The most revolutionary album of the 1960s, according to Roger Waters
In 1973, Pink Floyd were arguably music’s most revolutionary band.
With Dark Side Of The Moon, they changed worldwide perceptions of experimental music and laid the foundations for understanding just what a concept album was. In the 1960s, however, they were teetering on the edge of nonsense.
I can already hear the audible gasps of Pink Floyd fans across the world, refusing to allow their work to be conceived as anything other than genius, but it’s true. However, it was a necessary truth. Pink Floyd were never going to lay down something as groundbreaking as Dark Side Of The Moon upon their first recording session. They had to stretch the realms of possibility and explore every esoteric idea before it started to translate itself into musical coherence.
Of course, they were always going to toe the line between madness and greatness with Syd Barrett at the helm. The enigmatic, unpredictable and of course undeniably talented songwriter helped them swim in the seas of avant-garde, but quickly pulled the band into the undertow with his penchant for the overly psychedelic.
It meant that records like Piper At The Gates Of Dawn, of course, showed glimpses of brilliance on tracks like ‘Astronomy Domine’ and ‘Interstellar Overdrive’, but also lost themselves in the looseness of abstract thinking on songs like ‘Pow R. Toc. H’.
The latter song however did see the band trying to tap into something Beatles-esque, after the band had witnessed the Fab Four laying down tracks for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band in Abbey Road. Their playful mastery made an impression on the band who were themselves trying to fine tune the art of popular experimentation. When the record finally came to fruition, the awe of watching them operate in the studio hadn’t dampened Waters’ listening experience.
“I remember when it came out, pulling the Zephyr 4 over into a lay-by and listening to the whole thing… just sitting there with my mouth hanging open.”
Roger Waters
But their admiration for the band pre-dated that fateful studio visit. No, like any band cutting their teeth in the 1960s, Pink Floyd were basking under the large, influential sunlight of The Beatles. They were pointing towards a future where even a band like them, once confined by the commercial expectations of pop music and the love-laced affection of screaming fans, could pivot and delve headfirst into psychedelia.
“They instigated their own revolution,” Waters continued. “Obviously, when they started off, it was all ‘Please, Please Me’ you know, whatever. They transcended all that. And they transcended all the nonsense of Shea Stadium and, you know, girls screaming and nobody being able to hear anything. Making songs that people really wanted to hear because they’re really, really smart, clever, beautiful, and musical songs.”
Of course, Pink Floyd were never subjected to the level of romantic adoration as The Beatles. They existed solely at the other end of the spectrum, but it was the middle ground where they learned their lesson. They, like The Beatles, had to pivot their stance into something more experimentally coherent, and after watching the Liverpudlians step boldly into that new space, they were given permission to follow.
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out Beatles Newsletter
All the latest stories about The Beatles from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.