The album that established the genius of Syd Barrett, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn is a beautiful, plastic melding of psychedelic space and brilliant English pop. Side 1 features the joyful, spacey jam "Pow R. Toc H." and the driving, spy-movie inspired "Lucifer Sam." Side two, after the magnificent "Interstellar Overdrive," reveals Barrett in all his psych/pop glory -- the childlike whimsy of "The Gnome," the gorgeous simplicity of "The Scarecrow," and the fascinating, eerie hint of incipient insanity that is "Bike." Barrett's influence is felt everywhere here. And the structure he imposes on the extended jams is the restraint that gives them their shape and power -- the ponderous, indulgent excesses of Pink Floyd's post-Barrett "arena rock" career bear witness to this. Much has been written about Barrett's prodigious intake of LSD and his subsequent mental troubles. It's a tragedy that this visionary created so little that was actually recorded. Still, we're lucky to have The Piper at the Gates of Dawn; it's Syd Barrett's Pink Floyd at their transcendent best.
Condition:Brand new factory sealed
TRACK LISTINGS
Disc 1
1 Astronomy Dominé 4:12
2 Lucifer Sam 3:07
3 Matilda Mother 3:08
4 Flaming 2:46
5 Pow R. Toc H. 4:26
6 Take up Thy Stethoscope and Walk 3:05
7 Interstellar Overdrive 9:41
8 The Gnome 2:13
9 Chapter 24 3:42
10 The Scarecrow 2:11
11 Bike 3:21
Disc 2
1 Astronomy Dominé (mono)
2 Lucifer Sam (mono)
3 Matilda Mother (mono)
4 Flaming (mono)
5 Pow R. Toc H. (mono)
6 Take up Thy Stethoscope and Walk (mono)
7 Interstellar Overdrive (mono)
8 The Gnome (mono)
9 Chapter 24 (mono)
10 The Scarecrow (mono)
11 Bike (mono)
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