A SAUCERFUL OF SECRETS

"A Saucerful Of Secrets" is the 2nd full-length studio album by UK psychadelic/progressive rock act Pink Floyd. The album was released through EMI in June 1968. After the succes of their debut album "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967)" the band started recording sessions for their sophomore release in August 1967. Unfortunately original guitarist/lead singer Syd Barrett became so mentally unstable during this period that the band brought in David Gilmour to replace him in January 1968. Initially as a second guitarist to fill in for Barrett, when he wasn´t able to perform. It wasn´t until March 1968 that Syd Barrett finally left the band. The recording sessions which took place at Abbey Road Studios in London ended in April 1968. "A Saucerful Of Secrets" features vocal contributions from all five members of the band (including Syd Barrett on three tracks). Most tracks were written by bassist Roger Waters and keyboard player Richard Wright while "Jugband Blues" is the only Syd Barrett penned track on the album.

Stylistically the music on the album is psychadelic rock. Spacey sound effects, stoned mellow vocals, and what at times sound like improvised psychadelic jams although most tracks feature recognisable vers/chorus structures. However stoned and out there the music sometimes is there´s always a focus on memorable melodies which is an important factor, that sets "A Saucerful Of Secrets" apart from some of the output by contemporary artists. While most tracks are pretty simple psycadelic rock tunes, the haunting "Set the controls for the heart of the sun" is an intense repetitive track which shows the more adventurous side of the band. The 11:57 minutes long title track is a long psychadelic jam which in those days was probably considered quite experimental and inventive.

The musicianship is on a high level and Pink Floyd proves to be innovative in both thought and playing style throughout the album. The album is packed with beautiful psychadelic organ from Richard Wright and great guitar parts too from David Gilmour (even though he is not as prominent here as he would be on later recordings). Great sedated vocals and harmonies, and a loose and organic playing rhythm section which suits the music perfectly. "A Saucerful Of Secrets" features a slightly muddy sound production and especially during some of the most intense jam part of the title track, it´s a bit hard to make out what´s happening, but the production generally suits the music well, and considering the time of release, the sound production is certainly decent.

Upon conclusion I will label "A Saucerful Of Secrets" an excellent psychadelic rock album. The music featured on the album is still far from the more sophisticated style of music that Pink Floyd would produce in the 70s but that doesn´t make it less enjoyable. To my ears "A Saucerful Of Secrets" is a seminal album in the genre and a 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.