The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn (1967)

UK release
All songs written and composed by Syd Barrett, except where noted.

Side one
1. "Astronomy Domine" 4:12
2. "Lucifer Sam" 3:07
3. "Matilda Mother" 3:08
4. "Flaming" Barrett 2:46
5. "Pow R. Toc H." (Barrett, Roger Waters, Wright, Nick Mason) 4:26
6. "Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk" (Waters) 3:05
Side two
1. "Interstellar Overdrive" (Barrett, Waters, Wright, Mason) 9:41
2. "The Gnome" 2:13
3. "Chapter 24" 3:42
4 . "The Scarecrow" 2:11
5. "Bike" 3:21

US release
All songs written and composed by Syd Barrett, except where noted.

Side one
1. "See Emily Play" 2:53
2. "Pow R. Toc H." (Barrett, Waters, Wright, Mason) 4:26
3. "Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk" (Waters) 3:05
4. "Lucifer Sam" 3:07
5. "Matilda Mother" 3:08
Side two
1. "The Scarecrow" 2:11
2. "The Gnome" 2:13
3. "Chapter 24" 3:42
4. "Interstellar Overdrive" (Barrett, Waters, Wright, Mason) 9:41

UK #6 US #131

Ah!
Pure psychedelic genius indeed. While this isn't at all what Pink Floyd became, it is absolutely what they were in 1967-a brilliant, unique, creative band led by a demented genius in Syd Barrett. Of course, some of this stuff is off the wall and for the typical kid discovering Floyd in High School this wouldn't be what they were expecting. Doesn't make it any less awesome, because this is IMO one of the most important albums of the 60's if not ever.
All 4 band members create the Floyd sound and I don't think Richard Wright gets enough credit for his musical contributions during the Syd era as the was clearly the most talented in terms of playing. My faves include "Bike", "The Gnome" and "The Scarecrow"-all slices of whimsy and almost nursery-rhyme type storytelling by Syd accompanied by the effectively creepy, yet catchy music. I also love the instrumental workout "Interstellar Overdrive" and "Astronomy Domine" which was a blast to hear on the 1994 tour.
The US version of the album (called Pink Floyd at first) included the UK smash single "See Emily Play", which alongside "Arnold Layne" were the band's first 2 non-album singles and absolutely amazing and deserving of their smash status.

Pete, you are certainly making up for lost time with these threads!

The 40th anniversary edition offered:


Disc one
1. "Astronomy Domine (Mono)" 4:17
2. "Lucifer Sam (Mono)" 3:09
3. "Matilda Mother (Mono)" 3:05
4. "Flaming (Mono)" 2:46
5. "Pow R. Toc H. (Mono)" (Barrett, Roger Waters, Wright, Nick Mason) 4:24
6. "Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk (Mono)" (Waters) 3:07
7. "Interstellar Overdrive (Mono)" (Barrett, Waters, Wright, Mason) 9:41
8. "The Gnome (Mono)" 2:14
9. "Chapter 24 (Mono)" 3:53
10. "The Scarecrow (Mono)" 2:10
11. "Bike (Mono)" 3:27
Disc Two
1. "Astronomy Domine (Stereo)" 4:14
2. "Lucifer Sam (Stereo)" 3:07
3. "Matilda Mother (Stereo)" 3:08
4. "Flaming (Stereo)" 2:46
5. "Pow R. Toc H. (Stereo)" (Barrett, Roger Waters, Wright, Nick Mason) 4:26
6. "Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk (Stereo)" (Waters) 3:06
7. "Interstellar Overdrive (Stereo)" (Barrett, Waters, Wright, Mason) 9:40
8. "The Gnome (Stereo)" 2:13
9. "Chapter 24 (Stereo)" 3:42
10. "The Scarecrow (Stereo)" 2:11
11. "Bike (Stereo)" 3:24
Disc Three
1. "Arnold Layne" 2:57
2. "Candy and a Currant Bun" 2:45
3. "See Emily Play" 2:54
4. "Apples and Oranges" 3:05
5. "Paintbox" 3:45
6. "Interstellar Overdrive (Take 2) (French Edit)" 5:15
7. "Apples and Oranges (Stereo Version)" 3:11
8. "Matilda Mother (Alternative Version)" 3:09
9. "Interstellar Overdrive (Take 6)" 5:03

I am so bored Chris-I feel confined! But-I also still don't feel very good, so I need to do some things and this board is one of them!

Well, being that I know little about early Floyd, this should be very enlightening.

Love the mono mix of this album and the accompanying singles. Syd Barrett was a gifted genius, a visionary. The fact that music wasn't even his primary artistic interest makes his work all the more remarkable.

The band will always be "The Pink Floyd" to me.

I'm holding out hope for an Immersion Edition of this album and A Saucerful Of Secrets with all of the unreleased Barrett era recordings.

Not a big fan of early Floyd (like most I came aboard during Meddle/ DSOTM) but I do enjoy this early period for its wackiness and pop sensibility. A totally different Floyd from the epic albums of the 70's.

Not to mention that his life provided the later Floyd with a lot of their subject matter!

My greatest wish is to have the 1st 2 albums on BluRay with a remixed version that Dave Gilmour has already done. Listen to the remixed tracks he did from the Floyds debut LP on the recent Syd Barrett anthology and you will be very impressed.

not my favorite pink floyd material at all. just not a syd barrett fan, david gilmour is way better IMHO.

When the Immersion sets finally came out I was very underwhelmed how little outtakes were actually included, I hope they will be more generous with the 1960s era Floyd.

Not much in common with later Floyd, but that's not a bad thing. I really love this album and am hoping for a severely expanded edition very soon.

+1

I love this record, and the Syd Barrett stuff if my favorite. With the exception of Meddle, I'm not a big post-Syd Pink Floyd fan.

Ah, an IP "albums thread," and all is right in the world (well, all will be right when Pete fully recovers, but you know what I mean).

I got into Floyd when "Animals" was their new album (I was 11), and within a couple of years I fell in love with DSOTM, WYWH and The Wall. Initially when I went back to the early stuff (via the "A Perfect Pair" 2-LP set) I didn't get it, but at some point in my early 20s I finally got into them. "Piper" is a brilliant album on so many levels, but I still think of it as being recorded by a completely different band. As mentioned above, I'll think of this as "The Pink Floyd," while all subsequent albums dropped the "The".

I also love the mono mix (I bought the original mono CD that came in the mini box with various postcards), probably more than the more widely known stereo version. I was surprised by that, assuming that such twisted, psychedelic music would benefit from the wider stereo spectrum. Whoever did the mono mix, though, balanced everything perfectly.

IP, I completely agree about Richard Wright's contributions during this era. The sounds he came up with were as essential as Syd's songwriting.

Looking forward to this thread, as Floyd is in my Top 5 bands.

That's how I distinguish between Barrett Floyd and Gilmour Floyd. Barrett is The Definite Article.

+1 for the Piper / Saucer immersion version. I ain't seen no new news on this since February...

That could be a great marketing hook - "Severely Expanded Edition."

"When a Deluxe Edition simply won't do, try out our new Severely Expanded Edition line of CDs."

The psychedelic scene really isn't my thing but I think this is a good album overall. Astronomy Domine is great and there are a few other songs I like quite a bit. Intersteller Overdrive was always too long for me. Also heavily favor the mono version of the album. Too many parts in the stereo version where it sounds like a 3 year old playing with the balance knob on the stereo which I find really annoying. Leading up to the Discovery set I was hoping they would surprise and include the mono version although I knew they wouldn't. I like Piper much more than the next couple of albums but don't think it's in the same league as the "classic" Floyd era...although it's nearly impossible to compare the two as they are so completely different.

Thank you, but I have to admit that I stole that line from an old girlfriend who used that adverb when telling me about her ahem, biological needs. She was fun, a lot of fun.

I haven't heard the mono's. Not being sarcastic here, could someone explain why a psych band would sound better in mono?

It's the mix that Syd Barrett fussed over and wanted released. (Before 1969, the stereo mix was almost always an afterthought put together by the producer and/or label, not the primary concern of the band.)

That said, I'd love a hi-rez surround mix that's faithful to Syd's vision. Surely an Immersion Edition -- or a Severely Expanded Edition, I should say -- would include surround.