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Post by kds on Dec 2, 2019 19:27:32 GMT
I'd completely forgotten about the riff for Let There Be More Light appearing in Interstallar Overdrive.
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bellbottoms
Pacific Coast Highway
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Post by bellbottoms on Dec 2, 2019 22:42:06 GMT
I can't believe I somehow didn't grab on to Let There Be More Light and See-Saw the first time around, they're both fantastic songs. Well I have to start again somewhere--after an eight-month hiatus--so why not here? (Hi bellbottoms .) I bought this album when it was released in '68 (I already had their debut) and these were the two tracks that leapt out at me. The lyrics of "See Saw" must be pretty unique in post-Barrett Floyd. I like the way the riff of "LTBML" began life in "Interstellar Overdrive" (here at 4:22): Hi back, JK Thanks for pointing out the connection between these two!
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Post by kds on Dec 3, 2019 18:11:11 GMT
MORE (1969)
So, the first album whose material is solely from the classic Floyd lineup of Waters, Gilmour, Mason, and Wright is a soundtrack album. It's kind of an odd choice, but the band made some odd choices in 1969.
The soundtrack nature of More puts it in a similar category as The Beatles' Yellow Submarine or Queen's Flash Gordon. Although, there is a little more substance with Floyd's third offering.
The first side is actually pretty good. Leading off with the acoustic, pastoral Cirrus Minor. Once Wright's farfisa organ lulls one into a sense of serenity, Floyd kicks in the door with The Nile Song, a pre heavy metal song, and one of the very few balls out rockers in the Floyd catalog. Then, it's back to dreamland with The Crying Song. Green is the Colour is also a very good ballad along these lines. David Gilmour, who provides the only vocals on this album (one of only three Floyd albums to only feature one lead vocalist), effortlessly goes back and forth from gentle vocals to shouty hard rock vocals and back, showing voice no other Floyd singer had.
The album's standout track - Cymbaline - follows Green is the Colour. Many fans prefer the more electric, and often longer, live versions, but I think the studio cut with acoustic guitar, piano, and organ is close to perfect, and one of the Floyd's best tracks to date.
The instrumentals on this album (6 of the 13 tracks) make the album drag a bit, since their purpose is mainly for the film instead of as full fledged musical pieces. Main Theme has its moments. Quicksilver spends seven minutes building tension, but ultimately doesn't go anywhere. The rest are fairly non descript.
The only other songs of note are Ibiza Bar - which is really just a reprise of The Nile Song. Then, there's A Spanish Piece, which mercifully runs just over a minute. It features Gilmour speaking gibberish that's supposed to sound like Spanish. Apparently, it's heard playing on a radio in the movie. One wonders why it would've warranted inclusion on the album.
So, the first album from the classic lineup is far from classic, but does have some very strong material on the front end.
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Post by jk on Dec 3, 2019 22:09:36 GMT
Thanks, kds. I won't do a track-by-track review (not my thing), just a few remarks here and there. "Cirrus Minor" for me is at once the climax of the album. Nothing else here matches this mournful song with its gorgeous ending. I made the foolish mistake of watching the footage that accompanies it in More. Luckily the powerful imagery "CM" has evoked for me from day one is so strong that it has prevailed over the dreadful stuff in the film. You have been warned! "Green Is The Colour" and "Cymbaline" I first heard on a 2-LP bootleg of a live performance in Hamburg (?--with a pornographic cover) so those are the versions I have come to love. Two great songs though. The rest (including, I regret to say, "The Nile Song") seems to have left little impression on me. Oh well. That said, "Cirrus Minor" is worth the price of admission alone.
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Post by kds on Dec 4, 2019 13:12:57 GMT
I've never sat down to watch either More, Zabriskie Point, or La Valley, nor have I ever really had any interest in doing so. From what I vaguely recall, all three of these movies were pretty much your run of the mill trippy head pieces.
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bellbottoms
Pacific Coast Highway
Posts: 727
Likes: 201
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Post by bellbottoms on Dec 5, 2019 13:33:38 GMT
I didn’t read up about More before listening to it, so I didn’t know it was a soundtrack on the first listen until hearing Party Sequence… then I checked the rest of the song titles and then I realized it was likely a soundtrack.
There are some enjoyable moments on it but overall it seemed to be missing something. Maybe due to the number of instrumental soundtrack pieces, or maybe something else. Maybe it’s Syd.
The album as a whole seems just very reserved and serious (except for the Spanish Piece, which would have been nice without the bizarrely accented monologue).
I have to admit I’ve heard Cirrus Minor three times now and I can’t remember what it sounds like apart from the birds in the intro.
Highlights for me are The Nile Song, Crying Song, Green is the Colour, Cymbaline and Ibiza Bar.
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Post by kds on Dec 5, 2019 13:48:30 GMT
I don't think Syd's presence would've really helped More. I really don't think he had the voice to sing songs like Cymbaline or Green is the Colour. I think Richard Wright is a little restrained though. I mean his work on Cirrus Minor and Cymbaline is good, but it's more atmospheric than anything.
I think the instrumental songs mostly lack structure, and I think that was an issue on Piper which was corrected with the title track to ASOS. However, the instrumental tracks on More show a regression, which I guess can be forgiven since it's movie music.
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bellbottoms
Pacific Coast Highway
Posts: 727
Likes: 201
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Post by bellbottoms on Dec 5, 2019 13:53:46 GMT
It's that restrained-ness that is getting to me, I think. It's lacking personality. Maybe I was wrongly attributing that to Syd.
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Post by kds on Dec 5, 2019 13:57:10 GMT
It's that restrained-ness that is getting to me, I think. It's lacking personality. Maybe I was wrongly attributing that to Syd. No, I think you have two really good musicians in David and Richard who are holding back on this album, likely due to the soundtrack nature, and the fact that the album was recorded fairly quickly. Unfortunately, that problem would persist until the dawn of the new decade, which I'll touch on soon.
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Post by kds on Dec 5, 2019 18:00:14 GMT
UMMAGUMMA (1969)
As I said in my write up for More, Pink Floyd made some odd decisions in 1969. In July 1969, the band was asked to play live on the BBC to provide background music for the footage of the Moon landing. They apparently made up music on the spot.
More interestingly, the band started to move towards more full conceptual pieces that they would excel in a few years later. They played a live piece called The Man and The Journey, which was made up mostly of previously recorded songs with different titles. A radio broadcast of the piece was widely bootlegged before being officially released on the Early Years box.
In late 1969, Floyd released their fourth album - the double album Ummagumma. The first disc was a live disc. The second was divided into solo pieces for all four members. A very questionable decision for a band still trying to find its footing.
The live album features a far better version of Careful With That Axe Eugene than the single studio cut. Both Astronomy Domine and Set the Controls... plod a bit in their extended live versions. The live version of A Saucerful of Secrets is quite similar to the studio cut, with the exception of the Celestial Voices finale which is played at a faster tempo with drums, bass, and guitar along with the organ. Also, Gilmour handles the wordless vocals alone. For what it is, it's a pretty good document was early live Floyd.
The studio album on the other hand is a mess. It foreshadows the future solo careers of Waters, Gilmour, Wright, and Mason. Waters' Grantchester Meadows is easily the highlight, an acoustic ballad that would've fit on More. It does lack melody a little. Gilmour's The Narrow Way is decent musically. Wright's Sysyphus is pleasant in parts, but at over 13 minutes asks a lot of the listener. Mason's The Grand Vizier's Garden Party shows why Nick has so few songwriting credits. There are better full band versions of Grantchester Meadows and The Narrow Way.
Roger Waters also adds the worst thing Floyd put to tape to date - Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict. This piece of tape loops sped up to sound like chipmunks and Roger Waters screaming something in a Scottish accent for five minutes surely begged the question of whether Syd Barrett was the only one in the band with issues.
Easily Floyd's worst album. The dawn of a new decade would see bigger and much better things.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Dec 5, 2019 22:28:23 GMT
UMMAGUMMA (1969) Roger Waters also adds the worst thing Floyd put to tape to date - Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict. This piece of tape loops sped up to sound like chipmunks and Roger Waters screaming something in a Scottish accent for five minutes surely begged the question of whether Syd Barrett was the only one in the band with issues. "Several Species Of Furry Animals Gathered Together In A Cave And Grooving With A Pict" is one of my favorite Pink Floyd tracks. I was almost going to say Pink Floyd songs. I think it's a wonderfully creative piece and I give Roger Waters a lot of credit for it. He was able to create something where it takes your imagination away to another place and you can almost see...something. Great sounds effects and atmosphere.
On one of my own PF comps I go: Let There Be More Light -> Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun -> One Of These Days -> Cirrus Minor -> SSOFAGTIACAGWAP
Make sure you overlap Cirrus Minor and SSOFAGTIACAGWAP by 30 seconds. It sounds amazing how Cirrus Minor fades out and SSOSFAGTIACAGWAP fades in.
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Post by kds on Dec 6, 2019 13:31:18 GMT
UMMAGUMMA (1969) Roger Waters also adds the worst thing Floyd put to tape to date - Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict. This piece of tape loops sped up to sound like chipmunks and Roger Waters screaming something in a Scottish accent for five minutes surely begged the question of whether Syd Barrett was the only one in the band with issues. "Several Species Of Furry Animals Gathered Together In A Cave And Grooving With A Pict" is one of my favorite Pink Floyd tracks. I was almost going to say Pink Floyd songs. I think it's a wonderfully creative piece and I give Roger Waters a lot of credit for it. He was able to create something where it takes your imagination away to another place and you can almost see...something. Great sounds effects and atmosphere.
On one of my own PF comps I go: Let There Be More Light -> Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun -> One Of These Days -> Cirrus Minor -> SSOFAGTIACAGWAP
Make sure you overlap Cirrus Minor and SSOFAGTIACAGWAP by 30 seconds. It sounds amazing how Cirrus Minor fades out and SSOSFAGTIACAGWAP fades in. Well, one man's trash is another's treasure. Considering you and I have very different opinions on Brian Wilson's quirkier output, I'm can't say I'm shocked that Several Species is a favorite of yours. So, to each their own.
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bellbottoms
Pacific Coast Highway
Posts: 727
Likes: 201
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Post by bellbottoms on Dec 6, 2019 23:03:39 GMT
Some albums you know you know will reveal themselves to you as you spend more time with them and they're worth the investment. Then there are the ones where you ask yourself "Do I need to hear this again?". In the case of Ummagumma, I'm afraid the answer is no.
I did enjoy The Narrow Way Pt. 3, though.
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Post by kds on Dec 7, 2019 2:05:51 GMT
Some albums you know you know will reveal themselves to you as you spend more time with them and they're worth the investment. Then there are the ones where you ask yourself "Do I need to hear this again?". In the case of Ummagumma, I'm afraid the answer is no. I did enjoy The Narrow Way Pt. 3, though. If you want to hear the full potential of The Narrow Way, pull up the live version on the Early Years 1969.
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Post by jk on Dec 7, 2019 22:59:47 GMT
UMMAGUMMA (1969)
Easily Floyd's worst album. That says it all for me. The only good thing about it is the picture of their gear laid out symmetrically!
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