89. Pink Floyd — The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn (1967)

1. Pink Floyd is perhaps the act I know best of the ones that have appeared on on this list thus far, and yet the Syd Barrett era is a total blindspot. I know the mythology, the story of his descent, the songs written in tribute to him, but I didn’t really know the music he helped them create. Turns out it’s a hugely different band! It shouldn’t be particularly shocking that when you remove the sole songwriter, lead singer, and lead guitarist from a band that the sound of that band will fundamentally change, but Pink Floyd has such a defined sound in my mind that it’s still shocking to listen to The Piper… and hear a bizarro version of the Pink Floyd I know.
2. It’s a bizarro version, but it’s still great. You still get a lot of spacey sounds, LSD-driven sound effects and music, but it just comes filtered through a different lens. You end up a songs like “Lucifer Sam” — great tune, but it sounds almost like the soundtrack to a spy movie, which isn’t a description I’d have put with Pink Floyd. But at the same time you get bizarre, trippy sound effects on songs like “Pow R. Toc H.” alongside groovy piano licks. The centerpiece of the album, “Interstellar Overdrive,” is a nearly 10-minute that hints at the longer form tunes Floyd would embrace later on, except driven by a much more aggressive guitar than I’m accustomed to hearing from them (the last minute of it will fuck you up with headphones on). It’s Pink Floyd-like, but it’s a different Pink Floyd.
3. I wonder what would’ve happened if Syd hadn’t lost his mind. We may never have gotten albums like Dark Side of the Moon, but we would’ve gotten other gems. David Gilmour most likely never would’ve joined the band; Roger Waters might have left to start a solo career. Syd Barrett being removed from Pink Floyd is one of the most consequential events in the history of rock; I never fully appreciated that until listening to this album.

One Essential Song:

Listen on Spotify:

The Piper at the Gates of Dawn