Forum Home Forum Home > Progressive Music Lounges > Prog Bands, Artists and Genres Appreciation
  New Posts New Posts RSS Feed - Early non-album Pink Floyd tracks
  FAQ FAQ  Forum Search   Events   Register Register  Login Login

Early non-album Pink Floyd tracks
 Post Reply Post Reply Page  12>
Author
Message
  Topic Search Topic Search  Topic Options Topic Options
Stressed Cheese View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: March 16 2022
Location: The Netherlands
Status: Offline
Points: 540 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Stressed Cheese Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Early non-album Pink Floyd tracks
    Posted: February 10 2023 at 07:57
I've been listening to a lot of early Floyd lately, and I've finally taken the time/money/"effort" to gather together some of the tracks I was still missing, namely some non-album songs. Little refresher about these tracks, :

-Single: Arnold Layne (Barrett)
-Its B-side: Candy and a Currant Bun (Barrett)
-Single: See Emily Play (Barrett)
-Single: Apples and Oranges (Barrett)
-Its B-side: Paint Box (Wright)
-Single: It Would be so Nice (Wright)
-Its B-side: Julia Dream (Waters)
-Single: Point me at the Sky (Gilmour/Waters)
-Its B-side: Careful With that Axe, Eugene (Gilmour/Mason/Waters/Wright)
-From the "Picnic" compilation: Embryo (Waters)
-From "Relics": Biding my Time (Waters)

I'd be interested to hear what people think of these, and if they have any favorites, or ones that they hate.

As for me, I think See Emily Play and Careful are the highlights. Even though I was already familiar with the Ummagumma version of Careful, I appreciate that it's quite different. It's quite progressive to put this out as a single in 1968, even if it's just the B-side. And See Emily Play is just an instant classic. The piano(?) lines in the chorus is great and dreamy, and I like how these early Barrett singles sound a bit distinct from Piper. I mean, I love Piper, but they definitely feel like singles, if you know what I mean. Too bad these early Barret ones are only available in mono.

There's some other interesting stuff that sheds some light on that weird post-Barrett, pre-Meddle era of the band. Julia Dream would've been a good fit for Saucerful (they should've gotten rid of Corporal Clegg, which doesn't fit on the album at all). Paint Box is interesting as Wright's first solo credit. He definitely had some of the more contemplative/downer PF songs early on (like his two songs on Saucerful). So it's weird to see him have a go at whatever It Would Be So Nice is supposed to be. Which the band hated, but IMO it's not much worse than Point Me At The Sky.
Back to Top
Cristi View Drop Down
Special Collaborator
Special Collaborator
Avatar
Crossover / Prog Metal Teams

Joined: July 27 2006
Location: wonderland
Status: Offline
Points: 43584 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Cristi Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 10 2023 at 08:31
Pink Floyd song-writing credits are so weird, how is Embryo a Waters song when Gilmour dominates the song, plenty of guitar work. Same with Julia Dream which I always thought it was a Richard Wright song. Some interesting keyboard work on that song, or is it that Waters rarely shares writing credits... I don't know. Confused








Edited by Cristi - February 10 2023 at 09:45
Back to Top
lazland View Drop Down
Prog Reviewer
Prog Reviewer
Avatar

Joined: October 28 2008
Location: Wales
Status: Offline
Points: 13627 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote lazland Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 10 2023 at 09:43
Careful With That Axe, Eugene showed what could have been for Floyd. It was a group piece, utterly magnificent, and maybe the present nonsense would not have manifested itself if there had been more like this.
Enhance your life. Get down to www.lazland.org

Now also broadcasting on www.progzilla.com Every Saturday, 4.00 p.m. UK time!
Back to Top
Guy Guden View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: November 07 2014
Location: California
Status: Offline
Points: 2617 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Guy Guden Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 10 2023 at 16:38
  Rick Wright's IT WOULD BE SO NICE has always been a favourite.  first picked it up on a Dutch EMI vinyl release in the early 70s.
https://twitch.tv/guygudenspacepirateradio
Back to Top
Easy Money View Drop Down
Special Collaborator
Special Collaborator
Avatar
Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin

Joined: August 11 2007
Location: Memphis
Status: Offline
Points: 10617 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Easy Money Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 10 2023 at 18:14
Really like all of the early Pink Floyd, that is my favorite version of the band, everything up to Dark Side.
Back to Top
AFlowerKingCrimson View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: October 02 2016
Location: Philly burbs
Status: Offline
Points: 18265 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote AFlowerKingCrimson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 10 2023 at 18:29
I always liked the relics album and there was also one called works that had some of that early stuff on it (kind of rare these days I think). Imo, you aren't really a Pink Floyd fan unless you know the early (pre DS) stuff.
Back to Top
tdfloyd View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: April 06 2008
Location: USA
Status: Offline
Points: 997 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tdfloyd Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 10 2023 at 23:09
These are all good to very good.  You have the two hit singles, Arnold Layne and See Emily Play, and a concert fav in Careful with that Axe, Eugene.  Biding My Time stands out for me as there isn't much like it in their catalog.  Richard Wright tracks always work for me too.
Back to Top
Gramonster View Drop Down
Forum Newbie
Forum Newbie
Avatar

Joined: April 30 2015
Location: France
Status: Offline
Points: 23 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Gramonster Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 11 2023 at 02:21
Love them all, let's add to the list the 2 famous never-to-be-singles from the Barrett era, well known from bootlegs for decades and finally available on the early years box set : "Scream thy last scream" & "Vegetable man".

Edited by Gramonster - February 11 2023 at 02:22
Back to Top
Lewian View Drop Down
Prog Reviewer
Prog Reviewer
Avatar

Joined: August 09 2015
Location: Italy
Status: Offline
Points: 14712 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Lewian Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 11 2023 at 03:48
Originally posted by AFlowerKingCrimson AFlowerKingCrimson wrote:

I always liked the relics album and there was also one called works that had some of that early stuff on it (kind of rare these days I think). Imo, you aren't really a Pink Floyd fan unless you know the early (pre DS) stuff.

In fact Relics was the second Pink Floyd album I came across in the very early days of my music listener life, so I knew these before almost all their other work and >99% of the prog music I know now. Some great ones there, although I wasn't necessarily keen on all of them and some of those I haven't listened to in ages.


Edited by Lewian - February 11 2023 at 03:48
Back to Top
octopus-4 View Drop Down
Special Collaborator
Special Collaborator
Avatar
RIO/Avant/Zeuhl,Neo & Post/Math Teams

Joined: October 31 2006
Location: Italy
Status: Offline
Points: 14091 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote octopus-4 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 13 2023 at 03:08
The Embryo is quite an epic, that's my fav.
I remember taht the b-side of Point me at the Sky was Crumbling Land, am I wrong?

Anyway, Crumbling Land if present, would be the worst in the lot. I like all the others.
I stand with Roger Waters, I stand with Joan Baez, I stand with Victor Jara, I stand with Woody Guthrie. Music is revolution
Back to Top
Cristi View Drop Down
Special Collaborator
Special Collaborator
Avatar
Crossover / Prog Metal Teams

Joined: July 27 2006
Location: wonderland
Status: Offline
Points: 43584 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Cristi Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 13 2023 at 03:12
Originally posted by octopus-4 octopus-4 wrote:

The Embryo is quite an epic, that's my fav.
I remember taht the b-side of Point me at the Sky was Crumbling Land, am I wrong?

Anyway, Crumbling Land if present, would be the worst in the lot. I like all the others.

Wasn't Crumbling Land on the Zabriskie Point soundtrack?
Back to Top
Dellinger View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar
VIP Member

Joined: June 18 2009
Location: Mexico
Status: Online
Points: 12731 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dellinger Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 17 2023 at 00:51
Indeed there are many hidden gems within the Pink Floyd discography. As for me, some of my favourites that didn't make it into an album are:
- I'm a King Bee.
- Lucy Leave.
- Arnold Layne.
- Julia Dream.
- Careful with that Axe Eugene (live version).
- Crumbling Land.
- Country song.
- Embryo (live version).
- Give birth to a Smile (a Roger Waters solo song that, if I understand correctly, actually features all of the band playing with him anyway).
- And I might add, from The Final Cut, the more complete version of The Hero's Return including parts 1 AND 2 (since I really like that song, but as it is in the album, it's way too short).
Back to Top
aprusso View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member


Joined: June 16 2005
Status: Offline
Points: 312 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote aprusso Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 17 2023 at 09:18
Paint Box is one of my favourite Floyd tracks ever
Back to Top
Machinemessiah View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: April 02 2005
Location: Santiago, Chile
Status: Offline
Points: 594 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Machinemessiah Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 17 2023 at 18:10
Originally posted by octopus-4 octopus-4 wrote:

The Embryo is quite an epic, that's my fav.
I remember taht the b-side of Point me at the Sky was Crumbling Land, am I wrong?

Anyway, Crumbling Land if present, would be the worst in the lot. I like all the others.

Crumbling Land! that was the one I was missing... and like indeed, sort of nº 3-ish.

I remember when with my proggy buddies in the 90's the cool thing was to delve into these kind of material. 'See Emily Play' was the fave at first.. I think the video clip was even circling in some program/channel by that time..

But since long, Arnold Layne has taken over that place.

I'm also very keen of Wright songs.. the two on 'Saucerful...' must be of my favorites in that album and beyond.. especially 'See Saw'; so lately my favorite of the bunch is 'Paint Box'.
Back to Top
Progishness View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: December 10 2020
Location: Planet Rhubarb
Status: Offline
Points: 2565 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Progishness Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 18 2023 at 10:29
Originally posted by Cristi Cristi wrote:

Originally posted by octopus-4 octopus-4 wrote:

The Embryo is quite an epic, that's my fav.
I remember taht the b-side of Point me at the Sky was Crumbling Land, am I wrong?

Anyway, Crumbling Land if present, would be the worst in the lot. I like all the others.

Wasn't Crumbling Land on the Zabriskie Point soundtrack?



The b-side of 'Point Me at the Sky' was the studio version of 'Careful with that Axe, Eugene'.

And yes Crumbling Land is from Zabriskie Point - a fun little jaunty song, not dissimilar in feel to 'Free Four' from 'Obscured by Clouds'.
"We're going to need a bigger swear jar."

Chloë Grace Moretz as Mindy McCready aka 'Hit Girl' in Kick-Ass 2
Back to Top
Progishness View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: December 10 2020
Location: Planet Rhubarb
Status: Offline
Points: 2565 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Progishness Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 18 2023 at 10:33
And as for 'Embryo' - the band claimed the studio version was never finished (at the very least it is missing some lead guitar) and requested that 'Picnic' be withdrawn, tho the track was a very popular live number in the pre-DSotM days.
"We're going to need a bigger swear jar."

Chloë Grace Moretz as Mindy McCready aka 'Hit Girl' in Kick-Ass 2
Back to Top
altered_beast View Drop Down
Forum Newbie
Forum Newbie
Avatar

Joined: December 19 2022
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 34 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote altered_beast Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 19 2023 at 13:14
These songs were more interesting to me quite a bit when I was younger. I was still listening to a lot of music from my parents generation which was the 1960’s. I’ve grown out of The Beatles since then and mostly listen to Prog, Fusion, and have a much greater appreciation for Jazz and Classical. Btw my mother is a classical pianist and my dad played the trumpet and listened to Jazz.

I thought of these songs as possibly more advanced than what The Beatles were doing at the time. Not as advanced or experimental as the album tracks from the first two albums during the time period these tracks listed were released. They were more interesting than the typical singles released during that time period. More off the wall and trying to sound futuristic in any way possible.

1969 was an experimental phase that went all over the place. The following decade Pink Floyd created masterpieces. These early songs sound really poppy and primitive compared to what was to come. At the same time they were more ambitious than what was out there. The spacy beginning of See Emily Play is probably the most memorable moment out of any of these tracks. You can even hear some Jazz influences touch base in the early years which would dominate later. I know recording these songs caused some frustration and I can see why. Perhaps it caused the band to go more full experimental.
Back to Top
Mellotron Storm View Drop Down
Prog Reviewer
Prog Reviewer
Avatar

Joined: August 27 2006
Location: The Beach
Status: Online
Points: 13489 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mellotron Storm Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 26 2023 at 10:54
Originally posted by Stressed Cheese Stressed Cheese wrote:

I've been listening to a lot of early Floyd lately, and I've finally taken the time/money/"effort" to gather together some of the tracks I was still missing, namely some non-album songs. Little refresher about these tracks, :

-Single: Arnold Layne (Barrett)
-Its B-side: Candy and a Currant Bun (Barrett)
-Single: See Emily Play (Barrett)
-Single: Apples and Oranges (Barrett)
-Its B-side: Paint Box (Wright)
-Single: It Would be so Nice (Wright)
-Its B-side: Julia Dream (Waters)
-Single: Point me at the Sky (Gilmour/Waters)
-Its B-side: Careful With that Axe, Eugene (Gilmour/Mason/Waters/Wright)
-From the "Picnic" compilation: Embryo (Waters)
-From "Relics": Biding my Time (Waters)

I'd be interested to hear what people think of these, and if they have any favorites, or ones that they hate.

As for me, I think See Emily Play and Careful are the highlights. Even though I was already familiar with the Ummagumma version of Careful, I appreciate that it's quite different. It's quite progressive to put this out as a single in 1968, even if it's just the B-side. And See Emily Play is just an instant classic. The piano(?) lines in the chorus is great and dreamy, and I like how these early Barrett singles sound a bit distinct from Piper. I mean, I love Piper, but they definitely feel like singles, if you know what I mean. Too bad these early Barret ones are only available in mono.

There's some other interesting stuff that sheds some light on that weird post-Barrett, pre-Meddle era of the band. Julia Dream would've been a good fit for Saucerful (they should've gotten rid of Corporal Clegg, which doesn't fit on the album at all). Paint Box is interesting as Wright's first solo credit. He definitely had some of the more contemplative/downer PF songs early on (like his two songs on Saucerful). So it's weird to see him have a go at whatever It Would Be So Nice is supposed to be. Which the band hated, but IMO it's not much worse than Point Me At The Sky.


The first 9 songs you mention are on "The Early Singles" plus "The Scarecrow" is also on there. I picked this one up used in a record store years ago. It's taken me a lot of time to appreciate the Barrett era, but I do value Piper at the Gates... and these singles very much these days. I have Embryo on a non-official cd plus some others.
My wheelhouse for Floyd is A Saucerful Of Secrets to Dark Side of the Moon.
"The wind is slowly tearing her apart"

"Sad Rain" ANEKDOTEN
Back to Top
Mellotron Storm View Drop Down
Prog Reviewer
Prog Reviewer
Avatar

Joined: August 27 2006
Location: The Beach
Status: Online
Points: 13489 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mellotron Storm Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 26 2023 at 11:01
I see why you didn't mention Scarecrow because it's on the debut and the only song on The Early Singles that is an album track.
Paintbox is one of my favourites of the non-album tracks along with the more popular See Emily Play, Arnold Layne and Careful With That Axe Eugene.

Edited by Mellotron Storm - February 26 2023 at 11:04
"The wind is slowly tearing her apart"

"Sad Rain" ANEKDOTEN
Back to Top
AJ Junior View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: December 11 2021
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 253 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote AJ Junior Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 27 2023 at 12:20
for some reason I could never find celestial voices on the streaming services. I know it was originally released on Saucerful of Secrets, but where did it go?
Back to Top
 Post Reply Post Reply Page  12>

Forum Jump Forum Permissions View Drop Down



This page was generated in 0.133 seconds.
Donate monthly and keep PA fast-loading and ad-free forever.