Rick and Syd in the Beechwoods
As a fan of the original incarnation of the Pink Floyd - I mean the freewheeling psychedelic band that the legendary Syd Barrett founded and (for a short time) led, not the massive stuttering rock machine that churned out albums like Dark Side of the Moon - I was saddened to hear about the recent death of Rick Wright, whose electric organ graced tracks like this:
Like some of the best work of the early Floyd, 'In the Beechwoods' has never been officially released - we only have this version of the song because drummer Nick Mason played it in the background while giving a taped interview to a fan who knocked on his front door one day. Rick Wright's playing near the end of the track, in particular, is extraordinary - he seems about to suck the listener into a vortex of swirling organ notes.
posted by maps at 9/17/2008 02:19:00 pm
3 Comments:
That's interesting. Pink Floyd's 'Dark Side of the Moon' was one of the few examples of "popular music that I took much interest in the 60s to 70s (I thought it was a great work) - the trouble was for me was that I had got so powerfully "hooked" on classical music in the early 60s (including quite a lot of contemporary music) and also for example when I was living in Ponsonby about 1969 (Ponsonby was a slum in those days and a very exciting place to live) - people in the flat played e.g. Hendrix all day or other so that eventually I simply didn't hear it any more than a bus driver listens to the engine of his own bus... so the paradox was, I was surrounded by endless pop music but basically I ignored most of it. But I didn't own stereo, a record player or anything - I didn't even have a radio or a TV. In the fact in that flat I was the only person who worked!! (Either at the railways, the Wool Stores, Beacon Radio, UEB, or the Freezing works or once at what was called Dominion Motors, a car assembly plant ...
But certainly Floyd and Hendrix and others were being played by many others ... who were very influenced by the music of the times - a lot of it "protest" or alternative... of course "everyone" was on drugs of some kind but I didn't use illegal drugs or drink in those days. They were exciting days tho!
I recall seeing the first pictures in the Herald (about 1962 I think it was) of the dark side of the moon (taken by the Russians) - it was exciting...
But this excerpt here sounds great.
Well - had never even heard of Syd Barrett! But I just connected to the videos with him in it and I liked them - funny I am 60 and listening to Syd Barrett (as far as I know for the first time) and when I was 16 or even 20 I was listening to Brahms or Stravinsky etc!
Great little clip, makes you wander what still is left in the musical vaults.
Richards tale is interesting too. No records, no radio, but still loved classical music.
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