Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Pink Floyd
Label: EMI Records
Release: 1968
Rating: 4/5
Before the release of their second album “A Saucerful Of Secrets”, Pink Floyd were without a doubt the top name on the British psychedelic rock scene and one of the leading pioneers of the emerging progressive rock. Their previous album “The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn” (1967), today one of the cult albums of psychedelic and early progressive rock, had shot them into the ranks of the most conspicuous rock stars of the psychedelic ’60s, and thanks to their famous “space” audio-visual shows, they’d carried a special aura of a band from “another planet” pretty much from the very beginning. All that media hype that followed their first singles and the debut had long-term negative consequences for guitarist, singer and main songwriter (music and lyrics) Syd Barrett. He started drifting further and further away from the band and locking himself into a world entirely of his own, which often showed in his excessive use of psychoactive substances, LSD above all. Add to that his existing tendency toward schizophrenia and a rich imagination, and the result was disastrous for his music career. “A Saucefrul Of Secrets” was his last album with Pink Floyd, and like its predecessor, it carries a certain mystique tied to the figure and work of this unfortunate musician, whom many consider one of the greatest, if not the greatest, raw talents in the history of rock music.
Barrett’s mental state was only getting worse day by day. During shows he’d often play whatever he felt like, completely out of context, tune his guitar through the entire set, or simply stare off into nothing without opening his mouth or touching the strings. His behavior, on stage and off, was becoming a real nightmare for the rest of the band. Still, at first they wanted to keep him at all costs, afraid that without him they’d lose their sonic and lyrical identity. If he couldn’t perform live anymore, they at least wanted to preserve his unique poetry, vocals and guitar in the studio. So they brought in David Gilmour, an old acquaintance of the band and Syd’s high-school friend, who played guitar in a fairly similar way to Barrett at the time and who was originally meant to replace Syd on guitar and vocals at their live shows. Sadly, the five-piece Pink Floyd lineup didn’t last long, because after a handful of joint compositions, mostly found on this album, Syd was no longer with it in the studio either and finally “floated away” into his own world. The last song he wrote as a member of the band was “Vegetable Man”, which the other members left off the album because it was too autobiographical lyrically. For many fans, Syd’s departure was an unprecedented tragedy, and they were already counting the days until the band’s demise, but Gilmour ended up proving himself to be far more than just Syd’s replacement on guitar and vocals. With his distinctive voice and guitar playing, especially his famous drawn-out, “weeping” solos, he quickly became one of the band’s pillars and in time established himself as an equal partner in songwriting to his later great “friend”, bassist and singer Roger Waters.
With the exception of the closing “Jugband Blues”, Barrett’s only solo composition on the album, the lead vocals on all the other tracks are shared by Waters, Gilmour and keyboardist Rick Wright. For Wright, this was the only album in their history on which he dominated as a singer, taking the lead on as many as four songs. These three heavyweights also shared the main songwriting duties. While Waters, who established himself as the main lyricist, already leaned toward more demanding, often socially critical lyrical themes, Gilmour and Wright went for simpler lyrics. As for the sound, this album is among their most experimental (and not just from the psychedelic era), with plenty of avant-garde sounds to be found, from unusual use of percussion and special guitar effects to the hiss of oscillators. The compositions are well balanced: every longer, complex experimental piece, often packed with avant-garde sounds, is followed by a shorter, compositionally less demanding number with a simpler structure and a relatively accessible melody. Even though the lyrics contained no sci-fi references, the mood of some of the tracks is quite esoteric and hypnotic, and that can easily send the listener into a trance. Thanks to this album, especially the track “Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun”, some media soon after its release came up with the term space rock, which later stuck for all the bands who put longer instrumental jams, unusual avant-garde sounds and a vivid palette of keyboards into their work, creating the feel of a journey through space.
The trip toward “distant galaxies” kicks off with “Let There Be More Light”, where Wright, Waters and Gilmour trade off on vocals. The track is mysteriously ushered in by a rumbling line from Waters’ bass, into which a booming layer of Wright’s organ crashes powerfully from the initial distance, followed by a rhythmic build-up. At this point Wright steps in as the lead vocalist, while Waters, with his shrieking, plays the backing singer. The multi-part vocal harmonies, combined with obscure sounds, organ and a guitar riff, create a rather gloomy atmosphere. At the end of the track’s last section, Gilmour adds his first solo as the newest member of Pink Floyd, pushed through distorted effects. Waters’ lyrics are a sarcastic allegory of the psychedelic music scene of the ’60s and of the band as one of the central British icons of the era.
“Remember a Day”, a mellow psychedelic ballad with folk elements, with Rick Wright shining as the lead singer, is laid over a lovely melody built from soft piano arrangements, a melodic bass and solid slide guitar passages played by none other than Syd. He also plays a short solo. Obscure sounds are constantly present in the background, boosting its psychedelic mood. Both the mood and the lyrics reflect an idyllic image of childhood innocence, which was pretty typical of most of Barrett’s work. A simple and pleasant song that makes for a good contrast to the otherwise dark atmosphere that dominates the album.
“Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun” is a longer, heavily experimental piece that has earned cult status over the years as one of the first examples of so-called space rock, and it was the track from this album they played live the longest and most often. A rather obscure, dark mood prevails, with lots of psychedelic effects, especially on Mason’s percussion and drums. Throughout the song Gilmour’s hypnotic guitar riff keeps repeating, and together with psychedelic keyboard sounds and cymbals it creates a distinctly oriental vibe, the kind that was generally popular in psychedelic rock. The whispering vocals heighten the composition’s mysterious mood even more. The song is also famous for being the only one featuring contributions from both Barrett and Gilmour, even though they didn’t play on it at the same time. After Barrett left, Gilmour re-recorded the guitar lines and laid them over Syd’s. Whether or not that was the main idea, Pink Floyd managed to create a real feeling of a spaceflight into the unknown with this piece.
The fun “Corporal Clegg” I’d call a fine example of good old British black humor, and Waters’ first lyrical venture into war themes, which he would become totally obsessed with in his final years with the band. The song is one of their very rare comic numbers, though even this one has an unmistakable touch of dark sarcasm about the horrors of war and their social consequences. Gilmour does a great job as lead vocalist and guitarist this time, and he also tried his hand at a traditional clown’s instrument – the kazoo, from which he coaxes extremely goofy sounds. They recall the brass band playing that usually accompanies military marches. An excellent psychedelic keyboard melody and a wah-wah effect on the guitar successfully inject a subtle contrast into the farcical nature of the song. In its outro you can also hear sounds of something that resembles military drills. In some verses the song also features Mason’s vocal contribution. Waters’ sarcastic lyrics tell the story of a senile soldier with a wooden leg who still fantasizes about glorious battles of the past, and his alcoholic wife.
The title instrumental “A Saucerful Of Secrets”, at more than eleven minutes the longest and most complex piece on the album, is split into several sections. This track is a true incarnation of early avant-garde experimentalism in rock music, with plenty of weird sounds, especially the unusual use of percussion and dissonant keyboard effects. You can also feel the influence of Frank Zappa on the psychedelic scene of the time. The opening section begins with Mason’s cymbal work and the eerie mood of keyboard effects. When that’s over, a section follows where the drums and strange piano passages with a heavy dose of crazy effects set the spooky mood. That gives way to a somewhat more “composed” but still creepy section dominated by the dramatic sound of church organ. When “angelic” choir harmonies and the Mellotron join the organ, the atmosphere turns utterly majestic. That’s the peak and the finale of the composition. According to Waters, the piece was meant to evoke the atmosphere of a battle, and I think it pulls that off pretty well. Because of this spooky mood, the Mellotron sound and the successful emulation of the sounds of war’s horrors, it reminds me a bit of the King Crimson classic “Devil’s Traingle” from “In The Wake Of Poseidon” (1970), though that one is a lot darker.
“See-Saw” is another rather mellow and romantic Wright composition, in which he once again takes the lead vocals. Here Wright proves himself not only a very solid singer but also the creator of immensely tasteful, melodic symphonic arrangements. In his array of keyboards, delicate layers of organ, piano, Mellotron and vibraphone trade off nicely and harmoniously the whole way through. The additional vocal harmonies are superb, and combined with the symphonic arrangements and guitar they create an unforgettable romantic mood. Structurally this excellent piece is quite similar to “Remember a Day”, though its mood is noticeably darker.
Closing the album is the highly symbolic and unusually structured “Jugband Blues”, which is in a way Syd’s farewell song and his only solo piece on it. At its core it’s psychedelic folk rock, quite similar to some tracks from their debut. Syd’s vocal reflects total emotional resignation and absence. Along the way he plays a simple melody on acoustic guitar. The witty brass arrangements on tuba and trombone were played by none other than Waters and Wright. At the end, after a break, Syd’s vocal and acoustic guitar come back for one more verse. A sad goodbye, reflected also in some extremely personal lines in which he expresses his estrangement from the band and from “normal” society in general.
“A Saucerful Of Secrets”, the only album in the band’s history recorded by five members, was one of the first progressive rock albums, and as such it counts among the classics of the ’60s, though personally I wouldn’t rank it among their best work. It was a superb example of their transitional, experimental phase, brought on by Syd’s departure, when they tried to redefine their sound by bringing in plenty of avant-garde sounds, psychedelic-tinged symphonic arrangements and other sonic oddities, but compared to the later, far more subtle albums that wrote them into immortality, it sounds pretty obscure, not to say “boyish”. Even though I’m a fan of certain kinds of avant-garde progressive rock, with Zappa at the head, I think Pink Floyd never managed to realize their potential with such elements the way they did later, when they upgraded and refined their brand of psychedelia and space rock with symphonic touches and more structured works tied together by a common thread. Despite its undeniable innovation in progressive rock, I’d have a hard time calling it the band’s masterpiece, but it’s unquestionably one of the most important albums of its time, and the one that first introduced the public to David Gilmour’s musical talent. At home in Great Britain it sold fairly well, while in the US it was a considerable flop, since it’s their only album that never made the American top 100 albums chart. With this album Pink Floyd started searching for a new sonic direction and tried to patch up the damage caused by the departure of their tragic, unfulfilled musical genius, who briefly turned to a solo career after leaving. While Syd’s solo career went into a sharp decline after two releases and he slid into complete obscurity, Pink Floyd got better with every following album at writing longer, majestic compositions and at developing their own, instantly recognizable sound, which wrote them forever among the greatest legends of rock music.
Lineup
Syd Barrett – vocals, guitar
David Gilmour – vocals, guitar, kazoo
Roger Waters – vocals, bass guitar
Richard Wright – vocals, organ, piano, Mellotron, vibraphone
Nick Mason – drums, percussion
Production
Norman Smith
Track list
1. Let there be more light (5:38)
2. Remember a day (4:33)
3. Set the controls for the heart of the sun (5:28)
4. Corporal Clegg (4:12)
5. A saucerful of secrets (11:57)
6. See-saw (4:36)
7. Jugband blues (2:59)
Album length: 39:23
