Pink Floyd- A Saucerful of Secrets

After the release of their debut 1967 album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, Pink Floyd was obviously on verge of a melt down with their lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter Syd Barrett becoming increasingly unstable do to overdosing on drugs. To make up for the seemingly "absent" lead singer, the band hired an old friend- David Gilmour- to fill in for Syd. This was a good way, the band thought, that they could carry on as a band even with Syd out front, but still work as a cohesive band. This didn't last for long.

Gilmour was an old friend of the band from their time back at Cambridge. He was an accomplished guitarist in his band Joker's Wild, but took the opportunity with Pink Floyd as they had a record deal.
After only a short while, Pink Floyd decided to drop Syd, their leader and friend, from the band. This was a daring move, but an important one for the future of Pink Floyd.

In the midst of their time as a 5 piece, the band managed to record a new album which was released the summer of 1968 entitled A Saucerful of Secrets, a mixed bag of sorts. The sound of this album was noticeably different than Piper, with a more psychedelic sound, leaning away from pop for the most part.

The album has only one song penned by Barrett, although he does play on two other tracks. The recording time was hard until Syd was dropped from the group, so Gilmour really helped fill in the guitar and vocal gaps. Rick Wright, the keyboardist, sings more lead vocals than anyone else on the album, although Roger Waters, the bassist contributes a lead vocal to his tune "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" and drummer Nick Mason contributes vocals on "Corporal Clegg".

Saucer begins with an iconic bass line from Waters on the opener "Let There Be More Light". This quickly transfers into a completely different beat and key. The verses are softly sung by Wright and the powerful and dynamic choruses by Gilmour. The end of the song features the first guitar solo by Gilmour on a Floyd record. This track is a very important stepping stone into the prog rock future of Pink Floyd. Next up is the slightly poppier sounding "Remember a Day". This track sounds like it came right out of the Piper sessions. Similar in structure to "Chapter 24", the track's dynamics are a key part to its appeal. The Verses have a major tone to them, whereas the chorus has a minor sound to it. Syd Barrett plays the slide guitar on this track, which is actually pretty prominent in the tune.

The next track, a Roger Water's composition entitled "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" is probably my favorite track on the album. It is very mellow, but almost symphonic in a way, with Mason quietly pounding the drums and Waters singing ever so softly in the verses. It is very atmospheric and often went twice as long when played live. The next track is one I am not as much a fan of. "Corporal Clegg" sounds like mixing the psychedelic sounds of Floyd with the Who's rock sound. Not exactly a good mix. Also, there is a couple of very annoying kazoo solo. This sounds like a track rejected from Piper, or even a Syd Barrett solo album, even though he had no part in the writing or recording.

The next side of the album begins with the near 12 minute avant-guard title track, "A Saucerful of Secrets". Although it is certainly not high on my list of favorite Floyd songs, I have to admit that there must have been a lot of work put into it. It is not nearly as cohesive as their other extended works ("Echoes" and "Dogs" for example), but it is a step in the right direction. The track hardly resembles a song, but more a sound collage of various noises, although there are a few parts that play very nicely as the whole band joins in. The opening builds up with a bunch of organ notes echoing and random noises playing over the top. Once that comes to a stop, a drum loop of toms comes in with guitars and cymbals fading in over top. The next section is mostly organ and some chimes followed by the final section which is made up of lyricless vocals with organ and Roger's bass in the background. Something that popped out at me is the pure talent of the organ on this piece. Rick really creates some amazing atmospheres with his organ and mellotron on this cut and he executes it beautifully. In interviews, the band has stated that they worked really hard on this piece and worked worked as a very good team, with each of them playing a part in the recording of it. This piece is completely different than the others on this album and stands out for sure.

The following track is Rick Wright's "See-Saw". The lyrics are reminiscent of Syd's trademark childhood whimsical lyrics, but the tune is very somber and dark. There is even some strings playing over the guitar that reminds me of the Beatles' "Yesterday". It seems like a hidden gem on the album, because it is very well executed and shows how to incorporate pop music into psychedelic music. This track also features numerous rhythm changes which adds to the growing complexity of Pink Floyd's music. As a side note, Water's bass lines remind me of Chris Squire's, perhaps because they both play with picks and in the upper register.

The final track is the sole Barrett written song included on the record. "Jugband Blues" is another track that could have been on Piper, but wasn't included. It begins like a normal Barrett tune but changes halfway through to the sounds of guitar plucking over the top of a jugband playing in the background. This abruptly ends as Barrett with his acoustic guitar solemnly ends the song and the album.

The album is not as cohesive as Piper, but certainly is a step forward. I give it a 7 out of 10.

A live version of "Let There Be More Light":