The Cavern
Rock & Words
THE PIPER AT THE GATES OF DAWN (Pink Floyd, 1967)
Artist: Pink Floyd (B+)
Recording Date: 1967
Release Date: August 5th,1967. UK
Record Label: Columbia/EMI
Producerr: Norman Smith
Rating: 9
Era: Psychedelia (1966-1969)
Subgenre Psychedelia
Best Song: Astronomy Domine o Interstellar Overdrive
Tracklist: 1) Astronomy Domine; 2) Lucifer Sam; 3) Matilda Mother; 4) Flaming; 5) Pow r. Toc h.; 6) Take Up Thy Stethoscope And Walk; 7) Interstellar Overdrive; 8) The Gnome; 9) Chapter 24; 10) Scarecrow; 11) Bike.
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn is a haunting, stressful, dense album, VERY difficult to digest on the first listen. It's unlikely a Floyd fan becomes one by listening to this album in the first place... But eventually, we all end up getting to it. And that's where the true Floyd fans are distinguished from the wannabes who fall by the wayside, ignoring it. This album, by its very texture, density, psychedelic sounds, space references, and general madness, is an all-time benchmark. I've already said it: It's one of the ten best albums of 1967, a year characterized as the most generous in terms of quality and quantity of sounds in the entire history of rock. And that's saying something.
PATGOD is an album where Barrett's madness radiates, bordering on genius. It takes many, many listens to decipher it. Syd is a guitarist with tremendous limitations in terms of technique, but the madness induced by LSD transforms him into a guitarist without limits, an advantage he shares only with Hendrix, except that the Washington native actually had technique. Therein lies the magic of this album, and the abysmal difference with Gilmour's mathematical approach, which led Pink Floyd astray for about four or five years trying to replicate their sound until they decided to pursue a more progressive than psychedelic path and definitively sever Syd's umbilical cord with Meddle.
Anyway, as a side note, this album was recorded at the legendary Abbey Road Studios while the Beatles were recording Sgt. Pepper's and the Pretty Things were recording the first rock opera in history, SF Sorrow, in an adjacent room. Legend has it that Paul McCartney heard them at UFO in '66 and was so impressed by their strobe-like energy that he recommended them to EMI for their first recording, and that he even secretly produced their debut album, and that certain influences from them were used in the final version of Sgt. Pepper's... Frankly, I've never found any information to support this, but the fact remains that Pink Floyd and the Beatles recorded their respective albums in rooms separated only by a wall, and it's been proven that they crossed paths more than once in the Abbey Road corridors.
In the end, none of that matters. Pink Floyd took a giant first step, one that would take them several years to achieve. The Piper is a powerful album, with acid sounds, always led by Barrett's guitar and vocals, but always supported by an incisive bass line, keyboards that stood out above the other instruments, and drums that knew how to give power and rhythm to each song. Just a year earlier, Pink Floyd were known for playing mediocre surf covers. This isn't entirely surprising when you consider the album's most powerful songs, which are largely based on a tremendously psychedelic and complex surf sound.
The Path to Glory influenced countless bands. Without diminishing its merits in any way, the Doors' debut album displays brilliance across the board, tinged with darkness. Floyd's debut is entirely driven by Barrett's madness (which isn't the same as genius). But it would take the rest of the band many years to become virtuosos; perhaps Rick Wright begins to stand out early on with the keyboards, and Mason gives some hints. The fact is that, while not one of Floyd's best albums, it ends up being a representative record of the era. A touchstone for what happened that Summer of '67. If Floyd had broken up before '71, as countless psychedelic bands did, this would have been the band's best album. And ultimately, much better than what the Velvet Underground, Love, Jefferson Airplane, the Zombies, and others were trying to make around the same time. While these groups' albums leaned towards the mystical and colorful side of psychedelia, Pipers is based on a cosmic and schizophrenic aura. That's why it's different from EVERYTHING released that same year and from what the band itself attempted to achieve in the following years.
The album begins by transporting us to space even before the first guitar riffs with that stellar microphone. "Astronomy Domine" is by far the best song on the album and the best thing Pink Floyd would record for about four years. The song doesn't create tension; it is pure tension from the very beginning. Stellar, magnificent sounds, surf music taken to previously unimaginable and unmatched extremes, the sound effects achieved in the stereo version… one is led to wonder how such sounds were achieved in the middle of '67. And indeed, this album sounds absolutely revolutionary in a year when everything being done was revolutionary, leaving even Sgt. Pepper's in the background in terms of effects and with much less money. Listen to the stereo version with headphones and you'll believe me. A delight! Mason delivers a stellar performance on the track alongside Barrett. A dark song, but not dark like the atmospheres of The Doors, but rather because it reveals an insane, ahead-of-the-range, seemingly absurd and flawed genius… No fake! Not even Gilmour could ever give the live versions the same intensity.
Without letting up, the album continues with "Lucifer Sam". Another track based on Surf's Rock structures. More refined in terms of guitar work, but perhaps with the same intention and result as "Astronomy." While not a cosmic song, it still evokes galaxies and stars with that frenetic guitar, never letting up for a second. The riff is delicious, the best Syd ever composed. The song is fully supported by the rest of the musicians, and the effects don't disappoint for a single second, although they are never overused like in the opening track. Undoubtedly, another of the LP's highlights.
Next up is "Matilda Mother". A slower song, harking back to Syd's childhood. The song soon builds in intensity, and Waters engages in some simply delightful bass lines. Then comes an incredibly psychedelic bridge, with Wright's oriental-sounding keyboards providing a backdrop to Barrett's "Shhh Ahhhhh." For the first song on the album without surf influence, it's not bad at all. In fact, it's another highlight of the album. The atmospheres continue to clash with the earlier songs.
The low tones and howls that precede the fourth song leave us in suspense. However, "Flaming" falls a bit short of the previous tracks. With slightly more harmony, the guitar doesn't stand out much, and perhaps that's the problem. But Wright takes center stage from the moment the keyboards kick in. The song is weak, but it's not an abomination that assaults the ears. On the contrary, with time, one comes to enjoy it more and more, while acknowledging its limitations.
"Pow R. Toc H." begins with a formidable hook that will be repeated throughout the song: the "Shhht Shhhht" grabs you from the first second, and from there, Barret leads the band with frenetic sounds. Then Wright launches into an exquisitely jazzy, slow, pure piano solo, a rare treat from him. Things then get a little wild, and Syd begins a haunting guitar solo, which gradually merges with a keyboard that abandons all restraint to follow the guitar's spirit. An instrumental piece that returns to the Surf influence, but this time based on keyboards rather than guitar, resulting in a slightly different sound while still retaining a demented psychedelic feel.
Next up is "Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk". This is a Waters composition… and one of the album's low points. Roger definitely had a long way to go as a songwriter. Basically, the song has a couple of notes as harmony, and the rest is an improvisation where Pink Floyd weren't at their best. Wright again steals the show, this time even more so than Barrett. Otherwise, nothing memorable.
Fortunately, another surfy track follows: "Interstellar Overdrive", which could easily have been the album's title track. This is another instrumental song with a powerful riff, variations in its sections, and experimentation across all instruments. The song gradually degrades to a formless noise around the 1:40 mark, almost fading into silence at 2:20. Again, this isn't tension management; the band creates virtually the same level of tension from the start and simply plays with it throughout the songs. This is the best example. Amidst the seemingly senseless musical chaos, everything sounds like it was lifted from the soundtrack of a dreadful Capulina vs. Dr. Mefisto movie, which drags on for a very, very long time until, finally at 8:40, a cymbal roll brings everything back to the initial riff with a tremendous effect, shifting from one headphone or speaker to another. The chaos in the middle section is somewhat excessive, especially considering the amount of time Syd and company make us listen to their experiments. But in the end, the tremendous riff and speaker effects make it all worthwhile, establishing this song as a cosmic highlight of the album.
They continue with "The Gnome". Waters adds some interesting touches. Aside from that, and the fact that no one had ever written a song about gnomes before, the song is completely forgettable. Nice harmonies.
No more.
"Chapter 24" is even worse. The harmonies are weak, and there aren't even any drums. I have nothing against songs without drums, but I firmly believe they would have helped this one immensely. The lyrics are perhaps the most redeeming feature, but they're still low quality for someone like Barrett. Not even the vocal harmonies at the end can save the song.
In "Scarecrow", they at least achieve their goal of creating a somewhat Eastern feel. Wright once again carries the weight of the band on his shoulders. Mason creates a strange interplay of sounds with his drumsticks without even touching the cymbals. Waters is conspicuously absent until the two-minute mark, practically in the coda. Neither good nor bad…
Pink Floyd's debut album ends with "Bike", another psychedelic song, full of shimmer and devoid of cosmic sounds, which would have been excessive. The focus is on the lyrics and the complex harmony. The lyrics are childlike, simple, with straightforward yet catchy rhymes, as is the main harmony. If it weren't for the jarring, strange, and jarring ending, with that sound like geese protesting on a highway, this would even be a pretty song. I don't know if it would be lulling enough to put a baby to sleep, but it would be pretty.
A great album, without a doubt. One of the best from that legendary year of 1967. If it gets a 9, it's only because of the boundaries the band would break a few years later after finally overcoming Syd Barrett's departure. But it's undoubtedly a landmark of its era and was never equaled, despite the countless imitators that emerged… including Pink Floyd.
By Corvan
Aug/9/2008
