Pink Floyd - Piper at the Gates of Dawn (remastered/expanded) 40th Anniverary Edition 2 x CDs (special)
SKU
02-EMI 503923
This is really an extraordinary buy on an extraordinary work. Originally released in Fall, 1967, this is the very first album by Pink Floyd and is one of the very best releases from the original psychedelic period of music. Period. Band leader Syd Barrett really was a genius, releasing gem after gem until his downfall, which came early and fast, but here you can hear why there's still interest in his work nearly 45 years later and over 35 years after he went silent. The rest of the band back him sympathetically and interestingly, and as I said, this is a true high-water mark in adventurous, exploratative music, which manages to combine short song-forms with experimentation and to bestow on long-form wig-outs, the listenability of songs. If you don't own this album, I would say that it basically belongs in *any* rock music collection. "But I already own this", I hear you say. Well, maybe you do, but this 40th Anniversary Edition has the album very sympathetically remastered from the original tapes, both mono and stereo with each version getting its own disc. That's right, for the 1st time in 40 years, you can hear the entire original mono mix of the album - and remember that in 1967 bands used to labor over the mono mixes much longer than over the stereo mix, as most people did not have stereo reproducing equipment. The mono and stereo mixes are quite different and there were many ideas used in the mixing of the mono mix that did not make its way to the more familiar stereo mix and vice-versa. I know this album (the stereo version - I had never heard the mono version until today!) like the back of my hand and the mono mix was a minor revelation. So, again, you probably need this. Unconditionally recommended at any price and at this price?...