Pink Floyd -A Saucerful of Secrets
Floyd at this time is:
Syd Barret- Guitar, vocals
Roger Waters-Bass, vocals
Dave Gilmour-Guitar, vocals
Richard Wright-Keyboards, Organ, Piano, vocals
Nick Mason-Percussion, vocals
The now legendary Pink Floyd?s sophomore effort ?A Saucerful of Secrets? hit the stores on July 29th 1968. It was recorded at EMI?s Abbey road studio and epitomizes the movement of psychedelic music at that time. The cover shows some spacey images (planets, moon craters? ect. ) and is, well? psychedelic to say the least.
The album contains seven 4 minute plus tracks, with the majority of the writing credits going to bassist Roger Waters.
One thing that must be noted is Syd Barrets declining influence on proceedings. In their debut album ?Piper at the gates of dawn? Barret played a crucial role in writing and on guitar, he gave the album its underground feel. Syd Barret as most already know is and was schizophrenic, aided by LSD his symptoms got worse and so did his playing.
In this album a young Dave Gilmour is called up to play guitar and Roger Waters dominates vocally for the first time. Barret is given full writing credits on just one of the seven tracks ?Jugband Blues? which happens to be the only one in which he takes the lead vocals away from Waters.
The album kicks off with Let there be more light (Waters)
A bouncy bass riff from Waters permeates nicely with Masons symbol work, Wright?s organ can be heard gaining momentum as the track opens up a little revealing what is to come. The tempo slows down as Waters starts singing ?Far far away, people heard him say, I will find a way, there will come a day?? The track gains more momentum as Waters belts out ?Then at last the mighty ship descending on a point of flame ?.? and then looses it to the next verse. The track continues along at this up down pace until a treated guitar solo fills the last minute or so. Waters mentions towards the end ?Lucy in the Sky?, one guess what album he was listening to at the time?
This track is a good indication of what is to come and has a ?Dark Side of the Moon? feel to it. My opinion anyway.
Remember a day (Wright)
A haunting slide opens for a depressing Wright piano piece. The drums take their cue and Waters kicks in vocally. This track is my favorite on the album and as much as I love it , it scares the cr*p out of me. I don?t know why? The lyrics are perfect and perfectly sung, the slide guitar adds a spacey feel to the song as it mashes on in a cacophony of sounds.
The lyrics are about a childhood spent playing in the sun and the desire to reach it. A real masterpiece of the psychedelic era.
Set the controls for the Heart of the sun (Waters)
Starts off quietly (I thought my CD player was broken!) Waters adds a bass fill as he sings lazily ?Little by little the night turns around, counting the leaves which tremble at dawn?? Wright accompanies him on organ and Mason does his own percussive thing adding to the spacey feel of the song. Synth laden fills leave you stunned and in a world of your own, suddenly you?re at the beach. Back up to space at into the void.
This is by far the most spacey track on the album. A space lullaby for the children on board the SS Galaxy.
Corporal Clegg (Waters)
Opens with a boisterous Bass riff accompanied by a forceful guitar fused with Wrights cymbal work. Water?s voice is mocking here as he chants ?Corporal Clegg had a wooden leg, he won it in the war, in nineteen forty four? A mad kazoo comes in sounding like woody wood pecker as Waters continues to humor and mock Clegg, the mad man.
This song shows Floyds emergence as a rock outfit as Gilmour makes use of the then new
Wah-wah pedal. This rocking track ends off in yet again a cacophony of sounds. A very humorous listen if you want one.
A Saucerful of Secrets (Waters)
The only instrumental track on the album, at 11+ minutes long, a saucer of secrets starts with a bit of synth and some spacey banging noises. It continues this way until Mason makes his presence felt with a bit of a drum solo in the forth minute, some other weird noises and clangy sounds continue to mystify you as you listen on.(sounds a bit like a piano being broken?) The song rejuvenates itself in the ninth minute with light bass and synth. Angelic vocal harmonies provided by Waters and co. end the mammoth track off well. Experimental but not self-indulgent this track adds heavily to the overall weight of the album.
See-Saw (Wright)
See-saw is wrights second contribution to the album and opens nicely with a bit of light acoustic guitar, it is then aided by Waters vocal arrangement. Slow and relaxing is the synth added to round the track. I think the real standout on this number is Waters vocal work. Other than that it is just a relaxing track to fall asleep to.
Jugband Blues (Barret)
Here is Syd Barret at his best and worst. With insanely obscure lyrics and happy feel to it this number is a good album finisher. Acoustic guitar strums make the track feel light and breezy as Waters follows on bass. An orchestra then joins in playing out of key, a cluster of random notes. ?Lalalalalala lalalalalalala? goes Barret and then it?s over.
Sad proof of Barrets condition, but still a great track.
Overall an excellent album, never overbearing. If you like Dark Side of the Moon then I would suggest giving this one a try, you can see their progressive roots coming through even though the album is largely psychedelic.
Pros:
-An interesting listen
-Relaxing
-Humorous at times
Cons:
-Not for everyone
-only seven tracks
