'' is
Pink Floyd 's debut album, and the only one made under
Syd Barrett 's leadership, although he made some contributions to the follow-up, ''
A Saucerful Of Secrets ''. The album has whimsical lyrics about
Scarecrow s,
Gnome s,
Bicycle s and
Fairytale s, along with
Psychedelic Instrumental passages. The album was recorded at
Abbey Road Studios at the same time
The Beatles were recording Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club.
The
LP (with a
Monaural mix) was released on
August 5 ,
1967 . It reached #6 on the UK charts, and its US version (entitled simply ''Pink Floyd'' and featuring a re-arranged and abbreviated tracklisting) reached #131 on the US charts. "See Emily Play" substituted "Astronomy Domine", "Flaming" and "Bike" on the original US vinyl issue. The
CD was first released in
1987 , and re-released with a digitally re-mastered
Stereophonic re-mix in
1994 . Three years later, EMI released a re-mastered, limited-run mono mix version in a hefty
Digipak with
3-D box art. As the album was intended as monaural, this version is reputed to be more faithful to the original than the highly
Gimmick y stereo mix.
The album's title comes from the title of the seventh chapter of
Kenneth Grahame 's ''
The Wind In The Willows '', where Water Rat and Mole, while searching for a lost animal, have a religious experience. ("This is the place of my song-dream, the place the music played to me," whispered the Rat, as if in a trance. "Here, in this holy place, here if anywhere, surely we shall find Him!") The Piper referred to is the Greek god
Pan .
Vic Singh photographed and designed the album cover, unlike subsequent Pink Floyd albums.
All songs written by Syd Barrett, except where noted.
#"
Astronomy Domine " – 4:12
#"
Lucifer Sam " – 3:07
#"
Matilda Mother " – 3:08
#"
Flaming " – 2:46
#"Pow R. Toc H." (Barrett/Waters/Wright/Mason) – 4:26 (see
Toc H )
#"
Take Up Thy Stethoscope And Walk " (Waters) – 3:05
#"
Interstellar Overdrive " (Barrett/Waters/Wright/Mason) - 9:41
#"
The Gnome " – 2:13
#"Chapter 24" – 3:42
#"
The Scarecrow " – 2:11
#"
Bike " – 3:21
also
- Norman Smith - producer
- Peter Brown - engineer
- Vic Singh - cover photography
