Greetings! Sorry for necro-ing... but this idea is too much fun!
Right. My alternate universe Pink Floyd discography, inspired by and based in part on soniclovenoize's Albums That Never Were blog (most of the covers come from there). POD is approximately May of 1967 in which Syd Barrett's brain chemistry is somehow more recoverable than not, which means he remains in Pink Floyd until late 1970 before going on to form his own band, Stars. Pink Floyd carries on as in OTL beginning with Meddle. Note that I actually have all these albums mixed and in my digital music collection... 'cus I'm a universe hopper.
The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn--is the same as in OTL
The Shape Of Questions To Heaven--
released December 4, 1967
The group record this album mostly in October of 1967 between numerous shows and appearances. They finish off "Remember A Day" and "Scream Thy Last Scream," having started then earlier in the year. Vocals are recorded for "In The Beechwoods" and a studio version of "Reaction in G" is produced. "Vegetable Man" is selected by the band as the single for the end of the month. It's a modest success. The album is put out in early December with the second single, "In the Beechwoods" proving to reach the Top 10 in the UK. Syd wins a small victory against EMI with the inclusion of a four-minute edit of "Reaction in G" as the B-side--an in-joke he explains to the press shortly after. The album is loved in the underground as a dark, wintery bit of psychedelia but the general public finds it a little hard to swallow. The album fails to chart in the US.
Side One
Vegetable Man (Barrett)
Remember A Day (Wright)
Apples And Oranges (Barrett)
In The Beechwoods (Barrett)
Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun (Waters)
Side Two
Reaction In G (Barrett, Waters, Wright, Mason)
Paintbox (Wright)
Scream Thy Last Scream (Barrett)
Jugband Blues (Barrett)
Singles of the period:
Vegetable Man/Remember a Day (October)
In The Beechwoods/Reaction in G (edit) (December)
Apples and Oranges/Paintbox (US Only) (February)
Rhamadan--
released November 29, 1968
Lore: Late in December of 1967, the band decides they could use a second guitar player. Syd brings his childhood friend David Gilmour on board in time to record their next album. Sessions commence for the now-five-piece Floyd's third album in February of 1968. They record Roger's "Let There Be More Light" and "Julia Dream," Rick's "See-Saw" and "It Would Be So Nice," and Syd's "Late Night," "Clowns and Jugglers," and "Silas Lang." Of these, Syd has the most trouble with his songs. Third Album Syndrome strikes the Floyd. 1968 progresses with the band steadily gigging and periodically visiting the studio. "Late Night" is finished but "Clowns and Jugglers" refuses to improve much. "Silas Lang" earns a bit of a reputation among Abbey Road's engineers as various members of the Floyd add and subtract overdubs over the basic track until the working tape is a mess.
In May, Syd abruptly leaves London with his girlfriend, going off on a drive around Britain in his Mini. Gilmour manages to find him in Cambridge later in the month and convinces him to return to the studio and the band. In a desperate need to express, Syd and the band spend a session improvising a long jam piece called "Rhamadan." Satisfied with getting some free-form jamming out of his system, Syd modifies "Clowns and Jugglers" into "Octopus" and otherwise changes the arrangement. "Julia Dream" and "Late Night" are released as a single ahead of their second trip to America.
The tour goes well--the audiences are receptive but not worshiping, putting Syd's anxieties about commercialism to bed for the time being and the band comes up with a concept for a long musical piece to be recorded when they return to England. The band records a 17-minute multi-song piece called "The War," which consists of Syd's "Golden Hair" (an adaption of a James Joyce poem) and Roger's "Corporal Clegg" sandwiching a longer avant garde piece worked on on-stage in America with either the title of "The Massed Gadgets of Hercules" or "A Saucerful of Secrets." "Silas Lang" is finally mixed properly in the fall of 1968, renamed "Swan Lee." Roger's "Biding My Time" is recorded along with a collaboration between Gilmour and Waters called "Point Me At The Sky."
In October, the massive task of sorting through their recorded work was taken on. The simplest solution to the Floyd is to release the lot as a double album. Though EMI is initially hesitant to release an album with two "suites" ("Rhamadan" less so and "The War" more so) taking up two whole sides of vinyl, the mood of the times wins out. The Beatles White Album is the final element that convinces EMI to put Rhamadan out--the latter released a week later. "Octopus" is chosen as the lead single, to moderate success. The album becomes very popular with the emerging FM and Album-Oriented-Rock stations in the United States, but mainstream commercial success there eludes the Floyd. They remain steady sellers in the UK, but 1968 proves to be the year the Floyd shifts away from single-based to album-base.
Side One
Let Their Be More Light (Waters)
Late Night (Barrett)
See-Saw (Wright)
Biding My Time (Waters)
Side Two
Rhamadan (Barrett, Wright, Waters, Gilmour, Mason)
Side Three
The War:
I. Golden Hair (Barrett)
II. Something Else (Wright, Barrett, Gilmour, Waters)
III. Syncopated Pandemonium (Mason, Waters, Gilmour, Barrett)
IV. Storm Signal (Wright, Waters)
V. Celestial Voices (Wright)
VI. Corporal Clegg (Waters)
Side Four
It Would Be So Nice (Wright)
Octopus (Barrett)
Julia Dream (Waters)
Swan Lee (Barrett)
Point Me At The Sky (Gilmour, Waters)
Singles of the period:
Late Night/Julia Dream (June)
Octopus/Let There Be More Light (November)
The Massed Gadgets Of Auximenes--
released March 24, 1969
Emboldened by their earlier piece, "The War," the band embarks on an album and tour that stretches concept pieces a little further. Originally Roger's idea, the band comes up with two marginally related suites: "The Man" and "The Journey." The project proves to be one of the most democratic in the band's history, with each member contributing more than one song or jam to the full album. The album and tour that followed were heavily promoted in the musical press. While a critical success, very ambitious for the time, and a decent commercial success in the UK, this album marked the Floyd wanting anonymity, distancing themselves strongly from their popular perception as a psychedelic pop band. In an unprecidented move, no singles were culled from the album.
Side One: The Man
Daybreak (Waters) [OTL Grantchester Meadows]
Work (Wright) [OTL Sysyphus Part 2]
Afternoon (Barrett) [OTL Here I Go]
Doin' It! (Mason) [OTL The Grand Vizier's Garden Party: Entertainment]
Sleep (Wright, Waters, Gilmour, Barrett, Mason) [OTL Quicksilver]
Nightmare (Barrett) [OTL No Good Trying]
Daybreak (Reprise) (Waters) [OTL Grantchester Meadows]
Side Two: The Journey
The Beginning (Barrett) [OTL She Took A Long Cold Look At Me]
Beset By Creatures Of The Deep (Waters, Barrett, Gilmour, Wright, Mason) [OTL Careful With That Axe, Eugene]
The Narrow Way (Gilmour) [OTL The Narrow Way (Part 3)]
The Pink Jungle (Barrett, Waters, Wright, Gilmour, Mason) [OTL Lanky (Part 1)]
The Labyrinths Of Auximenes (Gilmour) [OTL The Narrow Way (Part 2)]
Behold The Temple Of Light (Waters) [OTL Cirrus Minor]
The End Of The Beginning (Wright) [OTL Cirrus Minor coda]
Vantage Point--
released November 7, 1969
Though "The Massed Gadgets of Auximenes" tour was a critical success and ended in a personal triumph at the Royal Albert Hall with Rick Wright playing the massive pipe organ there, the band ran themselves dangerously close to broke. Somewhat sheepishly at first, after a long, but relaxing holiday at Ibiza, the band reconvened at Abbey Road to record a more straight-ahead album of tracks--no concept, no double albums. Though somewhat a "Pink Floyd needs some money" album, the band's recent holiday had born the fruit of tunes, especially Syd. Almost a return to the format of Piper and Shape, the band recorded songs mostly written by Syd and filled out the rest of the vinyl with a long jam piece called "Embryo." The album is a surprising success in America, breaching the Top 20. The three singles culled from the album also perform well in the charts.
Side One
Ibiza Bar (Waters, Barrett, Gilmour, Wright, Mason)
No Man's Land (Barrett)
Long Gone (Barrett)
Cymbaline (Waters)
Opel (Barrett) [OTL completed remix by (I think) Richard Michael John Hall]
Side Two
Terrapin (Barrett) [OTL BBC Version]
Green Is The Colour (Waters)
Love You (Barrett)
Embryo (Waters, Barrett, Gilmour, Wright, Mason) [OTL Embryo into OTL Come In Number 51, Your Time Is Up]
Dark Globe (Barrett, Mason) [OTL The Grand Vizier's Garden Party: Entrance into OTL Dark Globe into OTL The Grand Vizier's Garden Party: Exit]
Singles of the period:
Love You/No Man's Land (September)
Terrapin/Ibiza Bar (November)
Opel/Green Is The Colour (December)
Themes From An Imaginary Western--
released October 2, 1970
1970 is the year that saw a gap grow between Syd Barrett and Roger Waters. Waters was mostly engaged in other projects throughout most of 1970. He would appear with the band on stage but only played bass on half of the tracks of this album--David Gilmour having to fill in considerably. Waters' only songwriting credits appear on the two jams "Rise and Shine" and "Sunny Side Up." Themes From An Imaginary Western is largely the effort of a Barret, Wright, Gilmour, and Mason Pink Floyd.
As material for their next album came together early in the year, with Syd presenting a new batch of songs, David found a "western" feel to the material and hit upon the idea of making the album a soundtrack to an "Imaginary Western." Some concept work was done, with something of a love story in an implied 1868 emerging, but the band--mostly between Roger and Syd--came to an impasse on how to pull together such an idea. Syd (and the rest of the band) wanted to do tracks, with David's original theme sandwiching the album. Roger wanted a full suite ala "The War" or the sides of Massed Gadgets. Syd didn't want to repeat himself again and so Roger walked out in an impromptu mirror of what Syd had done two years before.
The remaining members recorded and completed most of the album without Roger Waters. Most of his bass tracks from early sessions were used with David filling in on bass the rest of the time. Recording of the album was sporadic across 1970, with frequent stops for tours and gigs. Gilmour, Wright, and Mason found themselves caught between two politely arguing men--one in charge of the Floyd in-studio and one in charge on the road.
As the album neared completion, the band couldn't agree on how to arrange David's "Father's Shout." In an effort to make peace, Syd offered the backing tracks to Ron Geesin, who had spent 1970 collaborating with Roger to produce Music From The Body. When the Floyd returned from their latest American tour, Geesin had arranged magnificent brass bits for not only "Father's Shout" but Rick's "Summer '68" and Syd's "Effervescing Elephant."
The finished product and the singles culled from it throughout the year proved a commercial success, but it wasn't quite what Syd Barrett had in mind. Loathing commercialism again, Syd took his leave of Pink Floyd shortly after the album's release. The band remembers his departure as a peaceful one, Syd seemingly content that the others could carry on without him.
1971 was a quiet year for Syd. He would emerge from the calm of Cambridge with a new band, Stars. Pink Floyd would carry on with Roger Waters taking the lead, producing their next record in 1971: Meddle.
Side One
Father's Shout (Gilmour, Geesin) [OTL first bit of Atom Heart Mother]
Baby Lemonade (Barrett)
Wined And Dined (Barrett)
Rise And Shine (Barrett, Waters, Gilmour, Wright, Mason) [OTL first bit of Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast]
Gigolo Aunt (Barrett)
Mind Your Throats Please (Mason) [OTL fifth bit of Atom Heart Mother]
Fat Old Sun (Gilmour)
Side Two
Two Of A Kind (Barrett, Wright)
Wolfpack (Barrett)
Milky Way (Barrett)
Sunny Side Up (Barrett, Waters, Gilmour, Wright, Mason) [OTL second bit of Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast]
Summer '68 (Wright)
Effervescing Elephant (Barrett)
Father's Shout (Remergence) (Gilmour, Geesin, Wright) [OTL final bit of Atom Heart Mother]
Singles of the period:
Fat Old Sun/Milky Way (May)
Two Of A Kind/Gigolo Aunt (July)
Baby Lemonade/Summer '68 (October)
And voila! Plausible? Probably not. Fun? Absolutely!
