Pink Floyd - The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

The Piper at the Gates of Dawn - Awesome!

Up to this point I had never owned The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. I'd owned all the other Floyd albums, but this has really got me stoked. I'd always tended to shy away from Syd Barrett's Pink Floyd, but this set has changed my mind. The Mono and Stereo versions coupled with the alternative versions and singles have given me a new found respect for the genius that was Syd. Some of it sounds dated to the psychedelic 60's, but most of it seems timeless and captures the imagination, taking me back to a psche-developing english childhood gone by and longed-for. A very intriguing look into the mind of a musical/artistic genius, whom we lost far too soon. October 30, 2008

Such a good album.. RIP Syd

I remember first hearing this album, playing my vinyl 2 lp of A Nice Pair, which featured the first couple albums of the Floyd (Piper at the Gates of Dawn, Saucerful of Secrets). Which remain my favorite albums by the group, followed by More and Animals

Listening to this album in stereo (one of these 3 discs is the original album in stereo) .. whoo! Heaven knows what people made of the noisy guitar on Pow R Toc H when this first came out here in the States on Tower Records!

Firstly, the sound. Never sounded better. You get the original mono mix. The 30th anniversary that first saw the album in mono seems to have clipped Flaming - it sounds fine now remastered for the 40th anniversary..

I give the nod to the mono mix, as thats the mix the Floyd originally supervised. An organ track is missing on the stereo Interstellar Overdrive - oops! Exciting track regardless

You will need both! (mono/stereo)

Sigh. Yes, Vegetable Man, Scream thy last scream were left off the 2007 remaster at the last sec (according to Mason). They're difficult tracks to listen to, and not Syd at the peak of his powers, but it'd be nice to have them

The early singles are very nice however, as is the alternate version of Matilda Mother (which has the original Belloc lyrics)

So you will need it

Do I wish the band would put out more outtakes from 1967 (what a year!) Oh sure. "Reaction in G" is a tantalizing snippet the group prerecorded for a BBC Top Gear session (according to a news article, the track was a song written in reaction to having to play Emily live; the band didn't play their singles live). "Millionaire" (aka "She was a millionaire") would be nice to turn up, as that was going to be the third single after the UK hit See Emily Play

But, regardless, its a very nice package. It only came out cos of Syd dying of course. Its a fitting memorial to the man however, with a nice little sketchbook he worked on, lyrics, lovely pictures. The third cd is still wonderful (heck! Piper at the Gates of Dawn on discs 1&2 is wonderful!) Singles, outtakes and all

It would have been nice to have everything recorded by Syds Floyd in one place however, which makes the omission of tracks like Scream, Vegetable Man pretty unforgivable really

October 28, 2008

an absolute classic

This album was recorded in the 60s. So, what are the reasons for people who didn't hear it to buy it in the 21st century? There are two. First one-it is very good. If you like music of good quality, then you will be pleased. The lyrics and the sound are both top-notch. Second reason-even though the album is 40 years old, it is still very original, no one ever made anything like this still-a very unique thing! September 6, 2008

An Ode To Syd Barrett

First off, I love the unique bound case, its like a tiny tome of British psychedelia. But then I'm saddened that its chief architect paid a terrible price in creating it, but that's a tale for another day. Where Syd could have taken Pink Floyd will always be a subject of debate. But what is not debatable is that this a gorgeous package at a great price. August 30, 2008

The only time Floyd were any good!

The late great Syd Barrett was a genius of some sort and none more so than on this celebratory (is that a real word?) box set.
The mono mix of this set is cataclysmical with so many nuances I've never heard before and its nice to have b-sides and alternate takes all on one disc. Its all well worth it!
I know that Gilmour (hes a nice bloke)-era Floyd fans will hunt me down and tear me to bits when I declare that nothing Pink Floyd ever did, even all added together, comes close to "Piper..." but I think some will agree.
I'm sure more people were influenced by Syd era Floyd than the slow, turgid, non-sensical, depressing, boring, bland, po-faced, anal, stadium filling, downright audacious, humanity hating, multi-squillion pound (I could go on) behemoth of the 70s (hey, its my opinion!)and this set gives proof to that.
Its a terrific tribute to one of the great British psychedelic bands and Roger Waters actually plays some unbelievably interesting bass lines!

Long live Syd! August 6, 2008

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