40. The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn -- Pink Floyd

Mojo Says: "Underground goes overground in womb-spaceship to the stars."

Album: The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn
Artist: Pink Floyd
Year: 1967
Length: 41'52"

Track Listing:

1. Astronomy Domine
2. Lucifer Sam
3. Matilda Mother
4. Flaming
5. Pow R. Toc H.
6. Take Up Thy Stethoscope And Walk
7. Interstellar Overdrive
8. The Gnome
9. Chapter 24
10. Scarecrow
11. Bike

Favorite Tracks:

1. Bike
2. Take Up Thy Stethoscope And Walk
3. The Gnome
4. Interstellar Overdrive

Worst Tracks:
Chapter 24 is mediocre.

Is it weird?:
Yep.

Review:

It's easy to forget how weird of a band Pink Floyd were. They had 14 albums, and they didn't have their breakthrough moment until Dark Side Of The Moon, album #8. Their first seven unjustly forgotten albums (though this one is probably an exception) range from almost satisfactory (More) to great (Atom Heart Mother, Meddle, and this record). While I would say that Ummagumma was much more experimental, this album ends up being much weirder.

Syd Barrett's personality shines through in all aspects of this record. He flips a switch from childlike whimsical songs about gnomes and scarecrows and sitting on unicorns to perhaps one of the most influential and iconic guitar freak outs in rock history so abrasive and abstract that it becomes numbing. This is not only the true birth of space rock, but the dense layers of sound on even the lighter tracks make this almost a precursor to the busy and dizzying mood changes found on new age and prog-rock.

So, if you only know Pink Floyd for their excellent later albums, definitely give a listen to Piper At The Gates Of Dawn. It may not be quite as excellent as Dark Side Of The Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals, or The Wall (though that's basically comparing diamonds), none of those records really have the ability to alter minds quite like this one does.

Grade:

9/10

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