A SAUCERFUL OF SECRETS

Most fans tend to prefer Piper to this one. Not me. Here we listen to David Gilmour's guitar for the first time - quite an improvement for the band's sound. His guitar work coupled perfectly with the band's (still) mainly psychedelic sound. And the album starts with a bang, Let There Be More Light, the first great song (music and lyrics) written by Roger Waters followed by an excelent guitar solo in Gilmour's already trademark style, fiery and melodic. It's interesting to notice the Eastern influence in both Let There Be More Light and Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun, this last still a part of Roger's live setlist. Unfortunately, the band didn't explore very much this vein eversince.

RIck Wright's contributions, Remember a Day and See Saw, have a particular feel, slower, with childhood lyrics (but not childish) and nice, melodic intrumental passages. The title track is another long instrumental piece, still much in the psychedelic vein, but already with some hints of the prog sound yet to come. Roger's sharp, ironic lyrics surface for the first time in Corporal Clegg, the story of a soldier who lost a leg in the war. It has a weird, yet very interesting sound, martial, but perfectly suited with the ironic lyrics. Jugband Blues, the only Barret song in the album, is a short piece divided in three parts. It has an interesting melody, but looks mostly like an unfinished song. It displays the decline of Barret's mind and creativity, and counts for the weakest song of the album.

In the end, this album is enjoyable in its entirety, and has no major flaws (unlike Piper, as I pointed in the review of that album), but with only two outstanding, classic tunes, Let There Be More Light and Set the Controls... Also, it is not a prog album. Therefore, it won't get the highest rate, but still deserves 4 resolute, solid stars.