Production
This track chosen to open their new album inaugurates the new musical direction taken by the Floyd now that Syd Barrett’s influence had waned. The first session took place on January 18, 1968, just a few weeks after David Gilmour’s arrival, a time when Syd was probably no longer recording with the group. “Let There Be More Light” (then named “Untitled”) was recorded in a single take between 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. After various voice and guitar overdubs, the group then laid down a second take called “Rhythm Track,” which would be added in on March 25.
“Let There Be More Light” begins with a highly energetic riff (in much the same vein as certain parts of “Interstellar Overdrive”) in which Roger Waters is quickly joined by Nick Mason on ride cymbal and Rick Wright on Hammond M-102 organ with a rich, swirling sound. The Rickenbacker 4001, played at medium volume with plectrum, has a somewhat aggressive edge. Waters is most likely plugged into his Selmer Treble-n-Bass 100 amp, although it is also possible he is connected to the console via a direct box. From 0:11, the bass is accompanied by a percussion instrument (bongos?) that is relatively recessed in the mix but nevertheless reinforces the percussive effect of the riff.
“Let There Be More Light” can be divided into three sections: a first with this riff played at around 100 bpm; a second at a slower tempo (approximately 78 bpm), featuring a vocal part and based on a new riff; and a closing, exclusively instrumental, section. The second section is introduced by a cymbal swell that facilitates the rhythmic transition (1:11). The base riff that Rick Wright’s vocal line follows is now different, featuring a slightly oriental sound. The voice of the Floyd keyboard player is doubled, but without the help of ADT. He shares each verse with David Gilmour, who takes care of the “rockier” part with a more aggressive timbre and in a higher register.
At the second session on March 25, which was dedicated to the vocals, Pink Floyd added in the “Rhythm Track” to the first take of January 18. What does this consist of, exactly? On the face of it, this rhythm track—recorded, logic would dictate, on a single track—includes Gilmour’s rhythm guitar, Wright’s organ, Waters’s bass, and Mason’s drums. It comes in at the beginning of the song’s second section, as can be heard at 1:16, particularly in the left-hand channel of the stereo version. It is faded in in order to allow for smoother insertion, with Mason’s crescendoing cymbal concealing the join. In this way the rhythm track comes and goes throughout the number, becoming prominent at opportune moments and also shifting position within the stereo spectrum, as at 1:40.
This brings us to the final, and exclusively instrumental, section (3:25). Here we have an opportunity to discover David Gilmour as a lead guitarist, as this is where he plays his first solo on disc with the group, on his white Fender Telecaster most probably plugged into Syd’s amplifier, the 50-watt Selmer Truvoice Treble-n-Bass 50. Gilmour still lacks assurance and technical prowess. He is not yet the guitar hero of “Money” (The Dark Side of the Moon, 1973) or “Comfortably Numb” (The Wall, 1979), but his essential spirit is already present, with a style of playing that does not try to dazzle with technical prowess, instead placing an emphasis on emotion and matchless sound quality. He also uses the Binson Echorec, along with very present reverb perhaps added during mixing.
At around 4:00, the “Rhythm Track” material reemerges, accompanying a second and more energetic solo from Gilmour. The two solos intersect without interfering with each other, and the same is true of Waters’s bass. The track then develops into an improvisation and ends with the solo guitar brought to a sudden halt by the brutal stopping of the tape recorder (5:33). At the end of the coda, an instrument sounding like a vibraphone can be heard (from 5:17), played almost certainly by Wright.
The final overdubs, this time of the voices, were added during the April 1 session. This presumably includes Gilmour and Wright’s backing vocals, but also Roger Waters’s whispered accentuation of the words in the first part of the last verse. The remaining sessions were reserved for the various mixes and took place in Room 53.
“Let There Be More Light” is not exactly a straightforward track. It is neither easy to categorize nor immediately appealing to the ear. Listeners need to immerse themselves in its intricacies in order to appreciate its qualities in full. Upon the album’s release, however, the New Musical Express would describe “Let There Be More Light” as the best song on the LP. In terms of production, it is worth noting the remarkable achievement of Norman Smith, who enabled this relatively complex piece to unfold with apparent ease. His experience was vital to the group. “Norman was a great teacher in terms of studio techniques,”29 David Gilmour would say of him in 1993. And he was absolutely right.
Roger Waters has the spaceship land near Mildenhall in Suffolk, the location of a Royal Air Force base.
For Pink Floyd Addicts
Roger Waters gives rein to his sense of humor with an allusion to the Beatles’ “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”: The servicemen were heard to sigh/For there revealed in flowing robes/Was Lucy in the sky.
IN YOUR HEADPHONES
At 1:27 in the stereo version of “Let There Be More Light,” just before he starts the lead vocal for the first verse, Rick Wright can be clearly heard in the right-hand channel being brought in too early and immediately shut off again!
Remember A Day
Rick Wright / 4:33
Musicians
Syd Barrett: acoustic rhythm guitar, electric lead guitar, vocal effects (?)
Rick Wright: vocals, piano, organ (?)
Roger Waters: bass, vocal effects (?)
Norman Smith: drums, backing vocals (?)
Recorded
De Lane Lea Studios, London: October 9–12, 1967; May 8, 1968 (?)
Technical Team
Producer: Norman Smith
Sound Engineer: Michael Weighell
Assistant Sound Engineer: ?
Genesis
“Remember a Day” was written by Rick Wright at the time of The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. Moreover, it deals with a subject that was close to Syd Barrett’s heart: the evocation of childhood and, more specifically, the often difficult transition from adolescence to adulthood. The narrator addresses his female companion: Remember a day […] when you were young/Free to play alone with time/Evening never comes. But the years have passed—the carefree years and perhaps the years of passion too—and there is no longer any question of playing. The elixir of eternal youth does not exist, or else only in the imagination of some people (and with the help of psychedelic drugs). Why can’t we reach the sun?/Why can’t we blow the years away, asks Wright in a melancholy voice. Perhaps the songwriter was inspired in part by the Beatles, the phrase Sing a song that can’t be sung strangely echoing Nothing you can sing that can’t be sung from “All You Need Is Love,” released on July 7, 1967, just a few months before the Floyd entered the studio…
“Remember a Day” was one of the first songs the Floyd recorded for A Saucerful of Secrets. The initial session took place at De Lane Lea Studios on Kingsway on October 9, 1967, during which “Jugband Blues” and “Vegetable Man” (not used on the album) were also cut. Syd Barrett was still present, physically at least, and did what was expected of him. Various sources quote an interview he gave in 1968 in which he looks back to this recording session: “I was self-taught and my only group was Pink Floyd. I was not featured on ‘Corporal Clegg’ but did play on another track written by Richard Wright. I forget the title but it had a steel guitar in the background”35 clearly “Remember a Day.”
Production
Because the EMI Studios were overbooked, the group had no alternative but to record externally, although still under the direction of Norman Smith. “Chappel Studios we used a lot,” explains Peter Bown, “but we didn’t put Pink Floyd in there because they wouldn’t know what to do. De Lane Lea, they’d have had more idea….”10 The sessions were held over four days, from October 9 to 12. Information is lacking about the number of takes, but the backing track must
have been laid down on October 9. As David Gilmour was not yet a member of the group, it is Syd Barrett who took care of the various guitar parts. It is therefore Syd playing acoustic rhythm guitar on his Levin LT 18 and lead most probably on his new white Fender Telecaster, which succeeded his Fender Esquire. He plays slide (with Zippo), and his handiwork is recognizable from the very first plaintive note sent into space by the Binson Echorec! He accompanies the song with phrases colored with abundant reverb before taking a rare, and on the whole successful, solo. Incredibly, his guitar playing resembles that of David Gilmour, and yet this is definitely Syd. It is impossible to overemphasize the importance of his influence on the Floyd sound. On keyboards, Rick Wright plays a highly lyrical piano part, alternating chord inversions with Romantic-sounding arpeggios. He also seems to lay down some organ pads that are very recessed in the mix. Roger Waters adopts a pop style on his bass, as can be heard in the intro, favoring the upper registers of his Rickenbacker.
Finally, the drumming holds a surprise. Behind the kit is not Nick Mason but Norman Smith. “‘Remember a Day’ had a different drum feel to our usual pounding style, and I eventually relinquished the playing to Norman,” confesses Mason. “I really didn’t like giving up my drum stool—and never have—but in this particular instance I would have struggled to provide a similar feel. Re-listening to this it feels more like a Norman Smith track than anyone else’s.”5 This seems odd, as the solo career of the future Hurricane Smith would demonstrate that his musical approach was diametrically opposed to that of the Floyd—except for the melodic character of “Remember a Day,” which must have been to the producer’s taste. As for his drum playing, it is excellent, Smith being an accomplished all-round musician. Here again, his style of playing mimics Mason’s, at least in spirit. Why the Floyd drummer could not grasp what was required remains a mystery. During the solo passage (from 2:00) there are various vocal effects and mouth noises most probably executed by Syd, who often introduced similar effects into his own songs, for example in “Matilda Mother.” Finally, in the coda, another voice seems to make itself heard (for example at 3:32), which, as Nick Mason confirms, is that of their omnipresent producer: “Apart from the rather un-Floyd-like arrangement, Norman’s voice is also prominent within the backing vocals,”5 he says. There are few backing vocals on this track, raising the question of whether Mason is talking about the same number.
“Remember a Day” was most likely mixed on May 8, 1968. This song proves that Rick Wright possessed a real gift for melody as well as an excellent voice. Up to this point in his career it was one of his best songs, its overall feel looking forward to his compositions of the Atom Heart Mother period, even if Nick Mason doesn’t seem to relish Norman Smith’s production.
On September 23, 2008, David Gilmour performed “Remember a Day” on the show Later… with Jools Holland (BBC Two) as a tribute to Rick Wright, who had passed away a week earlier.
For Pink Floyd Addicts
There is an instrumental version of this Rick Wright composition on the soundtrack of Remember a Day (2000), a movie whose scriptwriter Darryl Read and director Nigel Lesmoir-Gordon were inspired by the life of Syd Barrett.
Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun
Roger Waters / 5:27
Musicians
Syd Barrett: electric lead guitar
David Gilmour: guitar (?)
Rick Wright: organ, vibraphone, gong, backing vocals (?)
Roger Waters: vocals, bass
Nick Mason: drums
Seagulls: seagulls
Recorded
Abbey Road Studios, London: August 8, October 23, 1967; January 11, February 15, April 23, 26, May 2, 1968 (Studio Three, Studio Two, Room 53)
Technical Team
Producer: Norman Smith
Sound Engineers: Peter Bown, Ken Scott, Martin Benge
Assistant Sound Engineers: Jeff Jarratt, Richard Langham, John Barrett
Genesis
“It was one of my first songs of Pink Floyd, and one of my first compositions,”3 explains Roger Waters. Most importantly, according to Peter Jenner it was “[…] the first song that Roger wrote that stood up against Syd’s songs, which was significant at the time.”36 Waters wrote “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun” in autumn 1967. He took its title not from a poem by William S. Burroughs, as is often supposed, but from The Fireclown (1965), the fourth novel by the great science fiction writer Michael Moorcock. As for the words, Waters followed Barrett’s example with “Chapter 24” and drew heavily on Chinese poetry, above all on the work of Li Shangyin, a poet of the late Tang dynasty (ninth century), confessing during a radio interview in the nineties that he had consulted a collection of translations by A. C. Graham, Poems of the Late T’ang. Certain passages can thus be traced back to their origins. Little by little the night turns around is taken from “Untitled Poem III”; the next line, Counting the leaves which tremble at dawn, from “Willow”; One inch of love is one inch of shadow from “Untitled Poem II”; and Witness the man who raves at the wall/Making the shape of his questions to heaven from a poem by Li He (eighth to ninth centuries).
Inspired by the wisdom of the East, Roger Waters has created a beautiful and poignant scenario that combines sadness, solitude, and suicide—amounting to a meditation on madness, it might be added. “‘Set the Controls’… is about an unknown person who, while piloting a mighty flying saucer, is overcome with solar suicidal tendencies and sets the controls for the heart of the sun,”36 explains Roger Waters. Musically, it was his first great classic, although he may well have spent several months wondering whether to play it to the other members of the group. The song has a clear four-partite structure consisting of: an intro, first two sung verses, a very “space rock” improvisation, and a last verse in the form of conclusion. It is also a work that allows great freedom for improvisation when performed onstage, as can be heard from the various recorded live versions: that on Ummagumma lasts for more than nine minutes; that on In the Flesh, Roger Waters’s live album, lasts for seven minutes; and the version on the bootleg The Band Who Ate Asteroids for Breakfast goes on for sixteen minutes.
“Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun” takes pride of place in the history of the progressive rock group—not just for its artistic value, but also for its particular scenario, allowing it to be seen as a kind of Pink Floyd space opera.
Production
On August 7, 1967, Pink Floyd entered the studio for the first session on their new album. The first song they recorded was “Scream Thy Last Scream,” a Syd Barrett number that would not be included on the album even though it had, for a while, been considered as a potential single. When they returned to EMI’s Studio Three the next day, “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun” became the first Saucerful of Secrets track they worked on. The base track was recorded in two takes, with the second retained as best. The song is built mainly on a bass riff played by Roger Waters. This motif has an oriental feel, and in spite of its apparent gentleness, hints at a lurking menace or tension. The sound of the Rickenbacker is velvety and enveloped in ample, very present reverb. This lends it a hypnotic character that commands attention from the very first notes. According to David Parker, who has had access to the Abbey Road archives, only two of the tape recorder’s four tracks were used: the first for Nick Mason’s drums plus additional cymbal, and the second for Roger Waters’s bass and a guitar.10 This suggests that everything was recorded “live.” With respect to the drumming, Nick reveals the influence he was able to exert: “[…] rhythmically it gave me a chance to emulate one of my favourite pieces, ‘Blue Sands,’ the track by the jazz drummer Chico Hamilton in the film Jazz on a Summer’s Day.”5 Following the example of his model, Nick opted to use mainly his toms, which he strikes with timpani mallets. The effect substantially reinforces the meditative atmosphere of the track and gives the listener the distinct impression that he was enjoying his playing. The cymbal recorded on the same track was actually a gong (mixed
well back) most likely played by Rick Wright, who was not at his keyboards during this first session. Roger Waters, who was usually in charge of this particular percussion instrument, was playing bass and, given that the group was recording “live,” was unable to handle both instruments at once. Roger’s bass track also includes a guitar part that must have been played by Syd Barrett, as David Gilmour had not yet joined the Floyd. Moreover, Gilmour would himself confirm in 1993: “[Syd’s] also on a tiny bit of ‘Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun.’ I think I’m on ‘Set The Controls’ as well.”29 It is certainly true that the guitar parts are discreet. Nevertheless, it would seem to be Syd who can be heard from 5:02 to the end. He takes up the melody of the riff on his Fender. Gilmour’s contribution is extremely difficult to determine, but on the various televised and live performances he doubles Waters’s riff. If this is also the case here, his guitar is barely audible (although it can apparently be detected between 1:49 and 1:54).
Roger Waters recorded his lead vocal during the second session, on October 23, 1967. His singing is gentle, almost confiding in tone. “The song—with a great, catchy riff—was designed to sit within Roger’s vocal range,”5 Nick Mason would later comment. And as in “Let There Be More Light,” his singing, with ample reverb, tracks the bass motif. Devoid of any surging energy on his part, Waters distills his words in the manner of a spirit guide, indeed almost exhales them. As for Rick Wright, the keyboard player added the vibraphone part during this session, making an essential contribution to the mellow feel of the piece. A little less than three months later, on January 11, 1968, Pink Floyd would return to the studio to add some more overdubs. On this occasion Wright recorded his keyboard parts, which provide the only real harmonic support given the lack of rhythm guitar. He plays his Farfisa Compact Duo organ and uses his Echorec to create a sense of space. He also seems to play the Hammond M-102, in particular for solos in which he uses a wah-wah pedal (listen between 2:50 and 3:12), the whole thing drenched in reverb. During this same session, additional voices were added, including what sounds like an Om—the sacred syllable of the Buddhists—that can be made out at the back of the mix at 2:33 and 2:47. The unreal atmosphere of the track is further enhanced by the sound of seagulls (from 3:05), recalling the tapes played backward on the Beatles’ “Tomorrow Never Knows” in 1966.
Pink Floyd All the Songs Page 13