Pink Floyd and The Incredible String Band.
Pink Floyd.
As previously noted, like Side 1, Side 2 comprises just two live tracks. These are versions of items from the group’s second LP, “A Saucerful of Secrets”, firstly “Set The Controls For The Heart of The Sun”, and secondly the title track. In each case the recordings are slightly longer, and MUCH better than the studio renditions.
Track 1 has an extended middle 8 instrumental section, with one or two dramatic contrasts. The vocals are virtually inedible, which is a bit of a shame, but the overall effect is very appealing.
Track 2 is a masterpiece. If you look back to the description of the studio track, which can be found a few posts ago, it is a neatly divided 12 minute track comprising 3 discrete 4 minute sections. The first is a bit atonal, the second majors on a repeated drum break, and the third is the glorious “chord progression” bit, far better than the other two. On the live version, the first two bits get just 3 minutes each, but wisely, the last bit gets 7 minutes. Moreover, the first section is a tuneful, fairly dreamy thing, most pleasant to the ear, and the second section is dramatically livened up by some amazingly distinctive Gilmour guitar. It really is one of the very best things Pink Floyd ever got on record.
This album was one of the first to come out on the new EMI Harvest label:
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