Pink Floyd Appreciation Thread

brainstormer wrote: Someone was saying how impressed Syd was with the Electric Prunes song.  You can hear it in Floyd's record months later after the Prunes LP was released. If you've followed the words of rock stars, you know, that  it doesn't matter what they say, it's often one sided.  The Electric Prunes were touring with Soft Machine, back in the day.  You can hear the live 1967 CD on Youtube currently to hear how they sounded live.   No one can really take away anything from Floyd that is due them, but sometimes these bands, and solo artists like Eno, try to have an image that they are these unassailable gods that didn't take without giving credit.   For some reason, certain bands are not liked, and I think precisely it is because they were the most original and earliest adapters.  Lesser beings always need to take credit and cover their tracks, making sure no one really cares about the originals.  You can hear how noisy and punky the Nice were in their last 1970 recording.   Let's get those nails and crosses, shall we?

 

However, these kinds of comments leave me unmoved and unimpressed. If you can seriously hear the beginnings oof Progressive Rock in the early Prunes albums then so be it. What I am saying is Astronomie Domine structurally and musically is a million miles away from Are You Lovin' Me More (But Enjoying It Less) and the intro was not a "wholesale lift" - it bears a resemblence, and if the anecdote is true then it explains why there is a resemblence... For that, it does not qualify as being influential on (or even having any part in) the formation of Progressive Rock as a genre. Of course Barrett didn't invent everything they did without being influenced by other people - the name of the band alone is enough to show that - but everything that influenced his song writting isn't necessarily part of the beginnings of Prog Rock, and that is what we are interested in here.

how impressed Syd was with the Electric Prunes song.  You can hear it in Floyd's record months later

after the Prunes LP was released. If you've followed the words of rock stars, you know, that 

and solo artists like Eno, try to have an image that they are these unassailable gods that didn't take

without giving credit.   For some reason, certain bands are not liked, and I think precisely it is because

they were the most original and earliest adapters.  Lesser beings always need to take credit and

cover their tracks, making sure no one really cares about the originals.  You can hear how noisy

and punky the Nice were in their last 1970 recording.   Let's get those nails and crosses, shall we? 

One thing that's important is in seeing how songs change shape over time.  If you listen to, for instance,

how little resemblence to the later form.  The T Rex CD's are a great example of this. 

I'm a big early Pink Floyd fan so there's no axe to grind but also the Electric Prunes 

Are there recordings from these 1966 gigs?  I just think the hype machine of the biggest

bands let alone their fans is something to be reckoned with.  These could have been versions that sounded

like something different than the Floyd of later 1967.

I'm curious what your source is on this.

From Dark Globe, Julian Palacios' biography (page 207) of Syd Barrett:

'Infused with a spirit of sudden discovery, 'Astronomy Domine' was a continual work in progress. Barrett tinkered with the song's construction right until the recording session, inspired by a single issued that week by American garage psychers the Electric Prunes. Its A-side, 'Get Me To The World On Time', was a minor hit climbing Radio London's chart. However, Barrett was riveted by the B-side, 'Are You Loving Me More (But Enjoying It Less)', he lifted the song's intro wholesale for 'Astronomy Domine'.'

The first Electric Prunes lp which is very psychedelic came out four months before the first Floyd album.

It's true the British did excellent prog but they probably didn't originate as much as one might think.