Nick Mason admits he had “grown tired” of waiting for his erstwhile bandmates Roger Waters and David Gilmour to call him about a longed-for Pink Floyd reunion.
As one of the founding members, Mason always held out hope for the prospect and remains the only musician to have played on every Floyd album since joining the band in 1965. It’s now over two years since he introduced Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets, a live vehicle for Floyd’s seven long-players that pre-date Dark Side of the Moon.
Joining him, Guy Pratt who previously played bass for Pink Floyd (after Roger Waters departure) on the tours for A Momentary Lapse of Reason and Division Bell. He shares vocals with Spandau Ballet’s Gary Kemp who also features on guitar. This live album recorded at London’s Roundhouse in May last year, where Floyd historically played in 1966, summons “geographical spirits” that float from the grooves of this beautifully packaged double album with suitably psychedelic imagery.
A focus on the early work with the band’s original front-man, guitarist and songwriter Syd Barrett brings key tracks such as See Emily Play and Arnold Layne to a modern live setting as well as the lesser-known and unfinished Vegetable Man. As Mason suggests “it’s almost like a punk record” and the vocal delivery here recalls one Johnny Rotten. Despite his “I hate Pink Floyd t-shirt” the Sex Pistols front-man is a fan; particularly of this period.
A reference to the Pistols’ Holidays In The Sun during The Nile Song is a nice touch. There are a variety of under-appreciated curios such as early post-Barrett single Point Me At The Sky and Remember A Day penned by Richard Wright, the band’s late keyboardist. It’s the likes of this, the David Gilmour track Childhood’s End and the brilliant Fearless amongst others that are assisting a much wider recognition of Floyd’s early work, espeically in America.
The crowd’s roar of approval at the end of One Of These Days is a spine-tingling moment and a reminder of the energy and rush of adrenaline that can only come from watching a band hit their peak in a legendary venue such as this.
If you wish to look beyond Pink Floyd’s obvious cuts then this an exhilarating place to start.
