1970 yielded some fantastic songs for Pink Floyd (and especially for Syd Barrett, but that’s for another day). They have quite a lot of leftovers, possibly due to working on the Zabriskie Point movie and expecting a vinyl release that never came. Hopefully these weren’t too close to how they were supposed to sound, as much of what’s here is forgettable and ill-thought out. That would be more acceptable if these were barely getting off the ground. There’s a track like “Come in Number 51, Your Time Is Up”, which actually got released and seems like just a less cohesive or well-worked version of “Careful with That Axe, Eugene”. There was already a released studio and live version. They couldn’t have put in another? 51 seems like a highlight reel of bits of Eugene. “On the Highway” is a particular favorite outtake, which wasn’t released at the time.
There are many inconsequential jams, which seem to have missed being fully realized. If recorders were more common in the early 60s-1967 version of the band, maybe we’d get stuff like this, pleasant noodling? “Alan’s Blues” is one, showcasing a more traditional rock guitar solo. As much can be said for “Just Another Twelve Bar”. “Love Scene (Version 5)” is when the noodling got more tiresome (don’t listen to these all in one sitting), with it going on with “Love Scene (Version 6)”. “Libest Spacement Monitor” and “More Blues” have some good interplay, like between the guitar and keyboard, but are inconsequential.
“Oenone” just seems like someone, probably Richard Wright, playing around with sounds for possible use of backing a song. “Love Scene (Version 4)” is a pleasant keyboard number. It might not be so bad to have on in the background. “The Violent Sequence”, aka “Us and Them (Richard Wright Demo)” is another track of that sort. While this is definitely on the right track, it feels incomplete and poorly performed, like Rick was just testing out ideas. Of course, this would later become a very nice and finished song.
“Country Song” is more finished-sounding, but like one of the throwaways from an album like More. The vocal is very weak, as if everyone’s sick of it. “Richard Are You Ready Yet?” is too low quality to make out much. It’s not even really a song, strange it’s considered one by fans. “Instrumental Improvisations 1, 2, 3” is incoherent playing and vocalizing. It might’ve been fun to be playing there, but not so much to listen to.
Some of the better tracks include “Rain in the Country”. It has a great light guitar sound, though it goes on forever, not being very interesting beyond the beginning. As much can be said for “Heart Beat, Pig Meat”. The repetitive percussion is at first very captivating, being quite unique. The rhythm and beat are reasonably sharp, though the novelty soon wears off. “Embryo (From Picnic – A Breath of Fresh Air)” feels low effort, like a computer generated Pink Floyd song. It has that whisper voice, the drum tapping in the background, and things of that sort. In terms of how good it is, it’s dead average.
“Long Blues” has a good groove and doesn’t quite feel its length, but it lacks a certain spark, like a drive to keep you invested. “Fingal’s Cave” is one of the finest tracks here. It has a good otherworldly quality to it. That being said, what’s with the moaning and sex noises? They’re really uncomfortable. There’s a four minute version that’s just some atmospheric sounds and a much punchier two minute version, which is by far the best, getting to the point of this little jam. The reason this article starts in December 1969 is because I forgot to include “The Merry Xmas Song” last time. It’s very funny, like the sort of novelty track that sometimes is on 60s rock records. Nick has some joy in his voice and in general everyone seems to be having a good time. It’s hard not to love. We got a Pink Floyd Christmas song!
OVERVIEW
What is or isn’t worthwhile here is up to the individual. Personally, the Syd band did no wrong, even with their live instrumentals. He had a certain spark. If you feel that way about this lineup, you might love everything here. If not, a lot of this is tedious, but ‘tis the nature of these rare recordings.
The Filme Diary 