lambchops's Full Review: Piper at the Gates of Dawn by Pink Floyd
Once upon a time, in a land not so different from this one, there was this strange psychedelic band led by an equally bizarre genius lunatic.
And so the story of Pink Floyd goes. Most listeners are aware of the band’s 1970’s theatrical releases. It was during that decade that the London born band released four consecutive, outstandingly well received albums beginning with 1973’s Dark Side of the Moon and wrapping up with 1979’s The Wall. Songs from that era including Wish You Were Here, Comfortably Numb, Money, Another Brick In The Wall, and Time are classics.
But years before the band surfaced in 1973, they were a very different kind of band. Between 1968 and 1972, the band continually lacked focus. Their progressive, grandiose vision was lost on most fans. Most fans and listeners are familiar with the lineup featuring bassist and vocalist Roger Waters, percussionist Nick Mason, keyboardist Richard Wright, and last but not least guitarist David Gilmour. But there was another, stranger force that led the band in 1967. A force that would later be institutionalized after burning brightly for but a brief moment in time.
Syd Barrett was in a few words the vocalist, songwriter, lead guitarist, and original founder of Pink Floyd. So when his behavior became erratic and insanity set it Pink Floyd was dealt a major blow—and it would take the remaining three members and Barrett’s replacement Gilmour years to recover. In those few brief years, the band did manage to release one album almost wholly under the auspices of Barrett.
Piper at the Gates of Dawn (released as ‘Pink Floyd’ in the states), named in honor of Barrett’s favorite childhood book Wind in the Willows, combined psychedelic sounds with often humorous lyrics. This light message is too often lost in the seriousness of the album and the inaccessibility of the songs, but overall Piper at the Gates of Dawn is an outstanding album. It is unfortunate of course that Barrett soon became so unstable, but it is most probable that his volatile sanity made the borders of reality much less solid and in turn helped to make this album a transcendent and ageless affair. Piper at the Gates of Dawn is an exercise in opening your mind. The album, heavily influenced by LSD, may or may not be to your taste but any case and however you slice this is the work of a genius madman.
With toes hanging over the edge of chaos and oblivion, Pink Floyd pieced together eleven songs. Some are firmly planted in pop while others are others are very much experimental and psychedelic. The former are quite honestly more accessible while the latter take some time to acclimate to. But the long, winding, fantastic psychedelic songs are what make this album something to behold and absolutely reflective of the artist and era. These are also the saplings which grew into the Pink Floyd that we grew to know and love from the 1970’s. In fact, the band admits that epic album Wish You Were Here is a thematic dedication to Barrett and that Shine On You Crazy Diamond was specifically meant for their former leader.
In any case, I am left with a resounding positive feeling about Pink Floyd in their infancy based solely on the quality of the material on Piper at the Gates of Dawn. The most easily appealing of the “freak-outs” has to be opening song Astronomy Domine (omitted from the original American release). It is rich and stylized full of a tapestry of brightly hued textured. Woven of the same druggy cloth are the wild and trippy Flaming, the purposefully silly romp Pow R. Toc H., the exceedingly long Interstellar Overdrive, and the truly crazed pennywhistle-laden Bike.
But at the heart of Piper at the Gates of Dawn are a few timelessly classic pop selections. Lucifer Sam, Matilda Mother, The Gnome, and Chapter 24 represent the best that Pink Floyd had to offer. Lucifer Sam has always appealed to the movie fan in me. Sounds like a strange statement, I realize but the fact is that it sounds very much like something culled from a spy thriller. It’s edgy and pointed with a sense of humor, but not at all a parody.
Matilda Mother is a fable of sorts with Wright as the title character “reading” the story to Syd. It is exactly what you would expect from a fantastic fairy tale. Musically, there are no songs to compare to the seamless brilliance of this one. It is with this song that the album takes on a truly childish and innocuous light. And the lyrics…well…I’ll let you judge them for yourself:
For all the time spent in that room
The doll's house, darkness, old perfume
And fairy stories held me high on
Clouds of sunlight floating by
Oh Mother, tell me more
Tell me more
Speaking of funny things on this album that I like, it’s hard not to mention The Gnome. Simple, effervescent, short, and fantastic it seems as though possibly Barrett saw one too many lawn gnomes during his waking life and during a wild trip experienced a whole society of these little creatures. In any case, I can’t help but feel that this song had some influence on the imaginative songs of Mark Everett. Even better is that The Gnome is simple and shiny and Syd sings in a sing-song style that almost always proves appealing when set to not-so-traditional melody.
Chapter 24 is the last song I want to mention. First and foremost, the words do not belong to Barrett or for that matter any other member of Pink Floyd. They are culled from the mythical I-Ching. And considering the mysticism that goes along with that large book of prophecy, it is definitely fitting that it appears on this album.
Overall, I must say that I’m impressed and saddened by Piper at the Gates of Dawn. It leaves me with questions as to what Pink Floyd would have been had it not been for Barrett’s problems. Then again, maybe it is best that the band was given a chance to grow and change. Barrett did in fact collaborate for a bit on Pink Floyd’s sophomore release, but that album was a hollow shell of what it should have been. He also embarked on a brief solo career and gained a significant cult following. Today after surviving insanity, drug abuse, and homelessness (not at all unrelated) Barrett is said to enjoy gardening and resides in his mother’s old home.
Rating: 4/5 stars
Track Listing:
01. Astronomy Domine
02. Lucifer Sam
03. Matilda Mother
04. Flaming
05. Pow R. Toc H.
06. Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk
07. Interstellar Overdrive
08. The Gnome
09. Chapter 24
10. The Scarecrow
11. Bike
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