4.5 Stars - Excellent debut thats more than just psychedelia

'The Piper at the Gates of Dawn', Pink Floyd's first studio album, released in 1967 marked the birth of one of the most influential and experimental bands of all time. Formed in the mid-1960's, getting their band name from musicians Pink Anderson and Floyd Council, Pink Floyd were very much an up and coming innovative band and quickly gained a good underground following. Having achieved pretty good successes with their first two singles ('See Emily Play' and 'Arnold Layne'), Pink Floyd decided to concentrate their efforts thereon purely on album making and so early in 1967 went to the recording studio and cut this impressive debut effort.



I don't think I've quite heard an album that is as off the wall as this one - if you're expecting the 70's sound that Pink Floyd had, you will not find it on this album. Pink Floyd are pretty much the wacky, psychedelic band with this album, but it is no way inferior to their later work. This album is also an exception to the other Floyd albums as it is the only one whose songwriting is dominated by Syd Barratt, the original Floyd frontman. Syd Barratt was a one off as a songwriter and musician and for me he was the pioneer of Pink Floyd's greatness as he gave their music the original alternative directions which ultimately put the band in a class of their own. Eventhough he was to be thrown out of the band during the second album (Saucerful of Secrets) recording due to his LSD addiction, his influence on the band lived on - 'Piper at the Gates of Dawn' is a document in real terms of just how much a genius he was, even if the music is totally bizarre. This is why, for me, this album is more than just psychedelia - it doesn't just embody the style of the time, it also incorporated sound effects, atmospherics and keyboard styles that other bands had never thought of even trying to add to their music but the Floyd did and it works a treat! 'The Piper at the Gates of Dawn' like many of Pink Floyd's works attracts a lot of criticism from people who don't give the band a chance. Although I would never recommend this to a new listener to Pink Floyd - I will always advise to never pass off this work as incoherant rubbish, as some people have. What this album is about is not catchy, melodic tunes BUT instead is a great piece of experimentation with the aim to make the music thought provoking to the listener. There are many dimensions to the music in Piper (a fact that is true for a lot of Pink Floyd's music) and this makes the album a new experience every time you listen to it.



So prepare for something different from the very start. 'Astronomy Domine' opens the album - it has a very futuristic and space style, with some great experimental playing on the guitar from Syd coupled with some blistering effects on the keyboard from Rick Wright. 'Lucifer Sam' is a bit darker in complexion, with lyrics about a siamese cat over plenty of scratches, wails from the guitar and dissonent riffs which are very effective. The whole thing slows down with 'Matilda Mother', Syd sings with his fairytale style lyrics - something which is common in the stuff he penned. 'Flaming', starts with the effects of a train running out of a station - the lyrics on this one are quite babyish and again fairytale like but again it works with the instrumentation. 'PowR TocH' is a great track - with plenty of wierd voice overs from Syd with some jazzy piano playing from Wright - its quite amusing to listen to. 'Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk' is the only Roger Waters effort on the album - a bit of a sing along with some slap dash drumming from Nick Mason but its a fun listen. 'Interstallar Overdrive' is the most experimental piece on the album though, starting off actually quite tunefully, it becomes very wacky - you cant tell it in words. 'The Gnome', 'Chapter 24' and 'Scarecrow' are all solid tracks with more fairy story lyrics from Barratt. 'Bike' closes the album, a final sing along from Barratt on this album were he sings about bikes, mice and gingerbreadmen - all the simple things in life! It rounds off with bells chiming and then the honking of geese!



'The Piper at the Gates of Dawn' was very ahead of its time and more importantly was a great debut effort from Pink Floyd even if it is completely bizarre in parts. As a big fan of Pink Floyd, I really enjoy listening to this album, it has grown on me over the times I've listened to it with its unique style. Pink Floyd might have started here but I would certainly not recommend this to any new listener to Pink Floyd. 'Dark Side of the Moon' and 'Wish You Were Here' are the places to start but any fan of the band will love this album and will enjoy journeying into Interstellar Overdrive!

An underrated classic

The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967.) Pink Floyd's first album.

These days, we widely recognize Pink Floyd as classic rock legends, mostly because of the success of their 1973 album, Dark Side Of The moon. Because of this, most people tend to overlook the band's material that was released before that album. The band actually released their debut album in 1967! The band, who took its name from blues musicians Pink Anderson and Floyd Council, at this point consisted of Syd Barrett on lead guitar and vocals, Roger Waters on bass guitar and vocals, Richard Wright on organ and piano, and Nick Mason on drums. How does the band's 1967 debut album, Piper at the Gates of Dawn, measure up? Read on for my review.

The band starts the album off with Astronomy Domine. This song has gone on to become a fan favorite. As the title may have implied, this one is a premonition to their future successes. The intro to this song, with beeping noises and Barrett's guitar, is priceless. Track number two is Lucifer Sam. Here the band goes for the sound a number of other rock bands were going for in the sixties. This one bares little resemblance to the Pink Floyd that most people know and love, but it's still an excellent song. Next up, we have Matilda Mother. The vocals here are some of the best on the album. This is melodic rock at its very best. Flaming is next in the album's line up. This one sounds like a cross between the previous two tracks, in that it combines elements of melodic rock and sixties mainstream rock. This makes for a rather interesting listening experience. The album's fifth track is the (rather bizzarely titled) Pow R. Toc H. This track is strange (both in name and musical stylings), but it's still excellent. The drums sound better here than on any other track of the album. Number six is Take Up Thy Stethoscope And Walk (man, these guys had a thing for weird song titles!) In this track, the organ is the main instrument - and Richard Wright does his job very well. Combine his organ-playing excellence with Syd Barrett's guitar playing and you get another excellent track. Interstellar Overdrive is an instrumental, and one of the tracks on the album that tends to get the most praise. In the nine minute plus instrumental, the band explores a plethora of styles, and each member of the band really gets a chance to shine. Don't overlook this gem. The Gnome and Scarecrow are some of the more pop-sounding tracks on the album, but that doesn't mean they're bad ones. They've got catchy tunes and lyrics, with the overall style of the former track being similar to that used by Herman's Hermits. And then we have Chapter 24. This is another slower and more melodic tune, as only these guys could do. The "chanting" lyric style makes for a very memorable tune. Bike finishes the album off. This is another very pop-sounding track. Once again, the band has managed to create a song with a catchy tune and lyrics. It sounds NOTHING like the Pink Floyd most people know and love, but it's still excellent. All in all, this is one hell of an album.

I should probably point out that there were a few tracks the band recorded in this era and released as singles, but these tracks never made it on to any album. Among these was the fairly popular See Emily Play. I was hoping when they reissued this album they would include some of these songs as bonus tracks, but sadly, they didn't. Oh well, I'm not taking away any stars - the album itself is too good.

Overall, Pink Floyd's debut album is a very good one, although it is very different from their "cosmic" seventies rock that most fans have come to know them for. If you like Pink Floyd, I recommend buying all of their albums rather than a hits compilation (I know I say this I lot, but I can't stress it enough!) This album may take a little longer to grow on you than, say, Dark Side Of The Moon, but eventually you'll grow to love it. Once again, this is highly recommended to all Pink Floyd fans.

Syd Barrett's Masterpiece,THE classic Psychedelic Album!

This probably the 2nd most amazing and original psychedelic album ever released. The FIRST most amazing and original psychedelic album is the much better monoaural mix of the same album, as mixed by the band, and released only in Great Britain, in 1967, and briefly re-released on CD as a European Import only, back in 1997. But, since you probably can't find that one, please do make do with this one, which is also blessed with *all* the original artwork, which has never seen the light of day before as a CD reissue. This version of the LP *is* the original stereo mix by Fred (Hurricane) Smith, who you may remember as George Martin's assistant producer on Beatles LP's like "Rubber Soul" and "Revolver", digitally remastered. Yes, it costs a bit more than the domestic release of the same CD, BUT it is an authentic miniature of the original stereo release. In fact, my only criticism, and the only thing that keeps me from giving a wholehearted five-star endorsement, is that they didn't include the several very different monoaural recording versions on the original mono mix of the LP, you see, three or four cuts really *are* significantly different, and could have easily been tacked on the end of the disc as bonus tracks!

The madness that was Syd Barrett

It's pretty obvious this album was done in the psychedelic sixties. Still, it's fascination to hear Pink Floyd under the creative direction of someone other than Roger Waters or David Gilmour. The centerpiece of this album is the bizarre guitar oddesey Barrett takes, pulling sounds out of his instrument one might not think possible.



The album's best offering is the long, rambling "Interstellar Overdrive."

well...

Ok I'm 17 but what ever. This album is not there best but I think it's good for any true Pink Floyd fan!