That 28-minute Embryo

[Zack]

I just listened to it for the first time, and I find it baffling. The conventional wisdom is they dragged the song out to nearly three times its usual length because of problems with Rick's keys setup, and in fact the organ is scant though audible in places. But it still seems bizarre to me -- they could have just wrapped up the song and fixed it before the next number. It's a muddled, confused version obviously spontaneous, never done previously or since. But why? Discuss.

[danielcaux]

They could have just wrapped up the song and fixed it before the next number but as it was surely an unexpected situation they just probably found it easier to go on and improvise under those circunstances than just try to pretend all was normal and play the thing half-straight without the organ. I mean, when something like that happens to me is easier, for me at least, to trow away the "script" and just take a dive into the dark not knowning where I'll end up.

I'm just re-listening to that version so maybe later I will come with more ideas...

[drafsack]

It was probably so Rick’s keys were ready for the next track and so there wasn't a break in the show while they fixed them

[FransT]

On what date was this 28 minute Embryo played?
I'm very interested..

[mosespa]

Might as well ask why SRV continued playing Pride And Joy on MTV's unplugged after he broke a string.

PF and Three Dog Night both have songs titled with an expression that I think sums up the best answer for both cases: The Show Must Go On.

Give an audience even just a moment of downtime and you risk losing them entirely. Best to keep on going with some half-assed improvisation than to bring the show to a halt and fix a problem.

[drafsack]

On what date was this 28 minute Embryo played?
I'm very interested..

Taft Auditorium, Cincinnati, Ohio, Nov 20, 1971

[FransT]

Thank you very much!

[my breakfast.]

Seeing they were not actually recording the gig, they didn't have too much constraints onstage, so instead of getting the sound of roadies hammering things for half an hour, the band just jam on Embryo, a song with a jam section in it anyway to fill the gap.

[nosaj]

I can still remember the first time I heard it. Great one-time-only performance from a historical perspective if you are a fan.

[danielcaux]

Funny that nobody mentioned the DSoTM connection at all. I think this jam included what was possibly the first ever live performance of what would eventually become the centerpiece of the DSoTM cycle, "Breathe". This was on November 20th of 71. By January 72 the composition of the whole album was pretty much complete. Man, those were the times for Gilmour, Waters and co.

[my breakfast.]

I listened to this again the other day... its pretty boring no?

[nosaj]

I listened to this again the other day... its pretty boring no?

Hmmm, I haven't listened to it in a couple of years. You might be right, otherwise I would listen to it more. In my case, I had heard so many versions for so many years, that the first time I listened to this one, it was quite a surprise. If you haven't heard it and you are a die hard fan of this era and/or song, you have to hear this one at least once for the novelty.

[vahurka]

Funny that nobody mentioned the DSoTM connection at all. I think this jam included what was possibly the first ever live performance of what would eventually become the centerpiece of the DSoTM cycle, "Breathe". This was on November 20th of 71. By January 72 the composition of the whole album was pretty much complete. Man, those were the times for Gilmour, Waters and co.

Yeah! I re-listened it too and what a fantastic jamming! Fully improvisational, especially David this time. Why they didn't record all their shows with soundboard? Damn!
I totally agree this contains very early jams that would become Breathe, and what more, the whole jam strongly reminds me to the Travel Sequence also. The style is almost the same as in the early incarnations of the Travel Sequence.
So this Embryo was maybe the "embryo" of the Dard Side Of The Moon.

[movement]

I listened to this again the other day... its pretty boring no?

I think the song holds up remarkably well for 20 minutes but I agree that it does drag after a while.

[snifferdog]

Yeah, it'd want to be Echoes-esque to hold up for that long.