Late 1967/ Early 1968
DAVID GILMOUR
RECRUITED FOR
PINK FLOYD
* December 1967
Nick Mason Invited
Gilmour To Join
As A Second Guitarist
To Help
With Live Shows,
As Syd Barrett's
Health Declined
* January 1968
Gilmour Was Formally
Accepted In
As The Fifth Member
With Performances Including
A French TV Show
Where He Played Barrett's Parts
* April 1968
Syd Barrett Was Officially Ousted,
And Gilmour Took Over Lead,
Guitar Parts and Vocals
Cementing His Role
In The Bands Future
A Saucerful of Secrets
is the
second
studio album
by the English
rock band
June 28th 1968
by EMI Columbia
in the UK
and in
the US
by Tower Records.
The mental health
of the singer and guitarist
Syd Barrett
deteriorated
during recording,
so David Gilmour
was recruited;
Barrett left the band
before the album's completion.
Whereas Barrett
had been the
primary songwriter
on
Pink Floyd's
debut album,
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
(1967),
on
A Saucerful of Secrets
each member
contributed songwriting
and
lead vocals.
Gilmour appeared
on all but two songs,
while Barrett
contributed to three.
"Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun"
is the only song
on which
all five
members appear.
Following
"Remember a Day,"
the sessions for
A Saucerful of Secrets
included several
unreleased tracks
that showcased
Syd Barrett's
increasingly erratic
state of mind.
Songs like
"Vegetable Man,"
a raw and
chaotic composition
about alienation,
and
"Scream Thy Last Scream,"
with its
unsettling vocals
and disjointed structure,
reflected Barrett's
deteriorating
mental health
and growing
detachment from reality.
Other tracks,
such as
"Reaction in G"
captured his
unpredictable creativity,
blending surreal lyrics
with experimental sounds.
These recordings,
largely unreleased
at the time
due to their
unconventional nature
and concerns about
Barrett's condition,
provide a
stark contrast
to the band's
earlier work
and highlight
the challenges
Pink Floyd
faced during this
transitional period.
A Saucerful of Secrets
reached number nine
in the UK charts,
but did not chart
in the US
until April 2019,
peaking at number 158.
It received
mostly positive reviews,
though many critics
have deemed it
inferior to
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn.
Recording
Pink Floyd
released their
debut album,
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn,
in August 1967.
Work began on
A Saucerful of Secrets
in the same month
at EMI Studios
(now Abbey Road Studios)
in London
with the producer
Norman Smith.
The first songs recorded were
"Scream Thy Last Scream",
written by
the singer
and guitarist,
Syd Barrett,
and
"Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun",
written by
the bassist,
Roger Waters;
despite having only
two complete takes
of the former,
"Scream Thy Last Scream"
was viewed as a
potential single.
Both songs
were recorded on
August 7th, and 8th 1967.
They were planned for release
as a single on
September 8th,
but this was
vetoed by
Pink Floyd's
record company, EMI.
Following a brief
European tour,
in early October of '67,
the band returned
to the studio
and recorded
"Vegetable Man",
another
Syd Barrett
composition
(who also performed lead vocals),
and
"Scream Thy Last Scream"
which was again
rescheduled for release,
only this time with
"Vegetable Man"
as the B-side,
but it was once again
vetoed by
their label EMI.
The band returned on
October 19th
to record
"Jugband Blues",
another
Barrett composition,
with Smith
booking a
Salvation Army brass band
on
Barrett's recommendation.
During these sessions,
Barrett,
overdubbed slide guitar
onto
"Remember a Day",
an outtake from
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn.
In late October,
the band took a break
from the album sessions
to record what was
to be the third
and final
Pink Floyd single
by Barrett,
"Apples and Oranges",
on
October 26th and 27th
A few days later,
they recorded what
would become the
B-side,
"Paint Box",
before leaving
for their first US tour.
On November 17th 1967,
"Apples and Oranges"
was released as
a single following
Pink Floyd's US tour.
Despite the band
performing it
on American Bandstand
on November 7th,
which was their
US television debut,
it only reached number 55
in the UK charts,
thus failing to match
the chart success
of their earlier singles
"See Emily Play"
and
"Arnold Layne".
Around this time,
the mental health
of guitarist
Syd Barrett
was being called
into question
by the band;
he was often unresponsive
and would not play,
leading to the cancellation
of several performances
and Pink Floyd's
first US tour.
In December 1967,
reaching a
crisis point
with Barrett,
Pink Floyd
added the guitarist
David Gilmour
as the fifth member.
According to Jenner,
the group planned
that Gilmour would
"cover for [Barrett's] eccentricities".
When this proved unworkable,
"Syd was just going to write.
Just to try to keep him involved."
For two days
from January,10th 1968,
Pink Floyd
reconvened at EMI Studios,
attempting to work on
older tracks:
Waters' vocals
and keyboardist
Richard Wright's organ
were overdubbed onto
"Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun",
while drummer
Nick Mason
added vocals to
"Scream Thy Last Scream".
From
January 12th till the 20th,
Pink Floyd
performed briefly
as a five-piece.
Gilmour played
and sang
while Barrett
wandered around on stage,
occasionally joining in
with the playing.
Between these gigs,
the group rehearsed
new songs
written by
Waters on
January 15th and 16th.
During the
next session,
on January 18th,
the band jammed
on rhythm tracks,
joined by Smith;
Barrett did not attend.
On January 24th and 25th,
they recorded a song logged as
"The Most Boring Song I've Ever Heard Bar 2"
at EMI.
The band recorded
"Let There Be More Light",
"Corporal Clegg"
(which features lead vocals by Mason),
and
"See-Saw",
all without Barrett,
though manager
Andrew King
said Barrett
performed
the slide solo
at the end of
"Let There Be More Light".
On January 26th 1968,
when the band
was driving to a show at
Southampton University,
they decided not
to pick up Barrett.
Barrett was finally ousted
in late January 1968,
leaving the band
to finish the album without him.
"Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun"
is the only song
on which all five
band members appeared.
With Barrett
removed from the sessions,
the band struggled
to come up with new material,
but in February 1968
recorded Wright's
"It Would Be So Nice"
and Waters'
"Julia Dream".
In early February,
it was announced Waters’ track
"Corporal Clegg"
would be the next single;
however, due to pressure
from the label,
the song was earmarked
for the album,
and
"It Would Be So Nice"
was released in April,
with
"Julia Dream"
on the B-side.
The single failed to
make the charts.
Throughout April,
the band took
stock of their work.
Waters blocked
"Vegetable Man"
and
"Scream Thy Last Scream"
from the album.
Years later
Nick Mason
had offered the following opinion
on the two tracks
not being included in the album:
"they were initially intended
to be potential singles,
but were never
satisfactorily finished.
Both of these
had vocals
from me included
in the mix,
which may have
had some bearing on the matter."
In lieu of the two songs,
the band retained
"Jugband Blues"
and
"Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun".
Without enough material
to fill an album,
the band started
putting together music
that became the title track.
Mason and Waters
planned it out as if it were
an architectural design,
including peaks and troughs.
Smith did not approve,
telling them they had to
stick to three-minute songs.
On June 25th,
the band recorded
another session for
the BBC radio show
Top Gear,
including two tracks
from the album:
the session featured
two tracks from
Saucerful:
"Let There Be More Light"
and an abridged version
of the title track,
"The Massed Gadgets of Hercules".
TRACKLIST
Let There Be More Light
Remember A Day
Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun
Corporal Clegg
A Saucerful Of Secrets:
I. Something Else /
II. Syncopated Pandemonium /
Iii. Storm Signal / Iv.
Celestial Voices
(Instr)
See-Saw
Jugband Blues
Vegetable Man
Scream, Thy Last Scream
John Latham
(Instr)
In The Beechwoods
(Instr)
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