Review Summary: The beginning of a new era. Barrett departed, Gilmour arrived.
“A Saucerful Of Secrets” is the second studio album of Pink Floyd that was released in 1968. The line up on the album is Syd Barrett, David Gilmour, Richard Wright, Roger Waters and Nick Mason. The album had also the participation of Norman Smith, the Stanley Myers Orchestra and the International Staff Band (Salvation Army).
Pink Floyd is a British progressive rock band that was formed in London in 1965. Wright, Waters and Mason studied architecture at the Cambridge University in London and decided to form a band to venture into small shows in pubs, in London. Shortly after, the trio decided to increase the members and Waters introduces a childhood friend from him, Barrett. With the new group formed, the four musicians decided to name the band Pink Floyd, which is nothing more than the combination of the names of two bluesmen, Pink Anderson and Floyd Council, of whom Barrett was a fan.
After the release of their debut studio album “The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn”, Pink Floyd became a popular band with many road obligations. So, it was in that moment, because the stress of life on the road and the relevant consumption of drugs, that the mental health stability of Syd Barrett as deteriorated considerably. Due to that, there was the need to join another member to the band. Then, they called the guitarist David Gilmour, a very well known guy of Syd Barrett and Roger Waters. Initially, it was expected that Syd Barrett made the compositions while David Gilmour would play at the live concerts. But, due to the deterioration of the mental health stability of Syd Barrett soon he assumed both roles.
On “A Saucerful Of Secrets”, the four musicians from Pink Floyd took their next step. “A Saucerful Of Secrets” represents the nucleus and the beginning of the typical Pink Floyd’s sound of the 70’s. With Barrett leaving the band by the start of the recordings of this work, Waters took over as band’s leader. However, Barrett is also immortalized on this album with one song “Jugband Blues”, entirely in the tradition of “The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn”. Of the remaining six tracks on the album, three were from Waters, two by Wright and the title track is from the four musicians. The album is characterized by the transition from the psychedelic beat/pop of the first album to the spacey/progressive but also the minimalistic/repetitive sound of the typical Pink Floyd’s works of the 70’s from “Atom Heart Mother” to “Animals”.
“A Saucerful Of Secrets” has seven tracks. “Let There Be More Light” is a good opener. It’s a very good song with a strong bass line and the unmistakable guitar of Gilmour. It has a more experimental and complex sound, the beginning of the new band’s sound. “Remember A Day” has reminiscences of the psychedelic sound. It has a brilliant piano work and nice drumming. “Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun” is one of the two greatest moments on the album. It’s a classic of the band. It’s their first song when we can see the future sound of the band, which would appear for the first time on “Meddle”. “Corporal Clegg” is a nice and fun psychedelic song, but it’s more vulgar and with lower quality. It has childish music and lyrics. It’s hilarious and strange. It’s the weakest point on the album. The title track is the great magnum opus of the album. It’s the second great moment on the album and another sign that something would happen with the sound of Pink Floyd in the future. It has three distinct moments. The first is made by weird noises and sounds dominated by keyboard sounds. It reminds me Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze in their earlier days. The second is dominated by keyboards with weird noises and sinister sounds with the drumming and percussion on the back. The third is also dominated by keyboards but is beautiful and astonishing. It shows what Pink Floyd was able to do and how their music can be beautiful and grandiose. “See-Saw” is a good and interesting song, better than “Corporal Clegg”. It’s pleasant and charming and has some creativity. Here, we can hear something of the future dreaming sound of the band. “Jugband Blues” is the Barrett’s composition, his swan song on the band he founded. It’s a different song from the rest of the album. It’s a typical Barrett’s song with its mysterious and eccentric lyrics and sound. It’s an interesting song.
Conclusion: “A Saucerful Of Secrets” is like “The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn” a great album. But, musically is a very different album. Despite it has still many psychedelic musical parts, it has also, for the first time, the beginning of the fundamental elements of their future space rock sound, which only would be firmly consolidated on their sixth studio album “Meddle”. “A Saucerful Of Secrets” is, in my humble opinion, a more mature musical proposal than the previous work. “A Saucerful Of Secrets” is the proof that there were two different bands, the band with Syd Barrett and the band without him. Sincerely, I don’t think the main difference on the music on this album is David Gilmour but Roger Waters. It’s true that we can clear hear the new guitar sound of David Gilmour on the album, but Roger Waters are the main composer on the album. I think the problems would appear with him and Syd Barrett if Syd had continued in the group.
Music was my first love.
John Miles (Rebel)
