THE PIPER AT THE GATES OF DAWN

Piper is very different from later Floyd albums, thanks to the presence of the idiosyncratic Syd Barrett. A lot of their early work isn't so much prog as it is straight-up psychedelic or space rock. For the most part, Piper is an album divides between two styles- trippy space rock and silly psychedelic rock.

Astronomy Domine starts Piper off brilliantly, with a true gem of psychedelic rock- the lyrics seem to be meaningless on their own, adding to the spacey feel of the music. Lucifer Sam is the best song here because of the excellent guitar riff and the lyrics, which seem to concern a cat- it's a really good lighthearted rock song. Matilda Mother and Flaming are nostalgic, childish songs, not unlike Remember a Day and See Saw from Saucerful of Secrets, though Flaming is less keyboard-oriented than those two. Pow R. Toc H. is a really cool instrumental, anchored by the tribal, jungly drumming. Take Up Thy Stethoscope is a good song, with lyrics that seems to be about being sick, though it comes off more like the feeling you get from the pills. After that is the centerpiece, the 9+ minute Interstellar Overdrive, which is exactly what it sounds like- the band taps into the sounds of the mind and the cosmos, making a long, brain-frying piece of music perfect for drifting off with. After that is The Gnome, a silly, random psychedelic pop song.Then is Chapter 24, which uses East Asian sounds to good effect, giving it a Chinese feel, accentuated by the lyrics straight from a Chinese poetry book. The Scarecrow is pretty much The Gnome but with Scarecrows. After that comes Bike, which is as good an example of Barrett's "short and weird" style as Interstellar Overdrive is of his cosmic side- the lyrics can have many meanings, but they seem to be of naive, childish love. Overall, this is a solid, enjoyable album, and very unique. I'll give it 4.5 stars, recommended to fans of cryptic weirdness and space rock.