Your favourite songs from Piper at the Gates of Dawn

[rememberaday]

and Astronomy Domine, Lucifer Sam, Interstellar Overdrive, Bike, Scarecrow, The Gnome, Pow R Toc H, Take Up Thy Stethoscope And Walk, Matilda Mother, and Chapter 24

[goodiesguy]

I picked "Take Up Thy Stethoscope And Walk" as it's THE song that got me into the Syd era floyd.

I remember my cousin sending me a link on msn, and it was to this song. Upon first hearing it, it didn't even sound like a song. It just sounded weird. I listened to it 5 times in a row, then I finally got it.

[rememberaday]

Stethoscope is a good song ( I’d rate it about 8/10). Obviously, Roger’s lyrics are sheesh (maybe he wrote them on hashish?) but what REALLY makes the song is the improvised sections that just define Floyd’s live gigs of the time. If that doesn’t convince one that Floyd were extremely competent musicians, I don’t know what will.

[my breakfast.]

Astronomy Domine. The band couldn't do it justice live with Gilmour; they play that opening riff far too 'literally' whereas the way Syd plays it is quite different. It is just amazing how the song is propelled along, has that spacey interlude and guitar solo and just manages to do so much!

[rememberaday]

Astronomy Domine. The band couldn't do it justice live with Gilmour; they play that opening riff far too 'literally' whereas the way Syd plays it is quite different. It is just amazing how the song is propelled along, has that spacey interlude and guitar solo and just manages to do so much!

Methoughts exactly.

[David Smith]

Scarecrow and Flaming are the ones that instantly come to mind, though i like almost all of them except Bike, Pow R Toc H, Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Intersteller Overdrive which all verge on being pretty annoying.

Anyone know why Arnold Layne and See Emily Play were left of it at all?

[J Ed]

perhaps the same reason Strawberry Fields Forever got left off Sgt Peppers and Jumpin Jack Flash got left off Beggars Banquet
in those days singles were seperate from LP releases: most people bought the singles, and only hardcore fans could afford the LP and wanted to get their money's worth, eg no repeated tracks

[Nicholas]

My favourite song is Lucifer Sam. The album is my personal favourite as for me it is Pink Floyd. I found it hard to go beyond it for a long time but since the various reunions and performances by members of the band I've dipped a toe in the water of the other early albums. The big three cast such a large shadow I'm always happy to hear the early material.

[my breakfast.]

Anyone know why Arnold Layne and See Emily Play were left of it at all?

See Emily Play made it onto the US pressing...

My guess is that they were recorded so differently that they don't fit the rest of the album as well. They are also mono, so the stereo album would have had two mono tracks on there 'harshing the mellow' if you like.

[HokiesCeltics]

I have to go with The Gnome. It always gets stuck in my head after an evening of listening to Piper while at work. The line "Look at the sky look at the river isn't it good" to me sounds like someone geeking out on a LSD "trip" while hanging out at the river. It sounds like something Syd cam up with on one of his many LSD experiences.

[jtull]

Scarecrow

[Steel Breeze]

Astronomy Domine has always been my favourite from this album. It's difficult to describe, but I really love the general atmosphere of the piece. I particularly love the nonsense lyrics - I think they sound great when sung! My second favourite would probably be Lucifer Sam - I like the guitar and bass playing on that one.

Piper isn't one of my absolute favourite Pink Floyd albums although I do like most of it. It's weird because I think I prefer A Saucerful of Secrets to Piper as an album, even though I don' think any of the individual songs on Saucerful are as good as Astronomy Domine.

[theaussiefloydian]

'Astronomy Domine' is a good song, but I'm not certain I understand the hype around it.
For me, 'Piper' was a difficult album to get into. I must have tried three times, but only got as far as 'Matilda Mother' the first two. The third time I told myself I would finish it under penalty of death or some crap, and when I hit 'Flaming', then the album began to finally make sense to me. 'Flaming' is my favourite from the album, as it's quite delightfully whimsical, with a hint of... nostalgia? Whimsy? One of the two. Possibly both, really.
All in all, 'Flaming' and 'Pow R. Toc H.' managed to get me to finish the album, and now I love it. 'Pow R. Toc H.' is such a fantastically weird piece of music, and serves as one of my many 'brother annoy-a-trons' (they can't stand it).

[Steel Breeze]

'Astronomy Domine' is a good song, but I'm not certain I understand the hype around it.
For me, 'Piper' was a difficult album to get into. I must have tried three times, but only got as far as 'Matilda Mother' the first two. The third time I told myself I would finish it under penalty of death or some crap, and when I hit 'Flaming', then the album began to finally make sense to me. 'Flaming' is my favourite from the album, as it's quite delightfully whimsical, with a hint of... nostalgia? Whimsy? One of the two. Possibly both, really.
All in all, 'Flaming' and 'Pow R. Toc H.' managed to get me to finish the album, and now I love it. 'Pow R. Toc H.' is such a fantastically weird piece of music, and serves as one of my many 'brother annoy-a-trons' (they can't stand it).

Pow R. Toc H. is a funny one for me - I could definitely live without the 'freak out' sections, but I really like most of the rest of it. In fact, I love the guitar that starts at about 3:07. It almost feels like something from a later Floyd album, if that makes sense? I can't quite put my finger on why, it just has a certain beauty to it.