 | |
| Released | August 4, 1967(UK) October 21, 1967(US) |
| Recorded | February 21 - May 21, 1967 |
| Studio | Abbey Road Studios |
| Label | EMI Columbia(UK) Tower(US) |
| Length | 41:52 |
| Genres | Psychedelic rock • psychedelic pop • space rock • experimental rock |
| Producers | Norman Smith |
  Released November 2, 1967 | |
| A-side | "Flaming" |
| B-side | "The Gnome" |
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn is the debut studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on August 4, 1967 by EMI Columbia in the UK. Often hailed as a milestone in psychedelic rock and space rock, it is the only Pink Floyd album to have been made under the leadership of former chief songwriter and singer Syd Barrett, who left the band in 1968. It is also the only Pink Floyd album to not feature guitarist David Gilmour, who would join the band shortly before Barrett's departure. The songwriting on Piper is credited almost exclusively to Barrett, with the exception of three tracks: "Pow R. Toc H.", "Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk", and "Interstellar Overdrive".
Releases and track listings[]
Songs are written and sung by Barrett except where noted.
UK release[]
| UK release (August 4, 1967) runtime: 41:52 | |||||
20:44 |
No. | Song name | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Astronomy Dominé" | Syd Barrett • Richard Wright | 4:12 | ||
| 2 | "Lucifer Sam" | 3:07 | |||
| 3 | "Matilda Mother" | Barrett • Wright | 3:08 | ||
| 4 | "Flaming" | 2:46 | |||
| 5 | "Pow R. Toc H." | Barrett • Roger Waters • Wright • Nick Mason | instrumental | 4:26 | |
| 6 | "Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk" | Waters | Waters | 3:06 | |
21:08 | |||||
| 1 | "Interstellar Overdrive" | Barrett • Waters • Wright • Mason | instrumental | 9:41 | |
| 2 | "The Gnome" | 2:13 | |||
| 3 | "Chapter 24" | 3:42 | |||
| 4 | "The Scarecrow" | 2:11 | |||
| 5 | "Bike" | 3:21 | |||
UK 8-track release[]
| UK 8-track release | |||||
| No. | Song name | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Astronomy Dominé" | Barrett • Wright | |||
| 2 | "Lucifer Sam" | ||||
| 3 | "Matilda Mother" | Barrett • Wright | |||
| 1 | "Flaming" | ||||
| 2 | "Pow R. Toc H." | Barrett • Waters • Wright • Mason | instrumental | ||
| 3 | "Bike" | ||||
| 1 | "Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk" | Waters | Waters | ||
| 2 | "Chapter 24" | ||||
| 3 | "The Scarecrow" | ||||
| 4 | "Interstellar Overdrive-Part 1" | Barrett • Waters • Wright • Mason | instrumental | ||
| 1 | "Interstellar Overdrive-Conclusion" | Barrett • Waters • Wright • Mason | instrumental | ||
| 2 | "The Gnome" | ||||
US Release[]
| US release (October 21, 1967) runtime: 34:26 | |||||
16:39 |
No. | Song name | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "See Emily Play" | 2:53 | |||
| 2 | "Pow R. Toc H." | Barrett • Waters • Wright • Mason | instrumental | 4:26 | |
| 3 | "Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk" | Waters | Waters | 3:05 | |
| 4 | "Lucifer Sam" | 3:07 | |||
| 5 | "Matilda Mother" | Barrett • Wright | 3:08 | ||
17:47 | |||||
| 1 | "The Scarecrow" | 2:11 | |||
| 2 | "The Gnome" | 2:13 | |||
| 3 | "Chapter 24" | 3:42 | |||
| 4 | "Interstellar Overdrive" | Barrett • Waters • Wright • Mason | instrumental | 9:41 | |
Personnel[]
Pink Floyd[]
- Syd Barrett - electric guitar(1-7, 9-11), acoustic guitar(4, 5, 8, 10), percussion(4), vocals(1-5, 8-11)
- Roger Waters - bass guitar(all tracks), slide whistle(4), percussion(4), gong(9; uncredited), vocals(5, 6)
- Richard Wright - Farfisa Combo Compact Organ(1-7, 9-10), piano(2, 5, 11), tack piano(4, 11), Hammond organ(3, 4), harmonium(9, 11), celesta(8, 11), cello(9, 10), Lowrey organ(4), vibraphone(8), Hohner Pianet(9), violin(11), percussion(4; uncredited), vocals(1, 3, 5)
- Nick Mason - drums(1-7, 11), percussion(2, 4, 5, 8-11)
Production[]
- Barrett - rear cover design
- Peter Brown - engineering
- Peter Jenner - spoken word introduction on "Astronomy Domine"
- Vic Singh - cover photo
- Norman Smith - production, vocal and instrumental arrangements, drum roll on "Interstellar Overdrive"
- Doug Sax - 1994 remastering at The Mastering Lab
- James Guthrie - 1994 remastering, 40th Anniversary Edition, 2011 remastering
- Joel Plante - 40th Anniversary Edition, 2011 remastering