PINK FLOYD 1967 UK 1ST PRESS MONO LP NEAR MINT

	£		256
	$		339

This is the 1967 Massively Rare Original MONO Pink Floyd Psychedelic UK FIRST PRESS Album titled “Piper At The Gates Of Dawn” on Black / Blue Columbia. The matrix numbers are as follows Side1 XAX3419 – 2 & Side2 XAX3420 – 1. The tracks are as follows Side1 1) Astronomy Domine 2) Lucifer Sam 3) Matilda Mother 4) Flaming 5) Pow R. Toc H 6) Take Up Thy Stethoscope & Walk Side2 1) Interstellar Overdrive 2) The Gnome 3) Chapter 24 4) The Scarecrow 5) Bike.     

By 1967, Pink Floyd was a far different band from what you might be used to. Syd Barrett was their guitarist, and their main songwriter. You know, the creative force behind the band. And he definitely was a creative man. Loony, too. He was into LSD, and that becomes painfully obvious from listening to this album. But don't think the album is all tripped-out psychedelic druggy stuff. There are different sides of Syd's personality that are reflected here. And yes, at this stage, the other members weren't very influential in the band's sound. We only have one song credited to Roger Waters, and one tentatively credited to all four members. Syd wrote all others, or at least, he's solely credited to them.

As a guitarist, Syd was a quite innovative folk. He's very competent as a mere rhythm guitarist, but there are times when he just goes for totally loony noisemaking, and very good noisemaking, it is. He used all sorts of stuff on the guitar, like a violin bow (yup, just like Jimmy Page) and ball bearings (???), and that is... quite cool, you know. But he doesn't stand out as a guitarist, and his noisemaking only feels at home with the rest of the band playing along, so whatever. His real talent is at writing loony, weird but catchy songs. And loony, weird and non-catchy classics, too. Two "classics" on here is what I'm precisely talking about: Astronomy Domine is a true classic, with truly foreboding and scary themes, and a simply amazing performance. All those production tricks, the organs, the guitar, the pounding drums... Man, this is an absolutely groundbreaking song. The second one is the 9-minute Interstellar Overdrive, that starts simply as a mega rocker with a mega riff  - that riff is a classic!), but soon dissolves in a lengthy, intense, non-stop and supercool break with all instruments going totally wild. I dunno, some people don't like it, but I enjoy the living guts out of the song. It's so cool! Some people regard it as the perfect song for tripping on acid, but some people can also think of it as a trip on a space shuttle, especially when that ending comes around. The riff starts circling through the speakers, and the instruments all slowly come to a halt, especially the guitar, that goes to an extremely low-pitched growl. I think that's slowed down tape - either that or Syd really knows how to make some guitar noise.

But these are the only tracks that can be considered "wildly psychedelic" - that is, if you don't want to regard Pow R Toc H as psychedelic. That song is... just unexplainable. Also featuring wild instrumental breaks, the song begins as a simple piano improvisation, right after the guys do weird animal-like noises on the microphone... eh, whatever. It's funny, you know, in a weird way. The other tracks, well, they are somewhat... tame. Yeah, some of them are really child stories set to music. Syd said that he liked children's stories, and several tracks on here do reflect that. My favourite is the hauntingly beautiful Matilda Mother, with that "Ooooh, mother, tell me moooore" chorus... Wow, groovy. Other songs include those at side B, you know: The Gnome, The Scarecrow... These don't particularly stand out, but they sure make the album quite... strange, to put it mildly. I don't know what Syd was intending with those songs. But then again, he probably didn't intend nothing. Oh, and there's Chapter 24, lyrics extracted from the I Ching, and music... well, the music isn't really outstanding. This is Syd trying to do some "astral", guru music, and he doesn't really succeed. The vocal melody isn't really catchy, but at least, it sounds pretty at certain moments.

Highlights include the clumsy, but extremely charming and cute Flaming. Aside from the cute vocal melody, the band does all sort of trippy noises all over it at the right spots... Oh, what the heck. There are trippy noises all over the bloody album. Roger's song, Take Up Thy Stethoscope And Walk is really just an excuse for the band to jam, and quite frankly, that is one of my favourite spots on the album. One of the few moments where you'll see the band jamming really fast and fiery. Originally, that jam lasted for TEN MINUTES, but producer Norman Smith edited it in order to make it fit the album. In fact, many fans complained that the LP didn't represent Floyd's "real sound", which were the endless jams. Matilda Mother, for example, would last for ages on the stage. But of course, these jams are cut short on here. For better or for worse, I dunno. In one hand, it would be cool to hear what one of these jams would sound like, but in the other hand... they would probably become really boring with time. I'm satisfied with Interstellar Overdrive, thank you.

Of course, I can't forget to mention Bike, the totally loony, funny closer to the album. Syd's endless rantings over the hilarious band work transform the song into a total classic. Some idiots hate the song, but they're just that: idiots. And then, we have the catchiest song on the album: Lucifer Sam. Awesome riff, awesome vocals, awesome chorus, awesome instrumental breaks... Lyrics about a cat! How often do you see people singing about cats? I love cats! I love this song, too. One of the best Pink Floyd songs this side of Ummagumma, hands down. Well, I think I said pretty much everything I had to say. It's a revolutionary album, that's for sure. This album is a  psychedelic masterpiece.

The ridged record labels are in Excellent condition (see pictures) with just a small amount of wear. This superb Pink Floyd classic album is pressed on thick heavy duty 60’s vinyl and still retains it’s just pressed look with a very shinny lustre. The vinyl has been play graded on my Linn Sondex record player with Linn moving coil cartridge through Naim Audio amp. The result is a superb powerful mono sound, withy Side1 which is graded NEAR MINT playing with little to NO background noise at all & Side2 which is graded EXCELLENT this being that in a very bright light there are a few very fine hair lines. The flip back sleeve is in EXCELLENT condition with the front laminate having NO flaws, the spine is in pristine condition with text clear & readable, there is NO ring wear, barely any corner wear & a straight firm opening edge with just a very small amount of feathering. Simply Stunning. This record is seldom found in the UK especially in this condition. Good Luck            

The Greatest attention to packaging with all albums housed in aluminium framed box complete with bubble wrap & thick cardboard. The vinyl is also removed from the sleeve to ensure safe delivery.

Postage Costs:

UK First Class = £2.80 Recorded Delivery = £5.50 & Special Delivery (next day, insured up to £250) = £7.00

Europe Air Mail = £4.00 Insured = £8.00

Overseas, non Europe USA, Japan, Australia etc Air Mail = £6.50 Insured £11.00

Doubles add extra £1.00, triples add extra £2.00

Extra albums add £1.00 in the UK, Europe £1.30 & USA, Japan, Australia £1.75

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