THE PIPER AT THE GATES OF DAWN

Pink Floyd

Psychedelic/Space Rock

3.87 | 2316 ratings

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This isn't Pink Floyd. Period. End of discussion. For better or worse, this is not Floyd.

I was about to knock this album for un-originality because I thought it came out in 1969 -- the year of the great guitarists (Fripp and Page anyone?). No, it was 1967, and the most innovative guitars at this point were probably on "Helter Skelter." I'm not knocking the Beatles, but there was certainly quite a room for improvement. No prog to speak of, either.

So with this in mind, I embark on reviewing an album that vies for the title of Weirdest Album Ever. It pairs visionary lyrics with sweeping, metallic guitars and beautifully-constructed soundscapes ("Astronomy Domine" and "Interstellar Overdrive" are stunning). There are also stupidly funny songs that you know you should hate but you just can't ("Bike" is a great song). Finally, there are pointlessly annoying songs that make you want to drown someone in a bathtub ("Matilda Mother" and "Pow R. Toc H." give me homicidal tendencies). It's that kind of album.

So what to make of it? It's a rock n' roll dead end. Should Barrett have followed this moderate success up with more albums, who knows what direction rock could have headed. But instead we got Pink Floyd sans Barrett, and I think rock ended up okay as it is. Personally, I kinda like it. Piper at the Gates of Dawn is an interesting window into something that could have been far better. But for better or worse, that thing was not Pink Floyd. It's a whole different animal.

To EVERYONE: Listen to this album at least 2 or 3 times, a couple months apart. I hated it to no end the first time I heard it, put it aside and cursed it. Then I listened to it again and liked it. This is not Pink Floyd, but give it a chance anyway. You won't regret it.

nursethisviper | 4/5 | 2006-7-21

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