| Pink Floyd – Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast Lyrics | 15 years ago |
|
This 3 part suite was always an offbeat favorite of mine from this LP, though the band never gave it high regard. I like the gentle acoustic strumming with long delay and ambient background noises. Similar to Grantchester Meadows in regards to the concept. Use of background tapes and "theater rock" performances were part of the group's signature around this period. This piece amounted to not much more than a space-filler, IMO, to complete the 2nd album side for a timely release. Atom Heart Mother was their featured song, Dave's Fat Old Sun was strong contender, throw in a soft ballad from Roger (If), an OK effort from Rick, IMO, (Summer '68), and a struggle to come up with 10-12 minutes to close out the album. A relentless touring schedule didn't allow much time for inspiration. There hadn't been much to say about the track by the Floyd, since the piece didn't really deserve mention. One band member's comment was that the idea seemed to come from a bit of stage antics when Roger was throwing potatoes about and they made tea during a show. Also stated that this came off quite well on stage, but didn't really translate on LP. Given the band's history, this was almost certainly during a performance of "The Man and the Journey", performed during the previous year, in 1969. The third section of "The Man" has the band take a tea break on stage, and this idea must have carried on a bit to form this musical interlude for the closing few minutes of the LP. Incidentally, fast forward to Roger Waters 2006-2007 shows, during which he has most band members sit down for a card game during the effects section of Sheep, when most of them would have just been standing around waiting for the next musical verse to kick in. Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast was actually performed live for a few gigs right at the end of 1970, when there was an attempt to continue this theater experience developed during "The Man" performances. One or several band members fumbled about on stage making breakfast in between the spacey, long delay guitar strumming by Gilmour. This made it onto one boot recording from 12-22-1970 for historical preservation, and sounds quite mellow and nice. Apparently, not the direction the band wanted to go, and subsequent attempts of this bit were dropped heading into 1971, as they started putting together what would become "Echoes" in the studio. |
|
| Pink Floyd – Fat Old Sun Lyrics | 18 years ago |
|
Gilmour describes the transition from the carefree days of youth (growing up in Cambridge) to the burden of responsibilities that comes on in adulthood. This was especially poignant as a band member committed to heavy touring schedules that they all were committed to as this time. That sense of longing for childhood innocence had been a favorite Roger Waters recurring theme (Grandchester Meadows, and Embryo, which represents the ultimate regression of innocent reflection.) Consider the parallels in the lines of the two lyricists that touch on daydreaming about those idylic magic days of innocent youth: RW: "...bringing sounds of yesterday into my city room" DG: "The silver sound from a time so strange... Sing to me...Sing to me..." To escape the drudgery and burden of adult life, if only for a momentary daydream. Raising children of your own allows reliving this experience from a different perspective, the words perhaps conjuring up different feelings, but just as relevant to the changes one experiences in life's journey. |
|
| Pink Floyd – Careful with That Axe, Eugene Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| This number will always remain an archetypical early-Floyd classic, stylizing their abilities to paint deeply saturated, mood-themed compositions. As was the case for many of their late 60s to early 70s sets, the subtle changes affecting the song - from the overall length of the piece to the choice of keyboard fills, guitar effects, drum patterns, vocal accents, intensity of the shrill crescendos to the stillness of near-silence - would change from performance to performance as well as more broadly and radically in structure, as years passed. This work is not as much an individual song as a way to construct a soundcurtain around the audience which is unique with each performance. The earliest incarnation of this piece can be found as an unreleased, simple one-octave bass note progression to accompany a thought-provoking, philosphical dialog between characters in the art-house film, "The Committee". Over time, added elements began providing the piece with a sinister forboding, driving towards a violence catharsis, before resolving back into a wispy, unsettling quiet. As a concert favorite, my vote is for the version played on 5/18/72 during the pre-LP release Dark Side tour. Rick's keys cast a haunting, slowly descending chill as the piece lumbers along to gentle cymbal tapping as a means to measure time. Very slowly, Dave's middle-Eastern chants and guitar scales build upon the eerie mood, driving it to a plateau climax before Roger has even spoken his single line. His chirps and screeches, mouthed into an echo-soaked mike, play against the tension felt by Rick's swirling organ fills. After a long stretch of near silience, the tension again builds in anticipation of the infamous ear-piercing scream, bringing a second swell that is played out by an exhaustive session for all musicians, before lurking away into the murky darkness from which it came. | |
| Pink Floyd – Grantchester Meadows Lyrics | 18 years ago |
|
An early Roger Waters ode to his innocent childhood days, before the pressures of adulthood, modern life, and the music business become apparant. Recurring themes he would visit again in other formats. One of the better studio tracks on Ummagumma, performed as "Daybreak" during their "The Man/The Journey" shows in 1969. Solo track features Waters on acoustic guitar with overdubs and nature-themed background tape effects (birdsong, flapping geese, flies buzzing, etc.) Concert performances likewise showcased such effects, enhanced by the Azumith Co-ordinator panpot quadrophonic sound system to throw these enhancements about the audience. The KQED performance was one of their best recorded videos from this period, with a nice rendition of this song. The group version split the vocal parts, giving Dave a high register for the 2nd and 4th stanzas, and bringing in a mellow organ fill for a bridge. The best version of the KQED show is the Harvested DVD, with a top quality video capture and a cleanly restored audio track dubbed in from a second source. |
|
* This information can be up to 15 minutes delayed.