Pink Floyd: A Saucerful Of Secrets - 1968

 

Whereas the first album had been pretty much Syd Barrett's album, the other members all contributed to this one and, for me, it is notably an improvement on its predecessor. During the recording of the album, Barrett was ousted from the band. 

This album reveals a movement away from the Syd Barrett doped-up childlike songs of the debut album and towards more lengthy, spacey instrumental workouts such as Roger Waters' admittedly Barrett-inspired spaced-out Let There Be More Light and the hippy, trippy beautifully pulsing bass-driven bliss of Nick Wright's Remember A Day. 

Waters' Set The Controls To The Heart Of The Sun is a magnificent piece of dreamy space rock, underpinned by a sumptuous bass line and some mysterious keyboards. It is just so wonderfully weird and trippy (sorry for using that phrase again, but it is so very apt). Who would have thought that so many years later artists such as Paul Weller would derive inspiration from this. 

Waters' military-World War II obsession first manifested itself on the musically robust and impressive but lyrically wanting Corporal Clegg. I say that, though, but like it or not, it would prove to be typical Waters, an intrinsic part of Pink Floyd. 

Then it was time for what was rapidly-becoming a prog rock favourite, the suite comprising several different passages. Here it is A Saucerful Of Secrets and unfortunately, it is a complete waste of everyone's time, the appeal of the first three space-rock tracks. It is a mess of discordant noise, piano pounding, drum loops and aural nothingness. It is like Revolution 9 in its utter uselessness. Many no doubt think it a work of genius - I find it a waste of nearly twelve minutes of my life. 

Nick Wright's blissed-out See-Saw is a bit of an ethereal improvement. Barrett's Jugband Blues is an oompah, brassy folky knees up with nothing bluesy about it whatsoever. Although its second side isn't up to much, for me, I much prefer this album to Piper At The Gates Of Dawn, although many critics would seem to disagree with me. For me the difference is measured in light years, maybe appropriately.