A Saucerful of Secrets (instrumental)

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"A Saucerful of Secrets"
Instrumental by Pink Floyd
from the album A Saucerful of Secrets
PublishedLupus Music Ltd
Released
  • 29 June 1968 (UK)
  • 27 July 1968 (US)
Recorded1968
Studio Abbey Road Studios, London, UK
Genre Avant-garde [1]
Length
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Norman Smith

"A Saucerful of Secrets" is a multi-part instrumental composition by English rock band Pink Floyd from their 1968 album of the same name. It is nearly 12 minutes long and was composed by Roger Waters, Richard Wright, Nick Mason and David Gilmour. The track features guitar feedback, a percussion solo section and wordless vocals.

Contents

Background

"A Saucerful of Secrets" was titled "The Massed Gadgets of Hercules" in its earliest performance and became a Pink Floyd live staple from 1968 to 1972. A live version of the track is available on their 1969 double album Ummagumma , [2] and an alternative version is seen and heard in the film Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii , [3] which was performed at director Adrian Maben's request, as he thought it would be a good addition to the film. [4]

The track was composed by Roger Waters drawing diagrams on a piece of paper explaining how the music should progress. Gilmour later said he initially wasn't sure what to play. [5]

Live performances of the song differed significantly from the studio version. The closely miked cymbal sound that starts the piece was instead performed as a two-note drone on the bass. For the "Syncopated Pandemonium" section, Richard Wright usually played his Farfisa organ instead of pounding the keys on a grand piano with his fists as on the studio recording (the version on Pompeii being an exception). The "Celestial Voices" section started with just organ as per the studio version, but the band gradually added drums, bass, guitar, and wordless vocals provided by David Gilmour.

The Japanese release of this song was simply titled 神秘 (shinpi), which translates as "Mystery". The album A Saucerful of Secrets itself also carried this title.

The song was Gilmour's first songwriting credit with Pink Floyd. On the original vinyl and early CD issues, his name was misspelled as "Gilmore". [6] [7] [8] This was corrected with the remastered version released in 1994. [9]

Structure

Although the song is listed on all pressings of the album as "A Saucerful of Secrets", some pressings of Ummagumma break the piece into four different sections. The first part, "Something Else", was logged as "Richard's Rave Up" when the song was recorded at EMI Studios. [10] The second part was recorded as "Nick's Boogie" before being retitled as "Syncopated Pandemonium", while the last part is titled "Celestial Voices". [10] Roger Waters once stated in a Rolling Stone interview that the song was about a battle and the aftermath. "Something Else" represents the setup of the battle. "Syncopated Pandemonium" represents the actual battle. "Storm Signal" represents the view of the dead after the battle has ended, and "Celestial Voices" represents the mourning of the dead. [11]

  1. "Something Else" (0:00–3:57, slow closely miked cymbal fade-in and echoing organ, slide guitar, bass, chimes, piano, vibraphone)
  2. "Syncopated Pandemonium" (3:57–7:04, drum tape loop, cymbals, distorted guitars, piano)
  3. "Storm Signal" (7:04–8:38, floor tom, chimes, and organ) in the form of a passacaglia over a 16-bar bass line, continuing into the fourth section until the end of the piece
  4. "Celestial Voices" (8:38–11:52, bass, organ, piano, chimes, mellotron and wordless chorus)

Live performances

Personnel

Cultural references

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References

  1. ↑ Gulla, Bob (2009). Guitar Gods: The 25 Players who Made Rock History. ABC-CLIO. p. 92. ISBN   978-0-313-35806-7.
  2. ↑ Mabbett, Andy (2010). Pink Floyd – The Music and the Mystery. London: Omnibus. p. 160. ISBN   978-1-84938-370-7.
  3. ↑ Povey 2007, p. 174
  4. ↑ "Interview with Adrian Maben by Paul Powell Jr, Matt Johns and Storm Thorgerson". Brain-damage.co.uk. 2003. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  5. ↑ "David Gilmour: Rock Compact Disc Magazine interview, Sep 1992". Rock Compact Disc (3). September 1992. Archived from the original on 2 January 2011. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
  6. ↑ "Images". Discogs . Retrieved 29 December 2011.
  7. ↑ "Images". Discogs . Retrieved 29 December 2011.
  8. ↑ "Images". Discogs . Retrieved 29 December 2011.
  9. ↑ "Images". Discogs . Retrieved 29 December 2011.
  10. 1 2 3 Manning, Toby (2006). "Floyd's Finest 50". The Rough Guide to Pink Floyd (1st ed.). London: Rough Guides. p. 188. ISBN   1-84353-575-0.
  11. ↑ "Echoes FAQ Ver, 4.0 - 4/10". Pink-floyd.org. Archived from the original on 26 October 2012. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  12. ↑ Manning, Toby (2006). "The Albums". The Rough Guide to Pink Floyd (1st ed.). London: Rough Guides. p. 160. ISBN   1-84353-575-0.
  13. ↑ "Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets Setlist at The Half Moon, London". Setlist.fm. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
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