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Pink Floyd - It Would Be So Nice CD (album) cover

IT WOULD BE SO NICE

Pink Floyd

Psychedelic/Space Rock


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Conor Fynes
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars 'It Would Be So Nice' - Pink Floyd (Single)

'It Would Be So Nice' is a single that was essentially disowned by almost all members of Pink Floyd. Described by Nick Mason as 'f*cking awful', the single was not very successful, and especially with the problems facing the frontman Syd Barrett, things were fairly dark for PInk Floyd at this time. However, despite the band hating this track, this is quite a pleasant track, paired with a decent b-side. Penned by keyboardist Richard Wright, 'It Would Be So Nice' feels closer to being a Beatles track rather than Floyd, featuring some vaudevillian pianos and nice vocal harmonies. Moreover, the lyrics are close to the sort of whimsical approach the Beatles had at this time; making the mundane seem magical. With lyrics even just about things like reading the newspaper, it is a surprisingly charming song, sounding almost as if Syd Barrett wrote it rather than Wright. That being said, the vocal harmonies and arrangement can get a little too overwhelming and make the sound fuzzy.

The other track here 'Julia Dream' is a rather melancholic and sad-sounding tune, taking a much more sombre approach than most other material heard on the early Floyd singles. Relying mostly on some soft vocals with keyboard and acoustics, it is fairly simple and much less complex than the single here. As well, it is not nearly as memorable, generally taking one approach and sticking with it throughout the song. The b-side here is nothing special, but 'It Would Be So Nice' is a very nice track from the Pink Floyd, even if they may tend to disagree.

Report this review (#457543)
Posted Sunday, June 5, 2011 | Review Permalink
3 stars Another Richard Wright penned track that gets beat on by the rest of the group. I truly believe if PF supported this guy and gave him more credits instead of knocking him, they would have been an even greater band. Most of "It Would Be So Nice" is very good. If the rest of the guys did not like something, they should have worked on it. The same holds true for "Remember A Day", "Paintbox", and "See Saw". I enjoy all of them. RaD got bumped from Piper and ended up on A Saucerful of Secrets. It is certainly better than say Corporal Clegg and half of Piper. Paintbox only saw the light of day on Relics and "See Saw" was put down by Waters as "the most boring song except 2". It is not.

Anyway, "It Would Be So Nice" is very whimsical , which is a Syd Barrett type of song. Nice vocal harmonies and keyboard heavy, it is very tied to its 1960's release. Julia Dream is Roger Waters track that is soft, and somber but it doesn't go anywhere.

Overall, better than what is said these 2 tracks of early Pink Floyd.

3 stars

Report this review (#515998)
Posted Monday, September 5, 2011 | Review Permalink
Guillermo
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars This is the first single that the band recorded after Syd Barrett left the band. It was released in April 1968.

In Side One, there is "It Would Be So Nice", composed and sung by Rick Wright. A song that almost nobody liked in the band, with Roger Waters and Nick Mason saying very bad things about it years later. A very Pop song with some Psychedelic influences, similar in style to some of the songs that Barrett wrote for the band like "See Emily Play". Not bad as I expected it to be after reading Waters' and Mason's commentaries about it. It sounds like the band was trying too hard to sound like some of the songs that they released while Barrett was still in the band. Wright sang it well, and it also shows some influences from other bands like THE MOVE. If the band as a whole didn't like "It Would Be So Nice", why they decided to record the song to release it on the Side One of a single? I don't know if the band was trying to please their record label trying to sound as they previously sounded with Barrett.

In the Side Two, there is "Julia Dream", composed by Waters. A good Psychedelic song with good sound effects and a mellotron, and sung by David Gilmour (the first song that he recorded as lead singer with the band). I first listened to this song in 1976 in their "Relics" compilation album.

Report this review (#1509670)
Posted Saturday, January 9, 2016 | Review Permalink
4 stars Lighthearted & lushly melancholic and psychedelic: 8/10

I found Julia Dream randomly on YouTube and gave it a listen. Upon learning it was a single - not being featured on any album, how sad - I decided to give a look to the "entirety" of this excerpt from early PINK FLOYD. Assuming this has only seven minutes, I'll spare the needless contextual details.

It Would Be So Nice is a lighthearted track distinctively sounding like THE BEATLES' plainness, with at best some mildly psychedelic twist to it. The chorus does feature some subversion on the simplicity of the entire song, though. It's enjoyable, but not much memorable at all.

Julia Dream, however, is pretty different, featuring a lush, distorted Mellotron background - IN THE COURT OF THE CRIMSON KING with an, even more, psychedelic touch - and reverbed & delayed calm vocals. The small midsection features some random experimental effects as the saddened acoustics and Mellotron play alongside, and the outro, some brutally disorienting screeching effects. It's a sweet, mellow, but heart-wrenching song. Like watching a young child passing away peacefully - for as much we're glad they have no pain, we're grieving over their death. I found it a spectacular demonstration of psychedelia at its state-of-art form.

The first track is rather uninteresting, whereas the second is highly recommendable. "It Would Be So Nice" lowered the overall score... should "Julia Dream" be released as single, perhaps I would have given it five stars. Well, it's a matter of taste, really - I loved it. But I think PINK FLOYD fans - and psychedelic rock fans in general - will highly enjoy it as well.

Report this review (#1743472)
Posted Friday, July 14, 2017 | Review Permalink

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