THE PIPER AT THE GATES OF DAWN - Pink Floyd

YEAR: 1967

LABEL: Capitol

TRACK LISTING: Astronomy Domine, Lucifer Sam, Matilda Mother, Flaming, Pow R. Toc H., Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk, Interstellar Overdrive, The Gnome, Chapter 24, Scarecrow, Bike

IMPRESSIONS: I hate Pink Floyd. Or should I say that I hate Syd Barrett-less Floyd. Pink Floyd was Syd Barrett's band. Without him, it became that bloated, monotonous mess most people think of as Pink Floyd. That's the one I don't like. But this album (and to a lesser extent their second "A SAUCERFUL OF SECRETS") features Syd's bizarre songwriting to the hilt before his mind left him. This is the one and only album which features Syd Barrett as the leader of the band; the 2nd album saw his mind dissipating and the introduction of Dave Gilmour to pick up the slack. The final song on their 2nd album "Jugband Blues" is literally the sound of someone losing his grip on reality and it would mark Syd's farewell from the group. The unhinged genius of his solo work would continue.

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: Astronomy Domine, Lucifer Sam, Matilda Mother, Pow R. Toc H., The Gnome, Chapter 24, Scarecrow, Bike

FACT SHEET: THE PIPER AT THE GATES OF DAWN is Pink Floyd's first album. The title of the album comes from chapter seven of Kenneth Grahame's "THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS"; one of Barrett's favourite books. The album cover was photographed by Vic Singh utilizing a prism lens given to him by friend George Harrison. The album has subsequently been recognized as one of the seminal psychedelic albums of the 1960s. The track listing above is the original Columbia/EMI release order; the US version featured the songs shuffled around in a different order and also included pre-album single "See Emily Play".