Customer Reviews

Saucerful of Secrets

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(32)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Regardless of Syd's contributions this album paves the way for most Pink Floyd's fans. When I first spun this album of my own record player in 74, I was floored. 15 and trippin in the early 70s, nothing could have etched itself more into my life than this album. There's this poetic, if not infantile, fairy tale atmosphere to most of the songs that strikes a universal chord of identification.

call me a post hippie freak...I could care less. This album/CD...Rules!

In 1968, English rockers Pink Floyd were facing major problems. The band's first US tour was cancelled after guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Syd Barrett's dependency on hallucinogenic drugs were causing his behavior to become more erratic(on the band's first US TV appearance on American Bandstand, the group got through it unscathed but on The Pat Boone Show, Syd refused to mime to See Emily Play or speak to Pat), the band's third single Apples and Oranges failed and a proposed fourth single Vegetable Man was not ever released. Early in January 1968, drummer Nick Mason, keyboardist Rick Wright and bassist/vocalist Roger Waters called Syd's childhood friend David Gilmour and invited him to join making PF a five piece for five shows. Then, before what would have been the sixth gig as a five piece, Roger said let's not pick up Syd. After he left, the band recorded a fourth single It Would Be So Nice, which flopped and were also recording their second album A Saucerful of Secrets, released in July of 1968. I first heard this album on the 1973 double disc A Nice Pair, which was the reissue of Floyd's first two albums, when I was 11 in May of 1987. The album starts off with Let There Be More Light, which has Rick singing and Roger whispering in unison on one part then David Gilmour singing the next part. The track ends with a soaring Gilmour solo(the first proper guitar solo on a Floyd track by the way). Next is Remember a Day, which was a holdover from Piper at the Gates and was written and sung by Rick with great slide guitar by Syd. Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun follows and was written and sung by Roger and was Roger's first truly great song he wrote for the band and he performed it on his tours in 2000 and 2002. Next is Corporal Clegg with Dave and drummer Nick Mason on vocal(yes, it was Nick who sang the "he won it in the war", "in orange red and blue", "he's never been the same" and the "from her majesty" sections of the track). The second half starts with the group composed title cut which became a showstopper for the band for the next four years and is a classic. Watch the version on Live at Pompeii and you'll agree to the fact. Rick's See-Saw follows and is a great song despite the fact Rick is embarrased by the track. Lastly, the album ends with Syd's Jugband Blues. The song is one of his best and is on the Pink Floyd best of Echoes since it is liked so much by the band and fans. The album was hugely ignored in the US but made it to #9 in the UK upon release in 1968.

In 1968, English rockers Pink Floyd were facing major problems. The band's first US tour was cancelled after guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Syd Barrett's dependency on hallucinogenic drugs were causing his behavior to become more and more erratic(on the band's first US TV appearance on American Bandstand, the group got that appearance unscathed but things got worse on The Pat Boone Show, Syd refused to mime to See Emily Play(Roger eventually mimed to it) or speak to Pat), the band's third single Apples and Oranges failed in the UK(not released in the US until the 1992 Shine On box set) and a proposed fourth single Vegetable Man was not ever released. Early in January 1968, drummer Nick Mason, keyboardist Rick Wright and bassist/vocalist Roger Waters called Syd's childhood friend guitarist and vocalist David Gilmour and invited him to join making PF briefly a five piece. Syd seemed relieved when Dave was there to relieve some pressure. Then, before what would have been the sixth gig as a five piece, Roger said let's not pick up Syd. After he left, the band recorded a fourth single It Would Be So Nice, which flopped and were also recording their second album A Saucerful of Secrets, released in July of 1968. I first heard this album when I got the 1973 double disc reissue of the band's first two album A Nice Pair on cassette when I was 11 in May of 1987. The album starts off with Let There Be More Light, which has Rick singing and Roger whispering in unison on one part then David Gilmour singing the next part. The track ends with a soaring Gilmour solo(the first proper guitar solo on a Floyd track by the way as Syd wasn't a skilled guitarist unlike Dave who literally taught Syd how to play ironically). Next is Remember a Day, which was a holdover from Piper at the Gates of Dawn and was written and sung by Rick with great slide guitar work by Syd. Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun follows and was written and sung by Roger and was Roger's first truly great song he wrote for the band and he performed it on his 1984/1985 and his 2000 North American and 2002 European tours. Next is Corporal Clegg with Dave and drummer Nick Mason on vocal(yes, it was Nick who sang the "he won it in the war", "in orange red and blue", "he's never been the same" and the "from her majesty" sections of the track so One of These Days was not his only vocal in the Floyd repertoire). The second half starts with the group composed title cut(the first collaboration between Gilmour/Waters/Mason/Wright) which became a showstopper for the band for the next four years and is a classic. Watch the version on the 1972 film Live at Pompeii and you'll agree. Rick's See-Saw follows and is a great song although he doesn't like the track. Lastly, the album ends with Syd's Jugband Blues. The song is one of his best especially with The Salvation Army musicians at the end of the track. The album was hugely ignored in the US as it did not chart(the only Floyd album not to ever chart at all in the US) but made it to #9 in the band's native UK upon release in 1968. Also, the band recorded another single after this Point Me at the Sky which flopped in the UK and like Apples and Oranges unreleased in America until the 1992 Pink Floyd box set.

To me, I always felt that A Saucerful of Secrets was more or less a gap between the Barrett-era Floyd and the more experimental Floyd albums that were to follow. As everyone knows, Syd Barrett was too far gone and was booted out of the band by the time of this album, although he did leave behind "Jugband Blues". His replacement was of course David Gilmour, and so the best-known lineup (that eventually gave us multi-million sellers like The Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall) of Waters/Wrights/Gilmour/Mason was established here. The band more or less decided to continue exploring the more spacy, experimental side of psychedelia in the abscence of Barrett. For example, Waters giving us "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun". Here Wright gives us some truly wonderful spacy keyboards while Mason gives us some nice use of percussion (sounds like kettle drums here). "Corporal Clegg" could easily sound like a Barrett song, although I recognize David Gilmour's vocals (although I suspect some backing vocals were by Barrett). The use of kazoos in this song would have been perfect as a Barrett composition. Wright's "Remember a Day" was apparently from the Piper sessions from the previous year (1967) so unsurprisingly it would be Barrett doing guitar duty here, although of course it was Wright handling the vocals. The title track is a highly experimental unstructured piece, which is a really daring thing for a band to do. A lot of use of percussion, then at the end, mellow use of Hammond organ and cosmic voices. If you're familiar with a lot of early '70s progressive space rock and Krautrock acts of the time, you can see where many of those bands got their inspiration from. "See-Saw" is another Wright number and what's really interesting is he used the Mellotron, an instrument usually associated with the Moody Blues (and later Yes, Genesis, Tangerine Dream, etc.). This wasn't going to be the last time a Mellotron could be heard on a Floyd album, as some was used on Ummagumma, and Atom Heart Mother. And then of course the album closes with Barret's "Jugband Blues". Upon paying attention to the lyrics it was obvious he really lost it. This song is pretty bizarre, especially with the psychedelic noodling, before it ends again with just Barret singing and guitar. It's amazing how this band was like in an era before they became a household name with multi-platinum albums and selling out every stadium and arena. Truly a great, although not-so-easy to get in to psychedelic album.

A Saucerful of Secrets, recorded in 1968. a year after their amazing 1967 debut "Piper at the Gates of Dawn". Syd Barret's last time with the original band.

"a saucerful of secrets" is easily one of the greatest Pink Floyd records ever. having some of the best guitar playing from David Gilmour... if you thought Comfortably Numb (which isn't even a very good guiter solo) was good, wait till you hear the title-track "a saucerful of secrets". 12 amazing minutes of the best guitar playing from Gilmour. "Let there be more light" starts out with a guitar and the drums. lyrics are wonderful with streaming echoes of the vocals from Syd Barret. maybe something deticated to The Beatles? they sing "Lucy in the sky!..". "Remember a day" starts out with a haunting piano, then busts out into some drums and vocals. "Set the controls for the heart of the sun" is probably one of my favourite Pink Floyd songs ever. also featured is a LIVE version on my personal favourite Pink Floyd album, "Ummagumma". "Corporal clegg" is one of the worser songs on the album. not bad at all, very experimental and unique. just doesn't compare to the others. "A Saucerful of secrets" is easily the best song on the album. once again i'll mention the amazing guitar solo. the best. the best i say! also featured a LIVE version on Ummagumma. "See saw" is also like "Corporal clegg" a bit. while this one is also interesting and experimental, it falls short from the others."Jugband Blues" is a PERFECT ending for the album and Syd Barret. very slow, melodic, and sad. one of the greatest.

so there you have it, A Saucerful of Secrets is easily one of the greatest Pink Floyd albums. this album should be getting the respect "Dark Side of the Moon" is.

Pink Floyd started as an underground band playing a 20 minute long "jam" tune called "Interstellar Overdrive" and this album was created to appease the original fan base.

Still very lyrical, the music also begins to increase in quality. As Syd Barrett began to distance himself not only from the band but also from reality, the other members began to fill the void ... and very well.

Syd's talent still comes through on a few of the tracks to create a very good album.

Still, this is an album for the collector or the die-hard Floyd fam.

IGNORE ALL ONE STAR REVIEWS FOR THIS BRILLIANT FLOYD CD.VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

THIS CD WAS MADE DURING THE TRANSITION TIME OF THE DEPARTURE OF SYD BARRET AND THE JOINING OF THE AWESOME DAVID GILMOUR.THIS CD FEATURES GREAT SONGS LIKE SET THE CONTROLS FOR THE HEART OF THE SUN,THE TITLE TRACK AND A GREAT SYD BARRET SONG JUGBAND BLUES.VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

In 1968, English rockers Pink Floyd were facing major problems. The band's first US tour was cancelled after guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Syd Barrett's dependency on hallucinogenic drugs were causing his behavior to become more erratic(on the band's first US TV appearance on American Bandstand, the group got through it unscathed but on The Pat Boone Show, Syd refused to mime to See Emily Play or speak to Pat), the band's third single Apples and Oranges failed and a proposed fourth single Vegetable Man was not ever released. Early in January 1968, drummer Nick Mason, keyboardist Rick Wright and bassist/vocalist Roger Waters called Syd's childhood friend David Gilmour and invited him to join making PF a five piece for five shows. Then, before what would have been the sixth gig as a five piece, Roger said let's not pick up Syd. After he left, the band recorded a fourth single It Would Be So Nice, which flopped and were also recording their second album A Saucerful of Secrets, released in July of 1968. I first heard this album on the 1973 double disc A Nice Pair, which was the reissue of Floyd's first two albums, when I was 11 in May of 1987. The album starts off with Let There Be More Light, which has Rick singing and Roger whispering in unison on one part then David Gilmour singing the next part. The track ends with a soaring Gilmour solo(the first proper guitar solo on a Floyd track by the way). Next is Remember a Day, which was a holdover from Piper at the Gates and was written and sung by Rick with great slide guitar by Syd. Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun follows and was written and sung by Roger and was Roger's first truly great song he wrote for the band and he performed it on his tours in 2000 and 2002. Next is Corporal Clegg with Dave and drummer Nick Mason on vocal(yes, it was Nick who sang the "he won it in the war", "in orange red and blue", "he's never been the same" and the "from her majesty" sections of the track). The second half starts with the group composed title cut which became a showstopper for the band for years to come and is a classic. Watch the version on Live at Pompeii and you'll agree. Rick's See-Saw follows and is a great song. Lastly, the album ends with Syd's Jugband Blues. The song is one of his best. The album was hugely ignored in the US but made it to #9 in the UK upon release in 1968.

A good follow up album to their first master pieace, not one bad song. The opening song is a real space trip and the rest of the songs arent to bad they either the title track is awsome and very experimental and corporal clegg catchy and funny then there is the beautiful Set the controls for the heart of the sun.
A great space rock album. Meby not music for everyone but give it a shanse and you will love it. This is simply music that they dont make any more.