The Piper at the Gates of Dawn ([The] Pink Floyd, 1967)

While yesterday we witnessed the decline and fall of a key 1960's British band, today we observe another band that came to prominence that same year. Way back in high school we all used to view this album is sort of a prelude or false start for a band destined for bigger and better things, like themed progressive rock albums and expansive rock operas. The truth is though this album was huge in its day. The Pink Floyd, produced by former Beatle engineer Norman "Hurricane" Smith and fronted by the charismatic and insane Syd Barrett, were hailed as the next big thing to come out of England, practically rubbing shoulders with the Sgt. Pepper era Beatles.

Of course they weren't perfect. First off Syd was backed up by a somewhat ugly and frequently boring band. Nick Mason and Roger Waters especially didn't look like they were going to win any beauty contests, especially when sharing the stage with Syd of the Hypnotic Eyes. Also the Cambridge sound was a new thing, distinct from the London and Liverpool hotspots. And even though this was the summer of love, there is sort of a cool dispassionate feel to many of the songs, even when they get musically into freakbeat territory.

The rest of the Pink Floyd story is fairly well known, but any betting man (or woman) in 1967 would have assumed that Syd Barrett would carry the banner. Although everyone knew he was a little crazy, nobody realized it would take him on the fast track to Burnout Town by 1971, by which time the remaining members had longer since jettisoned him. Thankfully the seemingly hapless trio of Mason, Waters in particular, and Rick Wright would vastly develop their own talents, with considerable support from Dave Gilmour, who first joined the band following this album to augment and then replace Syd outright. However, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn will always be regarded as Syd's album, capturing him at his full powers. History hasn't been so kind, but if you step back in the moment, it's hard to deny the importance of The Pink Floyd's debut.