A SAUCERFUL OF SECRETS

A Saucerful of Secrets was a transitional album for the band. Syd Barrett basically acidified his brain, no longer functioned like a typical human being, and was on his departure from Pink Floyd and reality. The talented David Gilmour joined on guitar duty taking their sound to even higher reaches of psychedelia. Although one might expect this to be a mixed bag, which it is, some signs of advanced compositional and musical skill emerged on this album. Most of the shorter pieces have a Barrett-like quality to them, but musically the band seems a little more cohesive. Waters and Wright do most of the vocals, and admittedly some Barrett fans are going to hate this, but I think it was an improvement. The lyrics are also an improvement (e.g. Corporal Clegg and Remember A Day). The production is still sloppy though.

The nearly 12-minute title track is probably the most interesting piece of music on the album. However, it takes some getting used to as parts of it just seem like noodling around. The non-noodling sections are quite interesting with some haunting atmospherics. Remember this is 1968, so Pink Floyd were already proving how "way ahead of their time" they were this far back.

I still quite enjoy this album after having listened to it for more than 20 years now. Although many consider their debut a groundbreaking album, I personally think this one should get those accolades. It's not perfect enough to merit a five-star rating, but is well deserving of four stars. Essential for Pink Floyd fans and highly recommended to all others.