Pink Floyd - The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn - 40th Anniversary Edition

Year of Release: 2007
Label: EMI
Catalog Number: 50999-503919-2-9
Format: CD
Total Time: 116:22:00

Pink Floyd forms in 1966, previously called Sigma 6, Tea Set, The Megadeaths, and The Abdabs. Finally they settle for Pink Floyd in 1967, when they play their first ever gig at Powis Square, London. The band's first single "Arnold Layne" reaches number 19 on the UK charts. Pink Floyd's second single "See Emily Play" reaches number 5 in the UK charts. Pink Floyd perform "Games for May" concert at the Queen Elizabeth Hall using the very first quadraphonic sound system in Britain. Pink Floyd's first US tour is cut short by manager Andrew King because of Syd Barrett's erratic behaviour - Syd stares blankly in front of him when asked questions on the Pat Boone Show and refuses to mime "See Emily Play" on Dick Clark's American Bandstand. Pink Floyd's third single "Apples And Oranges" fails to get into the charts. 5th August 1967 sees the release of the band's first album The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn.

There's a forty year gap between the debut album's release and today, which for sure is an opportunity not to be missed, to put the spotlight onto this very important release. When the lavish Shine On box set was released in 1992, The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn was not included. In fact, neither were More, Ummagumma, Atom Heart Mother, Obscured By Clouds or The Final Cut. Regarded as being the pinnacle of English psychedelica, the band's debut album was released a mere six months after the band had signed to EMI. As Mark Paytress describes in Record Collector: "Barrett's early work with the Floyd helped define the sound of the emerging underground: ripped R&B riffs, electronically modified vocal pop and dope-fuelled folksong augmented with jazz-inspired jamming and the grand vistas of classical music."

When we say 1967, where sound is concerned, it's like going back to the dinosaur era. Most of the people still had mono equipment, which is why there was indeed a mono and stereo version. In those days they put much more time into the mono mixes as stereo might have become a novelty, a gimmick that might in the end not have become a commercial success. If you listen to the mono version of The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn you'll hear all kinds of effects that aren't on the stereo version, such as tape flanging, echo, a crisper bass, even different keyboard parts! The whole mono affair bubbles with vitality bringing together the magic of The Byrds and The Who whilst truckloads of LSD are smeared in thick layers over Barrett's often childish and na?ve lyrics. In fact the album is named after the seventh chapter in Barrett's favourite book when he was a kid: Kenneth Grahame's The Wind In The Willows. Produced by Norman Smith the album sounds like a soundtrack for "Syd in wonderland."

Next to psychedelica and pop, the album also sees Pink Floyd experiment with jazz during the intro for "Pow R. Toc H." before going completely bonkers during a tribal rhythm. "Take Up Thy Stethoscope And Walk" sports the immortal Farfisa organ and the authentic beat sound of the era. With "Bike" the band already uses all kinds of sounds years before their magnum opus The Dark Side Of The Moon. Contrary to a lot of stereo releases that were to be released at a later stage, the idea of stereo is mainly illustrated by placing some instruments exclusively in either the right or the left channel. Whilst the mono mixes sound "fat and flat," the stereo has much more separation and depth. Then there's also the panning which during "Lucifer Sam" sounds like a kid turning the knobs constantly from one side to the other. This panning goes on way too far during the end of "Interstellar Overdrive" though, making this "head music" almost turn you crazy!

Even to this day some of the music is quite remarkable, so imagine how the media must have reacted when it was released 40 years ago. To make things even more interesting Barrett only fronted The Pink Floyd for a mere 13 months, however he still managed to be rated as one of the three or four greats together with Bob Dylan.

Recorded at Abbey Road whilst the Beatles were recording Sgt. Pepper's, the band had to use the equipment available, which was probably four-track. Of course this is the main reason why you won't find a 5.1 surround version on this new package. They could have "faked" a 5.1 stereo mix, but in the end they settled for the original mono and stereo recordings. As said before the mono version really sparkles whilst the stereo is more detailed.

Newly remastered by James Guthrie, I guess it's only fair to also applaud the outstanding packaging of the 3CD set. Masterminded by longtime friend Storm Thorgerson, the three discs are housed in what resembles a cloth-covered book with the original Vic Singh photograph on the front. Inside you'll find all the lyrics to the songs together with some wonderful photographs of the era. To top it all, a slightly reduced reproduction of a Syd Barrett collage work from around 1965 is included, which illustrates the zany artistic sidestep of our crazy diamond. If the industry wants to beat illegal downloading then it's by issuing wonderful packages such as this one. You may download as much as you like but you'll never be able to reproduce this fine package!

Real fans are not that happy with the inclusion of the bonus material. They ask themselves why EMI didn't release "Scream Thy Last Scream," "Vegetable Man," "In The Beachwoods," "She Was A Millionaire," "Lucy Leave" and "I'm A King Bee." Rumours have it that a similar release might be expected where A Saucerful Of Secrets is concerned. Needless to say this should most certainly include "Vegetable Man" and "Scream Thy Last Scream." Collectors should be aware that the current single disc version of The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn will be replaced with a new two disc version that will feature both mono and stereo versions of the album. Pink Floyd fans: you have been warned!

Released by Capitol Records in the US (50995 03923 22); total time for the 2CD version: 84:15

Tracklisting:
Disc One: Mono: Astronomy Domine / Lucifer Sam / Matilda Mother / Flaming / Pow R. Toc H. / Take Up Thy Stethoscope And Walk / Interstellar Overdrive / The Gnome / Chapter 24 / The Scarecrow / Bike

Disc Two: Stereo: Astronomy Domine / Lucifer Sam / Matilda Mother / Flaming / Pow R. Toc H. / Take Up Thy Stethoscope And Walk / Interstellar Overdrive / The Gnome / Chapter 24 / The Scarecrow / Bike

CD 3 : Arnold Layne / Candy And A Currant Bun / See Emily Play / Apples And Oranges / Paintbox / Interstellar Overdrive (Frenc edit) / Apples And Oranges (stereo version) / Matilda Mother (alternative version) / Interstellar Overdrive (take six)

Musicians:
Syd Barrett - guitar, vocals
Roger Waters - bass, vocals
Rick Wright - keyboards
Nick Mason - drums

Discography:
The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn (1967)
Tonite Let's All Make Love In London (1968)
A Saucerful Of Secrets (1968)
More (1969)
Ummagumma (1969)
Atom Heart Mother (1970)
Relics (1971)
Meddle (1971)
Obscured By Clouds (1972)
Dark Side Of The Moon (1973/1992)
Wish You Were Here (1975)
Animals (1977)
The Wall (1979)
Collection Of Great Dance Songs (1981)
Works (1983)
The Final Cut (1983)
The Committee (1985)
A Momentary Lapse Of Reason (1987)
Delicate Sound Of Thunder (1988)
Shine On (Boxed Set) (1992)
The Division Bell (1994)
Pulse (1995)
Wish You Were Here - 25th Anniversary Edition (2000)
Echoes - The Best Of Pink Floyd (2001)
Dark Side Of The Moon - 30th Anniversary Edition (SACD) (2003)
The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn - 40th Anniversary Edition (2007) (2 and 3CD editions)
Oh By The Way (16CD Box) (2007)

Dark Side Of The Moon (2003) (VID/DVD)

Genre: Progressive Rock

Origin UK

Added: October 14th 2007
Reviewer: John "Bobo" Bollenberg

Artist website: www.pinkfloyd.co.uk
Hits: 2689
Language: english