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The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (40th Anniversary Edition)
At the time The Piper at the Gates of Dawn was originally released in 1967, it was one among many aurally ripped, acid-tripped albums including Jimi Hendrix's Are You Experienced, Cream's Disraeli Gears, Jefferson Airplane's After Bathing at Baxter's, and, of course, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, which the Beatles were recording down the hall from Pink Floyd at Abbey Road. But as those albums have gracefully slipped into the mainstream of our music consciousness, Piper, along with The Velvet Underground and Nico, still sounds like it broke through from another dimension. Pink Floyd were employing musique concrete techniques, inventing glissando guitar, and exploring areas of trance with tunes like "Interstellar Overdrive," actually two takes of an extended rave-up laid on top of each other. Mixing sci-fi imagery with swinging London metaphors and pastoral fantasies (the title is lifted from The Wind in the Willows), Pink Floyd's music was even more dappled, swirled, and surreal than the light shows that accompanied their performances. Piper represented Syd Barrett's vision as the sole composer of all but three songs. He was yet to have his acid-induced meltdowns, and all things were possible and beautiful. Barrett mixed whimsy on "Bike" with cynicism on the wordless but ominous "Pow R. Toc H."; goofy innocence on "The Gnome" and mysticism on "Chapter 24." But there's no doubting the contributions of Richard Wright with his swirling, reverb-drenched organ fugues and jazz ellipses and Roger Waters's earth-rooted bass. Nick Mason's underrated drumming, time-shifting polyrhythms, and colorful flourishes pushed Barrett's elliptical pop even further over the edge, especially on the space-music opus "Astronomy Domine." The original album was recorded on only four tracks, making stereo effects and panning somewhat rudimentary and often annoying. But this expanded release includes a full mono mix of the album which provides a more coherent sound and, surprisingly, a bit more depth. Some of the songs are just wacky, some of the technology and tape edits rough-hewn, but The Piper at the Gates of Dawn is one of those albums that actually appears more radical in retrospect. --John Diliberto
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Tracks| 1 | Astronomy Domine | | 2 | Lucifer Sam | | 3 | Matilda Mother | | 4 | Flaming | | 5 | Pow R. Toc H. | | 6 | Take Up Thy Stethoscope And Walk | | 7 | Insteller Overdrive | | 8 | The Gnome | | 9 | Chapter 24 | | 10 | Scarecrow | | 11 | Bike | | 12 | Astronomy Domine | | 13 | Lucifer Sam | | 14 | Matilda Mother | | 15 | Flaming | | 16 | Pow R. Toc H. | | 17 | Take Up Thy Stethoscope And Walk | | 18 | Insteller Overdrive | | 19 | The Gnome | | 20 | Chapter 24 | | 21 | Scarecrow | | 22 | Bike |
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