Storming Floyd
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The recent death of Pink Floyd keyboardist Richard Wright was a sad footnote in the proto-psychedelic/prog-rock group's storied history. And now, thoughts of the band are zapping from synapse to synapse.
Although I've got all their albums of note in my library and I've heard their music over and over, one take somehow fell through the cracks. Believe it or not, I received my first earful of Pink Floyd's "Flaming" single - which is a little different from the version on their debut album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn - thanks to an audio stream on a post by MOGger Jonh Ingham from earlier this year. The song, written by the late and dearly departed Syd Barrett during his all-too-brief tenure with the band, is pretty damned trippy. And hearing it so many years after it was first released reminded me of the first Pink Floyd show that I attended when I was a very young, un-honed Knife.
It was a nighttime outdoor concert in Philadelphia. Barrett was long gone, but the core line-up of Waters, guitarist Dave Gilmour, bass player Roger Waters (all of whom sung), and drummer Nick Mason was in place and in full dudgeon. And what I remember best was the most intense performance of "Astronomy Domine" imaginable - as real thunder and lightning crashed and crackled in the skies above and a torrential rain storm commenced. To start with, this opus, which was first released on The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, was already of grandiose, near-galactic magnitude. Throw in a full-on tempest as a backdrop, and the result was "wow" to the nth power.
Luckily, the musicians were (relatively) dry under the roof of a band shell, but still, it was a dicey sitch for a bunch of guys playing electric instruments. Regardless, they fearlessly soldiered on to the delight of the drenched crowd. It was a performance for the ages.
Wright may be gone, but his impact - and that of the band - could dwarf nature's fury...at least, on one night.
The studio version of "Astronomy Domine" is attached to this post for your listening pleasure. Warning: Do not take with hallucinogens unless you're under a doctor's care.
Comments (11)
syd was a walking tab of acid
it always makes me laugh to hear water's only song at that record, take up thy stethoscope and walk
from there to what he became as a songwriter is a gargantuan leap, that no one would have guessed was coming
my favorite thunderstorm show of all time was soundgarden at jones beach, stage right on the water
ferocious light and sound show from god in the background
ferocious band in the foreground
the mesc didn't hurt
Isn't it amazing when music and meteorology come together like that? I enjoyed a moment like that involving shooting stars and a musician who will remain unnamed - as it would brand me as endorsing a genre I'm not a big fan of. I just happened to be there and there just happened to be a meteor shower. Nuff said.
Wright's death has been making me go over my Floyd memories, too. When I was a young teen or tween, I put a particular album on my Xmas list (I can't remember which one, but it wasn't Floyd). When Xmas came, there was no album. It was strange because my mom is a very literal shopper and just gets what's been put on a list for her. I figured she just edited off the list becaues of time or money. I wasn't too dissapointed, as I could get it myself. Months later, my mom is doing some cleaning in her bedroom and shouts out to me "Did you get an album for Xmas, sis? " I said no. Out she comes with Piper At the Gates of Dawn and hands it to me. "It must have gotten lost in the back of the closet. Sorry. Here you go." 1) it wasn't the album I asked for and, 2) how in the heck to MY mom pick this album? She has no music sense or knowledge. She said she picked it for the artwork on the front and thought the name sounded familiar. Very odd. Suffice it to say, that happenstance purchase became a favorite of mine. Fate intervenes sometimes and buys you an album.
My roommate in college went through a big Pink Floyd phase while I had just started listening to The Clash. He had everything -- including the obscure "Music from the Body" soundtrack which is kind of gross. He also had Rick Wright's Wet Dream LP, which nobody else had.
I used to like to freak retro-rockers out by asking them which band is better -- Led Zep or Floyd? . . . and some couldn't handle the question. They would get this look on their face like their head was about to explode.
Fast forward -- now that I'm more tolerant, I have much more respect for Floyd (and Zep). Wish Your Were Here is my favorite. And I love Zep's Presence album.
NeilNathan: "syd was a walking tab of acid." Indeed. Jones Beach must have been something else. I'm just glad you survived and can remember the experience. You can remember it, right?
L.M.I.: Electricity was really in the air that night in Philly. And talk about celestial... Meteors! And you could've done worse than accidental Floyd love.
funoka: Yep. Style and fashion be damned. Good is good.
I've never been much of a Floyd fan myself & I'm sure that the fact that I've not done any type of hard drugs(not even as a teenager) didn't help matters. But I actually saw part of Roger Waters set at Coachella this year & it was pretty amazing, even totally sober to a non-fan like me(Waters sounded great & had a great visual show). But I lost interest after awhile since I've not been into them & it was too mellow. I was more fascinated by the throngs of aging hippies present though & the smell of weed wafting through the crowd. I can't even imagine what your experience would've been like!
August: That early Floyd stuff was like taking drugs. And it wasn't very mellow either. I've gotta say that I'm not sure how relaxed I'd be today at an outdoor concert if the heavens opened up, bolts of electricity cut through the skies, and rain pelted down.
A lovely choice with which to remember him. They really were unique weren't they. (That's not a question.) God provides good light shows sometimes and that sounds like a humdinger.
Jonh: 'Twas a blast - and, as it happens, one of my first concertgoing experiences. Childhood's end.
Great post Mike - but must say, I don't believe that was your Childhood's end ... at least in spirit... ;)
love this song and the evil swirling of the guitars
van: Don't worry. No matter what ended that night and how responsible I am in my daily doings, I'm still the eternal adolescent.
Charley: I'd say spooky more than evil, but YMMV. ;-)