And I'm sure other bands of the time were taking notes. But I can say that part of the reason Piper at the Gates of Dawn is a masterpiece is due to the production. I have to say I'm fairly ignorant about studio techniques and so I can't comment on much. Many of the comments I read about this album express tons of admiration for their technical achievements in the studio. I'm also quite fond of “Flaming,” with its strange catchy melody and the effective echo put to the vocals. The drums and that descending rhythm guitar provide an excellent backbone while Nick Mason does some weird organ noodling in the background. Probably the sanest song in terms of linear lyrics is “The Gnome,” which is simply about a gnome that goes out exploring one day.Īs far as “pop songs” go, the one that can't be beat is “Lucifer Sam.” The melody is catchy as nobody's business, and the instrumentals are both exciting and trippy. You'll note that his lyrics usually don't make much sense, but there's typically a barely logical but followable thread that runs through them. He sings a catchy melody with crazy lyrics about a mouse, a gingerbread man, and whatever else he could think of. It's like he's trying to mess with our inner child.“Bike” is reminiscent of a carnival ride tune, and Barrett is the evil ringleader of our minds. If you thought those two songs were weird, wait until you've heard the children's songs which is when Barrett's at his all-time creepiest. Some of the instruments, notably that descending, high-pitched guitar that wails every once in awhile, is a little bit out-of-tune. “Astronomy Domine” is also one of the great space-rock tracks, and this one has a vocal melody and really bizarre lyrics! The rhythm guitars and the drums play at a menacing pace while Barrett's sleepy and tone-deaf lead vocals take us on a strange journey through the cosmos. Believe me, this is a feat difficult to achieve. And what can I say? This draws me in right from the very beginning, and it never loses my attention. just that it came out as weird and spaced-out as possible. At times, you get the feeling that they were really not even concerned with what they were playing. But after that, we're treated to a wild array of organ noodles, strangely textured guitars, beeping noises, dissonant chords, and complicated drum patterns. It opens with a menacing and memorable riff that repeats a few times. Doing acid is dangerous and I wouldn't recommend it, but I would highly recommend listening to this song! It's a stream-of-consciousness that takes you down a wild ride. If you've ever wondered what it must be like traveling through outer space while tripped up on acid, you needn't look further than “Interstellar Overdrive,” the nine-minute spaced-out jam session that the band reportedly made up on the spot. If any album is going to 'blow you away,' it's gonna be this one. Luckily for us all, however, he hung on long enough to record Piper at the Gates of Dawn, a premiere psychedelic album.
Unfortunately, Barrett's sanity was hanging by a thread (something that any amateur psychologist would note reading his lyrics), and the band would be forced to kick him out shortly after the release of the album. Roger Waters, Nick Mason and Rick Wright already displayed superb musicianship, but at this point they were merely the followers of this grand guru of mind-blowing psychedelic music. He was also intensely creative, writing most of these songs, and he was the primary force behind this group in their early years.
He was the original leader of Pink Floyd, and he liked to do LSD. When people tell you that Syd Barrett was nuts, that's not an understatement.
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