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Pink Floyd - Pink Floyd 1965 - Their First Recordings CD (album) cover

PINK FLOYD 1965 - THEIR FIRST RECORDINGS

Pink Floyd

 

Psychedelic/Space Rock

2.79 | 28 ratings

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Glubluk
3 stars Well, well, it's not often that you actually get to hear stuff of legend. Songs that were known by title only, whose very existence was uncertain, are suddenly (indeed) made available to the public by a band notorious for their complete unwillingness to open the vaults. Undoubtedly, this is a historical event, but is it a musical event as well?

Strangely enough, it is, to an extent. No-one in their right mind would claim that these songs are more that what they appear to be: tentative recordings made by a band in their formative stages. This alone, however, does not make them bad music. Generic, yes, but not bad. What we have here are rhythm'n'blues-based songs that reflect the spirit of the music scene of the mid-60's more than the true identity of the band. "Double O Bo" and "Remember Me" are the best examples of songs that stick to the r'n'b formula, not really trying to be anything else.

Is there NO Pink Floyd in the music, then? There is, but you need to listen carefully to actually spot it. First of all, the two tracks already known from bootlegs, "Lucy Leave" and "I'm a King Bee" contain some typical 'Barrettisms': in the way they are sung (especially "Lucy") and in some guitar licks ("King Bee"). The unusual slide bass on the latter is also a harbinger of more 'out there' things to come. "Butterfly" might be a generic r'n'b song as well, but the lyrics put it into the slightly disturbing territory (Fowles' "The Collector" and Steven Wilson's "Index" come to mind).

The most revelatory of the bunch, however, is "Walk with Me Sydney". This Waters-penned 'novelty song' is as hilarious as it is demented and shows that Barrett might not actually have been the sole genius behind the psychedelic Pink Floyd of 1966-68 that he is generally accepted as. The tracks suggest that he was indeed the prolific songwriter, but the bizarre elements in later songs might actually have come from the rest of the band, as the guitars are in fact the least psychedelic element on these tracks and both the four Barrett tracks here and his output from solo albums show how much he was immersed in the blues and rhythm'n'blues.

I can't imagine this being of interest to anyone else but fans and historians, but still the music is enjoyable and catchy enough to warrant at least a cursory listen.

Footnote: I wonder who plays bass and harmonica on "I'm a King Bee" and who signs "Remember Me".

Glubluk | 3/5 |

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