My Attempt To Be As Accurate As Possible For A Stars Fan Album Series (& Alt History Story)

For those not in the know, fan albums are the attempts of me and many others to take songs and put them on an album, typically they’re made to improve upon something, such as an existing album or to take non-album tracks and put them on an album.

Various people, including myself, that have tried to resurrect Syd Barrett’s lost band for at least an album have had to make severe liberties. While I cannot avoid those, this project attempts to be as accurate as possible. My currently unfinished other project more so embraces how absurd this “band” could become due to the nature of the recordings we have.

I was attracted to a certain story on alternatehistory.com by someone named Massacote. Seeing as Barrett had a proper output that is also distinct from Pink Floyd from 1968-1972, this project moves the band back from forming in 1972 to 1969 and ultimately dissolving in 1972. My idea was, what would the output look like if the group still formed in 1972? Thus, any material released by these members before 1972 will not be included, as it would’ve been already released mainly as solo albums. At the same time, I wanted these albums to coexist with Massacote’s project, so this could basically represent a reunion. Note: Massacote’s project does use material from the early solo albums. You can essentially pick which timeline you want this to follow from.

Most of the tracks I’m covering are essentially one person’s solo work. Still, I think there’s enough cohesion to make them interesting listens. Also, these tracks at least at the time were unloved, so you could imagine that if the band was working together at this time, they might have been pleased to have some place to gather all these little oddities. This creates the issue that it would’ve taken until 1977 to get a studio album out by them considering how little there is to work with. It is nice that a few of the cuts here do feature collaboration between Stars members, so it’s not as solo-y as it could be.

The real band’s bassist, Jack Monck, had such little presence in available recordings that Massacote replaced him with Steve Took. The purist in me feels weird about this, especially because the actual Took seemed to basically never play bass. My resolve is to retcon the story. Monck may have left before the group’s first album, but he soon rejoined as just a helper. We can also say there are various bassists on the albums. Took would stay on to service other roles. While Took was never a Star in real life, he was friends with and worked with the members, so it’s not hard to believe he would’ve been involved, especially as we’re really scraping together a presence for Syd Barrett. Maybe he’d be used in lieu of more prominent Syd? The fourth and final album in the Massacote series actually features Monck a healthy amount, so we can say before that fourth album he once again was an official member. With the three albums I did, he is still official. There are some other minor retcons.

Lastly, while the first three Massacote albums all use recordings that were on solo albums or are otherwise unusable, the fourth, Live Extracts: Six Hour Technicolor Dream, doesn’t overlap and its material was recorded and given an imagined release in 1972. Thus, we can say that it is the first album in the universe where the band started in 1972.

Here is a link to Massacote’s telling: https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/rock-albums-from-alternate-timelines.369850/page-14

Without further ado:

After the Live Extracts project, everyone was excited to keep going other than Syd Barrett, who seemed tired and demoralized, especially after hearing bad reviews. Despite how uncommon they were, they caused him to be more reclusive. Long-term members Steve Took, Twink, and Jack Monck were unwilling to continue without him. Newer singer Bruce Paine was more excited to do more, especially another live album. He was voted out. Barrett was extremely awkward in the studio, but more comfortable in either informal jam sessions or live. Thus, Paine got his way. The material was not as fruitful as anyone hoped, as Barrett was unreliable. With the help of outtakes, the album was completed.

“I’m starting to understand why [Pink] Floyd fired him.” – Bruce Paine, 1972

STARS – L.A TO LONDON BOOGIE

TRACKLISTING

SIDE A

1. “Sea Cruise” (Six Hour Technicolour Dream Cambridge 1972)
2. “Baby Lemonade” (Sounds of the Seventies)
3. “L.A To London Boogie” (Six Hour Technicolour Dream Cambridge 1972)
4. “Ice” (Six Hour Technicolour Dream Cambridge 1972)
5. “Dominoes” (Sounds of the Seventies)
6. “Nadine” (Six Hour Technicolour Dream Cambridge 1972)

SIDE B

1. “The Snake” (Pink Fairies John Peel Session)
2. “Drinkin’ That Wine” (Six Hour Technicolour Dream Cambridge 1972)
3. “Sweet Little Angel” (Six Hour Technicolour Dream Cambridge 1972)
4. “Love Song” (Sounds of the Seventies)

L.A to London Boogie was released to mixed reviews. This caused Barrett to become somewhat nervous and upset that he quit the band and wouldn’t come back. Seeing as the three remaining original members were unwilling to continue without Barrett, Paine left for other groups. Twink and Took continued to work on ideas and record tracks, either for a hopeful Barrett reunion or their own duo album; they weren’t satisfied and got caught up in other bands. Every now and then, they would give another shot at things, sometimes with Monck.

In 1974, primarily after the recent hits by Pink Floyd and T. Rex, interest renewed in those bands and its members. Various artists cited Stars as an influence. Thus, Polydor sought to get the band back together to make more records. Twink and Took agreed if they could get Barrett and Monck agreed on that condition and that he could get some of his songs included, as he failed to get them out as a solo artist. After checking in on Barrett, the members agreed they should wait a little longer. When approached in late 1965, Barrett seemed reluctant, but was a little more interested after a jam session with the other members. Still, Barrett was unwilling to commit to the degree everyone hoped for. This included not writing new songs, claiming he hadn’t done so in many years.

Barrett recorded guitar for the others, often separately from them, but he did provide unfinished recordings of him with Pink Floyd, which were finished by the other Stars often without him. For this album and the next, Barrett more enthusiastically contributed his paintings to be album covers. Despite how many recordings were started years prior, Flophouse Blues was praised for how cohesive it is. Still, it was considered behind the times, despite about half the album having been written shortly before production. The then current members of Pink Floyd demanded to not be credited, as they weren’t satisfied with their original contributions. Stars agreed. It is often a point of debate which elements were by Floyd and which were redone by Stars.

STARS – FLOPHOUSE BLUES

TRACKLISTING

SIDE A

1. “Flophouse Blues (In The Mountain Grill)” (Steve Took – Crazy Diamond)
2. “I Wanna Be Free” (The Rings)
3. “Four Letter Words” (Jack Monck – Inside The Whale)
4. “Automobile” (The Rings)
5. “Butterfly” (Pink Floyd)
6. “Leaden Day” (Jack Monck – Inside The Whale)

SIDE B

1. “Teenage Rebel” (The Rings Rehearsal Tapes)
2. “Syd’s Wine” (Steve Took – Crazy Diamond)
3. “Double O Bo” (Pink Floyd)
4. “I Wanna Get High” (The Rings Rehearsal Tapes)
5. “Lanky (Part One)” (Syd Barrett – Opel)
6. “Flophouse Blues (Reprise)” (Steve Took – Crazy Diamond)

For their next record, the band attempted to be more current, embracing more punk, while not abandoning their roots. Ironically, the lead track was “Do It ‘77”, though the album ultimately wasn’t released until 1978. While the band wanted to keep going, Barrett was so disinterested that it seemed wiser to quit while they were ahead, while still first finishing the album. Some stray guitar tracks performed by Barrett were found or recorded anew. While those demos were criticized by many, with one person calling it “Junk”, they were liked by Stars. They overdubbed it and thought it made for the perfect final chapter of the group.

STARS – VEGETABLE MEN

TRACKLISTING

SIDE A

1. “Do It ‘77” (Twink And The Fairies)
2. “Lucky Charm” (Steve Took – Crazy Diamond)
3. “Back On The Train” (1st Version) (Jack Monck – Inside The Whale)
4. “Enter The Diamonds” (Twink And The Fairies)
5. “Vegetable Man” (2010 Mix) (Pink Floyd)
6. “Blues For Ray” (1st Version) (Jack Monck – Inside The Whale)
7. “Psychedelic Punkeroo” (Twink And The Fairies)

SIDE B

1. “Molecular Lucky Charm” (Steve Took – Crazy Diamond)
2. “Junk” (Syd Barrett 1974 recordings by Richard Hall)

Though Vegetable Men received mixed reviews and less than stellar commercial success, it and the band’s other albums gained massive cult followings and were considered underappreciated classics. The group spoke highly of their time, especially being pleased with it being a wakeup call they should work to get Barrett some help.

“We loved Syd. He was the soul of the band and we didn’t want to lose that. Floyd’s song about him hit us like a ton of bricks and we just knew we had to be there for him.” – Twink, 2005

LINKS

1. Lean Out Your Window (1970) – YouTube
2. Beautiful Deceiver (1971) – YouTube
3. Uncle Harry’s Last Freak Out (1972) – YouTube

Below Is All That Is Canon To The Started In 1972 Timeline

1. Live Extracts: Six Hour Technicolor Dream (1972) – YouTube
2. L.A to London Boogie (1973) – YouTube
3. Flophouse Blues (1977) – YouTube
4. Vegetable Men (1978) – YouTube

This is a passion of mine and if one person likes what I do, I’ll feel honored. I like suggestions on what artist to cover next, so if you know of one you’d like me to look at, feel free to suggest ‘em!

Pink Floyd December 1969-1970 Stray Tracks Review

“Who’s For Soccer?”

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.

Pink Floyd – Obscured by Clouds (1972) Review

Once again, a great album cover

Pink Floyd seem unable to escape soundtracks for too long. Such efforts are interesting as their music often puts strong emphasis on being cohesive in their own right. Even the Roger solo soundtrack Music from The Body was partially rerecorded so it’d be more cohesive as an album. Yet, More, the mostly unreleased Zabriskie Point recordings, and Obscured by Clouds are like filler installments. The other records are intended to be heavy-hitters while these suffer from not being able to experience half of what it’s going for as it’s supplemental to visuals. There are many great soundtrack albums, so it’s not like a record can’t serve both purposes.

Even if you take these songs as a collection of stray tracks, which would set better expectations than expecting a concept album off the back of three others, they’re inconsistent. Even if you set the deck in this album’s favor, it is sometimes difficult to get past the very manufactured sound. Take the opener, “Obscured by Clouds”, which feels extremely synthesized. A big guitar part then awkwardly shoots out. The vocals are pretty ridiculous and low effort on some tracks, like “Burning Bridges”. Rick seems particularly sleepy. Let him rest! The harmonized vocals will put you to sleep!

“The Gold It’s in the…” is reasonably stupid due to it being offbeat. Still, it has some energy and is fun. About as much can be said for “Wot’s… Uh the Deal?”, except David Gilmour seems more invested in his vocal. The guitar solo does kind of sound like the average of every guitar solo ever, but it’s charming, possibly as Gilly seems proud of this one. “Childhood’s End” is even more formulaic and we get more tired David. “Free Four” is not very Pink Floyd, seeming possibly inspired by the Beatles or other bands that have more hippie whimsey. It seems like a more concrete idea than the tracks here that just seem like incidental music. This style of “slightly-off pop rock” could’ve made for a cool concept album, one that would possibly parody tropes of such music. That idea could also probably do great backing a movie, so it’s a shame those really good moments are quite fleeting.

“Mudmen”’s guitar solo shrieks, possibly as if it’s extremely epic or impactful. It’s just laughable, especially when coming unexpectedly, like it’s there to satisfy a formula. The first three instrumentals seem almost interchangeable with jam sessions by your average rock band. “Stay” is extremely hokey, feeling like a disposable love song with extremely generic backing and lyrics. The guitar solo is ungodly tacky. This is the weakest cut here, feeling like either a mandate or like a dare to make a track like this. It being about a guy that can’t remember a girl’s name is funny. That suggests it’s supposed to be a parody of these sorts of songs. If it is, it’s simply too convincing as the genuine article. “Absolutely Curtains” has a nice ethereal opening. It’s a really novel piece that doesn’t feel too long. The vocals are pretty poor, though, with one or two specifically feeling unsuited. That summarizes the lack of care for this whole record.

OVERVIEW

None of these songs are great, though some are quite enjoyable. There is a half-braindead rock excess at times, like on “The Gold It’s in the…”, “Wot’s… Uh the Deal?”, and “Free Four”. All escape being so bad they’re good due to the fluidity of the group and some passion, especially on the jammy Four. “Absolutely Curtains” has a really good idea that is mostly done well. Its downfalls don’t dampen it too much. Obscured by Clouds certainly could’ve done more than it manages to, but it’s worth at least a single listen for those interested. Of all the bad or inconsistent Floyd albums beforehand, which almost all have been, this one doesn’t get too low, though it strives for less.

For the record, “Mudmen” and Wot’s were the only two tracks I really liked last time I heard this, but now my views have changed a bit.

Pink Floyd – Atom Heart Mother (1970) Review

Atom Heart Mother marks another change in direction for Pink Floyd. A Saucerful of Secrets uses the episodic nature of Syd Barrett’s albums, More seems based in Barrett’s proclivity for the powerfully simple (which Barrett mainly explored in his solo career), Ummagumma is the big experimental epics, and in 1970 is this record that details some slightly folkier stuff and more composed epics (which ties to the many times when Syd picked up an acoustic guitar). Does it work?

The opening of “Atom Heart Mother Suite” sounds like a theme to a superhero movie. The main riff of the track is not bad, making for a nice catchy few seconds. Throughout, the band gets little moments to shine, like David Gilmour’s slow solos. You can imagine those parts were written for something else. There is the gaping issue that this thing just goes on forever. It also wants to be more than it’s not, featuring an out-of-place choir that is jarring when put next to Floyd-esque sounds. There’s even some sound effects, some of which sound like a building being demolished. What does this have to do with anything? That segment also is far too long. There’s some good bits at the end, like the cello and drums combo. This piece might’ve worked at five minutes at the most, but that’d be pushing it. Every false ending just makes you want it to end more.

The track transitions well into “If”, a somber guitar ballad sung by Roger Waters. While his vocals are usually lacking, he makes use of that rough exterior for a track about someone who seems insensitive and coarse. There are great little classical guitar riffs and a deceptively simple nature. Unlike a track like “Jugband Blues”, it doesn’t escalate that much, which is perhaps a little unsettling as you’d expect it to more. The lyrics pack a mean punch, “If I go insane, please don’t put your wires in my brain.” That particular lyric really caught me off guard the first time I heard this song. While there’s little decent competition, “If” is the best Pink Floyd song in between A Piper at the Gates of Dawn and The Dark Side of the Moon, except for Jugband. It’s such a wicked little novelty.

“Summer ‘68” is a little messy, but it’s got a free spirit and some highlights. The reference to the Atom Heart Mother Suite is a bit much. The vocals and keys seem like they’re trying to imitate the beautiful quietness of “If”. They’re alright. The poppier bits work better, as that seems to be what the song overall wants. The “bah”s are very Zombies-like. I used to like this track more and still overall do, it’s just not so consistent. David Gilmour’s vocal is heavenly on “Fat Old Sun”, as is his guitar playing and the other instruments. The three middle tracks feel like they were to be part of a typical album that needed to be released as soon as possible, so the length was filled out with two film soundtrack pieces. Speaking of which, the final track… “Alan’s Psychedelic Breakfast” is such a bad idea it’s surprising it actually got made. It’s got a little nice guitar noodling, but overall goes nowhere. It’s too busy scoring someone’s breakfast! Even the good parts are inconsequential, to put it mildly. This track feels like some scraps from when they were recording the suite for side-a.

OVERVIEW

While Atom Heart Mother only really has two great songs and fails to match the solid twenty minutes on Saucerful and Gumma, having more like fifteen, the middle track is still quite solid and the other two have good elements. That’s more than can be said for those two albums. With a little more thought, this could’ve been much better. An example would be to remove Breakfast and “Echoes” from Meddle, alter Suite and Summer to be shorter, and make the remainder one folk-adjacent album. Meddle will later continue some of the sounds here, essentially being a better version of this oddity.

Pink Floyd – A Saucerful of Secrets (1968) Review

A Saucerful of Secrets has a big issue of feeling like a compilation, lacking its own identity. We get three Roger Waters tracks that suit his style, a giant band track that destroys any possible flow, two quaint Richard Wright numbers that don’t mesh with the Waters-domination, and more strangely a Syd Barrett song tacked on at the end. This is all after last album’s Syd-domination. It’s as if Waters, Wright, and Barrett all did solo albums and one-three of each were pulled for this. Considering the various quality outtakes, they could’ve made something more consistent. In terms of the songs on their own merits, they’re a mixed bag.

The album starts strong with the funky bass opening, with the other instruments coming in for a quick freakout. David Gilmour’s vocal on “Let There Be More Light” is reasonably pleasant and imposing, Rick and Roger’s on the verses is just ridiculous, coming off a little goofy. The track overall goes in predictable directions, and seems to want to make a bolder impression than it actually can. “Remember a Day” feels like a trip to the past, like it could’ve been an outtake from their first album… and it is! It seems to strive to be a pleasant filler track, with some keyboard tapping by Richard Wright and light guitar by Syd Barrett. That particular gruesome twosome always had a way to liven up the band’s recordings, and here is no exception. Its psychedelic touches are sometimes a little silly, but this little trip is still well produced and managed.

“Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun” is the Roger Waters epic. This avant-garde work has many little sounds and touches, flourishing in expressing itself through celestas and timpanis and overall feeling like a trip to the sun. “Corporal Clegg” seems like an attempt to be everything. There’s a shot at melodic-style vocals, coarser vocals, wild instrumentation, light instrumentation, not wanting to stay focused on an idea. The lyrics aren’t too bad. A favorite is, “Corporal Clegg received his medal in a dream.” There’s also the infamous kazoo, which is extremely lovable due to how over the top it is. That being said, that and other developments here seem like they should be backing a song about a carnival, not an anti-war song. A contrast isn’t really painted, due to the aforementioned issue of eclecticism. That kazoo demands attention away from the lyrics or anything that might’ve been an intended focus. It’s now “the Kazoo song”.

“A Saucerful of Secrets” shows the band flexing their creative muscles with a series of instrumentals that showcase various instruments and ideas, without overusing any. Rick’s keyboard is a favorite (especially at the end), as is the drums underlining a freakout. There was a thorough concept to this track. If there wasn’t, you might imagine the group throwing extra elements in in an attempt to make it “bigger”. “See-Saw” has every trope in the book for psychedelic ballads, including a singer that sounds bored out of their mind.

“Jugband Blues” is the last Barrett-penned track for Floyd. It features reflexive lyrics about his disillusionment with the other bandmates. The backing track demonstrates this, with the drumming sometimes bashing away like a nervous tick. While there are many instruments awkwardly playing together, they aren’t overdone. The awkwardness serves to make this strangely captivating and melodic, and they fit with the lyrics of someone feeling slightly crazy. One highlight is when the vocal “La-la-la”s break into that collage, with that vocal eventually taking over. The brass returns, playing something that could pass as a quaint marching song, but subtly off, making it near-disturbing. They’re cut off early, being replaced with the hollow and removed voice of Syd, like he’s exhausted and upset by a lack of purpose. The lyrics as a whole paint a picture of someone trying to be normal on a surface level, but cracking under internal pressures. “And the sea isn’t green and I love the queen.”

OVERVIEW

The difference between tracks like Remember and Sun vs. Light and See-Saw is the former has a natural chemistry between the band and instrumentation that suggests passion in the details, “Where do we put this or that element?” The others almost seem like computer generated psychedelia. Take the crammed in vocals on Light for example. The three tracks with Syd on them fare much better. This album as a whole would’ve been more cohesive with the unused Syd songs included. In fact, due to the emotional nature and unique execution of Jugband, it is for my money the greatest Pink Floyd song ever.

Pink Floyd 1968-1969 Stray Tracks Review

Pink Floyd in 1968

It seems that of the first two years of the Gilmour era of Pink Floyd, the main available material consists of… A Saucerful of Secrets, More, Ummagumma, The Early Years 1965–1972, live boots, and what will be discussed below. That’s not to say I’ve certainly discovered everything, but this is an attempt to.

Some may notice that with my discussions of Syd Barrett stray tracks, I essentially scrape the bottom of the barrel, while this one is much lighter. The reason for that is because I don’t have the same affection and closeness with the Gilmour-era and wouldn’t be interested in something like listening to similar live recordings over and over. I want the more exceptional or unique things, such as tracks that are reasonably different from what’s covered above.

“The Committee” is such a playful bit of music, featuring the band jamming around with some different ideas. The warm ballad of Part 8 is made with the emotional drums and keys. Two parts of this soundtrack were officially released as “Music from The Committee No. 1 & 2”. The nine part version works better as one fifteen minute piece of music, instead of these two disparate parts. “Baby Blue Shuffle in D Major” stylistically fits with “The Committee”, featuring guitar playing that sounds like a sunrise on a slightly rainy day. Pieces like these could pass for a concept album about a psychedelic walk in the woods. The keyboard on Part 4 of The Committee could be the wind or the rain. The bass thumping on Part 5 could be the sound of some critters. An understandable criticism is that some of this material isn’t original, at least to the type that is interested in these oddities, but they still work really well here.

“Blues”, while being a little too long, is a similarly fun runaround. It sometimes seemed the group were limiting themselves when staying so close to psychedelia. Them doing some mildly twisted blues feels so refreshing, with the instruments feeling like the band is having fun. “Instrumental Improvisation” from The Sounds of Change is some less interesting noodling, seeming randomized and like something no one cared much about. “Keep Smiling People” seems like it’d be a nice track to hear in decent quality. It’s hard to appreciate as is. It might’ve worked as an atmosphere-builder or backing track.

A booted track called “”More” – Outtakes” features some interesting fly on the wall audio from the sessions for– you guessed it, More. It’s a reasonably decent oddity. It’s not a song, so don’t listen to it expecting that. There are some excerpts. “Seabirds” (there are multiple versions of this track, I’m referring to a version in the film, but not on the soundtrack) sounds like a really nice ballad. Low quality plagues it from even being listenable. There’s some nice silky vocals from David. A bootleg of “Teatime” is literally the band drinking tea. The fact this is something fans have culled and now I’m listening to nothing happening is truly something to behold. “Moonhead” sounds like a score to a moon landing. It’s quite a novel track, though sound quality once again really holds it back. It could’ve been great in better condition. There’s something to be said for the available version, essentially that it’s a good spacey jam. “US Radio advertisement for Ummagumma” is pretty funny.

OVERVIEW

Due to the quality of the studio albums of this time, it stands to reason the group wasn’t overflowing with good ideas, thus it makes sense there would be a lack of material leftover. Still, there are some gems here and some of it deserved to be released at the time, at the very least in place of some of what we did get.

In March 2022, I compiled some of these tracks into an album. Click here for that: https://thefilmediary.wordpress.com/2022/03/30/pink-floyd-my-beautiful-flying-machine-bright-lights-1968-fan-albums/

Pink Floyd – Meddle (1971) Review

“The Ear Album”

Meddle is a monumental Pink Floyd album and their first that at least mostly lands on its feet after the departure of Syd Barrett. Still, it’s not completely consistent, but its low points aren’t particularly bad. After the first two albums took extreme cues from Barrett’s song-by-song styling, the third and fourth were more experimental, making a lot more sense as a whole. They also seemed like attempts to replicate Syd’s presence. In 1971, they let go of Syd, but went back to the song-by-song formula. What we get is a fluid and stand out album that shows the group not getting too caught up with themselves, while also showing technical proficiency.

Meddle’s a-side is casual and light, playing with blues, psychedelia, folk, and other genres, all masterfully handled by the vocals and guitar. The vocal and guitar textures really make this album, mostly handled by David Gilmour. The more space rock the group was post-Syd, the more desperate they seemed to justify keeping the band name after losing the person who was so adept at space rock and by extension their sound. David does his own thing finally. The others follow suit, backing this newer idea. In the past, the group had prominent bass, keyboard, and drums. A criticism you could levy here is that they take a backseat. Despite that, they’re extremely solid.

“One of These Days” is a great mix of building atmosphere, rocking out, and driving guitars. The track is constantly throwing appropriate new sounds into the mix. It could theoretically be criticized for going for that older, jam-based angle, especially as the opener, but it makes such a strong impression and is so enjoyable that it really works. It is a little jarring compared to the next four tracks, which are comparatively so light. Driving drums and the keyboard are nice nods to the older style and rock in general, making for a fusion style that doesn’t let you forget you’re listening to a rock record.

“Echoes” was apparently culled from a lot of different musical ideas over the years and it does sound like it. It comes off as incoherent at points, with awkward pacing and jumps to different sections of the piece. Some of the more ambient-inspired portions seem like they’re being played too slow or with pressure to suggest it’s supposed to be big and epic. The descending riff is an example of the latter. The volume is too low, with the instruments at times feeling muddled and indistinguishable. It’s easy to imagine it was forced to be as long as possible for the purpose of being a grand finale. It also doesn’t tonally fit with the lighter, earlier tracks, but that’s admittedly a minor complaint. The great Syd-era instrumentals generally said, “What can we do with this particular musical idea?” and explored it in different ways. This track feels like an attempt to replicate that, with the aforementioned multi-sourced elements failing that.

Despite the criticism of “tone”, it’s possible that the side-a style would not have been as consistently high quality for an entire album. It would’ve been better to try something different, like using some of the highlights from the next record, Obscured by Clouds.

OVERVIEW

While I praised this album for being more “original”, it is not entirely. Syd Barrett had been dabbling quite a bit in psychedelic folk, which paints “A Pillow of Winds” and many others. It’s hard to say for sure what makes this album work so much better than previous, but it seems it’s likely that the guitars are not Syd-like. They’re David Gilmour and Roger Waters-like. This 1971 effort will prove to be an oddity. The band will soon return to their original goal of “blowing you out”, which they tried from 1968-1970. The difference is that they’ll succeed. Whether or not Meddle played any part of that is up for debate. You can hardly shake it on its own merits, though.

Pink Floyd – Ummagumma (1969) Review

Gigi

Ummagumma is either a dream or an acid trip, depending on how you look at it. Certainly not something coming from the unimpeded mind, at least as a whole. It’s certainly an oddity, starting with a full disc of old favorites done live, then a studio disc of essentially solo material. No one appears on anyone else’s track. This really hurts the album as Richard Wright and David Gilmour are just not as good of drummers as Nick Mason. Roger Waters is not as good of a guitar player as David. The live and studio sides also don’t blend together. Why weren’t they separate albums? They could’ve also gone the whole hog and interspersed them, so you don’t get too much of one. The manufactured-psychedelic cover emphasizes the music’s nature.

The live side plays it too safe. Their points of diverging from the studio equivalents are where they’re best. Take the point of “Astronomy Domine” where it dies down for a bit. It’s a welcome addition. “Careful with That Axe, Eugene” is the only one that really works as the other three feel far too plain and expected. The original studio version feels incomplete, so this one creates a lot of space, and emphasizes things like Roger’s scream. It’s the most different from its studio version, unlike the others that feel like rehearsals. The live vocals on every track are flat. The ending of “Saucerful” is especially weak due to the vocals not soaring. It needs to feel grand and it doesn’t. Roger’s scream doesn’t suffer from this issue probably because it’s loud.

“Sysyphus Part 1” is far too sudden an opening for the studio tracks. It’s supposed to be this big opener to the studio side, but the drumming is so poor it can’t get off the ground. As a composition, it’s not too bad. Fortunately it’s only a minute. “Part 2” benefits from Rick’s stylish keyboard playing. Not the greatest number ever, but Rick injects personality into the notes which make it hard to hate. “Part 3” could about pass as a Nick Mason track due to the percussion-centered nature. While Part 2 is a little mindless due to what can feel like random playing, Part 3 eliminates any soul or ability to be subtle. The missing ingredient is probably the keyboard. “Part 4” has similar limitations.

“Grantchester Meadows” is a nice idea that would be improved conceptually on the Roger-on-guitar 1970 track, “If”. Grantchester could benefit from being a little shorter and having David on guitar, though Roger turns in a quality vocal and good enough guitar playing for this to be one of the highlights. “Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict” is rightfully often considered the worst of the bunch. It feels like a prank to pass off a bunch of random sounds and yelling as music. There’s little sense of rhythm or thought having gone into it. Roger’s vocal is reminiscent of the “How can you have any pudding?” bit from The Wall.

We’re introduced to “The Narrow Way” with David’s excellent guitar playing, which contrasts Roger’s. It outstays its welcome far more than Grantchester, though. It goes on too long without an idea, feeling like a tolerable practice session. The repetitiveness of “Part 2” doesn’t help in making the record not feel like a demo. “Part 3” is the most like a standard Pink Floyd song, though it has the fault of lacking an idea to ground it. It would be better with the actual band on it. “The Grand Vizier’s Garden Party”’s highlights are the opening and closing segments, which collectively are a minute and a half. They have the good graces to not try to be more than they’re not, doing their job as a beginning and end. They make use of a pretty flute solo. The actual track is like Several Species, feeling like a joke. It has better rhythm, so it’s not quite as bad. The drumming is also noticeably sharp, but it can’t save the whole piece.

OVERVIEW

At its best, the album feels like an expression of the little quirks of this great band. There is value when looking at this as a distillation of their stranger qualities. As something to sit down and enjoy as music, it mostly fails. The album feels like a stop-gap. “We need a new album STAT, let’s record anything now.” The argument can be made that queues are being taken from the Syd Barrett-led improvisations, but now they’re so directionless that Syd’s influence is less apparent. A committed fan can get something out of the various elements that work and to be nice, the many negatives aren’t so bad for a one-time listen. It also might make more sense as something to listen to as you doze off. For fun, I’ll sequence an album of the quality tracks. I’m leaving off the just alright “Astronomy Domine”, “Sysyphus Part 1”, and “The Narrow Way Parts 1 and 3”. First is “The Grand Vizier’s Garden Party – Entrance”, then “Sysyphus Part 2”, “Grantchester Meadows”, “Careful with That Axe, Eugene”, and finally, “The Grand Vizier’s Garden Party – Exit” for a twenty-one minute album. A fourth of the album being good is not too bad, considering its faults being more memorable.

Syd Barrett Solo Era – Three Fan Albums (Take 2)

For those not in the know, fan albums are the attempts of me and many others to take songs and put them on an album, typically they’re made to improve upon something, such as an existing album or to take non-album tracks and put them on an album.

This is a very belated continuation of my re-do of fan albums for Syd Barrett that co-exist with officially released albums, as if Syd released the three official albums as they are, as well as some extra ones that collect all the stray tracks. I already did this once, but wanted to try again seeing as there were ways to improve. Before, the first two ‘fan’ solo-Syd albums collected proper Syd songs and ones where he played on someone else’s song. The other artist’s songs are excluded now. For those curious, the six of those songs are “Singing a Song in the Morning” aka “Religious Experience” by Kevin Ayers, “Drinkin’ That Wine”, “Number Nine”, and “Gotta Be A Reason” by Last Minute Put Together Boogie Band, and unconfirmed contributions on “Molecular Lucky Charm” and “Syd’s Wine” by Steve Took. What’s left for the first album are all of the strays from 1968-1970 except for one outlier. Next is a live album of all Syd’s solo live recordings except for one that never had a studio version, so it was moved up to the studio album previously mentioned. Finally, there’s his instrumental 1974 recordings, topped off with the 1969 instrumental “Rhamadam”. That third album is exactly the same as it was the first time I fan albumed Syd, with it being the only one I have no changes to make.

Listed below are links to the Syd and Pink Floyd fan albums, then the links for these. For Syd + Floyd live, I’ll just say to listen to each show as if it’s an album, with my tracklists being the same as the running order. Maybe I’ll play around with that properly later, but I’m not so interested now. I have a “creative mode” idea with Syd’s material, which I’ve been working on for a while. Stay tuned!

SYD BARRETT – TWO OF A KIND (1970)

TRACKLISTING

SIDE A

1. “Swan Lee (Silas Lang)”
2. “Birdie Hop”
3. “Dolly Rocker”
4. “Milky Way”
5. “Word Song”

SIDE B

1. “Let’s Split”
2. “Bob Dylan Blues”
3. “Lanky (Part One)”
4. “Opel”
5. “Two Of A Kind”

SYD BARRETT – DOMINOES (1971)

TRACKLISTING

SIDE A

1. “Dominoes”
2. “Baby Lemonade”
3. “Terrapin”
4. “Gigolo Aunt”
5. “Effervescing Elephant”
6. “Love Song”
7. “Baby Lemonade”

SIDE B

1. “Terrapin”
2. “Gigolo Aunt”
3. “Effervescing Elephant”
4. “Octopus”

SYD BARRETT – BOOGIE PARTY

TRACKLISTING

SIDE A

1. “Boogie #1”
2. “If You Go, Don’t Be Slow #1”
3. “Chooka-Chooka Chug Chug”
4. “Ballad Of The Unfinished”
5. “Boogie Down”
6. “Untitled”
7. “Boogie Up”
8. “John Lee Hooker”
9. “If You Go, Don’t Be Slow #2”
10. “Boogie #2 – More Echo”
11. “Boogie #3 – Resolution”

SIDE B

1. “Rhamadam”

LINKS

1. Syd Barrett & Pink Floyd – The Tea Set (1966) – The Filme Diary
2. Syd Barrett & Pink Floyd – Projection (1967) – The Filme Diary
3. Syd Barrett & Pink Floyd – The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn (1967) – YouTube, Spotify, Archive.org
4. Syd Barrett & Pink Floyd – Lights (1967) – The Filme Diary
5. Syd Barrett & Pink Floyd – Tomorrow’s Morning (1968) – The Filme Diary
6. Syd Barrett – The Madcap Laughs (1970) – Spotify, YouTube
7. Syd Barrett – Two Of A Kind (1970) – YouTube
8. Syd Barrett – Barrett (1970) – Spotify, YouTube
9. Syd Barrett – Dominoes LIVE! (1971) – YouTube
10. Syd Barrett – Boogie Party (1974) – YouTube

This is a passion of mine and if one person likes what I do, I’ll feel honored. I like suggestions on what artist to cover next, so if you know of one you’d like me to look at, feel free to suggest ‘em!

Pink Floyd – 1970: Devi/ation (2016) Review – Long And Unfinished

Pink Floyd in 1970

Pink Floyd took to 1970 with a shift in style. The space rock and music based on filling atmosphere has been significantly minimized. In its place is a style that’s decidedly more “down to Earth.” They’re better for it, as they were unable to blow you out with amazement, so instead will suck you in with intimacy. The two best examples of this are tracks featured live here and in studio form on the band’s 1970 album, Atom Heart Mother. Those two tracks are “Fat Old Sun” and “If”. Both take advantage of a light guitar sound and connect with a feeling of reflection. They speak on how people might be without dwelling in poetic lyrics that suited Syd Barrett better than the rest of the group. “Green is the Colour” works for similar reasons. “Embryo” seems like it wants to impress you and rock out, but plays like a dragged out experiment. The version here of “Careful With That Axe, Eugene” feels a little out of place, due to fitting in more closely with their late 60s material than early 70s. It still is a nice recording/version of that song.

There are three versions of “Atom Heart Mother Suite”. This is perhaps the most textbook “love it or hate it” Pink Floyd song. The most damning thing you can say is that after the first false ending, you hope that’s the end and you can move on now. The choir and brass give the impression it’s supposed to be operatic, which comes off as very pretentious. They’re trying so hard to have this great experience, but are also going through the motions. Parts will be played like they’re supposed to be climactic or relief from a climax, but they sort of just happen and end without build-up or commitment from the whole group. The notes are telling one story and the playing usually another. The shortest version is about eighteen minutes. The tedium of it makes one not look forward to the next time it appears in this compilation. The main riff near the start and end are good, so this could’ve been salvaged as just a two or three minute ditty. The “Live in Montreux” version is the best for having minimal vocals and brass. Those elements missing ground the piece a little.

The seller for this album to some is the unreleased material from a soundtrack album called Zabriskie Point. Those that want to dig deep in the band’s catalog will appreciate this, though much of the material sounds very incomplete, like demos. Most aren’t too bad, because they’re mostly short. Practically all the material from these box sets sound like they could be a finished and released song, even if a little thin, but not many of these. There are good songs, though. The good ones include “On the Highway” and “Auto Scene, Version 2”. They’re pleasant guitar pieces. “Auto Scene, Version 3” is a warm rocker. “Aeroplane” ups the ante, but not too much. It’s a fun space rock song that isn’t stunning, but doesn’t outstay its welcome and goes at a good pace. Of the soundtrack songs, the earliest tracks tend to be better. It seems it might’ve been deliberate to end this album with the less complete-sounding tracks and then another version of “Atom Heart Mother Suite”. You can easily stop before then if you want. The other boxsets lead with studio material, then live tracks, but this set is the other way around.

“Explosion” has the same issues as the group’s long experiments. “The Riot Scene” and “Love Scene, Version 1” are just a little keyboard noodling. They’re very nothing. “Looking at Map” is the same, though it’s a band piece. Its lack of much ambition is immortalized by that title. Guess the band couldn’t afford an article. As much can be said about “Love Scene, Version 7”, which includes what sounds like mistakes from being an unpolished demo. Both versions of “Take Off” can’t decide if they want to be space rockers or not. “Love Scene, Version 2” and “Take 1” are the best of the ones that feel really incomplete. They have good ambience, but don’t feel essential. “Unknown Song (Take 1)” is another nice guitar number, though it’s too long. It might’ve been one of the better Zabriskie Point tracks if shortened. “Love Scene (Take 2)” is very pleasant, but far too long. It’s like something you’d meditate with. Finally, “Crumbling Land (Take 1)” is ruined by the vocals. They’re too processed and throw-off what the intended tone is supposed to be. Is it supposed to be otherworldly or a little guitar number?

OVERVIEW

1970: Devi/ation has its share of gems, like some good alternate versions of already good songs and the earlier Zabriskie Point tracks praised. The main positive is David Gilmour’s sweet vocal that really shines at being ethereal or chilling. “Fat Old Sun” is a good example of his talent there. His guitar playing is also very effective at the various styles or feelings it needs to be or have. The guitar-led instrumentals can either really set the tone of a composition at best and at worst, with some Zabriskie material, be nice as background music. The weakest material feels less necessary than the weak material on the 1968 and 1969 sets. At least those feel more like the band is trying to do something. That being said, it is no problem to have as much as possible, especially the elusive soundtrack recordings, as they fill an interesting piece of history. The weaker live tracks make the album less-accessible due to being so long, with even the announcer sounding amusingly unenthused. Those wanting good material should catch the tracks that I like and those initiated in the Pink Floyd cult should check out it all.