Product Description

Pink Floyd's debut was its only recording based on the vision of founding singer/guitarist Syd Barrett, an art student whose world revolved around music, mysticism, and liberal doses of hallucinogens. The band's moniker was taken from the first names of Georgia bluesmen Pink Anderson and Floyd Council (an album of theirs was a favourite of Barrett's), and the album's title came from a chapter of Kenneth Grahame's children's classic, THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS (also a staple of Barrett's library).
Recorded at Abbey Road at the same time The Beatles were cutting SGT. PEPPER, PIPER AT THE GATES OF DAWN is an avant-garde pastiche of trippy improvisation and snappy pop snippets--a blurring of musical borders that went far beyond what the Fab Four were doing a couple of rooms away. (Producer Norman Smith had been The Beatles' chief engineer for much of the early '60s.) Instrumental space-jamslike "Pow R. Toc H". and "Interstellar Overdrive" smashed the conventionality of the pop mainstream by opening up traditional song structures, as bits of Rick Wright's reverb-soaked Farfisa organ and Barrett's scratchy guitar float in and out of the mix. The other side of Barrett's musical expression was an ability to write shorter "pop" songs that were similar to traditional fare only in length--acid-fueled observations of a Siamese cat on "Lucifer Sam", and child-like tales on "The Gnome" and "Bike".

Track Listing

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. Gnome
9. Chapter 24
10. Scarecrow
11. Bike

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8376 in Music
• Released on: 1994-10-01
• Number of discs: 1

From Amazon.com
While they took their name from blues musicians Pink Anderson and Floyd Council when they started out as an R&B combo in the mid-60s, Pink Floyd's leader, guitarist Syd Barrett, soon began piloting the band through unprecedented sonic excursions typified by the title of their 1967 debut album's most celebrated track--the outsized instrumental "Interstellar Overdrive." Equally adept at composing catchy-sounding, Gothic-themed pop songs such as "See Emily Play," "The Scarecrow" and "The Gnome," Barrett seemed destined for greatness--that is, until psychedelic drugs got the best of him, and he abandoned the band to bassist Roger Waters and new guitarist David Gilmour. The rest, as they say, is history. --Billy Altman

Customer Reviews

PINK FLOYD'S DEBUT ALBUM IS A STEP TOWARDS BEING ONE THE GREATEST BANDS EVER
The title of Pink Floyd's debut album is taken from a chapter in Syd Barrett's favorite children's book, The Wind in the Willows, and the lyrical imagery of The Piper at the Gates of Dawn is indeed full of colorful, childlike, distinctly British whimsy, albeit filtered through the perceptive lens of LSD. Barrett's catchy, melodic acid pop songs are balanced with longer, more experimental pieces showcasing the group's instrumental freak-outs, often using themes of space travel as metaphors for hallucinogenic experiences -- "Astronomy Domine" is a poppier number in this vein, but tracks like "Interstellar Overdrive" are some of the earliest forays into what has been tagged space rock. But even though Barrett's lyrics and melodies are mostly playful and humorous, the band's music doesn't always bear out those sentiments -- in addition to Rick Wright's eerie organ work, dissonance, chromaticism, weird noises, and vocal sound effects are all employed at various instances, giving the impression of chaos and confusion lurking beneath the bright surface. The Piper at the Gates of Dawn successfully captures both sides of psychedelic experimentation -- the pleasures of expanding one's mind and perception, and an underlying threat of mental disorder and even lunacy; this duality makes Piper all the more compelling in light of Barrett's subsequent breakdown, and ranks it as one of the best psychedelic albums of all time.

.A bit "Hey nonny-nonny"
I have a bit of a love/indifferent relationship with Pink Floyd so far. I love The Wall and Live at Pompei, Wish You Were Here has it's moments, but the bulk of the other records I have (Ummagumma, Delicate Sound of Thunder, Pulse) are tawdry beyond belief. I love Syd Barrett though. His debut solo album is one of my 46 favourite albums of all time. The Wall is one of those 46 also. Nevertheless, I didn't really know what to expect from this album. I'd heard Astronomy Domine and Interstellar Overdrive before but I never really considered them to be among my favourite Floyd tracks. It's a shame then that these two are the highlights of the slbum. I think that's being kind to Interstellar Overdrive too, since it's extended musical ramblings are not nearly as interesting as I've been led to believe. It's also a shame that Arnold Layne and See Emily Play should turn out to be the best of Barrett's work with the Floyd... since they aren't on this album.

Sure, I can appreciate how ground breaking this record was back then. I am fairly impressed with Syd's fractured guitar playing. It is fairly psychedelic, though again, not as psychedelic as I had expected... but people who think this record hasn't dated are sorely mistaken. Despite it's spacey effects and extended jams it is very rooted in traditional English folk music - often sounding like a group of medieval minstrels. Some of the backing vocals are twee, all the noises made with their mouths ("Sssshhh-bah!" and "Toc-toc-toc!" etc) make me cringe, and in all [I've been waiting to say this phrase] it's a bit "Hey-nonny-nonny". Syd's lyrics aren't nearly as charming as they are on his solo outings, and while his voice is stronger and more coherent some degree of honesty and emotional connection is lost. In addition to that I think his solo work is actually MORE psychedelic, subtler and of greater depth.

I'll continue to buy the odd Pink Floyd record, when I see them at the right price - which is unfortunately very rare, but I don't think I'll be coming back to this one very often.

Syd Barrett Eternises Childhood!
Yes, 'The Piper at the Gates of Dawn' is undoubtedly imbued with the effects of LSD, and is one of the first true paradigms of psychedelic rock, however, for me, this album will always be Syd Barrett's immortalisation of childhood. The 'eccentric' Floyd frontman presents a wonderful array of withdrawn, introspective and seemingly naïve imagery, with lyrics that are dreamlike, unearthly and peculiarly ominous: appositely reflecting the process of childhood and growing up, in my opinion.

Due to this masterpiece, Barrett's first and last Floyd album, he will always remain a childlike genius in my eyes, not the drug-ravaged recluse the media gleefully portrayed him as. This album has made Syd eternal, and has simultaneously encapsulated memories of my own childhood. Songs such as: 'Bike', 'Scarecrow' and 'Lucifer Sam', illustrate the boundlessness of existence when young, yet also creepily depict the portentous nature of one's youth, and this is cleverly echoed in the cacophonous nature of tracks such as 'Astronomy Domine' and 'Interstellar Overdrive'.

Furthermore, this album also showcases Pink Floyd as brilliant musical innovators, in particular, Barrett's creative, dissonant guitar passages, such as those found on the expansive epic, 'Interstellar Overdrive'. Keyboardist, Rick Wright, also contributes significantly, most notably with eerie organ interludes, such as those which punctuate 'Matilda Mother' and 'Scarecrow', accentuating the psychedelic element of the music.

As long as people keep appreciating this album, Syd Barrett will live on forever. The music industry owes him a massive debt for his enterprising, beautifully ethereal work, and he must never be forgotten.