Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Music Review #73:

Hey reader, just a little background info for you before you begin:
This is in fact my first ever review I wrote way back in early 2014 for the website Prog Archives. It's a track-by-track review of Pink Floyd's debut Piper at the Gates of Dawn, and was written to express how overrated I thought the honestly below-average album was. So if you're looking for a positive take on the album, it's not here.

There are numerous flaws in the review (like bad sentence structure, incorrect usage of words, and just childish writing), as well as opinions that have changed with time, however I have decided to leave it unedited in order to sort of preserve it. I did change the layout for the review as the original was extremely messy and hard to read due to me not quite grasping how reviews really worked back then. If you wish to read the original I have left a link in the outro box at the end of the review.

I wrote a second review of this album on a new account (my main account now) for Prog Archives in 2015, therefore I will use a different cover and other layout changes to indicate which is which (neither are positive reviews). So just to be clear, this is in fact the first 2014 review of PATGOD as well as my first review ever. Enjoy!
-Thatcher

P.S.: I do not do track-by-track reviews anymore because I feel when you review music some should be left up to the listener to discover for themselves. I have a few other t-b-t reviews from my earlier days but it is doubtful that I will put them on here.


Review #1:

Pink Floyd
Piper at The Gates of Dawn
1967
EMI Columbia








(Everything past this point is from the original review, except for the outro box of course.)

Piper At The Gates Dawn is The Pink Floyd's debut album released in 1967. The album, being highly different than the Pink Floyd we know today, was written by founder of the band, Syd Barret. This album received high ratings from the general public, ranging from 4/5 - 5/5. The albums genre can be easily set into Psychedelic Rock / Space Rock. The album consists of 11 strange songs. The strangeness of said songs can be traced back to the writer, Barrett. It is known that Barrett's mental degradation caused him to be removed from the band completely after the release of Pink Floyd's second album, A Saucerful Of Secrets. This growing insanity caused Barret to produce and write some incredibly strange songs that are featured on this album. 


1. Astronomy Domine

Considered to be the father title to most Space Rock genres, Astronomy Domine paves the way for Piper At The Gates Of Dawn by being the first item on the list. AD has a progressing rock feel that gives you the impression that this song did not just set the way for the album, but set the way for Pink Floyd's songs to come. My opinion on the song is that it is good, and was well written compared to the other songs in the album. Throughout the song there is a constant wavering along with the occasional noise of an astronaut, which gives it the clear title of being Space Rock. Overall, the song is definitely one of the better songs on this album.


2. Lucifer Sam

Lucifer Sam definitely has some qualities as a song. The music is not horrible; a nice beat and rhythm really adds a lot to the song. However, lyrically, the song is degrading. The line: " That cat's something I can't explain. Ginger, ginger, Jennifer Gentle you're a witch." needs a little more explaining for it to make sense. For me, bad lyrics really set of a song as bad. You always want a song that you can sing along to and not feel like you're high without the drugs. Definitely, this song was the preferred - sounding song of that age, but I can't seem to like it that much.



3. Matilda Mother 

In my opinion, this song is the best on the album. The dark and creeping guitar and the surprisingly good lyrics gives Matilda Mother an excellent quality. This is definitely one of the lowest regarded songs on the album, but most definitely the best.

4. Flaming

Flaming is another one of the most unappealing songs on the album. The annoying chord progression and Barrett's voice, which barely holds notes and is highly annoying in this song, makes it extremely hard to enjoy.


5. Pow R. Toc H.

Being yet another lame hit on Piper At The Gates Of Dawn, Pow R. Toc H. is less annoying and more foolish. The name itself is just stupid, and the opening of the song sounds like an adolescent's first time beatboxing. PRTH is definitely one of the less appealing songs on the album.


6. Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk

Take Up Thy Stethoscope And Walk is a unique song on the album, being the only song written by Roger Waters. However, this quality does not make it very enjoyable. Most of the instruments are very looping, and the 'guitar solo' sounds like just someone lamely tinkering around with a guitar. Again, like Lucifer Sam, holds very low lyrical value.


7. Interstellar Overdrive

Alongside Astronomy Domine, Interstellar Overdrive holds the title of another highly memorable song to people today. This epic is not as bad as Pow R. Toc H. or Flaming, for it holds it's note progression very highly throughout all ten minutes of the song.


8. The Gnome

Being the least known song on the album, The Gnome deserves that title. Sounding like a children's song, it has terrible rhyming words, and has instruments that are drowned out by another bad singing performance of Barrett. The singing in this song is very cracked and annoying and the lyrics barely hold up.


9. Chapter 24

This is probably the worst song on the album. The opening is formed of random banging on cymbals and bad keyboard progression, which is a terrible start to a song. Barrett's voice again is cracked and annoying, sounding like a teenager hitting puberty. Again, the lyrical value is terrible and holds no structure throughout this song. This song sounds like it was made very quickly and therefore sounds horrendous.


10. The Scarecrow

Another unique song on this album, Scarecrow is a very simple yet catchy song. The interesting percussion and rhythm give it an enjoyable quality along with the soft guitar. Even though this is another song where Barrett's voice is annoying, the music makes up for it.


11. Bike


Strangely regarded as one of Barrett's masterpieces, Bike is the last song on this album, oh and did they end this poor album with a poor song. The instruments sound that they are just getting slapped and smashed on. The singing. Oh the singing. The singing is probably the worst performance on this entire album, maybe in Pink Floyd history in my opinion. The lyrics hold no value whatsoever, and are not enjoyable in any fashion. Halfway through the song, the music disappears to be replaced with a terrible and ear wrenching symphony of bicycle sounds. After this horrendous melody, the 'song' ends with an incredibly annoying laugh. Overall, this song is one of the worst things ever.


Overall, Piper At The Gates Of Dawn could have had much more potential then it did, but sadly did not live up to my expectations. I give it a 2/5. If you wish to purchase the entire Pink Floyd discography, then this should be one of the last albums you buy.
Thanks for reading my review, and try not to be vulgar to anyone who is commenting. Thank you!


2016 - The Frying Pan & Thatcher 
Originally written for Prog Archives on 5/10/2014.
Visit the site at www.progarchives.com
Link to the original review herehttp://www.progarchives.com/Review.asp?id=1173623

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