| "Careful with That Axe, Eugene" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Single by Pink Floyd | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| from the album Ummagumma | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| A-side | "Point Me at the Sky" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Released | 17 December 1968 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Format | 7" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Recorded | 4 November 1968 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Genre | Psychedelic rock, Progressive rock, Space rock | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Length | 5:45 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Label | Columbia (EMI) (UK) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Writer(s) | David Gilmour Roger Waters Richard Wright Nick Mason |
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| Producer | Norman Smith | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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"Careful with That Axe, Eugene" is an instrumental piece by the British band Pink Floyd.[1] The studio recording was originally released as the B-side of their single "Point Me at the Sky" and is also featured on the Relics compilation album; live versions can also be found on Ummagumma and in the film Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii. Pink Floyd re-recorded the track for Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni's film Zabriskie Point, retitling it "Come in Number 51, Your Time Is Up" on the film's soundtrack album.[2]
Contents |
The music consists of a light, organ-based jam (using the "Egyptian" style organ that is common of Richard Wright in this period), and an accompanying bass guitar playing just one tone (in this case, D) in octaves, with a segue into the song's only lyrics: the title of the song whispered menacingly, followed by a Roger Waters scream, as in "Candy and a Currant Bun". This scream would reappear on many subsequent songs such as "Run Like Hell", the very beginning of "Another Brick in the Wall Part 2", and "Two Suns in the Sunset". Then the song becomes much louder and more intense before gradually settling down again. In the heavier parts and later, quieter parts, David Gilmour can be heard with guitar and scat vocals; in concert, Gilmour would often sing along with his guitar line.
For the re-recording made for Zabriskie Point, "Come In Number 51, Your Time Is Up", whispering and a choir were added. David Gilmour and Roger Waters provided the vocals, and Waters' screaming is noticeably louder. It is a complete instrumental; unlike the original "Careful with That Axe, Eugene", "Come in Number 51, Your Time Is Up" does not feature the spoken words "Careful with that axe, Eugene", and is in the key of E minor instead of the original D minor. In the film, it plays at the end during an explosion sequence filmed in slow motion. In the booklet of the soundtrack's reissue, David Fricke writes: "'Come In Number 51, Your Time Is Up' is a cryptically titled remake of the Floyd's volcanic 1968 B-side 'Careful With That Axe, Eugene.' But its bonfire sound — all roaring guitars, crashing drums, and death-throe screaming — is the perfect complement to the movie's cataclysmic finish." "Come in Number 51; your time is up" is a line from the Beatles' movie "A Hard Day's Night". Ringo has been wandering around London alone, and yells this to some canoers in a canal.
Pink Floyd performed the song at almost every show from 1968–1973, and once in 1977. An embryonic form was performed as early as 23 May 1968 (captured in a recording at The Paradiso in Amsterdam) under the original title of "Keep Smiling People", and another version was recorded on 25 June 1968 at the BBC Piccadilly Studios and broadcast on John Peel's Top Gear radio program 11 August 1968 with the title "Murderistic Woman".[3]
During many 1969 shows, it was performed as "Beset by Creatures of the Deep" as part two of The Journey. From autumn 1969 until August 1971 it was often played as a medley in conjunction with "Green Is the Colour".
During Pink Floyd's late 1972 European tour, the song was occasionally performed with a loud (and largely indecipherable) Pictish rant preceding the uttering of the song's title and its trademark scream. Particularly well-known examples are the performances from the band's December 1972 concert in Zürich and their concert on November 15, 1972 in Böblingen, Germany.
Pink Floyd dropped "Careful with That Axe, Eugene" from their act after their short 1974 French tour, performing it for the last time as an encore on 22 June 1974 in Colmar. A one-off performance was done in Oakland, California, on May 9, 1977, also as an encore. For this rendition, Richard Wright had to use a mini-Moog synthesizer in place of the Farfisa organ he used originally on the live version and the Hammond organ on the studio version. Snowy White, the band's touring guitarist at the time, was coaxed into performing the piece with the band despite having never heard the song before, let alone played it.
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