Symfloydia: Orchestrations from the Underground

Pink Floyd, left to right: Wright, Waters, Mason, Gilmour

Before Dark Side of the Moon launched them into international superstardom in 1973, Pink Floyd went through a lengthy period of experimentation that Richie Unterberger described as “wild instrumental freak-out passages incorporating feedback; electronic screeches; and unusual, eerie sounds created by loud amplification, reverb, and such tricks as sliding ball bearings up and down guitar strings.”

After the departure of Syd Barrett (original band leader) in 1968, Pink Floyd “spent the next four years . . . polish[ing] their brand of experimental rock, which married psychedelia with ever-grander arrangements on a Wagnerian operatic scale. Hidden underneath the pulsing, reverberant organs and guitars and insistently restated themes were subtle blues and pop influences that kept the material accessible to a wide audience.”

These experiments – which began in the London underground in 1966 with Barrett still firmly at the helm – would eventually develop into backdrops for several films, including The Committee (with Arthur Brown) [1968], Barbet Schroeder’s More [1969], Michelangelo Antonioni’s Zabriskie Point [1970], and Barbet Schroeder’s La Vallée [1972].

The symphonic approach that first surfaced with A Saucerful of Secrets in 1968 would eventually produce two cultish 23-minute epics: Atom Heart Mother [1970] (led by Ron Geesin), and Echoes [1971], the latter becoming a concert centerpiece for years to come.

Symfloydia is a seamless 67-minute journey built around the all-instrumental contributions of individual band members featured on the second LP from Ummagumma: Richard Wright’s Sysyphus, David Gilmour’s The Narrow Way, and Nick Mason’s The Grand Vizier’s Garden Party. These pieces – not presented in their original order – are woven together with further instrumental segments from the More soundtrack. All of the music was recorded and released in 1969, except for the closing segment from Obscured by Clouds, recorded in 1972.

Symfloydia:

1. Sysphus (Richard Wright, Ummagumma)
2. The Grand Vizier’s Garden Party (Nick Mason, Ummagumma)
3. Quicksilver (from “More” soundtrack)
4. Main Theme (from “More” soundtrack)
5. Dramtic Theme (from “More” soundtrack)
6. Up The Khyber (from “More” soundtrack)
7. A Saucerful Of Secrets (live version from Ummagumma)
8. The Narrow Way (David Gilmour, parts 1 and 2 from Ummagumma)
9. Careful With That Axe Eugene (live version from Ummagumma)
10. Absolutely Curtains (Obscured by Clouds, soundtrack to “The Valley”)