2/5/08

Pink Floyd - The Piper at the Gates of Dawn - 1967


This is another one of my all time favorite albums.
It's Pink Floyd's first album and probably best one too!
It's one of the two Pink Floyd albums with Syd Barrett on it
and you can literally hear him going insane!
This album is so amazing,
that there's not much I can actually say about it
and really, you just need to hear it for yourself.
It's truly the music of a mad genius!


The first track "Astronomy Domine"
makes you feel as though you're in a space ship
going into outer space. The vocal work is great
and sounds as if it's just another instrument!
The rest of the music is laid on soft,
but still maintains a heavy feeling to it
which at times will make you feel like you're floating
and at other times will make you feel like you're falling.
If you're obsessed with space,
then you NEED to hear this song.


The second track "Lucifer Sam"
is heavier and actually has somewhat of a structure to it!
Not much is spacey about this,
but it's still an amazing sound
with great lyrics and guitar parts.
But, it's the bass and background sounds
which really holds this song together.
After you hear this song,
you'll most likely be randomly shouting
"THAT CAT'S SOMETHING I CAN'T EXPLAIN"
for at least a few day, but who cares!?!
It's a great song!


The third track "Matilda Mother"
is party spacey, but it also
has many other feels to it.
Some parts seem to give a desert vibe,
but it might just be my imagination...
Either way, it's a great song
about a mother reading a book to her child
with amazing vocals, music, and lyrics!
Even the noises they make with there mouths
make for pretty good music mixed with that echo!


The fourth track "Flaming"
is one of the more uppity tunes,
but there's a sad, insane feeling about it.
It sounds as if you are walking through
a magical forest somewhere
with giant flowers and mushrooms.
Like everything on this album,
the music, vocals, and lyrics are great!
But, there's just something creepy
about Syd singing
"Yippee, you can't see me, but I can you". >.<


The fifth track "Pow R Toc H"
I suppose could be called an instrument...
There is vocal work in it, but no actual lyrics.
It's just noises made to sound like instruments
and they did an amazing job with it!
Aside from that, there's a
little mumbling in the background,
but you can't really make it out.
The jam they get into in this
is whats really amazing in it though.
The drums a bass are almost making
a jungle sound and rhythm,
while the piano plays as though
it's in an old run down bar somewhere.
Then it gets into all sorts of things...
Probably one of the best tracks on the album!


The sixth track "Take Up Thy Stethoscope And Walk"
is probably my favorite track on here!
Not a lot of lyrics, but the lyrics are great
and you could almost call them catchy!
But, they go a bit to fast to actually be too catchy.
Oh, and once again, they get into an amazing jam session!
Also, this has weird vocal noises too.
Syd seemed to have loved them!


The seventh track "Interstellar Overdrive"
is a short, but fairly good instrumental jam
which plays into the next song.
It almost gives the feeling of falling...


The eighth track "Gnome"
is a fun little song about a
gnome named 'Grimble Crumble'
a has a big adventure amidst the grass.
But, to me, the coolest part
is when Syd says
"Look at the sky. Look at the river. Isn't it good?"
Don't know why... just the way he says it...


The ninth track "Chapter 24"
probably has the best bass parts on it
and the gong, piano, and other misc. instruments
are also used quite nicely!
Don't know why, but I think I like the lyrics in it
more then any of the other songs...
But all the lyrics Syd writes are great!


The tenth track "Scarecrow"
is about a black and green scarecrow
who is sad that he can't move,
but doesn't mind because life's not unkind.
The coolest sounds in this song
are coming from the keyboard...
or at least I think that's what they're using...
Either way, it's a great and weird song
with some interesting lyrics
and no bass at all, but the emptiness of that
works with the lyrics.


The eleventh track "Bike"
is probably the weirdest thing on this album!
The main corus sounds nothing like the rest of it,
the music sounds like an insane marching band,
and everything in it sounds really messy,
but like everything else on here,
it's perfect if you wanna hear the mind of a mad man!
It end the album kind of upruptly,
but hey! That's just Syd's style!


Track listing

1. Astronomy Domine - 4:06

2. Lucifer Sam - 3:05

3. Matilda Mother - 3:05

4. Flaming - 2:44

5. Pow R Toc H - 4:24

6. Take Up Thy Stethoscope And Walk - 3:04

7. Interstellar Overdrive - 1:33

8. Gnome - 2:11

9. Chapter 24 - 3:39

10. Scarecrow - 2:08

11. Bike - 3:21


*re-uploaded*

2 comments:

Franco said...

one of my all time favourite albums!

the piano solo in pow r toc h is the most haunting piece of music I've ever heard.


Franco

Chase The Drummer said...

Agreed.