The Pink Floyd: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (Full album - 1967)

“The Piper at the Gates of Dawn” is the debut studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, and the only one made under founding member Syd Barrett's leadership. The album, named after the title of chapter seven of Kenneth Grahame's “The Wind in the Willows” and featuring a kaleidoscopic cover photo of the band taken by Vic Singh, was recorded from February to May 1967 and released on 4 August 1967. It was produced by Beatles engineer Norman Smith and released in 1967 by EMI Columbia in the United Kingdom and Tower in the United States, in August and October respectively. Two of the album's songs, "Astronomy Domine" and "Interstellar Overdrive", became long-term mainstays of the band's live set list, while other songs were performed live only a handful of times.
The release of the album in the US was timed with the band's tour of the US. The US version of the album has a rearranged track list. This version omits "Astronomy Domine", "Flaming", and "Bike" and contains the UK non-album single, "See Emily Play". In the UK, no singles were released from the album, but in the US, "Flaming" was offered as a single.
Since its release, the album has been hailed a pivotal psychedelic rock album, with the embryonic elements of what was to become progressive rock. In 1973, it was packaged with the band's second album, “A Saucerful of Secrets”, and released as “A Nice Pair” to introduce new fans to the band's early work after the success of “The Dark Side of the Moon”. Special limited editions of “The Piper at the Gates of Dawn” were issued to mark its thirtieth, fortieth, and fiftieth anniversaries in 1997, 2007, and 2018, respectively, with the former two releases containing bonus tracks. In 2012, “The Piper at the Gates of Dawn” was voted 347th on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".

“The Piper at the Gates of Dawn” este albumul de studio de debut al trupei engleze de rock Pink Floyd si singurul facut sub conducerea membrului fondator Syd Barrett. Albumul, numit astfel dupa cap.7 al cartii “Vantul in salcii” a lui Kenneth Grahame si avand o coperta cu o fotografie caleidoscopica a grupului, facuta de catre Vic Singh, a fost inregistrat din februarie pana in mai 1967 si lansat pe 4 august 1967. A fost produs de catre inginerul Norman Smith de la Beatles si lansat de catre EMI Columbia in Marea Britanie si Tower in Statele Unite, in august si respective octombrie. Doua dintre cantecele albumului, “Astronomy Domine” si “Interstellar Overdrive” au devenit piese de concert pe termen lung, in timp ce celelalte cantece au fost cantata doar de cateva ori in concerte.
Lansarea albumului in Statele Unite a fost sincronizata cu turneul facut acolo. Versiunea Americana a albumului a avut o lista de cantece rearanjata. Versiunea omite “Astronomy Domine”, “Flaming” si “Bike”, continand single-ul britanic ce nu apare pe album “See Emily Play”. In Marea Britanie nu au fost lansate single-uri de pe album, dar in Statele Unite “Flaming” a fost oferit ca single.
Incepand de la lansare, albumul a fost declarant ca un pivot al muzicii rock psihedelice, cu elemente embrionare din ceea ce va deveni rock progresiv. In 1973, acest album impreuna cu al doilea album al trupei “A  Saucerful of Secrets” au fost lansate ca “A Nice Pair” pentru a introduce noii fani in opera timpurie a trupei, dupa succesul cu “The Dark Side of the Moon”. Editiile special limitate de la “The Piper at the Gates of Dawn” au fost destinate sa marcheze aniversarile de 30, 40 si 50 de ani de la formarea trupei, in 1997, 2007 si 2018, cu ultimele doua lansari continand piese bonus. In 2012  “The Piper at the Gates of Dawn” a fost votat pe locul 347 din lista de la revista Rolling Stone cu “Cele mai mari 500 de albume ale tuturor timpurilor”.

List of tracks

Side 1

1.       "Astronomy Domine"               Barrett and Wright       4:12

2.       "Lucifer Sam"                            Barret                          3:07

3.       "Matilda Mother"                       Wright and Barrett               3:08

4.       "Flaming"                                  Barrett                          2:46

5.       "Pow R. Toc H."  Syd Barrett Roger Waters Richard Wright Nick Mason

                                       Instrumental, wordless vocals by Barrett, Waters  4:26

6.       "Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk" Waters             Waters                3:05

Side 2

1.       "Interstellar Overdrive"    Syd Barrett Roger Waters Richard Wright Nick

                                                    Mason                  instrumental          9:41

2.       "The Gnome"                  Barret     2:13

3.       "Chapter 24"                   Barret     3:42

4.       "The Scarecrow"            Barret     2:11

5.       "Bike"                             Barret     3:21

Personnel

Pink Floyd

Syd Barrett – lead guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals

Roger Waters – bass; slide whistle on "Flaming", gong on "Chapter 24" (uncredited), vocals

Richard Wright – Farfisa Combo Compact organ, piano; tack piano on "Flaming" and "Bike", Hammond organ on "Matilda Mother" and "Flaming", Lowrey organ on "Flaming", pianet on "Chapter 24", celesta on "The Gnome" and "Bike", harmonium on "Bike" and "Chapter 24", vibraphone on "The Gnome", cello on "Chapter 24" and "The Scarecrow", violin on "Bike" (uncredited), vocals

Nick Mason – drums, percussion

Production

Syd Barrett – rear cover design

Peter Bown – engineering

Peter Jenner – intro vocalisations on "Astronomy Domine" (uncredited)

Vic Singh – front cover photography

Norman Smith – production, vocal and instrumental arrangements, drum roll on "Interstellar Overdrive"