THE PIPER AT THE GATES OF DAWN

This was one of those albums I bought expecting normal Floyd and then saying "WHAT!!!" But over time I learned to like Syd Barret. I feel sorry for him... the guy had to just fade away with acid. Drugs seemed to inspire many bands, but that does not meen that it's right or that it's ever to be used. Anyway, here's a song by song review:

Astonomy Domine: "Lime and limpid green..." a great opener with some space sounds and some opening drumming that evolves into Rick Wright and Syd singing. The guitar can be an instrument that always can be played different ways, and Syd was a master of making sounds with it nobody else ever made!

Lucifer Sam: Well, I don't like this song much but I can still listen to it. It's rather too sixties. It sounds a bit like the Batman theme from the show.

Matilda Mother: It's good. Rick sings as he pleads with Syd to Syds Mother for more bedtime stories. Keyboards start and Syd does some of his strange little voice noises. Syd's guitar is raw and unpolished but good.

Flaming: I don't like this one very much. It sounds like Syd's watching some woman undress while he's watching. I know that's not really it, I just find it annoying that he can see somebody and she can't.

PowRTochH: I like this one because I can always fool friends while we're playing an X- box game and listening to a soundtrack because they know less classic Floyd. "What, that's floyd what?" Very strange and more of Syd's strange voice stuff. Some decent drumming and piano but they come off sounding like a garage band. It's funny!

Take up thy sthethoscope and walk: Roger's first song ever! Many don't like this oddity of rhyming and yelling at doctors, but I like it. The drums boom and he yells "Doctordoctor" and rhymes stuff like "Flowers thrive" and "Realize". Yeah, they were all on drugs, and Roger sounds like it. But I still like this song.

Interstellar Overdrive: The beginning of long floyd songs. I think it sounds immature compared to later stuff but it's listenable. Sometimes I'll play around with my graphic equalizer on my stereo and find a place where it sounds a bit different and better. People who don't like one keyboard note constantly playing over and over will probably want to change the track.

The gnome: After the last songs monotonousness, this comes across quite nicely. I've heard of people hating this one, along with chapter 24 and scarecrow, but I like it. It's a lot like the Hobbit, in a way.

Chapter 24: Whatever this means, I don't know, but I like the relaxing sound of it. Syd's slurring of Rs is nice.

Scarecrow: A very interesting little drum beat starts up and then some keyboards and guitar. It's an ok track.

Bike: Wierd, but cool. The rhyming starts and then "Your the kind of girl that fits in with my world" with an explosion at the end. Wierd creaking noises ( I always thought it was the bed creaking as they had sex) and a clock and then a little wind up clown laughing ends the CD.

If you are the hesitant floyd album collector DON'T START HERE. If you love the band and want to collect the lot of them, get this. But realize that this isn't real Floyd, it's Syd's band. And the band was so much different back then. It's sort of like comparing a mouse to a giant, comparing Floyd's barret sound and floyd's real sound. But you will enjoy it after a while...