London 1966-67 [Import] [Live]

Editorial Reviews
Album Description
Digitally remastered reissue of EP featuring 'Interstellar Overdrive' (Full Length Version) & 'Nick's Boogie', both from the soundtrack to the film 'Tonite, Let's All Make Love In London'. Both tracks have been remastered using 20 Super Bit Mapping (SBM) technology. Also included is a bonus CD-ROM with the full length video to 'Interstellar Overdrive' and interview footage of Mick Jagger, David Hockney, Michael Caine, Julie Christie & an overview by director Peter Whitehead. Double slimline jewel case. 1999 release. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Tracks:

Three Pieces For Orchestra: 1. Allegro vivace
Three Pieces For Orchestra: 2. Largo assai
Three Pieces For Orchestra: 3. Allegro molto
String Quartet No. 4: I - Lirico
String Quartet No. 4: II - Comodo, delicately, leisurely
String Quartet No. 4: III - Misurato; Allegro
Serenade For Five Instruments: I - Allegro molto
Serenade For Five Instruments: II - Largo assai
Serenade For Five Instruments: III - Presto molto

Average customer rating:

Beware!!!!!!!!!!!!!
good music--CDRom doesn't play
Acid-washed blue genes
Define Psychedelia:Syd Barrett and Pink Floyd
and on the first day, Syd said "let there be psychedelia".

In London: 1966-67
Pink Floyd
Manufacturer: See for Miles
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00002MNLO
Release Date: 2000-04-11

Tracks:

Interstellar Overddrive
Nick's Boogie

Album Description

Digitally remastered reissue of EP featuring 'Interstellar Overdrive' (Full Length Version) & 'Nick's Boogie', both from the soundtrack to the film 'Tonite, Let's All Make Love In London'. Both tracks have been remastered using 20 Super Bit Mapping (SBM) technology. Also included is a bonus CD-ROM with the full length video to 'Interstellar Overdrive' and interview footage of Mick Jagger, David Hockney, Michael Caine, Julie Christie & an overview by director Peter Whitehead. Double slimline jewel case. 1999 release.

Album Details

This recording appears in the 1967 Peter Whitehead rockumentary 'Tonite, 'Let's Make Love in London', which highlights some of better groups around from that era (Rolling Stones, Small Faces, Eric Burdon & the New Animals, etc.). Includes an extended version of 'Interstellar Overdrive', the Floyd classic that appears on the group's debut record ('Piper at the Gates of Dawn') & a previously unreleased track, 'Nick's Boogie'. Booklet features unique stills from the movie.

Customer Reviews:

Beware!!!!!!!!!!!!!.......2006-05-15

I purchased a used copy of "London '66-'67" through Amazon.com. According to the product description, this re-mastered release includes two audio tracks, rare video footage of Pink Floyd in concert, and extensive liner notes. I am a huge fan of the early Pink Floyd so I was really looking forward to checking out this release. When my order arrived, however, I found that all I got was an audio CD. There was no video content on it at all. That is when I realized that there are two versions of this release: An early (audio-only) version and a newly re-mastered, repackaged version with video footage and expanded liner notes.

So, I was mislead by the listing on Amazon.com. The seller should NOT have listed an audio-only CD on a page that advertised an audio/video product. BEWARE, this could happen to you too. I'm sure there are a lot of copies of the lesser version of this release floating around and they could easily end up listed for sale on Amazon.com.

Despite everything I have written above, however, it is exciting to stumble across more recorded material from the early days of Pink Floyd. The music here isn't as good as the previously released material but it is still a nice treat for people who are fans of the Syd Barrett years.

The packaging states that this release includes the "definitive version" of "Interstellar Overdrive." To be honest, though, I've heard better. This version tends to plod along with a somewhat limited range of timbres, with all the musicians generally maintaining the beat and occasionally getting louder or softer. They don't experiment as much with interesting sounds or playing styles here. Still, it is a pleasant enough listening experience. There is a nice groove going on and you can hear the roots of ideas that eventually developed into the studio version that appears on "Piper at the Gates of Dawn."

"Nick's Boogie" is a much better track. It is very similar in style to "Interstellar Overdrive" but there is a lot more variation in style and timbre. The more spaced-out drum part leaves a lot of room for the musicians to get looser and to play round the beat. You can hear a lot of interesting exploration going on in the course of this track, including Syd getting some interesting results with the slide and delay pedal and Nick Mason playing around with soft mallets to get sounds that are similar to a kettle drum.

This release is a nice little treat, even though it isn't as satisfying as the other recordings of the group from this era. The experience is kind of like hearing early demos from your favorite band: It is interesting to hear them explore ideas that eventually lead to their break-through sound. Just don't expect this stuff to be as good as "Piper at the Gates of Dawn" or "Saucerful of Secrets." And be sure to get re-mastered version of this release so you won't feel ripped off!!!!

good music--CDRom doesn't play.......2006-03-15

As a fan of early PF (pre-Dark Side, and most definitely, pre-The Wall), I was excited to find this CD/CD-Rom. The music was great -- a nice illustration of the talents of Sid Barrett before illness derailed his career. However, the CD-Rom has no way to start without a command to download QuickTime 3.0. I already had a more advanced version, but had no choice but to download 3.0. After restarting the CD-Rom, I simply got another message to download QuickTime 3.0, with no way to play the CD-Rom. I feel I got half of what I paid for with this offering.

Acid-washed blue genes.......2002-07-12

I had both of these cuts on a pink vinyl bootleg for years.
GET THEM. They are essential, true tablets of psychedelic revelation. The Floyd performed like this all the time, back in the day; this is the *only* semi-authorized live document from their eariest incarnation available, anywhere. Genius? Madness? Cacophony? These recordings "Boldly go where no man has gone before", although Hawkwind charted and mapped this territory a couple years later, the Floyd were the first to explore the Final Frontier. This music will disassemble in your brain like a Rubic's Cube. It illustrates why the Floyd caught everyone's attention in the U.K. in the *first place*. Melts in your mind, not in your hand.

This set, with the CDR, is definitive. If you don't have the videotape "Live In London" (and very few people do) this is the only format available to view this footage, and it's SEMINAL stuff; get this, the Pink Floyd Singles CD, the mono rerelease of Piper at the Gates of Dawn, and *marvel* at the clarity of vision (ethnogenically induced though it be) of these visionary young men, and wonder: "What the hell happened?"

Define Psychedelia:Syd Barrett and Pink Floyd.......2000-07-21

Talk about L S D!This CD spells it out! During "Insterstellar Overdrive," Syd's guitar work:using magnets and other odd things as slides, is pure disorientation. I love how the song goes: wicked-trippy-disorientation-trippy-wicked: purely improvised. During "Nick's Boogie," Nick Mason plays the drums like the sound of a heartbeat, then you hear swooshes and Rick Wright's organ playing, and swooshes and more of Syd's trippyness. These two instrumental pieces would just give you the feeling, that you don't know what to expect next! I would advise cranking it up full blast -the bass on the highest, turn the lights off, and just hold on. You don't know what you will get yourself into- that is, until you get this CD. You will go for a musical roller coaster of a ride. Just find out for yourself.

and on the first day, Syd said "let there be psychedelia"........2000-06-21

This is Pink Floyd in their rawest and most experimental, cerebral-cortex-melting form. If ever you doubted Pink Floyd's early status as "The Kings of British Psychedelia," you need look no further than this. No lyrics, just all out, Syd Barrett-penned, lysergic, instrumental insanity. (And more use of echo than you can shake a stick at.) While the highlight here has to be Interstellar Overdrive, Nick's Boogie is absolutely exquisite in it's own right, with it's extremely lonely sounding echoed guitar and hollow drums. On a side note, this CD contains the most breath-taking moment in music history. After 16 minutes of pure experimentation, the entire band regroups and comes back to the main theme of the song. It's at this exact moment, the essence of Pink Floyd lies. No singular moment in their entire catalog (contrary to popular belief) even comes close. Just take a listen.....you'll see.

Average customer rating:

In London 1966-67
Pink Floyd
Manufacturer: Msi
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00002EQ7V
Release Date: 1999-11-02

Average customer rating:

Close to How the Floyd Sounded Live in '66-'67
something else by something else
A Gem of the Barrett Days
In Some Ways The Best Thing Floyd Ever Did
Even better is the video

In London: 1966-67
Pink Floyd
Manufacturer: See for Miles
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Progressive Rock | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Live Albums | Rock | Styles | Music

Psychedelic Rock | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

British Invasion | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

Album-Oriented Rock (AOR) | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

Supergroups | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

General | Live Albums | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

General | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B0000365OI
Release Date: 1999-12-14

Tracks:

Interstellar Overdrive [Full Length Version]
Nick's Boogie

Tracks:

Interstellar Overdrive Video/Interview Footage of: Jagger, ...

Customer Reviews:

Close to How the Floyd Sounded Live in '66-'67.......2002-04-27

Pink Floyd, or "The Pink Floyd" as they were then known, first made a name for themselves by with their freaky, far out, free form improvisations of electronic music. The closest thing you get to that on "Piper at the Gates of Dawn" is "Interstellar Overdrive", however even that consists of two performances, one overdubbed on the other. Here you get a better sense of what they must have sounded like live. It may take some getting used to, however if you like the version of "Interstellar Overdrive" on "Piper", you'll probably also like this version- cut live and without overdubs and running sixteen minutes long. "Nick's Boogie" I find is not quite as interesting- more a series of effects than a musical mystery tour like "Interstellar Overdrive".

While this type of music made Pink Floyd popular at London psychedelic clubs such as UFO, it was not going to result in hit singles or even hit albums in all likelihood. As it happened, Syd Barrett, whose unpredictable effects-laden guitar playing led the Floyd along their improvisations, also had a knack for writing catchy psychedelic ditties of the sort that defined Floyd's first singles and most of the album "Piper at the Gates of Dawn". However that album and their hit singles bore so little relation to what they tended to do live that when they toured the UK in 1967, most audiences were utterly unprepared for, and appalled by, what they heard. So it's not surprising that these tracks weren't released at the time. Still, it's good that they were recorded and that we can hear them now and enjoy the Pink Floyd at their most far out and experimental.

something else by something else.......2002-03-13

I may have taken the liberty of stating my opinion as if it were fact on my other reviews of Pink Floyd albums. That's probably because I just don't understand how anyone could fail to love their music. That Pink Floyd are the absolute greatest band ever is a matter of opinion. But if you are fortunate enough to appreciate their music then you will undoubtably like this recording of early 1967 jam sessions, which make it blatantly obvous that this band were the monarchs of experimentalism and originality. Music had never been heard like this before. The early Floyd played like jazz musicians, reacting to each other and improvising around chords. But they did it with electric guitars, an electric organ and a double drum kit. Very loud and VERY good. I recomend this almost solely to people who are fans of ALL of the Floyd's early output. In my view "Interstellar Overdrive" sets the standards of brilliance, which Pink Floyd would bring to all of the areas of music which they cared to venture into (and they ventured far and wide)in the following years. While an amazing piece of music by itself this CD is also notable for including Rick applying his knack of making the organ sound like everything from a group of violins to a blasting french horn. Syd, at various times throughout the two tracks makes his guitar sound like birds singing, door bells ringing, piano strings snapping and motorbike engines starting. Roger just plays bass of course but he is still vital to the sound with all of his free-form techniques. Nick keeps "Interstellar Overdrive" running at the appropriate pace and shows what an inventive drummer he was on "Nick's boogie". This is Pink Floyd opening their recording career at suitably groundbreaking volume and weirdness.

A Gem of the Barrett Days.......2000-12-30

I imported this album a while ago and upon first listen I had high expectations for it, considering it was from the glory days of Syd and the Floyd.

Interstellar Overdrive- Best described in one word- wow. This cut is much better than the Piper cut and longer as well. Great listening.

Nick's Boogie- Don't let the title fool you- this is a dark improvisation by the Floyd. Syd is at best with the guitar and Mason shows a technical side to the drumming.

Now if you like Piper at the Gates of Dawn and Syd's solo work, grab 25 dollars and buy this now.

In Some Ways The Best Thing Floyd Ever Did.......2000-08-31

Although released as an archive curiosity over twenty years after they were originally recorded, these January 1967 items represent the group's very first work in the studio and are surprisingly stunning. They consist of only two cuts--extremely lengthy versions of both "Interstellar Overdrive" and the unreleased "Nick's Boogie", played live by the group using only their four instruments and NO overdubs. This makes both the style and sound markedly different from the first few singles and debut album, but represents the other side of the group's early period just as well. For a taste of what the group sounded like live in their earliest days--and a sampling of some of their best music *ever*, in any of their various eras including "Dark Side", "The Wall" etc.--"In London" is perfect. Both tracks represent extremely spacey experiments in electronic music which depend upon the psychic reaction of the players to each other. Syd Barrett is on fire, getting great effects out of his guitar with a cigarrette lighter and concentrating on heavily reverbed soundscapes rather than solos; at the end of "Nick's Boogie" he sounds like a UFO landing. Rick Wright's electric organ work has never sounded better, Waters' bass is typically aggressive, and Mason (esp on "Nick's Boogie") lays out the kind of tribal beat he became famous for on things like the live "Set The Controls". In January 1967 no one else in the rock world--in London, LA, San Francisco, or elsewhere--was laying down music *this* far-out and wildly experimental. It defies all commercial expectation but if you give it a chance, you'll wish that the group had recorded more stuff like this. Absolutely essential; also essential is the video "London 66-67" which goes with it and features mesmerizing documentary footage of Swinging London at its zenith (UFO Club, 24-hour Technicolor Dream, etc), with Floyd in the center of it all. I cannot praise this disc enough!

Even better is the video.......2000-01-19

Even better is the video [look in the VHS section for " London '66-'67 "], which contains the same performances plus surprisingly clear footage of the band performing at the UFO Club in 1966 (some of it in sync with the audio also heard on this CD), as well as footage of a "happening" in London with John Lennon in the audience hanging out. A bit of the psychedelic London of the 60's preserved for your viewing pleasure...

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