PINK FLOYD 1965 - THEIR FIRST RECORDINGS

Pink Floyd before Pink Floyd

Before their "The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn",released in 1967, Syd Barrett, Roger Waters, Rado Klose, Richard Wright,Nick Mason & Juliette Gale (choruses on one track), or as we all know as PINK FLOYD, recorded this untitled material which is now presented as their first recording. It was originally released as a limited edition set of two 7" vinyl records and consists now of 6 tracks. Five original songs by Barrett and Waters, and one Slim Harpo cover ("I'm a King Bee").

As for the music itself, it shows clearly the sign of the times in its songwriting. Playing alongside mainstream and not wanting to sound "squarish", one can easily sense the inevitable rhythm and blues influence, which in those days represented an underground and contagious musical freedom for almost all Rock n' Rollers down in the UK.

Because of the same, now in 2015, this will hardly sound as daring as it sounded back then. The Yardbird's had already started this kind of experimental and electronic/acoustic Rock music based on rhythm and blues songwriting, as the Rolling Stones who were also traveling these roads.

To cut it short, it would have taken a real great fortune teller to foretell the brilliant future that this band will eventually achieve, by just listening to this highly collectible (unimpressive) EP for future hard core Floyd fans.

**2 by the book "Collectors/fans only" PA 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".