A MOMENTARY LAPSE OF VINYL (PINK FLOYD TRIBUTE)

UK label Fruits de Mer Records have an annual habit of creating something special for their regular customers. A little something the regular buyers and a few reviewers are sent towards the end of each year, small treasures they can hoard over and possibly gloat over owning that will be out of bonds for everyone else. In 2014 they really outdid themselves by assembling a double CD of material featuring cover versions of early Pink Floyd compositions and Syd Barrett songs, in a package called "A Momentary Lapse of Vinyl".

How interesting or not cover versions is to you will probably be a deciding fasctor in whether or not you'll desire to hunt down someone in possession of this double CD package, as well as just how much you treasure Pink Floyd as they came across prior to the universally well known Dark Side album. Those that treasure this period of Floyd and Barrett will most likely find this production to be an interesting one though, especially as the contributing artists all have their little special take on their chosen songs.

Personally I was most amazed by the song that bookends the first of these two CDs, Ilona V and I Am Voyager 1 both covering the tune Golden Hair. Each in their very own way, each of them managing to achieve a magical run through this brief Barrett solo tune. Among this massive collection of material, 30 songs and a playtime of more than two hours, it is difficult to point out any core traits of course, and the generally high quality of this production makes it just about impossible to describe the best ones in a brief and coherent manner. One core trait that applies tom many of these submissions is that they are fairly lo-fi sounding though. Little studio magic have been applied to polish the overall sound here, and among the most notable is the almost singer songwriter run through four songs assembled into one package by one man band Extra, where Cymbaline is the song that takes up the greater majority of time through this almost 14 minutes long rendition that also covers Pastoral Symphony, Crying Song and Green Is the Colour.

The most standout contribution in a negative sense, due to my personal tastes I guess, is the chaotic, constantly fragmenting improvisational sounding Interstellar Overdrive by Interstellar Emily. While some firmer and often compelling themes do rise, and subsequently defragment, the overall impression on this elongated trek is chaotic more than anything else. Personally I was much more fond of Rob Gould's more carefully controlled take on A Saucerful of Secrets, also a chaotic affair that twists and turns but in this take with more of a melodic, ambient feel to it. And with liberal use of Mellotrons too, unless I'm, much mistaken.

Many of the shorter songs are amongst the most vital here. The Jet Age's Let's Split amongst the most compelling one in that department, and James McKeown's careful take on Dominoes another one that merits a mention. The Magic Mushroom Band is another contributor worth taking note of, and while they have a relatively easy task when their chosen song is Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun, I found their take on this song to be a vibrant and intriguing one anyhow, and the female whispered vocals really suit this song, at least in this version. On the subject of female lead vocalists many more should probably be mentioned too. Cary Grace and Crystal Jacqueline both contribute high quality renditions too, of Cirrus Minor and Grantchester Meadows respectively, and Wild Pink Yonders take on Two of a Kind is another one that needs to be mentioned in this particular context.

All in all this is a solid package, and one many fans of Barrett era Pink Floyd most likely would have liked to experience. If you belong inside that audience and you should happen to chance upon this production, I'd advice you to get a hold of this one. Until that happens, visiting someone with this double CD in their possession will be the only possible way to experience this material presumably.