Pink Floyd On 45. Pink Floyd On Stage.
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Album:Piper At The Gates Of Dawn
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It's impressive how 'psychedelic' Pink Floyd were in ’67 and ‘68. A fish-eye lens, a couple of trinkets and the glass house at Kew Gardens could make you seem on the bleeding edge of NOW.
The English have always had a penchant for a bit of foppery but Floyd raided the dressing-up box with serious intent. Has any band looked more stylishly in tune with the times?From Jon Savage’s ‘Punk Psych On 45’ compilation, here’s the US 45 rpm single of "Flaming". It won't take a trufan to notice the considerable differences from the LP version. [Ignore that album reference up above. What does Gracenote know about reality?]My very first rock star interview was with Rick Wright. What a disaster! Boy, he was patient, while manager Steve O’Rourke fretted in the background for 20 minutes before mercifully ending the debacle. If I ever run into Rick I won’t be reminding him we’ve met before.
I saw them at the Santa Monica Civic a few nights later, playing most of the UmmaGumma album. Pink Floyd was an underground sensation and we were all part of a secret club. There was no light show, no big production, just immaculate attention and focus on the music. Here they are on the same tour, playing at the Fillmore in San Francisco on April 29, 1970. Hearing this afresh I’m struck by how much Nick Mason plays like Keith Moon – all those off-beat tom fills. It doesn’t seem far-fetched to think that in this period any drummer of worth would be closely observing Mr. Moon. If I ever run into Nick I’m going to ask him.
As any fan would hope, they still played “Interstellar Overdrive”.
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