The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn (Audio CD)

Essential This is THE version of Piper at The Gates of Dawn to own. Possibly Pink Floyd's greatest album among a long list of perfect albums. Syd Barrett's Mono mix is so different from the stereo that one could say that you haven't listened to the album until you listen to this mix. The remastering is perfect and the packaging is exceptional. An absolute MUST for any Pink Floyd enthusiast or anyone who is curious about what all the fuss about Syd Barret was.

Quintessential Psychedelia The myth surrounding the late Syd Barrett has become an oppresive weight bearing down upon this album over time so its merits are always viewed through the prism of Barrett's decline and eventual collapse. Let this not hide the fact that this is, along with the album that was recorded next door at Abbey Road at the same time (Sgt Pepper), one of the key records of 1967 and perhaps even the late 60's. This was the record that finally gave a wider audience the chance to see what the band who played UFO were actually like, though it has to be said that the recorded Pink Floyd were something of a shadow of their live selves; unsurprising given the way they performed. Getting that sound onto record was always going to be a difficult task, though Norman Smith did a good job in the end. Of course, the Floyd dealt in a very English kind of psychedelia, with Barrett's sometimes child-like writing being the principal thread through. 'Astronomy Domine', 'Gnome' and 'Bike' are really the exemplars of this. However, songs like 'Lucifer Sam' demonstrate the more commercially-aware side of the band, managing to impose the three-minute pop song form onto their work and sounding great in the process. Overall however, the tone is still "out there", with 'Interstellar Overdrive' and the loopily rhythmic 'Pow R Toc H' showing that the transition to album hadn't totally constrained their experimentation. Indeed, in many respects, this album sets the tone for the Floyd as a group until the time of "Atom Heart Mother". 'Meddle' and afterwards would see them steering a dfferent course. As is usual for a Floyd release, the quality is second to none. The mastering is uniformly good and the presentation of the pack itself is admirable. Quite rightly, as the album deserves the care lavished upon it.

Embryo? I have never subscribed to the view that Pink Floyds success and brilliance was the product of the influence and contribution of Syd Barrett. Piper has to me always been a lesser album. One I listened to a lot when I was seventeen but less so as the years went by. After a while the memeory plays tricks and you forget the high points, it must be over fifteen years since I last played the album in full. The remastering is astonishingly good and the songs are without exception outstanding. Astromony Domine, Flaming Por R toc H and Interstellar Overdrive stand out in particular but the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. I look forward to the same treatment for Saucerful of Secrets and hopefully Embryo will pop up somewhere along the line. I used to have a wonderfully grotty bootleg recording of this song and yearn to hear it again in its full glory. Converted

If you have never heard Piper before you might even buy this one. I agree with Mr R Jordan. I suppose you might call this a fan rip off- if you didn't realise that two records with the same name by the same band might be the same music. If this were Lipatti playing Chopin no one would be bothered. And I definitely agree with Mr Jordan about a similar expanded re release of Saucerful of Secrets, and maybe even a soundtrack double with More and Zabriskie Point, including out takes (some of the endless drumming on the film More that never got to the LP might be a bit of a fan rip off!) Come on EMI, buy up some of those bootlegs and make some money out of them!

Welcome back Apples & Oranges Piper at the Gates of Dawn is without doubt a psychedelic classic of the very English variety. But for me the main attraction of this very appealing re-issue is the availability, in a good version, of Syd's lovely and underrated Apples and Oranges. A superb if wacky song that's been unavailable for too long.