A Saucerful of Secrets (song)

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“A Saucerful of Secrets”
Song by Pink Floyd
Album A Saucerful of Secrets
Released June 29, 1968 (UK)
July 27, 1968 (US)
Recorded April 1968
Abbey Road Studios, London
Genre Progressive rock
Psychedelic rock
Avant-garde
Length 11:59 (A Saucerful of Secrets version)
12:48 (Ummagumma version)
Writer Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Nick Mason, Richard Wright
A Saucerful of Secrets track listing
Corporal Clegg
(4)		 “A Saucerful of Secrets”
(5)		 See-Saw
(6)


"A Saucerful of Secrets" is a multi-part instrumental by the rock band Pink Floyd from an album of the same name, released in 1968. The track lasts 11:59 and was composed by band members Roger Waters, Rick Wright, Nick Mason, and David Gilmour. It is very much an experimental, avant-garde piece featuring howling feedback, menacing percussion, and wordless vocals.

"A Saucerful of Secrets" (originally known as "The Massed Gadgets of Hercules" in its earliest performances) became a Pink Floyd live staple from 1968 until 1972. A live version of the track is available on Pink Floyd's 1969 double album Ummagumma, and the version seen and heard in the film Live at Pompeii: Directors Cut is considered by many to be the definitive version. In 1969, its fourth movement, "Celestial Voices," was incorporated into the live concept The Man and the Journey as "The End of the Beginning." On the remastered Compact Disc versions of the album, the song is listed on the CD itself as "A Saucerful of Secret"[1]

Roger Waters once stated in a Rolling Stone interview that this 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.

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, Rick Wright usually had to be content with playing his Farfisa organ instead of pounding a grand piano with his fists as on the studio recording (the version on "Pompeii" being a notable exception). The "Celestial Voices" section started with just organ as per the studio version, but gradually added drums, bass, guitar and wordless vocals, provided by David Gilmour. This led to a strong climax of the song, that can be best appreciated by the enthusiastic applause at the end of the version on "Ummagumma".

Contents

[edit] Sections

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:

  1. "Something Else" (0:00-3:57, slow closely miked cymbal fade-in and echoing organ)
  2. "Syncopated Pandemonium" (3:57-7:04, drum tape loop, furious cymbals, screeching guitar)
  3. "Storm Signal" (7:04-8:38, chimes and organ)
  4. "Celestial Voices" (8:38-11:56, bass, organ, mellotron and wordless chorus)

[edit] Alternative and Live versions

  • Pink Floyd performed the song from 1968-1972, with the last performance taking place on 23rd September, 1972 at the Winterland Auditorium, San Francisco, California. It was regularly performed as an encore throughout that year. Nick Mason and Richard Wright briefly considered resurrecting the song for the 1987 'Lapse' tour, but Gilmour suggested that the song sounded too archaic.
  • The version found on the Live at Pompeii: Directors Cut is seen by some as the definitive version of the song. Nick Mason's drumming is much faster, and is also featured in the last two sections. David Gilmour does the vocalisations for only the last chord progression, instead of for the last two.
  • The Ummagumma live version is only slightly longer than the studio version at 12:48.
  • Live performances of the song initially had length of about 12-13 minutes but later performances commonly ran for about 17-20 minutes.

[edit] The Man and the Journey

Main article: The Man and the Journey

"Syncopated Pandemonium", the second part of the track, was one of the many tracks which were played at some point or another as "Doing It". Others include "The Grand Vizier's Garden Party (Entertainment)", "Up the Khyber", and "Party Sequence". All of these prominently feature drums.

[edit] Personnel


[edit] References

  1. ^ Echoes FAQ