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REVIEWS
An
important characteristic of psychedelic pop is the use of electronic
effects and electronically-created noise. One of the best examples of
this is the work of the Pink Floyd,
a British group well known for their multi-media shows and the vast
amount of electronic equipment which they use. The Pink Floyd have developed
an improvisational, 'free-form' style, in which traditional pop techniques
are mixed with a multitude of electronic effects. It is significant
that they share Jimi Hendrix's interest in space and astronomy, many
of their songs carrying his obsession much further, both in explicitness
and musical implications. So it is not surprising that in their music
pop reaches possibly its most 'inhuman' form, man all but disappearing
in the vastness of the cosmos. Info Source: Pink Floyd - Through The Eyes Of......by Bruno Macdonald Aside from that momentary lapse in the mid-80's, the Pink Floyd have now spanned something like 35 years in the music business, bit it cann't be denied that it's the dandified Barrett, Waters, Mason and Wright incarnation that many find the most fascinating and significant. The Floyd story has been documented on countless occasions, so its only needs to be dtressed here that a set of Columbia label releases from 1967/68 are the foundation of any collection of psychedelia, and that Pink Floyd were undeniably Britain's premier psych band. They debuted in early 1967 with the imitable "Arnold Layne", which took Ray Davies-style character analysis to a more eccentric level - some contend that it's still the finest Floyd record, and its relative scarcity compared with other singles that clipped the top 20 may be explained by the rumour that it was 'financially assisted' into the charts. The wonderous slab of sonic psych-pop, "See Emily Play", needed no such assistanceand it hit No.6 in July 1967, coupled with a taster for their forthcoming first album "Piper At The Gates Of Dawn" which is regarded as one of the strongest debut LP's in pop history. Both "Scarecrow" and "Arnold Layne" were the subject of splendid promotional films, which along with the array of Floyd radio sessions of the era are still infuriatingly inaccessible to a wider audience. Together with "S.F.Sorrow", "Piper" is also Britain's finest psych LP, and is best heard in mono, a factor reflected in currant prices, which, for original copies, have rocketed in recent years. Late 1967 saw the Floyd in disarray, largely due to Syd Barrett's increasingly erractic behaviour, though it was at this point that they recorded some of their most dazzling material: the still officially unreleased "Scream Thy Last Scream" and " Vegetable Man" are two of the most compelling and disturbing examples of acidic madness you're ever likely to experience. The resultant single from these sessions was "Apples and Oranges", and this warped discordnat piece of avant-garde eccentricity is possible the ultimate Floyd 45. Though awkwardly commercial, it remained too far out for mass acceptance and was the band's first flop. As with previous singles, promo copies were housed in very rare art sleeves. Complimented
by ex-Jokers Wild guitarist Dave Gilmour
(often referred to as Dave Gilmur in the music press at the time), the
short-lived five-man Floyd never recorded together, though both Barrett
and Gilmour are present on the transitional "Saucerful
of Secrets" album, which blended the alarmingly apt Syd memorial
"Jugland Blues", with compositions
mainly by bassist Roger Waters,
who had largely taken control of the band's destiny. Following Barrett's
exit, Pink Floyd went on to be one of the world's biggest acts, of course,
and no matter how good some of their later albums were, many wish there
was more than just one "Piper At The Gates Of Dawn". [HOME] |
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