A SAUCERFUL OF SECRETS

The purely Psychedelic era in Pink Floyd's history was a short-lived such as A Saucerful Of Secrets shows the band working out a new way to express their musical abilities. Syd Barrett was pretty much out of the picture by this point which is why David Gilmour was recruited to fill in the gap that was left by the enigmatic front man. Even though Gilmour wasn't much of a replacement for Barrett, he did bring in a new approach to guitar playing that felt quite original in its own right.

Roger Waters and Richard Wright took over songwriting duties in the absence of Syd Barrett and managed to pen quite impressive new material. It's obvious that the band members were still heavily inspired by the Psychedelic movement even though the material they wrote also has a touch of Space Rock to it. Let There Be More Light and Remember A Day are great examples of Syd Barrett's legacy working in favor of Waters' and Wright's ambitious compositions. Still, Pink Floyd manages to kick it up a notch on Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun where the early signs of Space Rock show a completely different, more polished, side of their repertoire. This is a number Roger Waters still rigorously incorporates in his solo act which to me says a lot about this composition.The rest of the album is filled with acquired taste material, which I actually find highly entertaining. Starting with Corporal Clegg, which is the first Pink Floyd song to address the theme of war. I dare you to guess who wrote this track!

The album's title track is another stab at the 10 minute format and this one actually accomplishes a whole lot more during its allocated space. I always imagined the composition to be a conceptual piece that describes the creation and evolution of Earth. Staring with sporadic sounds of volcanic eruptions, creation of wild life and the screaming vocals towards the end represents creation of the Homo sapiens. Richard Wright does another fine rendition of Syd Barrett's style on See-Saw while Jugband Blues depicts the master himself doing his last performance on a Pink Floyd album.

You've probably noticed that I happen to like this album quite a lot. It might not be the obvious choice for a classic from the wide array of great Pink Floyd performances over the years but I would definitely rank it among my top 3 personal favorites. Even if you don't disagree with me on this point, A Saucerful Of Secrets is still an excellent addition to any prog rock music collection!

***** star songs: Let There Be More Light (5:38) Remember A Day (4:33) Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun (5:28)

**** star songs: Corporal Clegg (4:12) A Saucerful Of Secrets (11:57) See-Saw (4:36) Jugband Blues (2:59)