The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

''The Piper at the Gates of Dawn'' is the debut studio album by English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 5 August 1967 by EMI Columbia. It is the only Pink Floyd album made under the leadership of founding member Syd Barrett (lead vocals, guitar); he wrote all but three tracks, with additional composition by members Roger Waters (bass, vocals), Nick Mason (drums), and Richard Wright (keyboards, vocals). The album followed the band's early chart success with the 1967 non-album singles "Arnold Layne" and "See Emily Play", as well as their influential performances at London's UFO Club.

The album was recorded at EMI Studios in London's Abbey Road from February to May 1967 and produced by Norman Smith. It blended Pink Floyd's reputation for long-form improvisational pieces with Barrett's short pop songs and whimsical take on psychedelia. The album made prominent use of recording effects such as reverb and echo, employing tools like EMT plate reverberation, automatic double tracking (ADT), and Abbey Road's echo chamber. Part-way through the recording sessions, Barrett's growing use of the psychedelic drug LSD saw his mental state become increasingly debilitated, leading to his eventual departure from the group the following year. The album title was derived from chapter seven of Kenneth Grahame's 1908 children's novel '' The Wind in the Willows'', a favourite of Barrett's.

The album reached number 6 on the UK Charts. In the United States, it was released as ''Pink Floyd'' in October on Tower Records with an altered track listing that omitted three songs and included "See Emily Play". In the UK, no singles were released from the album, but in the US, " Flaming" was offered as a single. Two of its songs, " Astronomy Dominé" and "Interstellar Overdrive", became long-term mainstays of the band's live setlist, while other songs were performed live only a handful of times. In 1973, ''The Piper at the Gates of Dawn'' was packaged with the band's second album ''A Saucerful of Secrets'' (1968) and released as ''A Nice Pair'', to introduce the band's early work to new fans gained with the success of ''The Dark Side of the Moon'' (1973).

The album has been hailed as a pivotal psychedelic music recording. Special limited editions of ''The Piper at the Gates of Dawn'' were issued to mark its thirtieth, fortieth, and fiftieth anniversaries, with the former two releases containing bonus tracks. In 2012, ''The Piper at the Gates of Dawn'' was placed at number 347 on ''Rolling Stone'' magazine's list of the " 500 Greatest Albums of All Time", and number 253 in the 2020 edition.

Background

Architecture students Roger Waters, Nick Mason and Richard Wright and art student Syd Barrett had performed under various group names since 1962, and began touring as "The Pink Floyd Sound" in 1965. Around 1966, the group began to achieve underground success for their influential performances at London's UFO Club. They turned professional on 1 February 1967 when they signed with EMI, with an advance fee of £5,000. Their first single, a song about a kleptomaniac transvestite titled "Arnold Layne", was released on 11 March to mild controversy, as Radio London refused to air it.

About three weeks later, the band were introduced to the mainstream media. EMI's press release claimed that the band were "musical spokesmen for a new movement which involves experimentation in all the arts", but EMI attempted to put some distance between them and the underground scene from which the band originated by stating that "the Pink Floyd does not know what people mean by psychedelic pop and are not trying to create hallucinatory effects on their audiences."Schaffner 2005, p. 57 The band returned to Sound Techniques studio to record their next single, "See Emily Play", on 18 May.Schaffner 2005, p. 66Chapman 2010, p. 171 The single was released almost a month later, on 16 June, and reached number six in the charts.Blake 2008, p. 88–89

Pink Floyd picked up a tabloid reputation for making music for LSD users. The popular broadsheet ''News of the World'' printed a story nine days before the album's recording sessions began, saying that "The Pink Floyd group specialise in 'psychedelic music', which is designed to illustrate LSD experiences." Contrary to this image, only Barrett was known to be taking LSD; authors Ray B. Browne and Pat Browne contend that he was the "only real drug user in the band".

Recording

The band's record deal: a £5,000 advance over five years, low royalties and no free studio time (poor by today's standards, but typical for the time), did include album development, which was very unusual; EMI, unsure of exactly what kind of band they had signed, gave them free rein to record whatever they wanted.

They were obliged to record their first album at EMI's Abbey Road Studios in London,Schaffner 2005, p. 55 overseen by producer Norman Smith,Chapman 2010, pp. 169–170 a central figure in Pink Floyd's negotiations with EMI. Balance engineer Pete Bown, who had mentored Smith, helped ensure that the album had a unique sound, through his experimentation with equipment and recording techniques. Bown, assisted by studio manager David Harris, set up microphones an hour before the sessions began. Bown's microphone choices were mostly different from those used by Smith to record the Beatles' EMI sessions.Palacios 2010, p. 182 Because of the quietness of Barrett's singing, he was placed in a vocal isolation booth to sing his parts. Automatic double tracking (ADT) was used to add layers of echo to the vocals and to some instruments.Palacios 2010, p. 183 The album features an unusually heavy use of echo and reverb to create a unique sound. Much of the reverb came from a set of Elektro-Mess-Technik plate reverberators – customised EMT 140s containing thin metal plates under tension – and the studio's tiled echo chamber built in 1931.

The album is made up of two different classes of songs: lengthy improvisations from the band's live performances and shorter songs that Barrett had written.Chapman 2010, p. 142 Barrett's LSD intake escalated part-way through the album's recording sessions. Although in his 2005 autobiography Mason recalled the sessions as relatively trouble-free, Smith disagreed and claimed that Barrett was unresponsive to his suggestions and constructive criticism.Mason 2011, pp. 92–93Palacios 2010, pp. 183–184 In an attempt to build a relationship with the band, Smith played jazz on the piano while the band joined in. These jam sessions worked well with Waters, who was apparently helpful, and Wright, who was "laid-back". Smith's attempts to connect with Barrett were less productive: "With Syd, I eventually realised I was wasting my time."Blake 2008, p. 77 Smith later admitted that his traditional ideas of music were somewhat at odds with the psychedelic background from which Pink Floyd had come. Nevertheless, he managed to "discourage the live ramble", as band manager Peter Jenner called it, guiding the band toward producing songs with a more manageable length.Blake 2008, pp. 84–85

Barrett would end up writing eight of the album's songs and contributing to two instrumentals credited to the whole band, with Waters creating the sole remaining composition "Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk". Mason recalled how the album "was recorded in what one might call the old-fashioned way: rather quickly. As time went by we started spending longer and longer."

Recording started on 21 February with six takesPalacios 2010, p. 185 of "Matilda Mother", then called "Matilda's Mother".Chapman 2010, p. 149 The following week, on the 27th,Palacios 2010, p. 187 the band recorded five takes of "Interstellar Overdrive", and " Chapter 24".Chapman 2010, p. 151 On 16 March, the band had another go at recording "Interstellar Overdrive", in an attempt to create a shorter version,Palacios 2010, p. 195 and " Flaming" (originally titled "Snowing"), which was recorded in a single takeChapman 2010, p. 152 with one vocal overdub.Palacios 2010, p. 196 On 19 March, six takes of "The Gnome" were recorded.Chapman 2010, p. 153 The following day, the band recorded Waters' "Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk".Palacios 2010, p. 198 On 21 March, the band were invited to watch the Beatles record "Lovely Rita".Manning 2006, p. 36Palacios 2010, pp. 198–199 The following day, they recorded " The Scarecrow" in one take.Chapman 2010, p. 154Palacios 2010, p. 199 The next three tracks – " Astronomy Dominé", "Interstellar Overdrive" and " Pow R. Toc H." – were worked on extensively between 21 March and 12 April, having originally been lengthy instrumentals. Between 12 and 18 April,Chapman 2010, p. 158 the band recorded "Percy the Rat Catcher" and a currently unreleased track called "She Was a Millionaire".Palacios 2010, p. 209Palacios 2010, p. 371

"Percy the Rat Catcher" received overdubs across five studio sessions and then was mixed in late June, eventually being given the name "Lucifer Sam".Cavanagh 2003, p. 39 Songwriting for the majority of the album is credited solely to Barrett, with tracks such as "Bike" having been written in late 1966 before the album was started.Manning 2006, p. 29Chapman 2010, p. 162 "Bike" was recorded on 21 May 1967 and originally entitled "The Bike Song". By June, Barrett's increasing LSD use during the recording project left him looking visibly debilitated.

Release

In June 1967 before the album was released, the single "See Emily Play" was sold as a 7-inch 45 rpm record, with "The Scarecrow" on the B-side, listed as "Scarecrow". The full album was released on 5 August 1967, including "The Scarecrow".

Pink Floyd continued to perform at the UFO Club, drawing huge crowds, but Barrett's deterioration caused them serious concern. The band initially hoped that his erratic behavior was a phase that would pass, but others, including manager Peter Jenner and his secretary June Child, were more realistic:

To the band's consternation, they were forced to cancel their appearance at the prestigious National Jazz and Blues Festival, informing the music press that Barrett was suffering from nervous exhaustion. Jenner and Waters arranged for Barrett to see a psychiatrist – a meeting he did not attend. He was sent to relax in the sun on the Spanish island of Formentera with Waters and Sam Hutt (a doctor well-established in the underground music scene), but this led to no visible improvement.Mason 2011, pp. 95–105Blake 2008, p. 94Schaffner 2005, pp. 88–90Schaffner 2005, pp. 91–92

The original UK LP was released on 5 August 1967 in both monaural and stereophonic mixes. It reached number six on the UK charts.Povey 2007, p. 342Chapman 2010, p. 172 The original US album appeared on the Tower division of Capitol on 21 October 1967. This version was officially titled simply ''Pink Floyd'', though the original album title did appear on the back cover as on the UK issue, and Dick Clark referred to the record by its original title when the group appeared on his ''American Bandstand'' television program on 18 November. The US album featured an abbreviated track listing,Cavanagh 2003, pp. 54–55 and reached number 131 on the ''Billboard'' charts. The UK single, "See Emily Play", was substituted for "Astronomy Dominé", "Flaming" and "Bike". Released in time for the band's US tour, "Flaming" was released as a single, backed with "The Gnome". The Tower issue of the album also faded out "Interstellar Overdrive" and broke up the segue into "The Gnome" to fit the re-sequencing of the songs. Later US issues on compact disc had the same title and track list as the UK version. The album was certified Gold in the US as a part of ''A Nice Pair'' with ''A Saucerful of Secrets'' on 11 March 1994.

About being handled on Tower Records, Jenner commented that: "In terms of the U.K. and Europe it was always fine. America was always difficult. Capitol couldn't see it. You know, 'What is this latest bit of rubbish from England? Oh Christ, it'll give us more grief, so we'll put it out on Tower Records', which was a subsidiary of Capitol Records ..It was a very cheapskate operation and it was the beginning of endless problems The Floyd had with Capitol. It started off bad and went on being bad."

Packaging

Up-and-coming society photographer Vic Singh was hired to photograph the band for the album cover. Singh shared a studio with photographer David Bailey, and he was friends with Beatles guitarist George Harrison. Singh asked Jenner and King to dress the band in the brightest clothes they could find. Singh then shot them with a prism lens that Harrison had given him. The cover was meant to resemble an LSD trip, a style that was favoured at the time. In 2017, the lens was displayed at the Victoria and Albert Museum, as part of the '' Pink Floyd: Their Mortal Remains'' exhibition.

Barrett came up with the album title ''The Piper at the Gates of Dawn''; the album was originally titled ''Projection'' up to as late as July 1967.Chapman 2010, pp. 148–149 The title was taken from that of chapter seven of Kenneth Grahame's '' The Wind in the Willows'' which contains a visionary encounter with the god Pan, who plays his pan pipe at dawn.Chapman 2010, p. 148 It was one of Barrett's favourite books, and he often gave friends the impression that he was the embodiment of Pan. The moniker was later used in the song "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", in which Barrett is called "you Piper". The cover for the album was one of several Pink Floyd album covers used on a series of Royal Mail stamps issued in May 2016 to commemorate 50 years of Pink Floyd.

In 2018, the album was reissued in its mono mix. With this version came with a new packaging box with the original record cover inside. This new design was done by Hipgnosis' Aubrey Powell and Peter Curzon and includes a gold-embossed version of the graphic by Syd Barrett which features on the back cover of the original LP.

Reception

At the time of release, both ''Record Mirror'' and '' NME'' gave the album four stars out of five. ''Record Mirror'' commented that " e psychedelic image of the group really comes to life, record wise, on this LP which is a fine showcase for both their talent and the recording technique. Plenty of mind blowing sound, both blatant and subtle here, and the whole thing is extremely well performed." ''Cash Box'' called it "a particularly striking collection of driving, up-to-date rock ventures". Paul McCartney and Pink Floyd's previous producer Joe Boyd both rated the album highly. Some voiced the opinion of the underground fans, by suggesting that the album did not reflect the band's live performances.

In recent years, ''The Piper at the Gates of Dawn'' has gained even more recognition. The album is hailed not only as a psychedelic masterpiece but LSD is named as a direct influence. In 1999, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine gave the album 4.5 stars out of 5, calling it "the golden achievement of Syd Barrett". ''Q'' magazine described the album as "indispensable" and included it in their list of the best psychedelic albums ever. It was also ranked 40th in ''Mojo'' magazine's "The 50 Most Out There Albums of All Time" list. In 2000, ''Q'' magazine placed ''The Piper at the Gates of Dawn'' at number 55 in its list of the 100 greatest British albums ever. In 2003, ''The Piper at the Gates of Dawn'' was ranked number 347 on ''Rolling Stone'' magazine's list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time", maintaining that rank in the 2012 update and climbing to number 253 in the 2020 reboot of the list. AllMusic called it one of the greatest psychedelic albums of all-time, and described it as "full of colorful, childlike, distinctly British whimsy, albeit filtered through the perceptive lens of LSD," adding that "Barrett's catchy, melodic acid pop songs are balanced with longer, more experimental pieces showcasing the group's instrumental freak-outs."

James E. Perone says that ''Piper'' became known as a concept album in later years, because listeners wanted to play it all the way through rather than pick out a favourite song. While Beatles biographer Philip Norman agrees that ''Piper'' is a concept album, other authors contend that Pink Floyd did not start making concept albums until 1973's ''The Dark Side of the Moon''. Author George Reisch called Pink Floyd the "undisputed" kings of the concept album, but only starting from ''Dark Side''. In July 2006, ''Billboard'' described ''The Piper at the Gates of Dawn'' as "one of the best psychedelic rock albums ever, driven by Barrett's oddball narratives and the band's skill with both long jams and perfect pop nuggets".

Reissues

''The Piper at the Gates of Dawn'' was reissued in the UK in 1979 as a stereo vinyl album, and on CD in the UK and US in 1985. A digitally remastered stereo CD, with new artwork, was released in the US in 1994, and in 1997 limited edition 30th anniversary mono editions were released in the UK, on CD and vinyl. The latter included a selection of art prints, and a six-track bonus CD, '' 1967: The First Three Singles''.

In 1973, the album, along with ''A Saucerful of Secrets'', was released as a two-disc set on Capitol/EMI's Harvest Records label, titled ''A Nice Pair'' to introduce fans to the band's early work after the success of ''The Dark Side of the Moon''. (On the US release, the original four-minute studio version of "Astronomy Dominé" was replaced with the eight-minute live version found on '' Ummagumma''.)

For the 40th anniversary, a two-disc edition was released on 4 September 2007, and a three-disc set was released on 11 September. The packaging – designed by Storm Thorgerson – resembles a cloth-covered book, along with a twelve-page reproduction of a Syd Barrett notebook. Discs one and two contain the full album in its original mono mix (disc one), as well as the alternative stereo version (disc two). Both have been newly remastered by James Guthrie. The third disc includes several ''Piper''-era outtakes from the Abbey Road vaults, along with the band's first three mono singles. Unreleased material includes an alternative, shorter take of "Interstellar Overdrive" that was previously thought lost, the pre-overdubbed abridged mix of "Interstellar Overdrive" previously only available on an EP in France, an alternative mix of "Matilda Mother" as it appeared early in the sessions and also the 1967 stereo mix of "Apples and Oranges", which features extra untrimmed material at the beginning and end.

''The Piper at the Gates of Dawn'' was remastered and re-released on 26 September 2011 as part of the '' Why Pink Floyd...?'' reissue campaign. It is available in this format as either a stand-alone album, or as part of the ''Why Pink Floyd ... ?'' ''Discovery'' box set, along with the 13 other studio albums and a new colour booklet. Then the album was re-released on the band's own Pink Floyd Records label on 3 June 2016 for the world outside Europe.

For Record Store Day 2018, ''The Piper at the Gates of Dawn'' was reissued in its mono mix with a bespoke envelope package containing the original cover art.

Live performances

The band promoted the album with a series of concerts. They played dates in Ireland and Scandinavia, and in late October the band was to embark on their first tour of the United States. It was unsuccessful, mainly because of the mental breakdown of Barrett. In his capacity as tour manager, Andrew King travelled to New York to begin preparations, but he ran into serious problems. Visas had not arrived, prompting the cancellation of the first six dates. The band finally flew across the Atlantic on 1 November, but work permits were not yet obtained, so they settled into a hotel in Sausalito, California, just north of San Francisco.Povey 2007, pp. 4–5 After a number of cancellations, the first US performance was given 4 November at Winterland Ballroom, following Janis Joplin fronting Big Brother and the Holding Company.

For the American tour, many numbers such as "Flaming" and "The Gnome" were dropped, while others such as "Astronomy Dominé" and "Interstellar Overdrive" remained, and were central to the band's set list during this period, often performed as encores until around 1971. "Astronomy Dominé" was later included on the live disc of '' Ummagumma'',Schaffner 2005, p. 156 and adopted by the post-Waters Pink Floyd during the 1994 ''Division Bell'' tour, with a version included on the 1995 live album ''Pulse''. David Gilmour, though not a member of Pink Floyd at the time the song was originally recorded, resurrected "Astronomy Dominé" for his ''On an Island'' and ''Rattle That Lock'' tours.

Communication between record company and band was almost non-existent, and Pink Floyd's relationship with Tower and Capitol was therefore poor. Barrett's mental condition mirrored the problems that King encountered; when the band performed at Winterland, he detuned his guitar during "Interstellar Overdrive" until the strings fell off. His odd behaviour grew worse in subsequent performances, and during a television recording for '' The Pat Boone Show'' he confounded the director by lip-syncing " Apples and Oranges" perfectly during the rehearsal, and then standing motionless during the take. King quickly curtailed the band's US visit, sending them home on the next flight.

Shortly after their return from the US, beginning 14 November, the band supported Jimi Hendrix on a tour of England, but on one occasion Barrett failed to turn up and they were forced to replace him with singer/guitarist David O'List borrowed from the opening band the Nice. Barrett's depression worsened the longer the tour continued.Schaffner 2005, p. 94 Longtime Pink Floyd psychedelic lighting designer Peter Wynne-Willson left at the end of the Hendrix tour, though he sympathized with Barrett, whose position as frontman was increasingly insecure. Wynne-Willson, who had worked for a percentage, was replaced by his assistant John Marsh, who collected a lesser wage.Blake 2008, p. 102 Pink Floyd released "Apples and Oranges" (recorded prior to the US tour on 26 and 27 October)Chapman 2010, p. 189 but, for the rest of the band, Barrett's condition had reached a crisis point, and they responded by adding David Gilmour to their line-up, initially to cover for Syd's lapses during live performances.

Tracks 8–11 on the UK album edition were played the least during live performances.Chapman 2010, p. 185 The success of "See Emily Play" and "Arnold Layne" meant that the band was forced to perform some of their singles for a limited period in 1967, but they were eventually dropped after Barrett left the band. "Flaming" and "Pow R. Toc H." were also played regularly by the post-Barrett Pink Floyd in 1968, even though these songs were in complete contrast to the band's other works at this time. Some of the songs from ''Piper'' would be reworked and rearranged for '' The Man and The Journey'' live show in 1969 ("The Pink Jungle" was taken from "Pow R. Toc H.", and part of "Interstellar Overdrive" was used for "The Labyrinths of Auximines").

Beginning in September 1967, the band played several new compositions. These included " One in a Million", " Scream Thy Last Scream", "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" and " Reaction in G", the last of which was a song created by the band in response to crowds asking for their hit singles "See Emily Play" and "Arnold Layne".Chapman 2010, pp. 192–193

Barrett resurrected the track "Lucifer Sam" with his short-lived 1972 band Stars.

Track listing

UK release

UK 8-track release

US release

40th anniversary edition

Released in 2007, some releases have 2 CDs (first CD in mono and second CD with same tracks in stereo) and some releases include the third CD.

Personnel

Numbers noted in parenthesis below are based on original UK album tracklist and CD track numbering.

Pink Floyd

* Syd Barrett – electric guitar , acoustic guitar , percussion , vocals
* Roger Waters – bass guitar ; slide whistle , percussion , gong (uncredited), vocals
* Richard Wright – Farfisa Combo Compact organ , piano , tack piano , Hammond organ , harmonium , celesta , cello , Lowrey organ , vibraphone , Hohner Pianet , violin , percussion (uncredited), vocals
* Nick Mason – drums , percussion

Production
* Syd Barrett – rear cover design
* Peter Bown – engineering
* Peter Jenner – intro vocalisations on "Astronomy Dominé" (uncredited)Palacios 2010, pp. 206–207
* Vic Singh – front cover photography
* Norman Smith – production, vocal and instrumental arrangements, drum roll on "Interstellar Overdrive"Chapman 2010, p. 170
* Doug Sax, James Guthrie – 1994 remastering at The Mastering Lab
* James Guthrie, Joel Plante – 40th Anniversary Edition and 2011 remastering at das boot recording

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Certifications

References

Footnotes

Citations

Sources

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External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Piper at the Gates of Dawn, The
1967 debut albums
Pink Floyd albums
Albums produced by Norman Smith (record producer)
EMI Columbia Records albums
EMI Records albums
Tower Records albums
Experimental rock albums