Maps of Music

A Saucerful of Secrets (1968)

Where the lyrics of A Saucerful of Secrets take you, and where it was really made.

Begun with Syd Barrett's songs, this album was finished after Barrett had been pushed out of the band, and only one track has all five members on it.

Key places

Where the sessions began (1968)

Recording site Abbey Road Studios — Work on the album began in August 1967 at EMI Studios, now known as Abbey Road Studios in London, with producer Norman Smith. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: Jubilee line to St John's Wood station, then about a 5-minute walk.

Second London studio on the record (1968)

Recording site De Lane Lea Studios — The album's recording credits also list De Lane Lea, a London studio, alongside EMI Studios, now Abbey Road Studios. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• A Saucerful of Secrets: second studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd
• Released 28 June 1968 by EMI Columbia in the UK; in the US by Tower Records
• Each member contributed songwriting and lead vocals, unlike the debut
• David Gilmour appears on all but two songs; Barrett contributed to three
• "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" is the only song with all five members
• Reached number nine in the UK charts

Background

• Syd Barrett's mental health deteriorated during recording
• David Gilmour was recruited; Barrett left before the album was completed
• Debut The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967) was dominated by Barrett's songs
• Many critics later judged this album inferior to the debut

Recording

• Work began in August 1967 at EMI Studios (now Abbey Road Studios) in London
• Producer Norman Smith
• First songs recorded: "Scream Thy Last Scream" and "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun"
• Waters and Wright's material was needed after Barrett stepped back from the sessions
• Band performed briefly as a five-piece in January 1968 with Gilmour; Barrett was ousted in late January 1968
• "Vegetable Man" and "Scream Thy Last Scream" were left off the album
• Final album kept "Jugband Blues" and "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun"

Cover

• First of several Pink Floyd album covers by the design group Hipgnosis
• Designed by Storm Thorgerson
• Image of Doctor Strange from Strange Tales issue #158, illustrated by Marie Severin
• Second time EMI permitted an act to hire outside designers, after the Beatles

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Formed in London in 1965 by Syd Barrett, Nick Mason, Roger Waters and Richard Wright; David Gilmour joined in 1967.
• Among the first British psychedelic groups, gaining an early underground following at the UFO Club.
• Known for extended compositions, sonic experiments, philosophical lyrics and elaborate live shows.

Members

• Nick Mason on drums (1965–present).
• Roger Waters on bass and vocals (1965–1985), becoming the primary lyricist after Barrett's departure in 1968.
• Richard Wright on keyboards (1965–1981, 1987–2008), who died in 2008.
• Syd Barrett on vocals and guitar (1965–1968), who died in 2006.
• David Gilmour on guitar and vocals (1967–present).

Career

• Concept albums The Dark Side of the Moon (1973), Wish You Were Here (1975), Animals (1977) and The Wall (1979) made them one of the best-selling acts of all time.
• Pink Floyd – The Wall (1982) won two BAFTAs.
• Reunited with Waters for Live 8 in 2005; the last studio album The Endless River came out in 2014.
• Released 'Hey, Hey, Rise Up!' in 2022 in protest of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
• Sold over 250 million records; inducted into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 and awarded the Polar Music Prize in 2008.

Reception

At release

• Reception was mostly positive, though many critics rated it below the debut
• Rolling Stone was unfavourable, writing that the album was "not as interesting as their first" and "rather mediocre", highlighting the reduced contributions from Barrett.
• Daryl Easlea reviewed it for BBC Music and said Saucerful was "not without filler"
• Easlea named "Jugband Blues" as the album's "the most chilling" song

Reappraisal

• Rolling Stone Album Guide later gave an updated rating of three stars, which indicates a positive rating
• Richie Unterberger of AllMusic drew attention to the album's "gentle, fairy-tale ambience"
• Unterberger described songs moving from "concise and vivid" to "spacy, ethereal material with lengthy instrumental passages"

Records

• UK chart: number nine
• US: did not chart until April 2019, peaking at number 158
• Reissued as A Nice Pair with the original debut, the album charted at number 36 on the Billboard 200

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Mason named this album his favourite Pink Floyd record in 2014
• Mason on the album: "It's a cross-fade rather than a cut."
• "Jugband Blues" is often read as a reference to Barrett's departure, and a promotional video was recorded for it
• The band's management wanted to release "Jugband Blues" as a single, but the band and Smith vetoed it
• Waters blocked "Vegetable Man" and "Scream Thy Last Scream" from the album
• "Let There Be More Light" was released in the US as a single backed with "Remember a Day" on 19 August 1968

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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