THE PIPER AT THE GATES OF DAWN

Pink Floyd is one of those bands that most prog fans have already explored and no matter what I say here will create any opinion-changing revelation. Still, it's worth a shot to tell you my connection to this band since I have a rather odd taste when it comes to their output. But before we get to the reasons behind my opinion let me start from the beginning and talk a little about the band's debut album The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn!

Since most people are more familiar with the acclaimed album streak that began with The Dark Side Of The Moon, this 1967 debut release might shock anyone expecting the more familiar tones of gorgeous Space Rock escapades. Let's not forget that this was the era of Psychedelic rock music that traveled from West coast of U.S. and spread all the way to the east coast where it was embraced within the underground community, most notably, by the highly influential band called the Velvet Underground. From there it traveled across the Atlantic Ocean and reached Europe where these influences were embraced by the general public when the Beatles released their ground breaking record Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Many other bands followed in those same footsteps, among which even the Rolling Stones with Their Satanic Majesties Request, but most of these records were met with negative response from the critics labeling them as mere imitators. This was of course not the case with The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn since Pink Floyd had already established themselves as the front-runners of the Psychedelic movement on this side of the Atlantic Ocean.

This quartet and especially their front-man and leader, Syd Barrett, had already created somewhat of a following over the few years of notorious gigs that they had played prior to the release of their debut album. The music here consists mostly of short 2 to 4 minute Psychedelic rock tunes with the exception of the 10 minute jam titled Interstellar Overdrive. I realize that many people, including the band themselves, consider it to be the most important piece of music from their early period since it paved the way for future prolonged music experiments that Pink Floyd would become so famous for. Unfortunately this early take on the formula strikes me as extremely amateurish and it definitely doesn't fit in that well with the rest of the material.

Most of the Syd Barrett-comprised material is quite enjoyable and I would probably have liked this album even more if side two didn't have the drop in quality which makes it difficult for The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn to recover beyond the good, but non-essential. Still, it definitely makes me wonder how the band would have evolved if Syd Barrett stayed with in Pink Floyd for a few more albums. Then again, we probably wouldn't have had the albums we that we now hold so dear!

***** star songs: Astronomy Domine (4:12) Lucifer Sam (3:07) Bike (3:21)

**** star songs: Matilda Mother (3:08) Flaming (2:46) Pow R. Toc H. (4:26) Take Up Thy Stethoscope And Walk (3:05) Chapter 24 (3:42) Scarecrow (2:11)

*** star songs: Interstellar Overdrive (9:41) The Gnome (2:13)