Pink Floyd, 40 Years Ago

"It was 40 years ago today...that Syd Barrett taught the band to play..."

OK, so maybe it wasn't exactly today, but over 40 years ago (August 5th, 1967) Pink Floyd, with Syd Barrett at the helm, released their debut album The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn on the unsuspecting masses and rock music would never be the same again. With songs about Grimble Gromble the gnome, space, and bicycles, and shoegazing sessions that seem to last an eternity, the album had a huge effect on psychedelic rock of its time and much of what was to follow it. Regardless of the fact that Syd's name is so often attached to the band's mystique, it was the only Pink Floyd album to actually have him leading the band as he left during the recording of their second album and was replaced by David Gilmour.

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the album's release, Capitol / EMI records is reissuing the album in two different versions: a two CD set that has the album recorded in both mono and stereo (the original album was recorded in mono, then released in stereo on vinyl a month later, and then in stereo on CD in 1987) and a three CD set that resembles a cloth covered book with an 8 page reproduction of one of Syd Barrett's notebooks and a third disc that includes all of the band's single from 1967 plus the B-sides and several unreleased tracks.

To give you an idea of the difference in sound between the two recordings (mono and stereo), listen to both with Astronomy Domine below and then enjoy The Gnome (also in stereo).


Pink Floyd - Astronomy Domine (mono) : The Piper At the Gates of Dawn Disc 1 - Mono

Pink Floyd - Astronomy Domine (stereo) : The Piper At the Gates of Dawn Disc 2 - Stereo

Pink Floyd - The Gnome (stereo) : The Piper At the Gates of Dawn

or get the 3 CD Limited Edition version HERE.

Watch some rare streaming video footage of Arnold Layne.

Visit their website, their label Capitol Records, and become their friend on MySpace.