The Top 10 Pink Floyd Psychedelic Rock Songs

In celebration of Pink Floyd’s return to the stage, we’re counting down the top 10 psychedelic rock songs by the band! From “Interstellar Overdrive” to “Careful With That Axe, Eugene,” these tracks are sure to get you tripping.

“Interstellar Overdrive”

Interstellar Overdrive” is a song by the English rock band Pink Floyd. It was first released on their 1967 debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. Written by Syd Barrett and Roger Waters, the song is a mostly instrumental piece that reflects the band’s early psychedelic sound.

The song was recorded in several sessions over a period of months in 1966 and 1967. The first version was recorded in June 1966, with Barrett on lead vocals and guitar, Richard Wright on organ, Waters on bass, and Nick Mason on drums. This version was rejected by the band’s record label, EMI, as being too “uncommercial”.

A second version was recorded in January 1967, with Wright taking over lead vocals from Barrett. This version was also rejected by EMI, though it was later included on the band’s debut album. A third and final version was recorded in May 1967, with Barrett once again on lead vocals. This version was released as a single in Italy in October 1967.

“Interstellar Overdrive” has been well received by critics and is considered to be one of Pink Floyd’s best early songs. It has been covered by numerous artists, including Nirvana, Sonic Youth,Pearl Jam, and The Flaming Lips.

“See Emily Play”

“See Emily Play” is a song by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released as their second single on 5 August 1967. Written by Syd Barrett, it was included as the opening track on their debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn.

The song’s working title was “Games for May”, after an annual London festival celebrating worker productivity. Barrett intended the opening line – “Over head the albatross / hangs motionless upon the air” – as an homage to Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”. Barrett also drew inspiration from Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass.

Musically, “See Emily Play” is built around a simple three-chord progression in G major. Barrett’s lyrics are written in syllabic verse and concern childhood Innocence lost. The song was recorded in several takes over two days at Abbey Road Studios and features a lengthy distorted solo by lead guitarist David Gilmour. Following its release, Pink Floyd performed “See Emily Play” regularly on their 1967 tour of England and Scotland.

Since Pink Floyd’s reformation in 1986, “See Emily Play” has been performed live on several occasions with different lead vocalists including Barrett himself, Guy Pratt and Polly Samson. The song has been covered by many artists including Kate Bush, who included a version on her 1979 album The Kick Inside.

“The Gnome”

“The Gnome” is a song by the English rock band Pink Floyd. It is the second track on their debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967), and was released as a single in October 1967, with “Scarecrow” as the B-side. The song was written by their frontman Syd Barrett, and is about a small gnome who lives in a garden.

Although it was not as successful as their previous single “See Emily Play”, “The Gnome” peaked at number 16 on the UK Singles Chart and was well received by music critics. In 1968, it was included on the American version of A Saucerful of Secrets. The song has been performed live by Pink Floyd on several occasions, including their 1967–68 world tour and at the BBC’s Maida Vale Studios in 1969.

“Chapter 24”

“Chapter 24” is a song by English rock band Pink Floyd. Written by Syd Barrett and Roger Waters, it appeared on their 1967 debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn.

The song is named after the chapter in Kenneth Grahame’s book The Wind in the Willows in which the animal characters enter into a psychedelic dream state after smoking toadstools. Barrett was a big fan of the book, and Grahame’s work served as an inspiration for several Pink Floyd songs.

Musically, “Chapter 24” is a psychedelic folk song that features Barrett’s simple, childlike vocal melody backed by an ethereal arrangement of slide guitar, flute, and Mellotron. The lyrics are written from the perspective of a character named Misterioso who is high on drugs and experiencing a series of bizarre hallucinations.

While “Chapter 24” is not one of Pink Floyd’s best-known songs, it is considered an important early example of their work and has been covered by numerous artists over the years.

“Bike”

The first psychedelic song on the album, and one of the shortest at only 1:24. The song is about Syd Barrett taking a ride on his bicycle around Cambridge, and how he sometimes “feels happy for no reason.” The song features an early use of a flanging effect by producer Norman Smith.

“The Scarecrow”

This song is from the album “The Wall” and it is about a man who is feeling lost and alone. The lyrics are very dark and depressing, but the music is very upbeat and psychedelic.

“The Piper at the Gates of Dawn”

“The Piper at the Gates of Dawn” is the debut album by the English rock band Pink Floyd. It was released on 16 August 1967, by EMI Columbia in the United Kingdom, and by Tower Records in the United States. The album contains Floyd’s first single, “See Emily Play”, and is named after the book The Wind in the Willows, a childhood favourite of Syd Barrett, the band’s primary songwriter.

The album was recorded from February to May 1967 at Abbey Road Studios in London. Barrett produced most of the album, although new bassist Roger Waters contributed to two tracks and Gilmour sang lead vocals on “Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk”. Barrett’s health was already deteriorating by this point; he would leave Pink Floyd permanently just four months after the album’s release.

The Piper at the Gates of Dawn is a mixture of psychedelic pop tracks and avant-garde material influenced by Barrett’s interest in music hall, 1950s British rock and roll, and jazz. It was one of several albums released in 1967 that pioneered new recording techniques such as automatic double tracking (ADT) and Floyd’s use of custom-made equipment such as their own sound effects Generator (“Flanger”).

The Piper at the Gates of Dawn peaked at number 6 on Britain’s Record Retailer chart and number 131 on America’s Billboard 200. In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked it number 155 on its list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

“Lucifer Sam”

“Lucifer Sam” is a song by the English rock band Pink Floyd. It was released on their debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967). The song was written by Syd Barrett and is about his cat, Lucifer.

The song is in the key of E major and is in 3/4 time signature. The verses are sung in a§

“Matilda Mother”

This song is taken from the album “The Piper at the Gates of Dawn” and it is the first track on the album. The song is about a child’simagination and it is said to be inspired by a Lewis Carroll poem. The song features some innovative use of sound effects and it is one of the earliest examples of Pink Floyd’s psychedelic sound.

“Flaming”

“Flaming” is a song by the English rock band Pink Floyd. It was written by Syd Barrett and recorded in 1967. The song appeared on the band’s debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967). “Flaming” is a psychedelic rock song that is shorter in length than many Pink Floyd songs. The song contains sound effects, such as a cash register ringing, which were created by the band and engineer Peter Bown. “Flaming” was never performed live by Pink Floyd.