Never really listened to this before.
How fucking cool is this record?

Even though it reeks of the 60's psychadelia that it is, it sounds like it could have been released today.

Awesome.

i think Live8 has prompted everyone i know do dust off at least on Floyd disc and love it. that is awesome.

I'm a pretty big fan of all the early Floyd records

Gotta love Corporal Clegg

np: "Corporal Clegg"

And, I didn't dust this off at all. I've never heard it. A friend at work brought it in and I'm borrowing it. Fuk yeah!

I love the last song, which despite the fact that I detest Syd Barrett (everybody say it with me O-VER-RATED) is I believe his main contribution.

I guess the rumor is that he brought in a Salvation Army like orchestra to perform?

I'd always heard he got salvation army workers (re: not musically talented) to do that, essentially handing them instruments and telling them what he wanted.

I agree with the overrated comment (though i don't think he was ever that highly rated to begin with), but homie has some of the best rock stories EVER about him. which speaks volumes.

Yeah, that's it. It's been a while since I read those tales; back in the distant days when I did things like buy the then-gloriously overpriced Floyd boxset with its coffee table book



yeah, decent stories......I could name 10 guys off the top of my head with better stories, but nothing more exciting than going stark raving mad now is there?

I have it, but it's been so long since I listened to it that I can remember if I like it anymore.

Definitely. If you've ever read the bio Saucerful of Secrets it is full of stories about him that are hilarious, if also a bit sad, because that mofo was definitely losing it.

In fact, while the music the band produced after Syd's departure was great, their "story" becomes really kind of boring post Syd.

Steve

"See Emily Play"
"Arnold Layne"
"Apples and Oranges"

Those right there are three pretty fucking amazing tunes. And there are many more. (I love The Madcap Laughs.)

Who else has had the balls to set James Joyce to music ("Golden Hair")?

Daffy, to be sure. And maybe a tad overated, due to his legend being so huge. But I defy you to dispute the perfection of those three songs I listed at the begining of this post.

i love that before he walked in on the Wish You Were Here sessions, Syd would cruise around his town's tailors and try on like 5 different pairs of pants, all 15 sizes to big for him, and demand that nothing fit him before storming out. that's beautiful.

and the whole wax on the head thing...

i gotta reread some of that shit when i get home tonight.

I wouldnt throw around perfection, personally. They are fine songs ("See Emily Play" in particular is a great pop song), but much of it is just not my cup of tea and frankly substandard in terms of pop perfection for that era.

But tomatoes/tomaatoes right?

And how the fuck have you never heard Saucerful before today?

Piper at the Gates of Dawn is still in my top 3, and all the aforementioned singles are psychedelic gold, so there's no way for me the almost-insane Syd was overrated for me. Everything up through the spring of 1967 Floyd did was totally engaging and worthwhile.

The insane Syd, however, is probably very overrated. There's no question that if he wasn't famous, the Madcap Laughs would've been a massive joke. People are willing to give it a chance because of who he is(was?). Almost none of it outside of Terrapin is immediate...in fact it's the very antithesis of the word. Much of it is unlistenable at first. It does get under your skin in a Third/Sister Lovers way, but you have to be determined to put it there.

It is disturbing to look through the pictures in the book Saucerful. You can tell just from his eyes, when he's....just gone. It's like looking at a blank person. Very eerie indeed.

To answer your question:
I was a huge "Classic Rock" fan back in HS. When I discovered "Indie", I had a knee-jerk, backlash reaction to all things "Classic Rock" -- Zeppelin & Floyd, in particular. It's only been in the last 5-6 years that I've come back to them. Damn.

I also think Syd's guitarwork on Piper is some of the most thoroughly original and imaginative psych playing I've ever heard.

I'll agree with you there; those pics and some others that I have in some books are SCARY. Looking into the eyes of madness is pretty frightening. Especially in my more *ahem* "prone to experimental behavior" days.

That's some pretty weird-ass shit, right there.

I love it.