedly tape-loops, but as demonstrated in live footage and the Ummagumma live album, he could do some neat things behind the kit during the band's early days. He really could have been swapped out for any number of drummers, though.

In the end, Pink Floyd's greatest accomplishment, in my mind, was that they showed that a deeply flawed band could still make lots of amazing music. You didn't have to have a single songwriting genius, or an absolute technical wizard at any instrument, if you knew how to effectively leverage the talents you did have at your disposal. Only a couple of their albums came close to being perfect, but a lot of them were very, very good, and the band gets as solid a 4 star rating from me as any on the site.

What do you think about Pink Floyd?

Eric Einhorn (eeinhorn@home.com)

I'd agree completely on the fact that the Floyd's radio hits aren't representative of their full career. However, the worst thing is that they aren't even real Floyd songs. I mean, Money and Another Brick In The Wall 2 are catchy songs, but they sound nothing like classic Floyd is supposed to (i.e. Shine On, Breathe, Dogs, Interstellar Overdrive). Most of their hits are more bluesy a la David Gilmour (Run Like Hell, Time, for example), and less based around the keyboards which is the center of their usual style. Oh, and the Syd Barrett period is completely ignored, when there were some great songs back then (Astronomy Domine, Mathilda Mother).

Garrett Newnam (Galaxian1@mindspring.com)

Hey bro, Just wanted to commend you on your rant about the current state of pathological radio-fed ignorance and warped image of what the Floyd is all about. I couldn't have put it more accurately mtself! This needed to be said; badly! Not to mention the other universe of unheard quality material that was performed live, never released officially; the best versions of Cymbaline, Embryo, and especially Careful w/ that Axe Eugene were performed live! I've always wanted to do a radio show someday called the "Floyd Hour", and play nothing but the real Floyd. It needs to be done!

James Logan (jel199@psu.edu)

You are totally right about radio stations overplaying Dark Side and The Wall. These are great albums, but i think a lot of their earlier stuff is better. The Piper At the Gates Of Dawn, A Saucerful of Secrets, Atom Heart Mother, And Meddle are amazing albums and never get any radio play. I wish I could here Astronomy Domine, or Flaming, or Suite, or Echoes on the radio sometime. These are excellent songs that are more Floyd-like than their most well-known hits. The song sheep from the Animals album is another amazing song, but i have never heard it on the radio. This is ridiculous and something needs to be done about it.

R. PITI (roger_waters_pissed_off@hotmail.com)

Hey! I was reading reviews of Pink Floyd albums on your website and I just wanted to praise you for being so...well, honest.

Anyway, I'm just wondering if you've heard Roger Waters' Radio KAOS, Amused To Death, and the greatest live album I've ever heard, In The Flesh? And if so, can I expect a review of these brilliant albums on your website anytime soon?

Keep up the great work.

Jonathan (hollywood@kih.net)

Hey man. I absolutely loved your Pink Floyd page with all of your reviews from each album. Loved it. Do you own Roger Water's solo album Amused to Death? I would love to read your review for that. You should write one up and put it on the page.

And what about Roger's new double live cd entitled, In the Flesh? I own that and it is amazing. In my opinion it blows Pulse into the ground.

PrincessVoly04@aol.com

What do I think of Pink Floyd?  Well I think that Pink Floyd is the best band that has ever, and that will ever walk the face of this earth.  Their songs are mostly written by the band, which not just anyone could do that.  I mean write songs that good.  Their songs go so deep.  You have to like... sit down for about 30 minutes just to figure out what some of them mean.  Like in the  CD "Momentary Lapse of Reason"  the song "Yet Another Movie"  jeez I was sitting there for a long time trying to figure out what it meant.  It all came together though, and it was an awesome song.

(author's note): Just wanted to point out that 30 minutes is NOT a long time to figure out what a song is about - people have been trying to break down Close to the Edge for the last 27 years, after all.

      What do you think of the Wizard of Oz, and the Dark Side of the Moon put together?  Or have you heard of it?  You start the movie, and ya know where the MGM lion is roaring?  You wait till the 3rd roar, and ya play the cd Dark Side of the Moon, and they go together thru-out the CD.  Its the most awesome thing.  Its weird though, that all the band members denied that they had anything to do with the movie, Wizard of Oz, except Waters, which didn't comment on it.

Paul Stevenson (Stevenson.p@btinternet.com)

GREAT site...

  But WHERE are the reviews for :

  Radio Kaos (crap)

David Gilmour (Brilliant)

About Face (crap)

The Wall in berlin (average)

Amused To Death ( Brilliant)

Broken China (can't say as I've not heard it....YET)

In The Flesh (pretty good)

  The albums are available through both Virgin and HMV.

  (author's note): I'm a poor college student. Enough said.

By the way the above opinions are my own,,No doubt many disagree with them.

Trannon Goble (goble@alltel.net)

David Gilmour (1978): This is a great album. Some of those songs, No Way Outta Here, Raise My Rent, and So Far Away should have been the inspiration for AMLOR instead of that 80s pop stuff that was not Floyd.  Rating: A

  About Face (1984): This album sucks. It is too 80s again. STOP IT DAVE!!! Quit trying to be a bloody pop artist. Murder is a good song. Rating: D

Radio KAOS: Ok, Rog.....trying to pull a Gilmour and be a pop artist too? I wish you guys would stop that. KAOS had it's moments but is too poppy. Radio Waves??? Jeezzzzzz!!! Waters, that stunk. Rating: D

Amused to Death: Ok, the best Waters solo so far. It had some great tunes that could've easily been Floydian "What God Wants" and "It's Miracle" are awesome. This is a great improvement. Rating: B

Mason & Wright's albums are both very mediocre at best. C and C- respectively.

Sittinger, Brian D (brian.d.sittinger@lmco.com) (7/21/01)

If I haven't said it yet, keep up the great work! You have very well thought-out comments (although I may have some minor disagreements here and there. Otherwise, we'd be living in a very dull world!).

On Pink Floyd, a few years ago, I had a very similar thought to what you expressed so well above. Thank god I was not one of those Pink Floyd 'fans' who only knew of their existence only from DSOTM, WYWH, and The Wall. However, other than "See Emily Play" and "Learning to Fly" (which I thought was from The Wall at first), I had no idea what else they have done. Well, at least I knew about Syd's existence!!) Very slowly but surely, I'm rectifying this problem. Once I get past buying every major prog. album worthwhile (as I don't have THAT much money to spend!), I'm certain that I will dive even deeper into Pink Floyd's deep catalogue (much deeper than Relics and Animals for example!).

A. A. Azimi (aaazimi@chamran.ut.ac.ir) (7/29/01)

Hey...!

Who ever you are...you seem to be crazy,i'd better say your brain will never understand Pink Floyd's power!

You called final cut a dull album!! haha! so funny shit!

How much do you know about Pink Floyd's idealogy?

I guess nothing! because you called Sorrow a dull song! huh!

And finally my advise to you :

Piss on your page and analysis about Pink Floyd!

Fernando H. Canto (sirmustapha@ig.com.br) (12/11/02)

Hello. Good work on the site, John. In case you're wondering, I'm Fernando, from Brazil, aged 17, lover of music and Internet nerd. Now, I felt some need to share my thoughts on Pink Floyd, seeing that I've seen there some neat ideas on the band, you know, different angles for me to appreciate the guys.

  Primarily, I'd like to state that, indeed, I agree with you when you say these guys individually are not really good. Roger is an okay bassist, though I love his voice. David is an obvious case of overrated guitarist. See, his backing guitar work is awesome along with the others, but when he engages in his long, dull guitar solo mode, blargh. It feels so cold, so boring and so calculated, pre-planned and all, so slow and meticulous, I can only agree with George Starostin on the "musical dentistry" topic (though it's argueably the only thing I agree with him on Floyd). Rick is great, his athmospheric keyboards and all neat touches probably are one of the biggest trademarks of the Floyd sound, though he's quite bad on improvisation, especially when he's on his own. And Nick had a good and fresh guitar playing, that can be adapted to any style, though that's just it. Nothing spectacular, at all.

But then, like you said, their biggest power was unleashed when they were together. I say it every time everywhere that Floyd is only Floyd when they work together. Now, Floyd is unique and different from any other band because they didn't care solely on solid riffs and catchy melodies and such, but on how the sound would feel as a whole. Of course they DID present lots of good riffs and guitar lines and nice melodies (most coming from Rick), but they weren't the center of the attention. And this is just their big forte. You know, SOUND.

shiloh hellman (spotguy75@hotmail.com) (12/23/03)

Although I agree with the majority of opinions expressed on this site I felt it necessary to defend one of the greatest players ever to strap on a Fender, David Gilmour. It seems that several people are under the impression that old Dave is merley competent at his chosen intrument and his solos are "overcaculated". Melodically his guitar work is inspired, the solo in Comfortably Numb alone being one of the greatest in rock history. To say that Jimmy Page is a beter soloist is understandable but ignorant. Page was a fine studio guitarist but sloppy in his execution. Listen to 'Can't Quit You Baby' for a primer on how to hit as many wrong notes as possible. In any event I may sound a tad obsessive but if you dont think Gilmour is great you're either not into guitar or you're not listening.

Barry12876@aol.com (4/14/04)

Pink Floyd Rocks, there is no band out there now that can stand on the same stage with them

Marta Acaba (acabam@msn.com) (6/27/04)

You are brilliant!! Okay?? Did I fulfill your need for admiration?? Well seriously I did enjoy your review of PF's albums...Your website was a like finding a diamond in a large vast of an internet ocean. I think I am going to go back and review again some of your comments regarding Roger's solo stuff..I personally think Pros and Cons was the worse album he could have ever vreated. I still don't get it!! Anyway again great website..period..
Thanks

Ken DiTomaso (kenditomaso15@hotmail.com) (9/20/04)

While I very much agree with your opinion on Pink Floyd (in the introduction). I just wanted to say (for the record) that while the band did experament with drugs in the 60's, Syd was the only addict, and the rest of the band had stopped doing them by the Ummagummma album. And Rick had good songwriting abilities until the 90's (but not his singing ability); give a listen to his last solo album (Broken China, 1996) where he proves that if there was another Floyd album it would be very good (and I'm not a big fan of post Waters Floyd so that should say something).

Charlie Vaca (gcharlie@sbcglobal.net) (11/06/04)

PINK FLOYD RULES MY CORNHOLE

Pedro Andino (pedroandino@msn.com) (11/23/04)

say, have you seen pink floyd live? they FUCKING RULE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU CANNOT TOP  FLOYD! YES,ELP, GENESIS, IS GOOD BUT NOTHING COMPARES TO THE FLOYD! SYD BARRET: WHAKED OUT CLANDESTINE DRUG USER! NICK MASON: JAZZY DRUMMER. RICHARD WRIGHT: AWSOME SYNTH PLAYER.             DAVID GILMOUR: SPACE BLUES PLAYER! ROGER WATERS: EGOMANIAC AND VISIONARY! I WISH I WOULD LIKE TO SEE FLOYD AT WOODSTOCK '94!!!!!!!

Todd Alfsen (TALFSEN@peoplepc.com) (12/16/04)

Well put! I think yor totally right. I think that Pink Floyd's best work was on Meddle and Saucerful of Secrets. I Would like to hear some radioplay of this stuff. But I don't listen to the radio anymore anyway. it's just the same old shit over and over again. Not that DSOTM or The Wall aren't great. they just don't fully represent Pink Floyd work.

Shawn Ryan (shawnryan@tds.net) (02/23/05)

Pink Flyod is one if not the best influential bands of all time. And I would say it did take all the members to make them what they were/are. However, Roger Waters is a pure and simple genius. Even though his Floyd writings can be credited to the life of Syd Barrett, I don't know of anyone today who could dig so deep into human emotion, and still have a great sound to go with it (maybe Maynard James Keenan?). Anyway, he seems to be all about concepts Animals, The Wall, The Final Cut, KAOS, etc. They're all telling stories, not just each song but the entire album. He's brilliant. Have you ever heard "The Body", come on he knows what he is doing. I don't really care for Gimour solo, and I know the other guys have solo/side projects but I'm not that familiar with them. But Syd Barrett, Mad Cap Laughs shows you the direction Floyd may have traveled, and to be honest I'm glad they didn't. Thanks for your site and opinions.

SolomonsOther@aol.com (03/15/05)

I see Pink Floyd as the antithesis to Rush. A crappy band with a ton of great songs. Roger Waters can write lyrics that actually effect you (if you're a suicidal wreck bent on blaming everyone in your life, including the government, for everything wrong with the world, that is... but hey, who isn't?) and yet the vocal melodies rarely seem to break out of a certain mold, no matter who's singing. Okay, Syd Barrett was the exception with writing vocal melodies, but he wasn't exactly coming from the same place as the other dudes. And his guitar work was phenomenal... or at least unimitable. Now as for those pesky debates of 'Is Pink Floyd a progressive band or not?'

I'm honestly a not a huge fan of the idea of 'progressive rock'. It hasn't really progressed in 20 years. There's a good reason Robert Fripp coined the phrase and then a short time later denied that King Crimson was a 'progressive rock' band. In the beginning, progressive meant experimental music and not anything of a particular nature... ESPECIALLY not of a particular nature. Visionaries like Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa, and Miles Davis were the true visionaries who formed the core of the philosophy that  Robert Fripp was referring to. People like Keith Emerson and Jon Anderson have run prog into the ground with theitr overly complex and impersonal ideolgical styles... I'm not saying they were bad on their own, they were usually quite brilliant in their own right. But don't you wish proggers would stop imitating them so fucking much?!

So whether or not Pink Floyd is 'progressive or whatever, they were still a fine group.

doug goldfluss (doug@theaspencastle.com) (5/15/05)

not sure if you saw the latest rolling stone with the top 100 "greatest rock and roll bands of all time"

some one was curiously missing... YES PINK FLOYD....

surely guns and roses, tupac shakur, gram parsons, hank williams, roxy music, and NWA were greater than Pink Floyd....

One of these days Im gonna cut you into little pieces Jan Wenner

Michael mayer (musicreddogs@yahoo.ca) (06/25/05)

 hi,I love pink floyd,I have every album they made,lots of Barrett too.The songs are so well put down.Never another band like them.evean teens loves some of the songs.back then I evean got in ports.I still love the stuff. ty

Michael Gallun (mgallun@wi.rr.com) (11/15/05)

is just as much, or if not more pink floyd than roger..   does anyone notice when our sound of floyd came about... sure, syd left, roger took over but david appeared... listen to the song dave sings... name them off... they are true floyd classics.... amlor and divison are awesome.. and i love davids long solos... Sorrows solo can compete with CN as the best guitar solo ever....

andreas schneider (andreasheinzschneider@web.de) (01/23/06)

I would agree that Dark Side, Wall and mostly Wish You Were Here are good albums. Perfectly produced and musically fine arranged. But nonetheless the beginnings of the Floyd were totally different. So is there actual philosophy. Ummagumma for instance may have some flaws. Especially the studio side may lack coherency. But nonetheless Ummagumma is a masterpiece in terms of sound experimentation, quite surprising instrumental interplay and great atmospheric soundscapes. I think there are many good ideas in it. I like lots of the bootleg material - the FAT OLD SUN version from BBC Peel Show from september 1971 and the great OBSCURED BY CLOUDS and WHEN YOU'RE IN from their appearance from May 1973 in Earls Court.

Although I would never consider the Floyd as technically perfect musicians, their skills for great improvisations and instrumental interplay are very very underrated. Both live performances are great in terms of dynamics and climax. The four Floyd avoided instrumental ego-trips and had a very sensitive attitude to the musical atmosphere.

I even would say this is typical Floyd - excitement and experimentation rather than perfection. This is the way Syd Barrett started the band. For me the "real" Floyd are rather more relatives to the sonic adventures of contempory composers as Cage or the Free Jazz innovators as John Coltrane than to Mainstream Bands as Toto.

FloydFanatic69@aol.com (05/12/06)

Hi my name is Joey, and I would just like to say that Pink Floyd is the most spectacular bands that has ever hit the world.  I more than love them, I really really love them.  I have every album on CD and Vinyl.  There hasn't been a day that has passed since I have discovered them where I haven't listened to one of there albums.  LONG LIVE PINK FLOYD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Phillip Koulogianes (fortunately4u@cox.net) (05/28/06)

Hey John, Great site. As a musician I am always on the lookout for new material to keep my interest. It seems like that when a  song gets about five years old, I am pretty much through with it. I am totally burned out on classic rock so much so that I do not even listen to the radio anymore. If I do it is the alternative station and even then there's not many bands with any staying  power. That is why it is strange that Pink Floyd is my favorite band. I  see that many people seem to think that just because they do not play  technically difficult music that they are not great musicians. Eric Clapton once said that he could convey more emotion with one note that many players could with  their fast playing style. I have to agree. When I saw  Pink Floyd  perform in San Diego on their last tour,  I did not care how many different modes David would use playing guitar. I just wanted the band to take me someplace. That's just what they did. A true artist is only concerned with the technical aspects in as far as it  concerns the end result. Most bands today are satisfied with taking you around the block, Floyd takes you off the planet or inside you mind or to some far away place. 

  I have just finished putting together a home recording studio and one of my goals is to write and record material that rises to their level. Since there departure from the music scene there has not been any bands (that I am aware of) that are continuing in their shoes with their style of music. I had the chance to see a Floyd  tribute band a few weeks back and was glad to see so many younger people there. When I told my 18 year old niece that I was a fan, she was surprised,I know that Pink Floyd's music is going to be around for a long time and outlive all of us.

     My favorite thing to do right now is try to recreate my favorite Pink Floyd songs in my studio. I must qualify this statement because many of their songs are way out of my reach  because I do not have access to the same resources that they have.  I have pulled off a decent rendition of Wearing the Inside Out and am working on about three others. I will use these songs on a demo of what I am capable of. This demo will be free of charge so as not to infringe on any copyrights. As a matter of fact, I was looking for chord charts for Keep Talking when I discovered this site. As mainly a  guitar player first then a keyboardist,  David Gilmore's guitar solos are usually the thing that draws me to record a certain PF song,  But I must able to get close to the original or I wont do it. I just have to much respect for the music. 

    I dont think I have ever heard a bad Pink Floyd song, I have heard songs that I was not  fond of. Reading through your site, I thought it was amusing that people get very polarized over certain songs. I did find it interesting that a couple of people did not like Keep Talking. One guy even mentioned that he thought Steven Hawking had made an appearance because of the computer talking throughout the song. Hate to spoil you image of Stephen hanging out with Pink Floyd but that voice came standard on all Macintosh computers up until a couple of years ago. I  have mine speaking the same words throughout my version. They must have updated the voice because it sounds more human now. I think they used it to show the irony that it took so long for man to learn how to talk but man could teach a machine to talk in just a few years. Anyway I loved David's use of a "Talk Box" as the exit solo (more irony?).  I was going to make a talk box but when I found that a couple of companies were making them, I had to run out and get one. They are pretty cool! It is Davids guitar tone that is my ultimate challenge, (that and the female backup singers), though I am making strides in overcoming these challenges. 

    As far as my favorite albums, ANIMALS just nudges out the others. Dogs being my favorite song.  I just love the intro to Shine on You Crazy Diamond. The synth sound and Davids perfect lead accompany is a classic that I hope to recreate someday. I have to mention that Davids solos always have the right feel for the song that they are doing. If he tried to do something fancy instead of something tasteful, it just wouldn't sound right. Well got to get back to the studio, David if you ever read this, I think you are the best. You and the other guys have done something special.    A fan always, Phil

basile Fourcade (lebaze@hotmail.fr) (08/16/06)

hello,
i've not read all what you wrote but i think i share you point of view :)

"oh you're a floyd fan, great...Which song you prefer ??? high hopes and the wall " a lot of disappointement :(

in my point of view, the best "pink floyd" is the "tryptique" => Atom heart mother / Meddle / Darkside (have you heard Dubside of the moon ?? it makes me like "money")
And their live session at this time was the best.

I like very much also the earlier LPs , specially the songs :-Pow R Toch H (if you know the meaning of the title , i'm interrested. also this unique barret/wright song shows the "before Waters time")
-Carefull
-Embryo(live, because the studio "Works" version is very disapointing)
-Let there be more light
-the narrow way part 2 or 1 (the folk one)

sorry for my bad english , i'm french!
It's hard to find "real" floyd fan ...
If you want to talk Pink Floyd (and if you have time ...), i'will be delighted :)
basile

taylor hersh (pinkfloydrocker@verizon.net) (11/25/06)

yo, i just wanted to say that you are doing a great thing. i hate people and the raido stations who only know about the main members and who play the same songs over and over again. i honestly think those songs are great but one time i was wearing my Pink Floyd shirt with all five members. one person said who's the person in the back and i just stared at them looking like they were crazy.

another time when i was going back and forth on how much me and this random person knew about pink floyd randomly like i always do then suddenly i mention my favorite person into the conversation, Syd Barrett. the person said, 'who's this Syd Barrett guy?!' i just stare at him, then i kick him in the shin!!!!

so i agree with you on so many levels
remember to rock on each and every day.

Dangeruss one (dangeruss.one@gmail.com) (03/30/07)

amazing,

there music is deeper than anything out there, my second fav is TOOL they only follow in the footsteps of  what the floyd created, took that idea and expanded it...

being a musician, owning a guitar just like gilmours black strat and having the effects he uses' makes me understand the style of it all

every time i watch the wall something else pops up that say's oh yeah i get it...absolutly the best band in the world, there's the beatles, elvis, go back to the classical music of beetovhen it will be remembered long after they are gone being 37 i was only able to see waters live, but it's not the same w/ out them all, i own every released form of media on them, i can watch over and over the floyd is a way of like, as is Tool, i wish theyd get back other than live aid

which was amazing...there's nothing else to say but wow

Lucas Miguel (she_is_suffering@yahoo.com.ar) (05/03/07)

Hi John!. I've been reading your reviews for two years but this is only my second post. One again, sorry if I make some mistakes.

I'm from Argentina and radios over here have the same problems than the radios in your country. The few radios that play Floyd only play material from 'Dark Side', 'The Wall' and to a lesser extent 'Wish You Were Here'. Never in my life have I heard Cymbaline, Astronomy Domine, Set the Controls', Careful with that Axe, Eugene, Cirrus Minor, Free Four, Green is the Colour or anything pre-Dark Side.

At least here in Argentina, everybody seems to love Pink Floyd but when it comes to name the albums, 'Dark Side of the Moon', 'The Wall', or even 'P.U.L.S.E.' are the only ones that people seem to know of. And I know a lot of people who only seem to know Another Brick in the Wall, Comfortably Numb and Money. And I agree with your assessment that these people call themselves 'big Pink Floyd fans'. I have some friends that say they love Floyd but never heard of Syd Barrett!. I tried to show them the magnificence of 'Piper', 'Saucerful', 'Atom', 'More''but I didn't have much success. The ended up asking me to play Hey You, Brain Damage and Wish You Were Here.

By the way, my favorite Floyd albums are 'More - it was my first floyd album, and so it holds a special place in my heart; 'Meddle', by the way, doesn't the guitar part in A Pillow of Winds remind you of The Beatles' 'Julia'' and 'Animals'. I think that 'Obscured by Clouds' is unjustly forgotten. Everyone that loves the Dark Side should listen to Obscured'.

I also love 'Dark Side' (maybe I'm committing heresy'.but I don't like The Great Gig in the Sky as much as I should'). But I have some problems with 'The Wall'. I think that it is overrated, and I find a lot of filler in it (pretty much in disc 2). And I hate 'The Final Cut' (Give me back my money Roger!)'.And I also think that Roger's 'The Pros and Cons'' is one of the worst albums in my collection (along with 'Calling All Stations' (Small Talk is the WORST Genesis song ever'I'd take anything from 'We Can't Dance' any day'even Fading Lights, duh), 'Under Wraps', 'Union', 'Thrakattak'')

By the way, a few weeks ago Roger Waters was here and played two sold out concerts for 60.000+ each day. He played The Dark Side in its entirety. I didn't attend but some friends told me that it was terrific'anyway, I would prefer to see Gilmour'By the way, I love his last album, 'On an Island'. Beautiful, Romantic and 'Nightish' (I don't think that word exists!), especially the songs The Blue, A Pocketful of Stones (which I'm listening to right now) and Smile. It's ideal to listen to while being holding hands and hugging someone you love'how I miss my (ex)girlfriend'.buuuaaaa :'(

Cheers from Argentina. Love your reviews, since we share a similar taste in music.

P.S.: I love 'The Division Bell'..call me crazy, but I simply LOVE it. And I don't think 'AMLoR' is the piece of trash that everybody says it is'I agree that it isn't a real floyd album, but I've come to appreciate some songs, especially One Slip, On the Turning Away and Terminal Frost'.but you're right'.The Dogs of War is atrocious. vomit-inducing I'd say'..

Gmang1986@aol.com (05/13/07)

I love pink floyd, ever since I bought there first album The Wall i can't go thourgh one day, not listening to pink floyd. I love their music because it is soo relaxing and all of their songs go perfectly together, my favorite album would have to be The Final Cut because i love how through the whole cd it goes from a slow and mellow beat to a fast beat. Right now i own The Wall, The Dark Side of The Moon, Animals, The Final Cut, and Ummagumma and I would someday like to own all of their albums. I think u guys are the greatest classic rock band ever. 

Lori Fowler (lfowler@dominionpost.com) (08/02/07)

You ungreatful dick... you don't know shit!  Your one of those people who believes everything they hear, and pass it off as the truth.  David was a great guitar player... have you ever watched "live at pompeii" the directors cut.... he is as good as Clapton.   Mason was an awesome drummer... have you ever heard "I'm going to cut you in to little pieces".... he fucking rocks out!!! ... it wasn't looped on the DVD... they can sing just fine... listen to echos there is good pitch and harmony in that song... If your going to bitch, take this site down... YOU SPREAD LIES, keep your opinions to yourself because they suck... I didn't even read past the first half of the page because it pissed me off.... The floyd are not even my favorite band... not even my top 5 band and I can tell I know more about them than you... you should just give up music... you don't know anything about it!!!!

Christopher21737@aol.com (01/19/08)

hi, i read your site last summer, since then, i have collected every pink floyd album.......and i agree, 95 out of 100 pink floyd fans do not know the early stuff, animals, or even wish you were here.......   

    for me, floyd is my favorite band of all time......i do have the final cut, momentary lapse, and division bell, and i'll listen to them, but, it's not the same......however, the first album with syd, i'm always curious where the band would of went if he , well, didn't ruin his skills........piper is amazeing.....i belive syd was the frontrunner for modern, prog-space rock......   

    i have two friends who love floyd, yet they "were" the 95 out of 100.....i sent one friend meddle, the other obscured by clouds, both christmas gifts.....they were both blown away!!.....both agreed, floyd is more awesome than before.......   

---

The Piper at the Gates of Dawn - 1967 Capitol
9 (13)

Best song: Astronomy Domine

As mentioned in the introduction, while most people associate the band with the 1970's epic Roger Waters rants, that is by no means how they began. For that matter, their beginning was hardly much less significant or amazing than the 'classic' albums. Early Pink Floyd was led by the little nutbag that was Syd Barrett (whose solo career I have reviewed here). Syd had three characteristics which ensured that he would have a viciously loyal cult following to this day, and it's hard to imagine Pink Floyd without having ever had him around to loosen things up. First, he was a phenomenal songwriter, both in terms of melodies and lyrics, and I will never step back from arguing that. On the one hand, he came up with all sorts of little childish ditties about mice without houses, the joys of playing hide and seek, creepy cats, what it's like to be read a bedtime story and other playful things. And although his voice wasn't exactly phenomenal, there was an overwhelmingly innocent and little-boyish quality behind it that made his songs even more enjoyable. That he liked childish stories and concepts shouldn't be too surprising, though; just look at the album's name, which is taken from a chapter title in Wind in the Willows. But that wasn't all he was good at, no no. His second specialty was dark, 'cosmic' space/drug rockers, and he had just as much talent in creating those as he did in making his simpler songs. Of course, these numbers usually freaked out the concert-going fans who had come to hear the cute childish ditties, but hey, they should've known better.

His second significant attribute was that he was a heavy duty LSD addict. It wasn't entirely his own fault (legend has it that his friends dowsed his coffee with the stuff repeatedly without his knowledge or consent until he was completely hooked), but he was one nevertheless. Now, acid can certainly aid in the creation of art which is marvelous and beyond comprehension, but alas, too much of it and your mind starts to go. Such was the case with Syd on this album. Very, very soon after Piper was released, the band had to let him go because he was 80% gone mentally, and this was hurting the group and their stage act considerably. Nevertheless, the fragile state of Syd's mind during this album's sessions mostly works to the album's advantage; "mad" geniuses almost always produce their best work right before they completely collapse, fall off a cliff, etc, and Syd was a mad genius through and through. His mind and his creativity were absolutely working overtime in these sessions, and they pretty much broke down when this was over. Still, as sad as this might be, it's better to have 5 albums worth of genius crammed into 1 than to have them spread out, I think.

Finally, Syd was one of the true masters of feedback creation, up there with Townshend, Hendrix, you name it. He'd slap his guitar like nobody's business, but he'd also use all sorts of outside objects to help him out. Slide rules up and down the fret board, dumping ball bearings across the strings and crazy stuff like that was his specialty. Look, there's nothing quite like listening to a drugged-up lunatic genius messing around with feedback and different ways to make it, and whether you enjoy this or not, it's hard to deny that this album is, at least on some level, an absolutely fascinating listen because of that aspect.

This album is a 40 minute document of everything which made Syd cool, essentially backed by the rhythm section of what would become the world famous Pink Floyd. The dark cosmic rockers are creepier and more disorienting than you could imagine. Astronomy Domine, one of my favorite Pink Floyd songs ever, has some odd, odd lyrics about his mind travelling in space during one of his trips, with a weirdly mixed voice in the background making announcements about launch times and orbits, and a cool set of downward cascading riffs throughout with Syd just going nuts all over the place. As for the 9:41 instrumental Interstellar Overdrive ... it's incredibly dated, probably more so than anything on here, but I still can't help but feel wowed by it. I adore the whole thing, from the terrific main riff to all the improvised (but still held together with a feeling of control) bits in the middle, to that brief stretch where Syd's guitar becomes one of the trippiest things I know of, to the weird stereo panning at the end that makes everything spin around and around my head. This track is as important to describing both Pink Floyd's history and the music scene of 1967 as anything else, I think.

Aside from the trippy instrumental Pow R Toc H, which a lot of people dismiss as a dumb drug joke but that I have always enjoyed (I like the main themes, and the vocal freakout at the end is a hoot), the rest of the Syd tracks fall into the childish ditties category. These are not, however, your everyday childish ditties; it's not as if his two styles were completely disjoint from each other. Lucifer Sam is a somewhat psycho take on surf music, with a marvelous main riff and a parnoid vocal melody singing about a cat that just won't go away no matter where you go. Matilda Mother is the aforementioned bedtime story song, with vocals split between Rick and Syd, and it does a terrific job of capturing the idea that many bedtime stories, as sweet and innocent as they might seem to adults, can have a feeling of darkness and creepiness in the mind of a child that hears them. Scarecrow and The Gnome are relative throwaways, but I've never gotten tired of their melodies and their silly lyrics. Flaming does a nice job of making hide-and-seek sound fun, the much-maligned Chapter 24 (where Syd took the opening lines of chapter 24 of the I'Ching and put them to music) has wonderful harmonies in the "sunset, sunrise" part near the end, and the closing Bike shows how a guy whose mind isn't quite all there attempts to hit on somebody he likes (before the album ends with another vocal freakout).

Oh, I almost forgot; this album has the first song Roger Waters ever wrote, entitled Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk, and it's really, really awful, but that's not in a bad way! This song is so dated that it becomes hilarious and fun beyond belief. Basically, Roger shouts out some really stupid lyrics before the 'melody' gives way to some really, really cool sounding jamming, with both Syd and Rick stretching themselves as much as anywhere else on the album (without going into the kind of trippiness that dominates Interstellar Overdrive). Yeah, it probably took Roger about 3 seconds to come up with this song, and those 3 seconds were probably not spent actually thinking about music, but I never skip it.

Buy this album tomorrow. Many, many critics have said almost this exact same thing, and I'm probably just a lemming for following them, but this album is an aural documentary of not only what it's like to be on acid, but also what it's like inside a mind that's about to completely collapse. Somehow, the knowledge of the history surrounding this album brings it all home for me, and what was previously a great album becomes a true classic. Regardless of how many drugs the rest of the group used throughout their history, and supposedly they were used a lot (though some have claimed this is just rumor), Pink Floyd never again made an album which even approached being this trippy.

Send me your thoughts

Paul Stevenson (Stevenson.p@btinternet.com)

I didn't come accross this album until quite late on into my fanship of the Floyd. It's just a little too trippy for me I'm afraid.

  Interstellar Overdrive and Astronomy Domine are EXCELLENT but otherwise I wasn't impressed.

  I give it 5 out of 10

Auto (auto2112@btinternet.com)

One of my newest albums that i've bought. I was recommended it after a friend of mine said to me, "It's fucking great to get stoned to when you're listening to. Course my friend is a wanker and so I actually bought this album for the sole purpose of delving into some of the songs of one Mr. Barrett.

Astronomy Domine is no doubt a classic song. this just reeks of awesomeness. the whole feel of space, and those cool lyrics... well put it this way, I didn't need to be stoned to get a buzz out of this first time I listened to it. Lucifer Siam is also excellent. "That cat's something I can't ex-plllllaaaaaiinnn..." Into a cool little drum rhythm and that bass too. Excellent, but it doesn't stand out on the album.

What else do I REALLY like here... Oh, well Scarecrow is a cool little rhyme. Not really a song in my view, more of a poem being sang aloud. Am i mad? Probably. With comments like that definitely. The one that stands out for me has to be 'Bike'. The rhyming scheme and that weird explosion at the end of every verse is sexual intercourse to my ears. Bloomin' marvellous. Oh and i ain't got a clue how the hell you rate your albums, rather freaked to me so i'd give this album a 6 out of 10. Easier said than 'Supercalifragilisticexpyhalitocis'.

Trannon Goble (goble@alltel.net)

Very Psychedelic and a masterpiece in it's own right. However, it is very weak in certain sections (Bike, Scarecrow...mmmm?). Rating: B

Robert Grazer (xeernoflax@juno.com)

Overrated, in my opinion, but still a great album. I'd give it a very low 12, because "Interstellar Overdrive," "Chapter 24," and especially the atrocious "Take up Thy Stethoscope and Walk" are all one here. I'll agree that "Astronomy Domine" is very scary and great too, but my vote for best still goes to "Bike." I'm starting to believe that "Bike" is the funniest song ever written, and I don't know, maybe it's even one of my top ten Floyd songs ever. Seriously. I love that song SO much. This is the only 60s Floyd album I've heard (well, I tried to get through More, but fell asleep in the middle) so I'll have to pick up Ummagumma someday. I still don't think their peak began until Atom Heart Mother, and as far as psychedelic albums from '67 go, as good as this one is, I'll stick with Disraeli Gears and Magical Mystery Tour.

Antoninus1@aol.com (9/10/01)

I've had a guilty affection for this album since 1983, when I bought my first copy (on vinyl).  At the time it was not held in universally high regard; the first Rolling Stone Record Guide, which was my purchasing bible at the time, awarded it a scant 2 stars (this rating was revised upward in later editions), and I think I bought it because I'd read about Syd Barrett in Miles' illustrated book "Pink Floyd" and wanted to know more about the early improvisational/druggy stuff.  The first time I played the album I did not like it AT ALL.  It seemed extremely weird and manic, I didn't like Syd's voice, and the instrumentals seemed crude and stilted.  Then I changed my mind about it after listening to it through headphones after drinking half a pot of coffee!  I was only in 11th grade and caffeine and Pink Floyd combined could make me hallucinate in the dark then.  Today I listen to the remastered version! and after all these years it sounds extremely manic, and the instrumentals still seem crude and stilted.  Even Syd's songs are less impressive as "compositions" -- not the lyrics, which I love (even the one pinched from the I Ching), but the melodies, which are very limited for the most part.  A lot of these songs sound like variations on the same simple melody.  Also, Syd can hang on one note forever before continuing the melody line... this was and is cute, but when people say Syd was a brilliant songwriter and on par with Ray Davies, John Lennon, etc. I have to protest that Syd wasn't even in the same ballpark as those guys.

LeMysterioso@aol.com (1/08/02)

You are probably the only reviewer I completely agree with (most of the time), and you undoubtly feel the same about this album as I do. After Piper, the Floyd were to never again match its excitement and freshness. Never again, were the Floyd ever to be this innovative and exceptionally cool as hell. And this is hugely due to the fact that at one time they had the coolest frontman ever: Syd Barrett. Great review.

Muzmoka@aol.com (1/25/02)

WHILE  I  DO AGREE WITH SYD FANS THAT  THEIR DEBUT ALBUM WAS ONE OF THEIR BEST,  I DON'T AGREE THAT IT WAS THE BEST.  I SUPPOSE I SEE THE APPEAL OF THE SYD BARRETT ERA OF PINK FLOYD FOR THE FA IRER SEX, I DON'T SEE RELAVANCE  TO THE CLAIM THAT IT WAS "BETTER". IT JUST WAS. IN FACT, THE WHOLE  DOWNWARD TURN OF EVENTS  GAVE THE SYD YEARS  A CERTAIN MYSTIQUE.  WHEN SYD WAS FINALY OUSTED, PINK FLOYD LOST THEIR "STAR".TO ASSESSET IT ALL UP, I'M GLAD PINK FLOYD LOST THEIR " CRAZY DIAMOND ", MUCH LIKE THE DOORS THEIR "LIZARD KING", MINUS THE HUMAN TRAGEDY.

Montes3369@cs.com (2/27/02)

listening to Syd Barretts music is a trip, with his music i can see straight through his beautiful eyes and into the universe in his brain. I see syd lost in a trance not wanting to come out, expressing his thoughts through music and art. Taking me into his world and experience the feelings of the most creative person stuck between not real. Syd Barrett was the PINK FLOYD after Syd ther is no such thing as Pink Floyd., roger waters,david gilmour, nick mason, and rick wright were Floyd Pink not PINK FLOYD.

"LISTENING TO SYD BARRETT IS THE ULTIMATE TRIP"

Daniel and Corine Bosch (dcbosch@optusnet.com.au) (7/1/02)

A terrific album, but one that has very little to do with anything else the Floyd would ever do. If you can, the special edition mono CD in the box is the one to get, as Syd did a lot of the mono mixes whereas no-one in the band was there for the stereo. Anyway, "Astronomy Dominie" is a fantastic opening, none of the songs suck, except maybe "Stethoscope" (Roger himself has described it as "a very, very bad song"!). Best song - "Interstellar Overdrive" (well, duh!). 8.5 out of 10.

Fernando H. Canto (sirmustapha@ig.com.br) (12/11/02)

Ooo, the Piper. This must have been my, uh, 5th or 6th Floyd album, from the time I simply put in the album name on Audiogalaxy, and there was a ready MP3 file with the entire album in it. Cool, eh? And well, this one freaked me out. I've read reviews explaining this was psychedelia at its best, but I still had no clue on what this truly was. Well, Astronomy Domine is the definite best, and Interstellar Overdrive is definitively fabulous, one song that had to be done eventually. And well, Syd was there for that. But then, one of my big favourites here, as well, is Lucifer Sam. Hell, do I love this track. Matilda Mother and Flaming are one pair of beautiful tunes, especially the latter, with its 'loose' vibe is a must. And the couple of ditties on side two are all one of a kind. Bike, so much hated by certain AudioGalaxy users, is just fabulous in its own way, and Chapter 24... not that it's bad, mind you, just overlong. It could have been much shorter, and still have the full impact.

Now, there's one chunk of the album that I truly admire. George Starostin hates these two tracks, but like I said, I just ignore it. You know, Pow R Toc H is just... nothing. It's just the guys doing odd vocals with all sorts of instrumentation behind them. It's amusing. And Take Thy Sthetoscope And Walk is, like you said, so bad and so great. You know, the singing means nothing, but the middle jam is the big shine here. I've read on another Pink Floyd sites, that during recordings, the middle jam of this song went on for 10 minutes. Imagine that. Eventually, the jam was edited and cut short by Norman Smith. You see, lots of fans were disappointed with Piper by the time it was released, because they said it didn't reflect the band's live sounds, that's just the live jams by the fashion of Astronomy Domine. But hell, screw them. This is one great album. I agree with the 9 (13).

Ali Ece (psychocandy8@yahoo.com.au) (1/08/03)

One of the greates revolutions in music history. Syd Barrett's guitar is tranformed through shiny lyrics and free riffs to a cosmic dream generator. But there is one difficulty in this album, the problem is the producer sent by the music label who can't understand anything and the diamond in the UFO concerts turn to chrome. I think that if this album was made with Brian Eno it colud be the best album ever. The London 1966 version of Interstellar Overdrive is better. Lyrically it's a great complete book. You can see the sound, the music is dancing you! After that Pink Floyd was very good too but the rest after Barret never did somithing so revolutionary and bright: An album who is the gap between our stolen childhood days and our colorful adult dreams!

micheline provost (micheline122@sympatico.ca) (02/23/05)

I think pink floyd is nothing without syd barrett

javier ceja (polariss@hotmail.com) (03/06/05)

I've always felt like those people you mention. Pink Floyd it's been for me an enigma and  find them ordinary at times. Musically I "feel" there's never been a really passionate reason to get exited... for example when I hear the drums on many of their tracks. Some of them are so boringly predictable.On the other hand I listen to a Focus album and it gives me chills just to hear the great drums they put on those records.Then again that's my opinion. My point is I guess the reason we keep listening to the same old songs been repeated in the radio is because the mass audience only takes what their given and what their given becomes a way of life. Maybe floyd is really a great band , but from my end is I who still prefer making the last decision. The reason we have music icons these days is because no one took music for what it really is as an art form that transcends and not as genres, styles and things for that matter. Thanks

resthaven (resthaven@orcon.net.nz) (07/15/06)

best floyd album ever.third floyd album i bought.ive now owned this album for 12 years and its my favourite.also led me to buy the barrett solo albums from this record.pure genius

Kolby Kramer (gkkramer@gmail.com) (02/28/07)

After reading your glowing review of Pink Floyd's "The Piper," I felt I should give it a chance, even though I literally detest the rest of what I've heard from Pink Floyd's catalog (with some minor exceptions, IE: "Run Like Hell," "Brain Damage/Eclipse," etc.).  I had a friend burn me a copy to listen to in my spare time, which was here recently, trying to keep an open mind about it.  Now this sounds like it's about to lead into a five-page diatribe about why your opinion sucks, and I hate the band even more after hearing this album, but it's quite the contrary; I was pleasantly surprised.  This album is amazing!  Right down to the stupid childish ditties that Syd pulled from the nether regions of his acid-soaked mind.  The opener, "Astronomy Domine" is a great way to kick off the album, leading into another song I find to be quite entertaining (as well as Starostin), "Lucifer Sam."  And of course, there's "Interstellar Overdrive" which every one who has heard this album has a comment about, negative or positive.  Mine is most assuredly positive, although I disagree with Starostin when he comments that it may drag on a bit too long.  I'm all for lengthy instrumentals, if they're done right of course, and this, I feel, is very right.  And if I'm wrong about it, then I just don't want to be right.  Very great recommendation, John.  All though I cannot stand Pink Floyd (and find them to be one of the more overrated bands in history along with The Beatles, whom of which I also detest), this is a keeper.

Christopher21737@aol.com (07/19/07)

i just wrote you a few days ago, saying i really wasn't a barret fan, with pink floyd.......that's cause i listend to saucerful of secrets......the piper, though different than the floyd i know with gilmour......all i can say is that i dig it......very cool music.......

Christopher21737@aol.com (01/19/08)

by the way, i give piper a 10!!

---

A Saucerful of Secrets - 1968 Capitol
8 (11)

Best song: A Saucerful Of Secrets

Outtakes from the previous masterpiece, plus some new material. Soon after Piper was released, Syd's mental state went from bad to worse. He was becoming increasingly unstable, and was doing nothing to help the band's reputation. Some of his 'episodes' border on legendary, such as when the group was interviewed on American Bandstand and Syd wouldn't answer any of the questions asked of him, choosing instead to stare blankly into the camera for five minutes. More troubling, and more devastating, was that he was killing their ability to play live. Without warning, he would become completely spaced out in the middle of a song, and just wouldn't play at all or, even worse, start de-tuning his guitar on stage, which naturally made things difficult for the others. To try and fight this, the band hired a friend of Syd, David Gilmour. He basically had one duty; to run out on stage and start playing the lead guitar parts whenever Syd was going through one of his phases. Although his normal guitar style was the complete opposite of Syd's, cold and calculated whereas Syd was completely random, he was perfectly willing and able to play the parts given to him. Plus, he had that cool bluesy voice, far more pleasant than Syd's. Anyways, this worked for a few shows, but after a while the band just got sick of it, and one evening, as they were heading over to a gig, they simply decided to not pick Syd up. Syd was a bit angry about this, as you might imagine, but he was appeased when the group worked out an arrangement whereby Syd would remain the principal songwriter and Dave would do all of the actual stage work. Alas, though, Syd's songwriting had gone completely off the deep end, and the rest of the group finally decided that they had no choice but to fire him. This cost them a great deal of their fanbase, yes, and many of the financial supporters of the group bailed out on them and decided to invest in Syd's solo career, with the idea that a Barrett-less Pink Floyd had no chance of succeeding, but ultimately it was for the best.

Now for the album itself. Like I said, it's mostly Piper outtakes, but if you're expecting the same zany compositions as on the previous album, look elsewhere; the songs on here bare almost no resemblance to those on its predecessor. Wright throws in two pretty, romantic-sounding tracks, with wonderfully rich and syrupy vocals and a gorgeous atmosphere in general. Remember a Day is one of the great forgotten Floyd tracks of all time, I think; the combination of the pretty piano lines with the sweet vocals with the little bits of whacky slide guitar in the background make this into, at worst, a minor classic. See-Saw is good too, despite the fact that the working title for the song claimed that it was boring as hell. I've always found it to be a lovely bit of nostalgia, remembering the time when the person singing was a child and he and his sister were best friends. I guess one could find a note of creepiness in this if one so chose, but I don't think that's what Wright had in mind.

Waters' material is more in the 'cosmic' vein, and rather cool overall. The opening Let There Be More Light starts with a neato-sounding bassline that sounds a lot more interesting on closer inspection than it does from afar, and gradually turns into a slow and ultra-weird (if overly rambling) jam with Wright and Gilmour's new styles well established right away. Also, although it may seem on the surface that this was a Dave-era song, since the guitar parts highest in the mix are vintage Gilmour, closer inspection reveals ultra-loony parts in the background which cry out Barrett. Meanwhile, the lengthy but still good Set the Controls For the Heart of the Sun, with lyrics taken straight from a book of chinese poetry (except for the title/chorus) is strong, quiet, and great for chilling/meditating. The final Waters composition of the album, the anti-war "rocker" Corporal Clegg, is awkward as hell and not that impressive, but it's still rather funny; the kazoo solo is a total blast.

So there's five tracks. A 6th can be found in the form of the closer, a Syd composition called Jugband Blues. Now, in and of itself, it's not that great a song, but if you know what had happened to Syd previously, the track is one of the saddest songs in the history of man. The ending part is particularly heart-wrenching, with just Syd and his acoustic, and the wonderful lines "And what exactly is a dream? And what exactly is a joke?". I can never help but mumble quietly "goodbye, Syd" whenever I hear that.

All those positives aside, these songs are not why I give this album an 8. The title track, credited to all 4 members, is why I give this album an 8. Generally regarded as the first 'science fiction song,' it seems to portray a battle in the depths of space. At first, Wright is just playing random chords, which help me to think of the cold emptiness of space, when out of nowhere it disappears. A Mason tapeloop comes on, and suddenly the guys are all trying to make as much noise as possible, and you can just see ships blowing up and getting shot and all of that cool stuff. Eventually, the battle fades out, leaving the wounded to recuperate, and there's some wonderful harmonizing at the end before it fades into See-Saw. It's simply marvelous, and while Yes would one-up the concept with the epic Gates of Delirium 6 years later, this still works to me as kind of an abstract sketch of that piece.

Anyway, this album is certainly very patchy, and there's virtually no flow between each of the tracks, but there's not a single song on here that I dislike, and several that I love. An 8 it is.

Send me your thoughts

Paul Stevenson (Stevenson.p@btinternet.com)

Nope I aint keen on the second album either. The title track is quiet good but otherwise this is a serious let down. I guess It's my fault for being so big on the "rock" Floyd.

Trannon Goble (goble@alltel.net)

A Syd-influenced Floyd LP also. It is a little more rugged than Piper a better rocker, but is too scattered. And what's with those stupid kuzoos? Parts of ASOS sounds like a band that is too stoned to play anymore. Rating: C

Daniel and Corine Bosch (dcbosch@optusnet.com.au) (7/1/02)

A patchwork album, made up of a leftover from Piper ("Remember A Day"), a Syd song (the aching "Jugband Blues"), some stuff recorded with Syd but which Dave also contributed to ("Set The Controls", "Corporal Clegg") and some by the new Floyd (and this includes "Let There Be More Light" which was all Dave, believe it or not. He was, in fact, hired because he could play Syd's style, even if it was not his own style). And it is quite good for a patchwork album, recorded in a time of complete turmoil. 7.5 out of 10.

Fernando H. Canto (sirmustapha@ig.com.br) (12/11/02)

Man, this was the album that took me the longer to get. I couldn't find it anywhere. But damn, it's here. And hey, it's nice. Roger was getting his responsibilities as the main songwriter then, and Let There Be More Light, Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun (damn them long titles) and Corporal Clegg are nice. I especially like the latter for it's shattering riff, and the funny vocals through it, and the coda with the brass-imitating sound is hilarious. The two Wright songs are beautiful, especially See-Saw, and it ranks as one of my favourite Wright tracks so far. As a trivia, the working title of this song was The Most Boring Song I've Ever Heard Bar Two. Heh! Jugband Blues is such a symbolic closer for the album it hurts. Really, this must be the saddest song of early Floyd. It's so silly and almost nonsense that its meaning is made even clearer. Wow. And of course, the title track cooks in every second of it.

  So, anyway, it has its flaws, but they are what make this album so charming. I don't know if I agree with your rating, I'd give it a little, just a little bit lower. I'd agree if I was in a really good mood.

Todd Alfsen (TALFSEN@peoplepc.com) (12/16/04)

I love this album! It has some sketchy parts and it is a little scatter_brained but for the mostpart it's a great album. Let There be More light is definetly my favorite track but the wholealbums good.

Send me your thoughts

Jesse Salgado (jsalgado@uiuc.edu) (2/13/05)

I think perhaps the main reason people are so enamored of this particular performance is that it's the most common bootleg of The Man and the Journey concept suite. It's also been somewhat of a "lost" Pink Floyd album, along with the Sounds of Household Objects deelie. I've heard that it was intended to become a studio album but the idea was shot down, knowing that studio versions of most of the tracks had already been released.

I originally played the hell out of it because it was live pre-Dark Side Floyd and it had unreleased cuts. Now the majority of it sounds really sloppy and really lethargic. Daybreak (Granchester Meadows) is just as exciting as the studio version, with some pleasant organ noodlings from Wright, after which it lurches into Work, one of the unreleased tracks. Hearing some ambling tuned percussion complete with the band members playing at construction (hammers and sawing) isn't that amusing after the first (few?) time(s?). Following Work, the band was served afternoon tea, which according to the track timing went on for about 3 1/2 minutes; perhaps I should go back and underline lethargic. TM&TJ cuts almost all of Work and teatime for the less adventurous.

Afternoon (Biding My Time) is one of the few tunes I still queue up, and while the quieter part is a bit shaky, I like the ending section where Gilmour cuts loose, though the trombone is barely audible. After that comes Doing It, Mason's obligatory drum solo, and Sleep, which sounds kind of like Quicksilver except Sleep is shorter and a bit fuller. It slowly segues into Nightmare (Cymbaline), an electric version which drags on for an awful 9 minutes, and it becomes clear that Gilmour might not be on spot with his vocals. This was followed up with a very short instrumental version of Granchester meadows (Daybreak pt. 2) which rounded out The Man, but was cut for TM&TJ.

The Journey is filled with more music than The Man, though that doesn't really work out in its favor. The Beginning (Green is the Colour) starts off with some nice seagull noises, but is electrical (like Nightmare), really sloppy (like Nightmare), has shoddy vocals and has some scat- singing rounding out the end (like Cymbaline, but not Nightmare). Afterwards we are treated to Beset By Creatures of the Deep (one of many names for Careful) which loses virtually all of its Ummagumma charm, even though it's a bit faster. When it peters out into The Narrow Way, you're treated by vocals just as offensive as Green's, if not moreso, plus the whole thing sounds technically lazy.

Thankfully it switches over to The Pink Jungle, my favorite selection. Granted, it's a modification of Pow R. Toc H., but it sounds frantic, violent and dark, with a rather chaotic jam section in the middle. The Labyrinth of Auximines, which follows, is a weird hybrid of sound effects and instrumental noodling founded upon a very simple bass riff courtesy of Roger. When the song eventually ends, you can hear some footsteps (and the audience laughing on more complete recordings), after which the concert switches over to Behold the Temple of the Light, which rounds out the unreleased tracks. Behold is based off of a repeating series of guitar chords which you can hear at the very opening of the studio version of The Narrow Way (pt. 3). Add in some gradual de/crescendos, gong rolls, a stately tom part, a lot of organ backing, stretch it over five+ minutes and you've got a song! Actually, I like this one quite a lot as well, though the Echoes FAQ says there's no keyboards here since Rick Wright ran over to play the Concertgebouw's big pipe organ. They are, however, quite prominantly featured. Perhaps a pre-recorded part?

The End of the Beginning - also known as Angelic Voices, the final portion of A Saucerful of Secrets - finishes everything up. The Concertgebouw's pipe organ sounds masterful, but everything else is mushy and Gilmour fudges things again. Frankly, I'm convinced this was just a bad night - I remember reading somewhere he was sick with something during one of TM&TJ performances. Perhaps it was this one? One general complaint I must lodge is that it sounds like Cymabline, Green, Beset, Narrow and Saucerful are using the same style of drum fills. Other than that, this was probably a nice show to attend, since they did a lot of visual things on stage, some of which I haven't mentioned and some of which I probably don't even know about. In Conclusion: If the Cap'n gave Ummagumma a C+, this would most likely get an F--.

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More - 1969 Capitol
7 (11)

Best song: Cymbaline

Given the Pinksters' reputation for creating "synchronicities" between their albums and various films, it is somewhat ironic that their first full studio album in the post-Barrett era would be a soundtrack. Because it's a soundtrack, this album is often forgotten and dismissed, but it really shouldn't be. Honestly, there are only three tracks on here I could do without: Nile Song and Izba Bar show the band attempting to do balls-out hard rock and completely failing, and the seven-minute instrumental Quicksilver is the boring negative of all of the far more interesting instrumentals that are found throughout the rest of the album (though since the film is about heroin, it might be in the context of a really long trip in the movie).

The rest is really good, honestly. Waters has already begun to assume control of the group; 5 of the tracks are solely his, and he has a credit on 11 of the 13. Cymbaline is the standout, with one of the creepiest atmospheres I have ever come across in any song. And it's cleverly self-referential; there's a line in the middle of it that goes "will the final couplet rhyme?" which is cool because the final couplet of the song is the only one that doesn't rhyme. I'm pretty sure that it's about the fear side-effects of heavy drug use, since it talks about all sorts of animals closing in on you from all sides and has an air of somber paranoia throughout. I love the song, and the fact that seemingly no radio station ever plays it just makes me very sad inside.

And the other songs are great. Crying Song and Green is the Color are a terrific folk (yup) songs, and the latter has to be one of the prettiest songs Waters ever wrote for the group (Dave gives a very nice vocal to this as well). The opening Cirrus Minor is a perfect mood setter for the rest of the album, with its very effective vocal melody and the way it turns from a mellow, somber acoustic ballad into one of the most perfect slow chord sequences Wright would ever play for the band (this sequence, by the way, is very similar to what he'd use in the coda of live versions of A Saucerful of Secrets). Elsewhere, we have lots of instrumental tracks, and except for Quicksilver, all have something going for them. The best of the lot is Main Theme, a neat avant-garde track, but Dramatic Theme, Spanish Piece (a funny minute of generic spanish guitar and some vocals from the movie), More Blues, and Up the Khyber all have positive things to be said for them (even if its hard for me to articulate what those are).

I will admit that this album doesn't jump out as being big and important like so much of Pink Floyd's other stuff does, and I suppose that's the reason that it gets relatively ignored. Is self-importance really the best way to measure an album's quality, though? I don't think so, and while this album is far from perfect, I enjoy it enough to happily give it a solid 7. Every Pink Floyd fan should have this eventually ... even with Nile Song.

Send me your thoughts

Satish K. Pagare (spagare@us.oracle.com)

I fully agree with u ...
Cymbaline is one of the best songs of pink floyd !!!

High time ... cymbaline ...

Paul Stevenson (Stevenson.p@btinternet.com)

I had serious doubts when I purchased this that it would be any use. After all it was a soundtrack to a film. I was pleasantly suprised. You hit the nail on the head with Cymbaline a GREAT track. Get's an 8 out of 10 from me

Trannon Goble (goble@alltel.net)

More- Pretty good stuff. My favorite is Cymbaline. It is very weird and spaced-out too. Rating: B

TheeRubberCow@aol.com (12/28/01)

It's good to see some people say they like this one.  I don't meet many people that do.  And to be honest, I can understand why to an extent; if you think about it logically it's not a real good album, but I always enjoy it very much whenever I put it on.  I disagree on the "Nile Song", though.  I like this one because it's one of the trippiest heavy songs I've heard.  I know it's simple, but there's just something about the way it's EQ'ed and panned slightly to the left (or maybe right if I'm remembering incorrectly), and I really can't imagine a vocal part sounding much more decadent than this.  If you ask me, this is the first real punk song.

Aside from that, I agree with all on that Cymbaline is a classic, and that most of these other songs, esp. "Green Is the Colour" and "Main Theme" are some of the most pleasantly psychadelic pieces they've done.

Daniel and Corine Bosch (dcbosch@optusnet.com.au) (7/1/02)

I LOVE "The Nile Song"!! The lyric is brilliant, and I think Dave's singing on it is awesome. This is a great little album, and I don't think there is anything on it that I don't like. I am only sorry that Pink Floyd didn't do more soundtracks because the two full ones they did do are so darned good. "Cymbaline" is the best song, of that you'll get no argument from me. And I like "A Spanish Piece" because it is something very rare - the Floyd being extremely silly! 9 out of 10.

Fernando H. Canto (sirmustapha@ig.com.br) (12/11/02)

Wheee. I'm so fond of this album, and so proud of having it... Hell, it's a crying shame it's so unknown. Cymbaline, Green Is The Colour and Cirrus Minor are all prime Floyd tracks. They all rule. The several experimental portions all cook, with the exception of Quicksilver, just too dull. Of course, this changes when inserted in the context of the movie. But anyway. Also, I don't dislike Nile Song a little bit. It's funny to see the guys making fun out of themselves here, and once again, we must remember this IS a soundtrack after all, so it justifies. Did you notice that after each and ever verse of Nile Song, the guys raise one tone? It starts in A, goes to B, to C#, and all the way until they reach A again? Point! Now, Ibiza Bar is just a cheap immitation of Nile, but innofensive for me. I can enjoy it sometimes.

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Ummagumma - 1969 Capitol
9 (12)

Best song: A Saucerful Of Secrets

If Piper was as trippy as Pink ever got, then this album was certainly as weird as the guys ever were or would be. Half live and half studio, messed up does not begin to describe this recording. For starters, the guys randomly decided that they wanted to have the chance to write songs individually, and, well, the result was about what one would expect from four art school dropouts trying to be as weird as possible. Holy cow.

The best contributions, as you might expect, come from Waters. His first song, Granchester Meadows seems like a nice, normal, pleasant Simon and Garfunkel style tune, but as the song is fading out, you're quickly stunned back to attention as the buzzing of a fly gets louder before it finally gets swatted nice and hard. And then .... hoo boy, how to explain this. For starters, the title of the next track is Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict, which tell you right away that Waters is a little loony. Basically, the 'song' is Roger imitating a Celtic guy telling some story in a completely incomprehensible voice (though many, many people have tried to figure out what he's saying) with all of these chipmunk sounds all over the place. Apparently the sounds are just speeded up versions of Dave and Roger yelling out things like "give me back my guitar!" and the like, but whatever they are, they make the song into an amusing hoot.

The other guys' work is quite fine, though. Roger shares side one with Rick, and Mr. Wright decides to do something resembling classical with his keyboards. His four part Sysyphus, simply put, is one of the scariest pieces of music I have ever heard in my life. From the forboding opening theme, through the tinkly piano parts in part 2 and the weird noises in 3, he manages to grab my attention at almost every point. And the 4th part, with an even more menacing take on part 1 and all sorts of technological wizardry all around, is an absolutely perfect ending, and wonderful contrast to Roger's first number (which immediately follows).

Even Dave does well here! He has said many times that he is ashamed of this piece, entitled The Narrow Way, but he really shouldn't be. Sure, part 3 might be a little dull, with somewhat dumb lyrics, but the first two parts are terrific. Basically, he's trying to get as many noises out of his guitar as he possibly can, and that's always a treat to listen to. Part two might focus more on actual riffage than part 1 (feedback surrounding an acoustic guitar is neat to hear, btw), but I think it's a really, really cool guitar line, and it gets stuck in my head all the time.

The clear weak link of the lot, then, is Mason's bit. I used to try to defend it, but I really can't justify saying good things about The Grand Vizier's Garden party, which is basically an excuse to play tuneless mellotron parts over drums for a long long time. Then again, as dull as it might be, it's still no more dull than Moby Dick (yup), and the flute part that starts and ends the piece is nice.

The bulk of my love for this album, though, comes from the live half. Forget P*U*L*S*E or Delicate Sound of Thunder, this is the only live Floyd that you absolutely need. There are four tracks, and they're all terrific. Despite the lack of studio wizardry, Astronomy Domine sounds no worse here than in the orginal (different, maybe, but not worse), and it's really neat that other than occasionally being able to recognize Roger, it's almost impossible to tell individual voices in those weird, alien harmonies. Careful With That Axe Eugene is fantastic, far superior to the studio version (found on Relics), with the scream that has to be heard to be believed. It's close to a perfect build and release of tension, with neither the build to the scream nor the lengthy fadout rushed any more than desired. Meanwhile, on side two, we get the two best ASoS tracks, Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun and the title track. The former gets a faster reworking, with more guitars, and this helps matters considerably and greatly reduces the risks of falling asleep in the middle of it (which has a lot of atmospheric Wright noodling). Finally, the version of A Saucerful of Secrets presented here is my favorite Pink Floyd live track, by far. I don't completely know why, but for some reason, I feel that almost every aspect of the song is improved from the original, and that says a ton right there. Heck, I even love the harmonizing that goes on at the end; it sounds good, it's melodic, it has a lot of passion for being wordless noise, and it blends perfectly with the anthemic guitar and keyboard playing.

This is, quite simply, a fabulous album, and there are scant few others I'm aware of that manage to be this weird and still sound like, well, music. Everyone needs a crazy noisemaking album, and you may as well get one made by some of the greatest technological gurus of the past 50 years. Besides, it's their last 9 for a few years.

PS. It is with this album that the famous Pink Floyd "soundtrack" legacy begins. This album has been linked by more than a few people to a film entitled Gigi, which isn't all too surprising, since there's an advertisement for it on the cover.

Send me your thoughts

nicholas.green@ntl.com

Dear dear dear......the 3rd part of The Narrow Way is a spooky, grandiose masterpiece with Masons most stately drumming and one of the greatest fade-outs ever...are you comatose!!!!!

(author's note): No, actually, I'm deceased. This site is now tended by my rotting corpse. And you have no idea how hard it is to clean bits and pieces of my hands out of the keyboard.

Ask a stupid question ....

Paul Stevenson (Stevenson.p@btinternet.com)

Um what the ****????. I listened to this album all of ONE time. I think it's utter trash. the LIVE performance of Saucerfull for some reason comes accross as better than the studio version (can't say why) I'll be generous and stick 4 out of 10 on it.

(author's note): *sigh*

Trannon Goble (goble@alltel.net)

This is very good and very bad. Some of the weirdest stuff ever on the studio side. Sysyphus 3 sounds like metal scraps falling out of a truck. The live side is awesome, though. Mixed review? Rating: Studio- C     Live- A

Garrett N. (galaxian1@mindspring.com) (8/25/01)

One of my all time favorites; could be their most imaginative album. A must listen for any enthusiast of LSD or psilocybin. Does a good job of illustrating their ablity as live performers (though not quite as good as Pompeii), but my favorite aspect of this album is the studio side. My ranking of importance goes as follows: 1) Sysypus, 2) The Narrow Way, 3) Granchester Meadows. The Grand Vizier's Garden Party is an interesting experiment, but rather dull to me; I'm sure Mason would agree. I was listening to Sysyphus one time on mushrooms, and part three gave me a feeling, when my eyes were closed, of falling through a tunnel. The Narrow Way really spotlights Gilmour's acoustic guitar playing, a lot better than anything afterwards, in my opinion, and part 2 could have been used for a BBC sci-fi film score.

TheeRubberCow@aol.com (12/28/01)

Just wanted to point out to Nicholas.green that the drumming on "The Narrow Way" is performed by Gilmour.  Ironic......

Daniel and Corine Bosch (dcbosch@optusnet.com.au) (7/1/02)

The live album is awesome, every track is as good, or better, than its studio counterpart. The studio album is experimental but most of the experiments work. "Sysyphus" has the sound of modern classical music to it (which is just what Rick intended), "Grantchester Meadows" is a lovely ballad with poetic lyrics, "Several Small Species" is plain weird (and best listened to with headphones), "The Narrow Way" is the least weird but is lovely and "The Grand Vizier's Garden Party" is more interesting than most drum solos because of all the processing Nick did with it, chopping up the tape and so on - sure it's not fantastic but surely interesting. 9.5 out of 10.

Fernando H. Canto (sirmustapha@ig.com.br) (12/11/02)

The live album... let's go slowly. We have the absolute best track of early Floyd, Careful With That Axe, Eugene, and it rules with all might. I was dazzled the first time I heard it. It's perfect. Astronomy Domine sure loses a bit of its charm, and it sounds a bit too, er, tired sometimes. Set The Controls is the only track that has seriously improved over the original. A Saucerful Of Secrets loses its calculated precision from the original, and it is not as athmospheric as the studio version. And I truly miss the overdubbed Gilmour harmonies towards the end.

  Now, I might be one of the only ones that prefer the studio disc. Sysyphus is a must, and showcases Rick at his most crazy. And is there anything better than a crazy Rick Wright? Roger's part doesn't disappoint, either. It features the first experimentation with tape sound effects, that would result in Dark Side Of The Moon. Grantchester Meadows is great, and worth every single second of its length. And the second track is simply amusing, though I'd truly like to know what the hell is that looping noise in the beginning of the chaos. The Narrow Way is really cool, and I find those ridiculously high pitched acoustic guitar notes on Part 1 really, really funny for some reason. Part 2 cooks, and Part 3 is... quite inaudible. But it's funny to hear Gilmour playing piano, drums, bass and everything else. Then, Mason's part is, well, rather dull but cool anyway. I used to like it. It feels really spooky and dark sometimes, and all the tape effects are, at least, respectable.

  Overall, an exciting experience, and much better than some morons at AG say.

(jsalgado@uiuc.edu) (10/11/04)

If you want to hear "This is pretty avant-garde, isn't it?", use the slider bar to fast-forward to the 4:30 mark, right after the Pict exhales. Using Windows Media Player, set the clip to "slow" play speed and listen. It's a little hard to tell, what with the echo effect and all (especially since WMP doesn't affect pitch as well), but it's there.

Christopher21737@aol.com (01/19/08)

the studio album.......hmm, i guess even floyd has a bad day once in awhile......the live album......one of my favorites.......

the live version on ummagumma, i give a 10

Kim Gowney (04/29/08)

Was second foray into the Floyd world (Meddle bieng the first), I bought it in 1972 and followed it with Piper then DSOTM and the Wall. Along with Echoes from meddle, Umma Gumma was a foundation stone of my delight in all things weird and spaced out I was telling my friends what a great band the Floyd were but no one was interested, until DSOTM, then suddenly everyone was a fan! I do like Gilmours playing though, regardless of what techniques he may use, I always felt that his playing was the perfect complement to Waters angsty lyrics, expressing much of the emotion musically as the lyrics did in prose. In fact, for me anyway the end of the band as a "great" force ended with the wall (as the last trully great peice of work), because the Final cut was such a drear fest with dreadful political references which didn't have a chance of ageing well. Once they split, well neither had the other as an influence and the result is pretty dire.

Ethan Stern (estern@hightechhigh.org) (04/29/08)

Just as a side note:
Grand Vizier's Garden Party features Mason's wife on flute, not a mellotron.

Still a bore though

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Atom Heart Mother - 1970 Capitol
8 (11)

Best song: Summer '68

The famous cow album. Basically, Roger asked the man commisioned with making the band's next cover art to find the least trippy picture possible, and that turned out to be Lulubell (or something like that) the cow. Yeesh.

Still, as dorky an intro to an album as this is, I'm really quite fond of this recording, despite the fact it is heavily flawed. The main feature of this LP is Pink Floyd's first ever attempt at side-long songcraft, and it's ... um .... interesting. There's some classical thrown in there, some jazz, some funk, and lots of weirdo sound effects. And it's neat to hear a distorted voice randomly yell out "Silence in the studio, please!" near the end. The only problem I have with the piece is that it doesn't gell well at all. Indeed, this is one of the clunkier side-longs I've ever come across, and I've heard several of them. Still, parts of it are really cool, especially the main Father's Shout theme, and some of the awkward "funk" jamming is strangely appealing. It must have sounded really impressive back in 1970, though; in fact, Stanley Kubrick wanted to use parts of it for the theme to A Clockwork Orange. Figures.

Side two is quite fine, anyways. The highlight is Rick's Summer '68, a wonderful keyboard-driven pop song about the emptiness of the one-night stand. My but do I love that song, and I believe it would be a complete and total classic if it weren't for those horns all over the place. I mean, I've gotten used to them over time, and one of the horn parts (not in the chorus) is pretty nice, but I still think the song would have been better without them Still, he was still proving to be a reliable songwriter; it's too bad that this was the last song completely credited to Rick for 24 years, but that's what happens when you work with a despot like Roger ... but that's not for a few years.

Hey, while we're talking about Roger, he chips in a gorgeous acoustic number called If. If you don't count Corporal Clegg, this is the true beginning of his "the world sucks" phase of songwriting, around which all of the group's mid 70's efforts would be based. And there are weird sound effects, but they are buried in the mix and are very quiet, so they don't interfere. And don't forget the gorgeous bits of guitar noise in the middle, which sound a lot like the guitar noise used in Five Stop Mother Superior Rain by The Flaming Lips twenty years later. Elsewhere, we get Dave's Fat Old Sun, which is kinda boring, except for a nice long guitar solo near the end, and the oh-so-trippy Alan's Psychadelic Breakfast. I know that it's an acquired taste, but I love this track to death. It's so funny! There's some musical noodling here and there, and a voice mumbling in the background "marmalade, marmalade, where's the marmalade ... " and the like. The song, if nothing else, matches its title.

Ok, maybe the 8 rating doesn't match up well with my critique, but I really like the album, despite the fact that the flaws are relatively obvious. If you wish, then, consider this a low 8, as opposed to Meddle's high 8. At the very least, get it for side 2 and have a chuckle when listening to side 1. Unless, of course, you're Roger Waters, who has repeatedly stated that he is completely, totally ashamed of the Atom Heart Mother Suite, and that he wouldn't play it live for a million dollars. Oh well. Ultimately, it comes down to this - this album is a FUN listen. Clumsy, but ultimately better for it. If you will, it's Fresh Cream to Meddle's Disraeli Gears.

Oh, in case you're wondering, the movie that this is associated with is, of all things, Dr. Zhivago. If anybody has actually run a synchronicity between this and AHM, I'd be amused to hear about it.

Send me your thoughts

Paul Walker (seraphim7s@yahoo.com)

Of all Floyd albums, this receives the greatest variety of responses. It's a very unusual album. You haven't been hard enough on it, though. Thus I will list my criticisms.

1. The opening suite should only be 15-16 minutes long - and that's long enough! The ending really drags, and the reprise is totally unnecessary.

2. Summer '68 is a good song?! The clanging piano rattles my ears, the horns are awful, the lyrics are embarassing (doesn't Rick realise he plays a part in that one night stand - leave the lyrics to Roger). Check out 'Stay' off Obscured by Clouds - it's just as bad. Rick was best at the avant garde stuff.

3. Alan's Psychadelic Breakfast is really funny and interesting - I like it! BUT I cannot esteem it too greatly because it's just NICE. Actually, that sums up the album - NICE, and definitely not GREAT. 'If' is the best song on here, and 'Fat Old Sun' is nice (that word again) and relaxing. Nothing is that bad on this album, there's just nothing very good.

My Rating: 6

Paul Stevenson (Stevenson.p@btinternet.com)

Still in tripsville. But for whatever reason I actually like Allan's phsycadellic Breakfast and the guitar riffs in the opening tune are good. I also disagree with you about Summer'68. I DO consider it classic floyd. earns itself 7 out of 10

Trannon Goble (goble@alltel.net)

Why do I love this album? The suite is too awesome. Fat Old Sun is great. This is better than the earlier stuff. Roger's "If" is also a highlight. Rating: B+

stephen (lovemonkey69@blueyonder.co.uk) (5/07/02)

you dont know what your talking about with your review of atom heart mother

Daniel and Corine Bosch (dcbosch@optusnet.com.au) (7/1/02)

Nah, this was a dead end for the band, and they knew it, as they never attempted anything like it again. The suite is clunky because it was recorded in bits and pieces and then, when the band realised it was lifeless, they got their mate Ron Geesin in to add an avant garde orchestral track over the top. Geesin felt the finished work was no more than a demo and wanted to completely re-record it with the band (the band wanted to do this too) but time, and the record company, did not permit. As for side 2, "Summer 68" is one of Rick's best early songs, "If" shows Roger's vulnerable side, "Fat Old Sun" is slight and "Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast" is utter nonsense. 5 out of 10.

Fernando H. Canto (sirmustapha@ig.com.br) (12/11/02)

The first album to point the way to the future. Okay, they had the obligation to make a side-long track, and it is not all that bad as some people say. The main Father's Shout theme is simply fantastic, and the way it all develops is a bit awkward and clumsy, but hey, they were still learning... but they do get some tricks out of their sleeves and keep it interesting. It does not justify all its length, but hey, I'm not offended.

  Side B is nice, also. If is just wonderful, and Roger 100% succeeds in this one. Fat Old Sun is good, but David got a little bit TOO excited with his guitar solo stuff. And I also think Summer '68 is the best of the three. The piano line is beautiful beyond words, and that slow-building feel ends in a climatic chorus, though those horns scare me a bit. Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast is really, really cool. The sound effects through it are a highlight, and I think the 3 musical spots add A LOT to the feeling of morning. I say, musics for breakfasts? Hell yes. You know, the first one truly soulds like a "Rise and Shine!" call, the second one feels relaxed and cool, and the third and last truly feels like we're finally leaving for work or something. I'd really like to listen to the vinyl version, where the leaking faucet effect is extended to the final groove to be played for eternity until the turntable is stopped or something...

Christopher21737@aol.com (07/19/07)

hi, i just bought atom heart mother cd.........i must say, i'm not a big floyd fan when sid was part of the band.......after sid, i love floyd........ok, i'll say saucerful of secrects was cool.........so......atom heart is differnt , but like yourself........i really dig the music alot

Christopher21737@aol.com (01/19/08)

i love this album, again, cause it's different.......i really wish the orchestra played only a very small part in this album.......i belive this album paved the way for the upcomeing mega floyd sounds.......i'll give this album a low 8

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Relics - 1971 Capitol
7 (11)

Best song: See Emily Play

A compilation put together by the gang during the Meddle sessions. 5 of the tracks had already appeared on earlier albums, while 6 were singles that the band had behind their back. And some of it's really good! The highlights, to be sure, are the early Barrett tracks; both Arnold Layne, their very first released single (about a crossdresser, no less), and the trippy hippie piece See Emily Play are fabulous. The latter is particularly noteworthy for one of the absolutely coolest sounding guitar solos I've ever heard in my life; it's not long or anything, but it sounds oh so neat.

The other singles are a bit weaker, and show quite well why Pink Floyd was never a big singles band, but they're still pretty good. Wright's poppy Paintbox, about drinking, drinking, and ... drinking, is catchy, but nothing really special. Roger's Julia Dream is an attempt at capturing the Barrett vibe of yesteryear, but the prettiness of the track far outweighs whatever trippiness it tries for. Meanwhile, the study version of Careful With That Axe Eugene is far weaker than its live counterpart, as the scream is rushed and there's not as much build of tension, but it's still eerie. Finally, Roger's lounge jazz parody Biding My Time is just weird, and that's all I can say about it.

Anyways, I'm a bit irritated at some of the song choices (did we really need Nile Song? And why not some more Barrett-era singles like Scream Thy Last Scream or Candy and a Currant Bun?), but the songs are good for the most part, even if we've heard them before. You should buy it, sure, but only for a copy of AL and SEP; the rest is either dispensible or can be found elsewhere.

Send me your thoughts

Paul Stevenson (Stevenson.p@btinternet.com)

Umm WHAT is the point? I can understand it being released AT the time for thoes who had missed the earlier stuff. But WHY did they release it on CD?.

  2 out of 10 unless you don't ( and I doubt it ) have the other stuff in which case I'll say 6 out of 10

Daniel and Corine Bosch (dcbosch@optusnet.com.au) (7/1/02)

This was actually the first early Floyd album I owned so it has a soft spot in my heart. Yes, in hindsight, it would have been good to include all the early singles (the terrific Barrett song "Apples and Oranges" and the highly underrated Waters/Gilmour 1968 single "Point Me At The Sky" in particular) but it is still a nice compilation, covering both singles and album tracks, and the unreleased gem "Biding My Time" 8 out of 10.

Jason Fonner (Jason.Fonner@xrginc.com) (05/25/05)

Careful With That Axe Eugene is one of Floyd's best. Am I the only one that thinks that the ending to this song was used in the Friday the 13th movies? The "ch ch ch pa pa pa pa " part that plays every time Jason is going to kill someone in the movie with an "AXE".  This sound effect is very similar to the one at the end of Careful With That Axe, Eugene. Everyone that has the song and knows the movie, listen.  After listening most will agree with me that Jason should be renamed Eugene.

Derek Farrell (mtstage13@yahoo.com) (06/18/06)

dude, i own that record, and thats not my cover art. whats up with that?

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Meddle - 1971 Capitol
8 (12)

Best song: Echoes

Almost start to finish, this is a step up from Atom Heart Mother. There are 6 tracks, and more than 40 minutes of them are just wonderful. To start with, the opening One of These Days thrashes and crashes like almost nothing I've ever heard before. Both Dave and Roger are pounding away on bass guitar, Rick is throwing in all these neat synth noises, then Dave starts soloing away as the bassline continues to just kick ass before it all fades away under cover of swirling winds. And that menacing "One of these days I'm gonna cut you into little pieces," with Mason speaking through a vocoder ... wow. Anyways, immediately following it comes a nice, peaceful calm after the storm in Pillow of Winds; the melody might not be the greatest in the world, but it's still rather nice, and its placement in the album is absolutely essential to repair the listener's nerves after OOTD.

And don't forget about Fearless! The ending crowd cheering might annoy you (not me though), but you must admit that the song is cool. Somehow, despite the fact that the song is nothing but piano and acoustic guitar, it manages to seriously rock. And the lyrics are no slouch either, all about facing the challenges of life. "You pick the place and I'll choose the time, and I'll climb the hill in my own way." That it has one of the best riffs of the band's career is certainly nice, too, making it another underrated classic.

The highlight of the album, though, and in my opinion of their whole career, is side two. Yes, it is the famous side-long Echoes that I am speaking of. There are so many things I love about this song, I'm going to just name a few. That cool piano note in the beginning. The slow Gilmour-Wright duet. The maritime lyrics matching up with the atmosphere of the piece absolutely perfectly. That heavenly sound on Dave's solo. That cool psychadelic blues jam in the middle. The whale noises in the middle. The INCREDIBLE tension built up Waters' bass and Gilmour's guitar over Wright's slow chordings as the mid-song collage is exited. The triumphant call of Gilmour's guitar, summoning you and the music out of the depths of the sea back into the main theme of the track. Indeed, this is Pink Floyd's finest moment, and I can honestly say that I would love them even if they had never done another piece. It fully deserves every second of its 23 minutes, and that says a ton right there.

Unfortunately, the album is slightly marred by two pieces which, while not bad, still mark the very definition of filler. Or at least they would, if weren't for the fact that without them, the album is still a good 41 minutes long. I still don't get it - why fill space that doesn't need filling? Ah well, they're still decent, and besides, deflating lengthy, spacey ravings with amusing numbers was a common trick of the day. The first is a strange Jimmy Buffett imitation, with Roger sounding happy for the last time in recorded history, and the second is a generic blues number featuring a dog as the lead singer. It sounds fairly amusing (and when I heard it at the end of the movie Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, I was cracking up), but the effect works much better in the film Pink Floyd at Pompeii. In any case, this is a fine album, and while not quite deserving a nine, still does a marvelous job of inventing a new Pink Floyd sound and making it enjoyable.

There's one other thing I want to talk about with this album, though. Whereas virtually everyone knows about the DSOTM/Wizard of Oz synchronicity, very few know about the connection between Meddle and Fantasia. The recipe is as follows; program your stereo to play, in this order, Echoes, One of these Days, Pillow of Winds, and Fearless, on endless loop. In the movie, start the playlist as the conductor fades to red and the animation comes into play. It's a little hard to get exactly right, but you'll know it if you did it correctly. Highlights include Mickey dancing to the bassline in OOTD, his destruction of the broom as you hear Mason saying "One of these days I'm gonna cut you into little pieces," the conductor directing Gilmour's solo in Echoes, and the episode with the fairies being trippier than anything you thought Disney could possibly produce. I've run this several times, and I have yet to grow tired of it. Do it today.

Send me your thoughts

Paul Walker" (seraphim7s@yahoo.com)

I applaud your praise for Echoes. It's been criticised on both George and Prindle's site for being a 5 minute dark rock song drawn out to 23 minutes, but if you'd want any band to do that, it would be the Floydsters, wouldn't it? It's a magnificent sonic experiment, I personally like every part. The main piano 'ping' intro, the ascending guitar line, the funky jam (the best 'jam' they ever did, that includes 'Any Colour You Like') the weird crow/whale noises, the incredible crescendo, the poignant ending with the vocal sample pitch-bended upwards before it fades out. I love it all! So I'm happy you haven't slighted this song, and you've got a view on the Floydsters that mirrors mine, and isn't sorely tainted like Georges' - he will never know the joy of Echoes!

That said, you simply cannot take the album down 2 points (or 4 points overall) because of 'San Tropez' and 'Seamus' - they're just too inoffensive to warrant such criticism. I'm not saying it deserves any more than this mark, I just think you've got your reasons wrong. For Chrissake, 'Seamus' is just one of those little ditties that everyone was doing, 'Mothers Lament' off Disreali Gears, 'Jeremy Bender' off Tarkus... I could go on, and none of these ruin the album. It's quite cool to get a dog to sing, anyway, trust me, I've tried.

Paul Stevenson (Stevenson.p@btinternet.com)

Now THIS is Floyd!

  I caught this one almost as soon as it got re-released and I think it is BRILLIANT.

  Seamus had me in stitches and Echoes and One Of These Days are classics.

  9 out of 10

Trannon Goble (goble@alltel.net)

Even though it shows weak points like "Seamus". I think Meddle is quite a good piece of music. Echoes is the definite highlight. Rating: A

TheRubberCow@aol.com (4/03/02)

My favorite Pink Floyd album.  Never again did they make an album that was so transportative.  These were their first 16 track sessions, and you can tell.  I really feel like I'm in the desert at night during much of "Echoes" and "One of These Days", and "A Pillow of Winds" is another highlight (the remastered version's artwork goes along very well with this) - esp. that part after "green feilds, a cold rain is falling..." I can't really explain how cool those guitars sound on the part after that line, but it sounds like there's a dozen of them.  And I even think "Seamus" is good, too.  The first time I heard the album, I thought all the acoustic stuff didn't really fit in with the "big" tracks, but now I hear it flowing very well....just the way that last guitar slide at the end of "Seamus" slides down into the first piano note of "Echoes", it sounds like it is actually what is falling into the water making that ping sound. 

Daniel and Corine Bosch (dcbosch@optusnet.com.au) (7/1/02)

Wow! "Echoes" is the best thing Pink Floyd ever did, I'll certainly agree with you there. I won't gush, I think you did that just fine!!! Side one isn't so fine (how could it be?!!?) but "One Of These Days" is wonderful and "Seamus" is a throwaway but a fun one. 9.5 out of 10.

Fernando H. Canto (sirmustapha@ig.com.br) (12/11/02)

My first Floyd album! Or was it Wish You Were Here? It doesn't matter, I still think it rules. Echoes is 10x better than Atom Heart Mother, and that's saying something. A 5 minute rocker dragged to 23 mins? SCREW IT! Of course the main theme is the big highlight, and it rules unmercifully. It's just gorgeous beyond words, but all that slow building intro, the guitar / organ jam, the scary mid section, the crescendo and the relaxed outro are all fantastic. This is what I'm talking about when the big forte of Pink Floyd was SOUND. You see, there are almost none good riffs or melodies here, but it sounds wonderful. It's incredible when listened on a roadtrip.

Now, side A features One Of These Days, and that's already something. This song is magnificent. By the way, Nick's vocals aren't played through a vocoder. He just shouted this at a high pitched voice, and it was slowed down. Just for you to know... Now, this side also features A Pillow Of Winds. And that's saying even more. I just adore this track, because it's so relaxed and so unmemorable that it just got instantly stuck to my mind. The acoustic guitar work is magnificent, and the slide guitar touches are pure class. I also love it when Mason joins in with the hi-hat. And Fearless is just as beautiful. Start to finish, this is pure thrill, and the final football chants add to it some epic feel. I'm not sure. Now, San Tropez is a fine sing-along, just nothing harmful. And Seamus is funny, and the whole bluesy jam feels very, uh, cosy.

  Overall, the thing I most love in this album it's because it feels like old stuff. It SMELLS of old stuff. The ear in the cover looks like old stuff. Above all, it sounds of old stuff. There's nostalgia all through this album, and I love it. I'd give it more than 8 (12), probably a 9 (13), but that's it.

Jared Walske (jaredwalske@attbi.com) (6/16/04)

I bought this album recently. I think it is very good. It doesn't get the respect that it deserves.

  On an interesting side note, I have read that 'Echoes' also synchs up to the final part of "2001: A Space Oddesy"

Todd Alfsen (TALFSEN@peoplepc.com) (12/16/04)

Meddle is without a doubt real Pink Floyd at it's best. Seamus is a little weak and San Tropez isn't my favorite track, but the rest are gems. Echoes is without a doubt my favorite pink Floyd song ...PERIOD... every minute of it is great, I love how it boulds up after the little whale break and the lyrics of this song are chilling. I give this album an A.

Trfesok@aol.com (12/16/06)

I like this one a lot, too. The most coherent album they had yet come up with. "Seamus" is kind of stupid, but the rest is great. I don't know if Roger had ever been to Saint-Tropez (and that's how to spell it -- it's on the French Riviera), but it's nice to see Roger actually being whimsical for once. The psychedelic "Pillow of Winds" is gorgeous, the lyrics of "Fearless" are moving, and "One of These Days" and the awesome "Echoes" set great moods I especially like how Dave sends his guitar through the VC3S synth to get those albratross cries (after the first fade of the upbrat jam). It certainly isn't as complex as their later work, although the vocal and melodic style certainly sound like rough drafts for stuff like "Brain Damage." The album also has the advantage of not being overplayed, so it's hard to get sick of it. A 9.

Christopher21737@aol.com (07/19/07)

i'd put meddle as one of my favorite all time albums.....by any band

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Obscured by Clouds - 1972 Capitol
8 (12)

Best song: Wot's ... Uh The Deal

Having attempted the whole prog thing, what with the side-long tracks on each of their past two albums, the group was not content to try and make themselves into competition for Yes, ELP, and the like, and with good reason; they didn't have the requisite instrumental skills, and the fact was that regardless of their phenomenal success with Echoes, it was obvious that the group's forte was in shorter song structures (One of These Days, etc). Since they were about to try and separate themselves from the blatant art-rock path they had started down, this meant that they needed a new style and they needed it fast. Now, Waters had hammered out the bare bones of a project, then entitled Eclipse (take a guess what it would later be known as), which the band was playing regularly in full in their onstage performances, mostly to iron out the kinks for when it would be recorded in the studio. In the meantime, though, they had been asked to create another soundtrack, this time for a hippie movie called Le Valle. Not ones to turn down the opportunity for some extra revenue, they went into the studio for two weeks and hammered out Obscured by Clouds.

Now, you will notice that I gave this album an 8, and with good cause. Since it was recorded in the period of time when the guys were working on DSOTM, the style of the music is eerily similar to its more famous big brother. The charming thing about the album, though, is that while it shares several of the musical traits of its successor, it has none of the bombast. In addition, several of the melodies on here are completely fantastic, whereas on DSOTM the top-notch special effects were often necessary to shield the slight boredom of the actual songs (not to say that's necessarily bad, though; see my Dark Side review for more). Wot's ... uh the Deal is absolutely beautiful, as is Burning Bridges. The opening title track and the following When You're In, both instrumentals, are instantly warm, inviting, and catchy at the same time (the title track has one of my favorite Floyd rhythm tracks of all time, sounding at least ten years ahead of its time), and the same can be said for the side two opener Mudmen. The Gold it's in the ... is a terrific preview of any of the rocking tracks on DSOTM, with an upbeat groove and a fun vocal melody and an enthusiastic performance from Dave. The Dave-penned Childhood's End (based on the book? Weird how one of my favorite books could inspire something that makes me go "meh") is significantly weaker, with a bit of a lumbering groove and an attempt at sounding menacing that doesn't really work, but it still has its charms. Moving on, I mustn't forget the absolutely hilarious Free Four. Waters writes somewhat depressing lyrics like, "Life is a short warm moment and death is a long cold rest. You get your chance to try in the twinkling of an eye, eighty years with luck or even less," and sets them to one of the bounciest, happiest melodies I've ever heard in my life. I love stuff like that!

Now, this album isn't perfect or anything; besides the aforementioned Childhood's End (which is, incidentally, the last song that Gilmour had a sole credit on for 15 years), the Wright/Waters piece Stay is a slow, inferior rewrite of the great Summer '68 (there's also the f