Article: The Music In Me: Three Weeks With Emily

[Gilbert Klein]

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[confitesprit]

Loved the story, Gilbert. Thanks very much.

 

I first learned of Pink Floyd when Meddle came out (a buddy at high school had it). I've got most of their stuff now, but my version of Piper is the 2011 remaster, and does not include Emily. Can't imagine what that must have been like at the time, as during the summer of '67 I was 12. Love your stuff.

[firedog]

My version of Piper is a mono remaster, and also doesn't include "Emily"; but is available with the Floyd singles collection from Tidal.

 

Enjoyed the article and learning about your reaction to Psychedelia in real time. I was also a little young to appreciate what was going on around me, but I did have a sense of it, from the teenagers I knew.

 

As far as "Emily" itself, I'm not sure it was quite as revolutionary as you seem to make it out to be. Not sure it is any more "out there" than what the Beatles were doing previously, with songs like "Rain" and "Tomorrow Never Knows". Other English groups were also doing some pretty far out stuff at the time.

[Gilbert Klein]

My version of Piper is a mono remaster, and also doesn't include "Emily"; but is available with the Floyd singles collection from Tidal.

 

Enjoyed the article and learning about your reaction to Psychedelia in real time. I was also a little young to appreciate what was going on around me, but I did have a sense of it, from the teenagers I knew.

 

As far as "Emily" itself, I'm not sure it was quite as revolutionary as you seem to make it out to be. Not sure it is any more "out there" than what the Beatles were doing previously, with songs like "Rain" and "Tomorrow Never Knows". Other English groups were also doing some pretty far out stuff at the time.

 

 

A couple of comments: I was gobsmacked when Chris pointed out that "Emily" did not appear on the English LP. Shocked and confused me. My best guess is that Billy also brought the single when he got back from London, because- and perhaps you'll forgive me for all that smoking and the memory lapses due to that- I remember specifically remember listening and talking about "See Emily Play." So it HAD to be that he brought back the single. My record player, seen in the photo, played 33s, 45s and 78s.

 

Also, in the photo you see one blue wall, but it was a suite in that there was a side room that I made into a study (?), and all the other seven walls were that blue, and when it was dark and we only used a candle, the room was very... enveloping. This was the room where, as I wrote in my article on The Sons of Champlin, where my mother took several of my Fillmore posters and GLUED THEM TO THE WALL. I'm almost done with therapy on that one. The British flag was the curtain for the bedroom and a smaller one was used for the study. I still have them both.

 

As to how out there they were, I agree that "Rain" and "Tomorrow Never Knows" were also out there, this was the single by an unknown band. No label wanted to release a single that wouldn't be a hit with the kids, but Pink Floyd did that. And the rest of the LP: wow!

 

Thanks for the responses. I appreciate them all.

 

I also want to say that I am really enjoying writing these.

[Gilbert Klein]

A couple of comments: I was gobsmacked when Chris pointed out that "Emily" did not appear on the English LP. Shocked and confused me. My best guess is that Billy also brought the single when he got back from London, because- and perhaps you'll forgive me for all that smoking and the memory lapses due to that- I remember specifically remember listening and talking about "See Emily Play." So it HAD to be that he brought back the single. My record player, seen in the photo, played 33s, 45s and 78s.

 

Also, in the photo you see one blue wall, but it was a suite in that there was a side room that I made into a study (?), and all the other seven walls were that blue, and when it was dark and we only used a candle, the room was very... enveloping. This was the room where, as I wrote in my article on The Sons of Champlin, where my mother took several of my Fillmore posters and GLUED THEM TO THE WALL. I'm almost done with therapy on that one. The British flag was the curtain for the bedroom and a smaller one was used for the study. I still have them both.

 

As to how out there they were, I agree that "Rain" and "Tomorrow Never Knows" were also out there, this was the single by an unknown band. No label wanted to release a single that wouldn't be a hit with the kids, but Pink Floyd did that. And the rest of the LP: wow!

 

Thanks for the responses. I appreciate them all.

 

I also want to say that I am really enjoying writing these.

 

Also: Just found this today: Pink Floyd's Nick Mason Talks 'Early Years,' Syd Barrett - Rolling Stone

 

 

 

also

[cbee]

Great stuff again Gilbert. I found out after Syd died that for the last 20 or so years of his life he was living just a mile down the road from my sister, in Cherry Hinton Cambridge. Not a bad spot to end his days.

[Poncho]

Having been born in 1970, I never had the opportunity of listening to Piper when literally nobody had ever recorded anything like it, but still, the first time I heard it I was blown away by it´s music and lyrics. It evoked something I couldn´t put my finger on. From start to finish it is an outstanding album, I want to say this again, an outstanding album (and I say this because I remember clearly that we used to sit around and listen to albums as a complete work of art and today millenials, with their itunes, spotify, etc. don´t have the patience to do that).

 

Thanks once again Gilbert for another great article and for sharing this wonderfull experience of listening Piper at the gates of dawn for the very first time when nothing like it had ever been recorded before.

 

Saludos

[DaQi]

Always remember my discovery of Pink Floyd and similar reaction. I was already into the Jimi Hendrix and looking for what I always characterized as "out there" music even as I was just starting to discover music. My brother bought "The Wall" when it was a monster hit. I pretty much disdained anything that was a hit. My mother, a school teacher, banned my brother from ever playing it again pretty much the moment she heard the lyrics - "We don't need no education" and that was enough to pique my interest. At the age of 13 I figured any band my mom refused to let my brother listen to was probably worth looking into. "Ummagumma" was my first Pink Floyd album and then "Piper at the Gates of Dawn" came second. It was several months before I put it all together and listened to "Dark Side of the Moon". At the time I had a part-time job cleaning floors at a restaurant next to a record store so it didn't take long for all my extra money to go into buying albums. That was the beginning of my life long love of music. I love all their music but have to say the early stuff has always been my favorite. Thanks for the story as I put on Piper for a listen.

[mjb]

"See Emily Play" is also on Relics. This is my youth, and I'm still listening to it today. Still got the original vinyls. I've got some distant happy memories of sitting in Granchester meadows with a 12 string and a few friends. Never cared much for the wall, or anything after - too commercial - though I can remember the excitement of waiting for the final cut to come out on cd, the sound effects were really something then.

 

 

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