Pink Floyd does NOT do "Greatest Hits" albums, so
this is something entirely different. In the throes of losing Syd,
and struggling to find their true identity, the band sat down and asked
themselves, "What can we do next?" Well, one of the things they could
do was to spread to the general public a taste of what it was like to be
at a Pink Floyd concert (Album I). The other was to give each band
member a chance to "test his wings", by composing an experimental {CPFS}
piece (Album II). Half of it worked marvelously.
Album I gives us just a little taste of what it
must have been like to attend a concert, since a lot of the special sound
effects the band made work so well live just don't translate fully to plastic.
By now, the band had figured out how to surround their audience with music,
creating the effect of listening to your headphones right there in the
auditorium. The four pieces chosen for this album are all good for
demonstrating the innovative instrumental techniques of the Floyd.
You may be somewhat disappointed that the live versions do not differ greatly
from the studio recordings, but when you're the Floyd, that's a feat in
itself. The only negatives here are that the vocals did not record
terribly well, and that the four songs chosen are very similar in tempo
(slow), so it can be a good album to go to sleep by. Part of the
vocal recording problem was that Roger
and Dave were just not really ready
to sing strongly enough to front the band - they lacked some of the uninhibited
quality that lead singers must have (as Syd surely did). Still, the
live version is often much better than the original cuts.
Astronomy Domine
is certainly different without Syd doing the vocals, but not necessarily
"worse". The live version gets a new intro, takes on a little more
edge, and allows a little more jamming in the middle. It only takes
to the end of the first verse for you to recognize how much better a guitar
player Dave is than Syd was - the clarity of his playing changes this song
considerably for the better. Lyrically,
it suddenly seems to make more sense than it did before. Already,
you can hear the nuances {CPFS}
in the music that will result in DARK
SIDE OF THE MOON and WISH
YOU WERE HERE. One of the most impressive things is that
Nick
Mason really gets to show off a little, and is probably a much better
drummer than you thought. [See the review of the original album cut
HERE.]
Careful With That Axe,
Eugene is a tune that had been part of the Floyd live repertoire for
a long time, but stayed primarily a cult favorite until the RELICS
album. It has a peaceful, aimless sort of quality that allows its
ethereal eeriness to sneak up on you. Since I've heard it so much,
I can't really recall how I felt the first time through, but now, every
time, I can feel the tension building in me throughout the first 3 minutes.
The double entendre title supposedly comes from a time when a stagehand
moved one of the guitars rather carelessly, and someone spoke the line
to him. (In musical parlance, a person's instrument is often called
his "Axe") Twisted as they are, the boys soon got to laughing about
the inference in such a line, and the song was born. Generally, it's
a pretty harmless collection of loosely connected musical ideas.
(Another irony.)
Set the Controls
for the Heart of the Sun is pretty much identical to the album version,
with a little improvement in the "jam" section, but there is a rather annoying
techno-jam with Rick at the center.
It is much slower than the original version, and begins with a long
cymbal-roll. The lyrics are also slightly altered, with a decrease
in meaning, I think. It's the one piece on this album that doesn't
seem to benefit greatly from being done live, so I'll stick with the album
cut. (See the original version reviewed HERE.)
Saucerful of Secrets
gets the most drastic alteration, probably because it was so free-form
to begin with. Is it an improvement? I guess that depends on
your tastes. Again, I think the active
listener will derive a good bit of pleasure from the nuances
in the instrumental forays. The piece seems to have "matured" since
its' original recording. Still, it can get a bit tedious. (See
the original version reviewed HERE.)
Album II is a noble conception. Let each member
take his turn showing us what he can really do. They would never
make this mistake again. While The Who was experimenting with TOMMY,
Pink Floyd was basically wasting studio time. It could not have worked
out much worse if Roger had intentionally said, "I'm going to let the rest
of you prove that you're not songwriters, so from now on you'll
let me take more control." Essentially, we are indulging a band that
has earned enough rope to hang itself. If you're interested in musical
experimentation {CPFS},
there are lots of "How'd they do that?" sounds on this album.
If you just like to listen, no chance. The cover photography, however,
is a work of art. (You have to love the picture in a picture in a
picture... concept.)
Rick
Wright said he wanted to make "real music", but then he did Sysyphus
to us. After the first part, which is actually rather intriguing
(though repetitive) it disintegrates. Schoenberg
would probably consider this "real" music, but then, I don't consider Schoenberg
"real" music. It's four movements of atonal banging and plucking
on some poor, defenseless piano. At least he doesn't insult us by
giving the parts names, as though they actually meant something.
(Well, how do you differentiate between one aimless bang/pluck sequence
and another?)
Roger
Waters puts two pieces here, and they turn out to be the two most interesting
experiments. Grantchester Meadows is a sort of ho-hum ballad,
but the nature-oriented ambient sounds{CPFS}
are pretty cool. Once again, the necessity for headphones arises,
but after awhile, the chirping that dances from one ear to the other gets
a little annoying. (The fly is awesome, though.) Several
Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving
With a Pict holds some sort of record for song titles, but ironically,
it sounds exactly like what it says it is. I don't see how he could
have named it anything else, and it will make you laugh out loud.
David
Gilmour say he was pretty much just B.S.ing his way around the guitar
for his section of the album, The Narrow Way, and that's pretty
much how it comes out. Part 1 is a bit of acoustic
rambling, with some interesting high-string effects tossed in. Part
2 is electrified, and you'll expect Ozzy Osbourne to burst out with a screaming
vocal line any moment, but it never comes. Part 3 has words!
(Don't expect to find them in the booklet.) It's a nice chance to
see how Dave's voice is different from Roger's, but that's a lesson that
won't really come home to roost until THE
WALL comes out. This one will make you realize why, in
the post-Roger era, Dave will seek out assistance in writing his lyrics
(even though that proves to be a mistake also).
Finally, Nick
Mason regales us with the tale of
The Grand Vizier's Garden Party,
and makes us glad we didn't attend. I usually find extended drum
solos pretty boring after a short while, and this collection of bangedy-bangs
and thumpety-thumps wears on me really fast. It takes everyone a
minute to enter (to sweet-sounding flute); the party itself lasts just
over 7 minutes (and is 'way too long at that); and then it takes 38 seconds
to exit (but we'd have been out the door much sooner!) Still, it's
a fair example of a Pink Floyd loop.
In the end, the band has learned some very valuable
lessons, which they will apply on later albums to much better effect.
The record companies probably learned a valuable lesson here too - don't
give too much leeway to any band, no matter how big a cult following they
have. In spite of that, if you got your money's worth out of the
first album, the second doesn't really matter anyhow, does it?
