Vegetable Man

Last updated
"Vegetable Man"
Song by Pink Floyd
from the album The Early Years 1965–1972
Released11 November 2016
Recorded9–11 October 1967
Genre
Length2:32
Songwriter(s) Syd Barrett
Producer(s) Norman Smith
Official audio
"Vegetable Man" (2010 mix) on YouTube

"Vegetable Man" is a song by the English rock band Pink Floyd, written by the frontman, Syd Barrett, and recorded in 1967. It was considered for a release as a single or for inclusion on their second album, A Saucerful of Secrets , but went unreleased. Bootlegged for decades, the song did not have an official release until 2016, when it was included on the box set The Early Years 1965–1972 .

Contents

Recording and consideration

The song was recorded from 9 to 11 October 1967. [3] The first take ends with 15 seconds of laughter from the band, [4] while a different take is a faster-paced jam of the song. [5] The song was an attempt to record a follow-up single to "See Emily Play", [4] [6] as well as the beginning of sessions for the album that would eventually become A Saucerful of Secrets . Among the songs considered were "Paint Box", "Scream Thy Last Scream", "Jugband Blues" and "Apples and Oranges". "Vegetable Man" was scheduled for release, as the B-side to "Scream Thy Last Scream", but cancelled, and both tracks remained unreleased until 2016. [7] [8] Eventually, "Apples and Oranges" was chosen for the single release instead, with "Paint Box" as the B-side and "Jugband Blues" appearing on their next album A Saucerful of Secrets. The band played "Vegetable Man" live for a BBC radio broadcast on 20 December 1967. [9]

Peter Jenner wanted the song released: "I always thought they should be put out, so I let my copies be heard. I knew that Roger would never let them out, or Dave. They somehow felt they were a bit indecent, like putting out nude pictures of a famous actress: it just wasn't cricket. But I thought they were good songs and great pieces of art. They're disturbing, and not a lot of fun, but they're some of Syd's finest work – though God knows, I wouldn't wish anyone to go through what he's gone through to get to those songs. They're like Van Gogh." [10] Producer Malcolm Jones (who produced Barrett's The Madcap Laughs solo album) remixed this song and "Scream Thy Last Scream" [11] for inclusion on the Barrett rarities album Opel (1988); however, the band blocked its inclusion. [12] [13]

Composition

Jenner claims Barrett wrote the song describing himself as he sat at Jenner's home, [4] [14] "He had to go and record and, because a song was needed, he just wrote a description of what he was wearing at the time..." [15] [16] Jenner called the track "too dark". [17] Many cite it as a document of Syd's apparent monumental breakdown as a recording artist and as a person. [18] The song was written around the same time as "Jugband Blues" which is directed towards anyone within Barrett's orbit, while "Vegetable Man" is aimed at the music industry and himself. [19] [20] Both songs contain the same cynical humour. [19]

Official release

Although popular as a bootleg in a low quality form for decades, the song was not officially released until 2016, when it appeared on The Early Years 1965–1972 box set. [21] The remastered version of the song was given its radio debut on BBC Radio 6 Music on 4 November 2016. [22] It was performed live for the first time by Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets on their 2018 European Tour. A recording is included on their 2020 live album Live at the Roundhouse .

Personnel

Cover versions

The Soft Boys covered this song on the 1980 EP Near the Soft Boys, [23] and the track was included on some editions of their Underwater Moonlight album. [24] A cover version by Scottish band the Jesus and Mary Chain [25] originally featured as the B-side of their debut single "Upside Down" [26] and appears on their 2008 compilation The Power of Negative Thinking: B-Sides & Rarities [27] and the 2011 2CD/DVD reissue of Psychocandy . Canadian band Kosmos recorded the song for the 2008 tribute album Like Black Holes in the Sky: The Tribute to Syd Barrett. [28] The Vegetable Man Project was a series of six CDs (plus a one-sided 10" single with 60 10-second excerpts) of various acts performing cover versions of the song, released by the Italian labels Oggetti Volanti Non Identificati and Yellow Shoes between 2002 and 2009. [29] British post-punk band the Mothmen recorded a version, released on the 2015 CD reissue of their 1981 album Pay Attention.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "New Pink Floyd box set has everything but a bell on it". RTÉ. July 28, 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  2. ↑ Unterberger, Andrew (4 August 2017). "The 50 Greatest Pink Floyd Songs: Critic's Picks". Billboard . Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  3. ↑ Palacios, Julian (1998). Lost in the Woods: Syd Barrett and the Pink Floyd. London: Boxtree. p. 194. ISBN   0-7522-2328-3. Accessed 7 December 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 Chapman, Rob (2010). Syd Barrett: A Very Irregular Head (Paperback ed.). London: Faber. p.  188. ISBN   978-0-571-23855-2. Accessed 31 October 2012.
  5. ↑ Palacios, Julian (2010). Syd Barrett & Pink Floyd: Dark Globe (Rev. ed.). London: Plexus. p. 285. ISBN   978-0859654319. Accessed 28 October 2012.
  6. ↑ Frame, Pete (1996). MacDonald, Bruno (ed.). Pink Floyd - Through the Eyes of... (1 ed.). London: Sidgwick & Jackson. p. 38. ISBN   0-283-06273-8.
  7. ↑ Chapman 2010. p. 187.
  8. ↑ Jones, Malcolm (2003). The Making of The Madcap Laughs (21st Anniversary ed.). Brain Damage. p. 23. Accessed 7 December 2012.
  9. ↑ Palacios 2010. p. 306.
  10. ↑ Schaffner, Nicholas (2005). Saucerful of Secrets: The Pink Floyd Odyssey (New ed.). London: Helter Skelter. p. 113. ISBN   1-905139-09-8. Accessed 31 October 2012.
  11. ↑ Palacios 2010. p. 419.
  12. ↑ Manning, Toby (2006). The Rough Guide to Pink Floyd (1st ed.). London: Rough Guides. p. 186. ISBN   1-84353-575-0. Accessed 28 July 2012.
  13. ↑ Schaffner 2005. p. 134.
  14. ↑ Schaffner, Nicholas (2005). Saucerful of Secrets: The Pink Floyd Odyssey (New ed.). London: Helter Skelter. p. 112. ISBN   1-905139-09-8. Accessed 31 October 2012.
  15. ↑ MacDonald, Bruno (1996). Pink Floyd - Through the Eyes of... (1st ed.). London: Sidgwick & Jackson. p. 279. ISBN   0-283-06273-8.
  16. ↑ Chapman 2010. p. 192.
  17. ↑ Manning, Toby (2006). The Rough Guide to Pink Floyd (1st ed.). London: Rough Guides. p. 43. ISBN   1-84353-575-0.
  18. ↑ Chapman 2010. p. 190.
  19. 1 2 Chapman 2010. p. 191.
  20. ↑ Schaffner, Nicholas (2005). Saucerful of Secrets: The Pink Floyd Odyssey (New ed.). London: Helter Skelter. p. 112. ISBN   1-905139-09-8. Accessed 31 October 2012.
  21. ↑ "Pink Floyd to release rarity-packed 27-disc set of their early years". The Guardian. 28 July 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  22. ↑ Yoo, Noah (4 November 2016). "Listen to Unreleased Pink Floyd Song "Vegetable Man" Written By Syd Barrett | Pitchfork". pitchfork.com. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  23. ↑ "Soft Boys, The - Near The Soft Boys EP (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs.com. 1980. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  24. ↑ "Soft Boys, The - Underwater Moonlight (Vinyl, LP, Album) at Discogs". Discogs.com. 1980. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  25. ↑ Palacios, Julian (2010). Syd Barrett & Pink Floyd: Dark Globe (Rev. ed.). London: Plexus. p. 418. ISBN   978-0859654319. Accessed 5 July 2012.
  26. ↑ Manning 2006. p. 287.
  27. ↑ Collar, Matt. "The Power of Negative Thinking: B-Sides & Rarities - The Jesus and Mary Chain : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
  28. ↑ Sullivan, Patrick. "Like Black Holes in the Sky: The Tribute to Syd Barrett - Various Artists : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
  29. ↑ "The Vegetable Man Project". discogs.com. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
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