Published on Mar 10, 1997
It sometimes amazes me to look at bands who have become
megastars and where they came from musically. Sometimes, how they
got from point “A” to “Top Of The Pops” leaves me scratching my
head in wonder.
Today’s example: the debut effort by British psychedelics Pink
Floyd,
The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn. The only album to be
released featuring early rock acid casualty Syd Barrett on lead
vocals and guitar, this album defies logic and the senses — in
fact, take the whole rule book of rock and throw it out the
window.
I like psychedelia as much as the next person, but even
this is one fucked up trip. Grab your hookah, take a hit,
and allow Uncle Chris to guide you on this journey.
From the opening notes, you can hear that Barrett is well on his
way to Happy-Land, and he wants to take as many people as he can
with him. “Astronomy Domine” is a good song, if a little spacy 30
years after its original release. The out-of-harmony vocals
actually add to the song, and the keyboard work of Richard Wright
is perfectly suited for the mood.
(Editor’s note: The version featured on A Nice Pair
is actually not the original “Astronomy Domine.” Be
warned.)
While “Lucifer Sam” captivates the listener (sounds a bit like
something out of a James Bond movie), the album quickly retreats
into a Toys R Us-type mentality. Barrett’s inner child seems to be
the lead singer for most of the album, as heard on cuts like
“Matilda Mother,” “The Gnome” and “Scarecrow.”
This is psychedelia? No, this is “Romper Room.”
When the band does finally get spacey again, it is on the
classic cut “Interstellar Overdrive,” a song which must be listened
to with headphones to achieve the total cosmic experience. (Try it
— trust me. I’ve never done drugs in my life, but this is the
closest I’ve felt to being stoned.) Other attempts at psychedelic
weirdness like “Pow R Toc H” fail miserably.
“Bike” — let’s talk about this one for a few minutes. Written
in a style as if a child had been given a tab of acid, it sounds
like a normal toddler’s ramblings over a fairy-tale rhythm. I
wasn’t crazy about this one the first time I heard it on
Relics, and my opinion still hasn’t changed.
What surprises me most about
The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn is that this same band
(miunus one key member and plus one guitarist/vocalist named David
Gilmour) would go on to produce some of the greatest albums made in
the history of rock and roll, like
Dark Side Of The Moon and
Wish You Were Here. In a sense, this isn’t the same group —
and fans expecting to hear cuts in the popular style will be
greatly disappointed — the equivalent of a bad trip.
The cuts which are enjoyable can be found on
Relics, a greatest-hits collection containing
previously-unreleased cuts for that time. This appears to be a
better investment than
The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn.