MOG Editorial Review

Before their initial lead singer-songwriter Syd Barret left the band as an early mental casualty among ‘60s rockers, Pink Floyd made their big debut with one of the seminal psychedelic rock records, Piper at the Gates of Dawn. Heavy guitar, melodic bass, raucous drums, spacey keyboards are the star players here; simple harmonies, odd vocal noises, deep jams, and sonic experiments cause the band to venture into stranger territory as each element becomes unveiled. Each song is its own bizarre vignette, with Syd and the band’s deliveries sounding like a darker, more monotone Beatles. On tracks like “Bike,” “Flaming,” and “See Emily Play” otherwise incredibly catchy songs inhabit some warped, Lewis Carroll-inspired rabbit hole. “Astronomy Domine” and “Interstellar Space” place them at the fore of space-rock. Instead of using a "concept" or overarching story to impart images on the listener’s imagination -- like the Roger Waters and David Gilmour's incarnations of the group would later -- Piper At the Gates of Dawn moves through a palette of musical ideas so evocative that the listener can make their own movie, in their own head.