Pink Floyd - The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn - 1967
And in the midst of the psychedelic frenzy, Pink Floyd released their first album. I have loved this album forever, way before I could actually go and buy it, since the first time some clearly demented person decided to play it in full on the radio.While this is fully psychedelic, and quite far from the sound the band would have in later years, the sheer quality is amazing. From the simpler songs, like "Bike" or "Lucifer Sam", to the massive and overpowering "Astronomy Domine" or "Interestellar Overdrive", this album is filled with nearly visible sounds, perfect instrumentation, unusual chords.
In a way, listening to it again, I realise that some of the songs here aren't so different from the debut by David Bowie I wrote about yesterday. Bowie chose a more "classical" approach to the music (if that word even applies), with brasses and a more "big band" style, while Pink Floyd converted the songs into a full exploration voyage. Of course, there was a lot of drugs here. What could you expect in '67?
This album is, perhaps, almost fully the beautiful and tragically brilliant mind of Syd Barrett let loose in a studio recording. He wrote practically all the songs, most of them on his own, and it's no understatement to call him a genius. It always makes me a bit sad to listen to this one, and to think of how brightly and briefly he shone. Shine on forever, you beautiful, brilliant, amazing, crazy diamond Syd...
- While "Astronomy Domine" is the only song that clearly refers to space (there's "Interstellar Overdrive", but it's fully instrumental), that granted Barrett the title of "father of space rock".
- "Lucifer Sam" starts with the line: "Lucifer Sam, Siam cat" and it actually referred to Syd's cat. Those of us who have the complicated pleasure of sharing our time with a Siamese cat, understand.
- The beginning of "Lucifer Sam" has always reminded me of the intro to the old cartoon The Inspector.
- Around 3.19 minutes into "Astronomy Domine", there is a moment, while the lyrics go "Flicker, flicker, flicker, blam. Pow", that is one of my favourite moments in music. The way the guitar takes over gives me goosebumps every time. There's another moment I love in "Interstellar Overdrive", when the song starts slowly flowing again, after the middle interlude ends.
- Talking about similitudes between Bowie's debut and this one, there are a lot of lyrics here that are almost childish in nature. Today I thought how easy it would be, for example, to mash up "Bike" and "Love you till Tuesday". Something like: "You're the kind of girl that fits in with my world / My passion's never ending and I'll love you till Tuesday".
- Other songs that are full of childhood nostalgia are "Mathilda Mother" and "The Gnome", this latter one telling the story of a gnome called Grimble Gromble. He wears a scarlet tunic.
- "Chapter 24" actually refers to the actual 24th chapter of the I Ching, the Chinese Book of Changes.
And the bell tolls on....
Eric Burdon & The Animals - Winds of Change - 1967
In 1966, The Animals (of "House of the Rising Sun" fame) disbanded, and their leader, Eric Burdon, reformed the band and moved from the original more bluesy sound to (yes, you guessed correctly) a more psychedelic sound.
Apparently, he was mostly inspired about George Harrison and his self-discovery voyage, and while it's far from being a perfect album, there are a lot of interesting and cool songs here, including a brilliant (albeit a bit too long) version of the Rolling Stones classic "Paint it Black".
- "Poem by the Sea" ends with a violin solo that is one of the highlights of the album. It almost segues perfectly onto the beginning of "Paint it Black".
- "The Black Plague", is a song that is recited in its entirety with music in the background. The only singing is from some Gregorian chants. It's extremely creepy and scary, and the refrain that gives title to this section, together with the Gregorian choir changing "Bring out your dead" can make your skin crawl. I wonder if the "bell tolls on" line wasn't inspired on John Donne's poem, which reads: "[N]ever send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee", written as the Black Plague ravaged his native London in 1624.
- The song "Yes I am Experienced" was actually written as a reply to Jimi Hendrix's "Are You Experienced?". And it does have a Hendrix kind of sound to it.
- "San Franciscan Nights" is an idyllic, flower-power style of song that pays homage to the "warm San Franciscan nights". Americans laughed quite a bit at Burdon for this, although when they were touring there, it had actually been warm.
A few extras
- Since I don't have that album, and since it's such a great song, I can't but put the best known song by The Animals here. It's too much of a classic not to share it at some point. Also, they so look like schoolboys in this one, it's sort of fun to watch.
- And since there was a cover of "Paint it Black" in the Animals album, well, it gives me an excuse, more than anything. One of the finest versions of this song, and part of one of the best moments in television. And no, I'm not sharing the actual scene from Westworld. For one the quality of the sound is much better here. For other, if you haven't yet, do yourselves a favour and just watch it!
Random thoughts
- In Argentina, when I was little, there was this silly cartoon called Hijitus. There was a character that was a boxing kangaroo called "Boxitracio". It made almost exactly the same sounds that you can hear at the very end of "Bike".
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