Saucerful of Secrets: The Pink Floyd Odyssey

by Nicholas Schaffner

Saucerful of Secrets is the first in-depth biography of this very private group. At the heart of the saga is Syd Barrett, the group's brilliant founder, whose public decline into shattered incoherence--attributable in part to his marathon use of LSD--is one of the tragedies of rock history. The making of Dark Side of the Moon and Floyd's other great albums is recounted in detail, as are the mounting of "The Wall"  and the creation of the flying pigs, crashing  planes, "Mr. Screen" and the other elements of their spectacular stage shows. The book also explores the many battles between bass player/song writer Roger Waters and the rest of the group, leading up to Water's acrimonious departure for a solo  career in 1984 and his unsuccessful attempt to disolve the group he had left behind.

Saucerful of Secrets is an electrifying account of this ground-breaking, mind-bending group, covering every period of their career from  earliest days to latest recordings. It is full of  revealing information that will be treasured by all who love Pink Floyd's music.

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction, History, Rock N Roll, Biography Memoir

348 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[Glen Engel-Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

The recent demise of Pink Floyd keyboardist Rick Wright was my impetus for reading this well-researched biography of the rock group. I'm a fan of the Waters/Gilmour Floyd (as opposed to the Syd Barrett Floyd or the Waters-less Floyd), and Schaffner does a great job of distinguishing these different periods of the band, putting a nice perspective on the way the transitions occurred given the personalities involved. It's interesting to note that Floyd was unlike many other rock groups at the time, having grown up middle-class (or, in the case of Wright, upper-class), which partly explains their sound, which relied less on the three-chord blues imported from American (with which groups such as the Who and the Rolling Stones modified in their own ways to make popular both in Britain and back in the States) and more on experimentation, especially with sound effects. In fact, I hadn't realized just how important sound effects were to the Floyd sound until having this pointed out to me by Schaffner.

I probably found the discussion regarding Syd Barrett the least interesting thing here, but that's due to my personal distaste of the psychedlic-style that was his hallmark. Others who like Barrett's music will likely find much to discover herein about Barrett, how both fame and constant LSD use took its toll on him, and how he was eventually ousted from the group that he ostensibly was the leader of. Of the other major change--the revival of the Floyd name sans Roger Waters--I was much more intrigued and found that Schaffner had done a good job in helping me see both sides of the issue. Personally, I think that Roger Waters and David Gilmour are like John Lennon/Paul McCartney: while both are good songwriters solo, they were great songwriters when they wrote together. Waters tends to be much, much too wordy in his solo material, neglecting the music and sometimes even the sound of the words, while Gilmour's lyrics are painfully juvenile at times (I never thought I would here "glove" rhymed with "love" in a Pink Floyd song).

For the true fan, this material may be old hat, but for the casual fan, this was an excellent overview of the Floyd career from the beginning to the classic rock concert circuit.

[Arielle88 · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first half of this book, the part about Syd Barrett, haunted me long after he exited the narrative, long after I put the book down, long after I'd forgotten the details of Waters and Gilmore's petty feuds. Everything about him is so haunting and beautiful and enigmatic. After reading this book I discovered Syd's music, which alone earns this book 5 stars. It really should get 4, as the second half was about 3 star quality for me, but I was so fascinated and engrossed by Syd's story, and so fell in love with his music, that I have to give this book 5 stars. I've come to appreciate Barrett-era Floyd more then height-of-popularity-era Floyd, although they're almost apples and oranges (ha ha ha... get it?). The former is soaring, beautiful, wild to the point of barely being in control of itself. Spontaneous art! Low-tech art! The art of Pink Floyd the underground legends! Water's music is all about conveying a message, carefully crafting his songs and albums so as to communicate his meanings. Which is what I loved about Pink Floyd originally. They put so much thought into every aspect. Waters-era Floyd went even further, constructing meaning not only through song but through performance, stage sets, lights, becoming bigger and bigger, more and more expensive, and ultimately the quintessential bloating rock giants. After Syd left, Pink Floyd had to remake themselves without their greatest asset, Syd's talent and magic. They rose to the challenge beautifully, throwing all kinds of creative solutions at the problem until they found a strategy that worked, and honed it. Water's Floyd is very left-brained, very Apollonian, whereas Syd was Dionysian to his soul.

Also, I was surprised by how much of an asshole Roger Waters is. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan, but the guy has some personality issues. The nastiness and weirdness of Roger's personality is what mainly kept me interested in the second half of the book.

[Lea · Rating 3 out of 5]

You really have to take into account the creative license Schaffner seems to have taken with the facts. It's definitely not the most up-to-date book on Pink Floyd (considering it's from 1991), but if you take it with a grain of salt, it's quite fun. Some nice quotes.

[Doug DePew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every Pink Floyd fan should own "Saucerful of Secrets". It a fascinating book about this very private, secretive group. The writing is skillfully done, and it's a quick read. I used this book as the basis for an entire class I taught about Pink Floyd.

The book carries us through the history of the band from their births to the book's publication date in 1991. The early lives of the band members are interesting, but once the band is formed, it becomes fabulous. The book goes into great detail about the deterioration of Syd Barrett's mental state and how it affected the other members of the band. That's my favorite part of the book because I didn't know a lot of that. I was born in 1968 and came to Pink Floyd later. I always knew there was a guy named Syd in the band, but I had no idea how influential he was on everything the band has done since. It's great.

We also get a good look at much of the band's later work and the inspirations for it. I enjoyed reading about how the band evolved from a fringe, underground club band into one of the first super-groups playing stadiums. The book follows all the way through the break-up of the '70s/early '80s incarnation and their solo work. It also discusses the conflicts and court cases the former friends had following the break-up.

All in all, this is a great book. I recommend it to any Pink Floyd fan. I guarantee you'll learn something you probably didn't know about them.

[Olesya R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The band is just fantastic, that is really what I think.
Oh by the way, which one's Pink?" (c)

If you are more than just a casual fan, "Saucerful of Secrets" is a must-read. This is the first biography of the Floyd that trails its history from infancy through the golden years and Roger's conceptualism to the beginning of the 90's (Schaffner has never seen his book published as it was finished in 1991 right before his death). Writing about a band so ultimately private and largely mystified must be not an easy task. I have read quite a few books on Floyds, and although this one does not cover the Division Bell and Live 8 reunion, it manages, in my opinion, to surpass by a large margin all of the later efforts. It throws light on the inspiration and tensions behind every song and contains quite rare facts that even a very ultimate fan might have never come across before. An idea of matching the titles of the chapters to the band's discography is simple, yet very moving.

I will start with a grain of salt. One cannot disregard Schaffner's HUGE admiration for Syd Barrett (nearly half of the book is concentrated on just one particular character). And although I do agree that Syd was probably one of the most talented lyricists in the history of music, it was impossible not to be annoyed by this fact, particularly not when the author continued highlighting an importance of Syd's influence on completely stylistically deviated post-Ummagumma Floyd. When reading a biography, one expects it to be unbiased and balanced, and I would definitely prefer the genius of Roger's lyrical and David's musical abilities to be put in the same spotlight. Additionally, there were several inaccuracies, though, all of them concern very minor facts and can be written off to the lack of reliable information sources at the time. It is also slightly disappointing that Roger refused to be interviewed for the book, which made the coverage of some widely known tensions one-sided.

What I liked very much is that the book touches not just a story of one band, but covers the spirit of several epochs, from psychedelic late 60s with the arthouse venues like UFO to hippies and punks, pirate radios and many more. This fact is not surprising given that Schaffner knew the world of rock&roll from within, having written The Beatles' and John Lennon's biographies and being acquainted with nearly every significant music figure.

This book is also very valuable for me because it made me realise at least some of the reasons behind the Floyd phenomenon. It always remained unexplained to me, how could the music to such extent arthouse, experimental, space out ("timeless, ageless, spacious", as David himself addressed it in 1971 video interview) become so widely popular. 60-70s were rich for good rock bands: Stones, Beatles, LedZeps, Cream, The Who and many many more. But if there exists quite a logical explanation for their popularity: catchy/danceable/memorable pop tunes + good vocals + good guitar sound + a classical rock idol lifestyle = masses buy it, Floyds always stood out as not quite a fit for this formula. Quiet boys of rock music, they always remained in the shadow of their own brand and played not what the mass wanted to consume but what they thought was important to say. Entirely undanceable, conceptual, pretentious (so pretentious that they even struggled to reach the inner peace), searching for original harmonies and complicated tunes, they never even attempted to be down to earth. "They were middle-class kids...Most english rock and roll was very much a working-class phenomenon." (Miles). What I realised is that it has to do with a number of random facts that clicked, the first one being a pure luck for the early Floyd to become a headliner for the acid-driven psychedelic London scene. The tragic story behind the "crazy diamond" was, paradoxically, their second lucky ticket, together with Dave Gilmour who finally brought musicality and shaped the sound into something that shined, something that we loved as Pinks Floyd. Wouldn't there be this substitution, interest in the Floyds would have vanished together with the interest in the whole subculture. There was also a very rare chemistry between the Floydians, such that the sum of the parts was far greater than their individual offerings. This is something that happens very rarely even for great musicians, let alone ones as amateur as Floyds. David and Roger complemented each other in an iconic way. "Dave made people enjoy it. And Roger made them think. The combination worked really well." (N.Griffiths). And when this chemistry met their pedantic perfectionism, tendency of nailing every single note, every visual and lyrical row, progressing from record to another, their sound became irresistible even for people with polar tastes. There is hardly any other band that would be so consistent in terms of the quality of their songs across all the albums. Take as an example something as acclaimed as Zeppelins who had several completely genius records, whose vocal and drum work, as well as live sound were objectively better than those of Floyds. Yet, when it comes to the quality of the musical product as a unity, this chemistry rarely happened: among these brilliant songs, there often occurred objectively quite undistinguished pop ones with simple repeated chords, mainstream melodies, poor lyrics and little sound progression. And final stroke in this set of random facts, I believe, was something that Floyds discovered after the Meddle album and something they were unbeatably good at - building massive structures. I never drew parallels before reading this book, but Waters, Wright and Mason all studied architecture and hence had had a purely architectural vision of music - great cathedral constructions taking up whole albums and building amphitheaters. They were architects even in terms of technicalities of recording, using multitrack tapes. This gave Floyd its famous depth. All of this sequentially summed up and enabled Floyd dictating their own concept of music and producing DSOM that still remains the best selling album in the history of rock music and holds a record for staying in Billboard charts for the longest period of over 3 years. Weird in a good way, they did great job using their strong sides. And Schaffner...he has also done a great job on this book!

"Floyd was like an experimental theatre - let's try this, let's try that...completely unafraid" Audrey Powell, Hipgnosis

[Crckt · Rating 1 out of 5]

This might be the world's most boring band. That is not to say that I don't like the Floyd, but jeez, for a band that was the soundtrack for so many psychedelic fueled bouts of bad poetry writing and other stoner pastimes, these dudes were duds. They were all pretty rich before becoming rock stars, Roger Waters is a complete megalomaniac, and the greatest disappointment was they really didn't even take that many drugs. It's a sad day to discover that a band regarded as visionary and legendary drug rock were indeed not inspired by psuedo-spiritual acid trips, but merely overblown egos.

[☘Amanda☘ (readingatdawn) · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of the most boring books I've read about the music industry during the 60's and beyond. Other than reading about Syd Barrett's descent into madness in the first half, this book was a big yawn.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's all about which side you're on--the early and brief Barrett-era Floyd or the late and long post-Barrett Floyd. So it goes with the band's music, so it goes with this biography of the group. I, like the author, are unequivocally in the Barrett camp, so I liked this read. Barrett was a quick flash of brilliance and for a brief moment, the early Floyd was killer. Without him, the band became filler, staid, limp, sapping rock 'n roll of any of its excitement. Others, likely most, of course, will disagree, but as I said, it's all about the Barrett fault line.

I was surprised that I managed to finish the second half of the book which detailed the all-too-predictable rock drama of infighting, label disputes, lawsuits, divorces, and other rich rock star problems.

But the first half offers some fun insights into Barrett, the main man of the early Floyd. It was interesting to learn that he was a better-known cult figure in the UK, as he was and remains obscure state-side. Most revealing for me was Schaffner's observation that Barrett served as the primary inspiration for glam's most well-known artists, Marc Bolan and David Bowie. Though I had never made that connection, reading it, the connection became instantly obvious. Schaffner writes:

"the proto-type for Marc's fey glamour--down to the eyeliner, Pan-Cake makeup, and 'corkscrew hair'--was provided by Syd Barrett, whom Bolan still acknowledged as 'one of the few people I'd actually call a genius...He inspired me beyond belief.' The 'glitter king' even looked just like the late-'67 model Syd" (102).

As for Bowie, he "was no less smitten and shaped by Syd. The epiphany that pop music and high art might be fused into one medium first struck him," and credited Barrett, along with Iggy Pop and Lou Reed, as his three great inspirations (102).

[Rev · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boring

[Anne Earney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Truly interesting book about the history of Pink Floyd. At first I wasn't sure if I would enjoy reading such a detailed history, but I did. The band members are interesting characters in their ways and it's clear that Schaffner did a lot of research in order to put this together.

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Very detailed account of the band. The amount of detail got tedious at times but interesting. Definitely a biography for Pink Floyd fans.

[Lukasz Pruski · Rating 4 out of 5]

"They weren't players - they were kind of concept artists, really."
(Pete Brown, British poet and lyricist, on Pink Floyd).

Nicholas Schaffner's Saucerful of Secrets. The Pink Floyd Odyssey (1991) is a well-told and insightful story of the famous British band, one of the brightest stars in the rock-music pantheon. They began playing together in 1965 and were active in recording studios or on tours until 1994. The group temporarily reunited for the Live 8 ("Live Aid") benefit concert in 2005. Mr. Schaffner's book covers the history of the band only until the late 1980s, the period of the band's most important creative activity.

I am a Pink Floyd fan, albeit not an usual one. I only like their earlier music, music that still carries the influence of Syd Barrett. Not for me is The Dark Side of the Moon (1973), one of the best-selling albums in the history of music, an album that was on the bestseller charts for unprecedented 741 weeks (yes, 15 years) and which I find a good piece of elevator music. Thus, I am very happy that Mr. Schaffner does not allocate his attention proportionally to the commercial "value" of the group's works: a significant portion of the book is dedicated to Pink Floyd's early years.

The band's origins are tied to the Spontaneous Underground, a 1965 community action project, connected with the London Free School, and carried on by the Indica Bookshop. This was an anarchic, intellectual, avant-garde movement: in some sense an alternative to the Beatles and the Rolling Stones commercialism. Syd Barrett was the heart and the soul of the early Pink Floyd, and it was his musical and artistic genius that allowed the band to emerge as a unique phenomenon. The author mentions the seminal concert in October of 1966, where Pink Floyd played along Soft Machine, another "alternative band" of the late 1960s that also stayed active for great many years, however on the art side of music rather than, like Pink Floyd, on the business side (see my review of Soft Machine's story here ).

Pink Floyd's first album, the wonderful Piper at the Gates of Dawn was released almost exactly 50 years ago, in August 1967. I doubt if many Pink Floyd fans would recognize the band's early sound, totally devoid of the overblown bombast, techno-overload, and fake pathos of their most famous music, but full of psychedelic charm and whimsy instead. I don't think the fans of The Dark Side of the Moon would like the first album at all.

In 1967 Pink Floyd were all about art, about being avant-garde, about being "far out". Starting in 1968 - 1969 they began to care about business and making money. Gradual disappearance of Syd Barrett and his descent into mental illness paralleled that process. Three further albums, Saucerful of Secrets, Ummagumma, and Atom Heart Mother still have some connections with their psychedelic avant-garde roots. Beginning with Meddle and peaking with The Dark Side and, in particular, The Wall, Pink Floyd went full blast into huge-scale commercial show-making.

The saddest part of the book, other than the testimony to the commercialization of art, is the account of the acrimonious split between Roger Waters and David Gilmour who replaced the irreplaceable Syd Barrett in 1968. The author of the book died many years before the two feuding musicians decided to play along each other at the Live 8 concert in 2005. I wish he were at that concert.

Very well written, informative, balanced, and extremely readable chronicle of (d)evolution of a famous band.

Four stars.

[Hilary "Fox" · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hey, a book I've been meaning to review since 2007.

Yeah, this was one of the earliest biographies of Pink Floyd I ever managed to find. While it didn't go as in-depth into Syd as Crazy Diamond did, nor did it bring the reader as fully up to date as Nick Mason's book did... it still provided a really solid overview of the Floyd's history from inception to A Momentary Lapse of Reason. It's worth noting that Roger Waters was not interviewed for this book, but even with that bit of absence, the author does a good job of sharing Waters's perspective rather nicely.

Pink Floyd are an interesting band. None of the members grew up in poverty, and only two of them seemed rather keen on actually becoming musicians. Syd Barrett went crazy, although now some are claiming he wasn't which is just... a very odd thing to read? Waters and Gilmour eventually had a falling out that is downright legendary and was spread over the papers for a decade or more. Nick Mason would rather be racing cars. Richard Wright was out of the band for a rather long spell... Just... what an odd bunch.

Nonetheless, for a brief shining moment, they commanded the whole world with a run of albums that are still all considered classics to this day. Who has never heard Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals, The Wall? I mean... really.

This is an enlightening read, if a bit of a dry read for any non-Floydians I'd imagine. There were bits in here that I'd either never heard before or forgotten. I appreciated the interviews with Thorgerson and June Bolan throughout a particularly great lot. The insight into the Syd era in particular was quite impressive to me. The heavy praise for Radio KAOS towards the end was really something else.

Fun book.

[Drew Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I heard Dark Side of the Moon for the first time as a freshman in high school. That was a while ago, and from those openings sounds and notes I became a huge Pink Floyd fan, and over the years the love grew as I identify more and more with Roger Waters’ lyrics. That’s not to say I don’t appreciate David Gilmour’s guitar heroics, but I’m a writer, not a musician. Then there’s the fractured bridge between them, the writer, musician, rock star, and one of if not the biggest of rock’s tragedies and saddest stories. In his 1992 definitive biography of Pink Floyd, and still the most renown work to focus on the band and tell their grand tale, Nicholas Schaffner begins and ends Saucerful of Secrets: The Pink Floyd Odyssey with the man in question...

To read the rest of this review go to https://drewmartinwrites.wordpress.co...

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was an adequate book, certainly a decent history of Pink Floyd from the band's origins up to about the mid-80s, but I felt the whole thing was skewed by the fact that Schaffner clearly has an overdeveloped hero worship of Syd Barrett and writes the whole book as a sort of tribute to what might have been rather than the greatness that was. He tends to downplay David Gilmour's genius, a crime in my opinion, and subtly argues that Roger Waters was just a guy who had to soldier on after the mental collapse of the band's founding genius, rather than giving him credit for being the genius who was inspired by a madman, which to me seems a more accurate telling of the tale. Still and all, worth a read, just take it with a few grains of salt.

[Loyola University Chicago Libraries · Rating 3 out of 5]

The music of Pink Floyd gains much more meaning when placed in the context of the band’s history, and that is precisely what Schaffner does in Saucerful of Secrets. From the early days of Syd Barrett and the underground London scene to Dark Side of the Moon and straight on through the Gilmour and Waters solo albums, the book reveals the creative processes, internal conflicts, triumphs, and tragedies of this timeless band while progressing chronologically through Pink Floyd’s albums. Don’t expect major criticisms here—Schaffner was a huge Floyd fan and his love for the band oozes through his writing—but for those seeking a good overview of the band’s history and music, this is your book.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book hand-holds you through the Floyd chronology and every chapter has titles lifted from the band's discography (something that is often irritating in how far-reaching it is,) and the author is obviously deeply in love with the Floyd. However, it's a great tool for anyone wishing to make sense of the band's history, conflicts, tragedies, and album concepts. Read it cover to cover (or almost--you really don't need the last chapters about the post-Floyd stinker solo albums) and you will have a great understanding of this timeless rock band.

[Scott Brillon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I literally found Pink Floyd’s The Wall laying on the ground of my school parking lot. I was on my way out to my car one drizzly afternoon in I think it was April. I’d found an audio cassette, ninety minutes, black/gold Memorex; Pink Floyd The Wall written on thick white tape on both sides. I picked it up and looked around as though I expected someone nearby to say, “Hey, that’s mine” but there was no one around. So, I slipped it into my pocket and walked to my car.

On the way to work that afternoon—I was my father’s janitor for his office in Pawtucket, RI and the ride was twenty to thirty minutes every day—so I popped the cassette into the player and listened.

At first, I was sure that the album was wrong. From my limited knowledge of Pink Floyd, meaning radio fodder like Comfortably Numb, Wish You Were Here, Hey, You, Time, etc., the opening bit of The Wall—Roger Waters screaming the opening song In the Flesh, well it seemed like I had the wrong album—like someone may have taped over what was originally on the tape—we used to do that a lot back in those days.

I think I popped the tape out and listened to the radio for a while. But after a little bit, I pushed the cassette back into the deck. What began on that drizzly afternoon thirty years ago was a relationship that lasts to this very day. I listened to The Wall damn near daily after that and constantly during my first semester away from home at the University of New Mexico. I listened to it as the plane took off to take me home after my first semester of college. In the second semester, my friend Ryan and I sang Goodbye Blue Skies and Wish You Were Here in a dorm musical show.

I still have that cassette, even though I own the CD (Christmas present after my first semester of college) and the vinyl album. Strange that my preference to this day is still listening to The Wall on that cassette.

Recently, I decided to read Nicholas Schaffner’s Saucerful of Secrets: The Pink Floyd Odyssey. I purchased the book in 1991 at Walden Books in the mall (boy if that doesn’t take you back...) and it’s been a long road to me finally reading it. The book is a must for any Floyd fan, though Schaefer, for my taste, seems to focus too much on the band’s original lead singer Syd Barrett. At least a third of the book is dedicated to Barrett’s troubles with his burgeoning fame and his, let’s say, heroic intake of drugs. And while I do see the connection that Schaefer (and almost anybody else would make) about Pink Floyd’s later output being almost a constant reflections of Syd’s time with the band, I disagree with the notion that Pink Floyd became a second-rate band after Syd’s departure. Some like David Bowie even claimed that there was no Floyd after Syd was gone. But to that I say—Poo! (It wouldn’t be the first time Bowie and I didn’t see eye to eye!)

Having listened and re-listened to Piper at the Gates of Dawn (during the course of reading this book I listened to the albums as they popped up) my opinion of it is that it’s a very 60’s album, maybe one of the most 60’s album I’ve ever heard. It could have been (and probably was) the soundtrack to any number of acid trips. For some reason, I can see parts of it being used in a movie about the Manson Family. But honestly, to say that Piper outshines the masterworks that followed it (Darkside of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, The Wall, Animals) is hogwash. And while a very neat line of influence can be drawn from Syd Barrett to those masterworks, there is no way I’m going to believe that everything went downhill once Syd left (or was forced out) of Pink Floyd. I also don’t see how Roger Waters using his former bandmate’s story to create something amazing is somehow awful. That’s art, baby!

The book is a good read. It’s definitely a must read if you were ever or are enamored with one of the best bands to come out of the 60’s. It does get a bit listy at times with all of the musicians who come in and out of line-ups, but overall it is well researched, humorous at moments, and infinitely fascinating. Pick this one up, if you can find it!

[NCHS Library]

From the Publisher:
Saucerful of Secrets is the first in-depth biography of this very private group. At the heart of the saga is Syd Barrett, the group's brilliant founder, whose public decline into shattered incoherence--attributable in part to his marathon use of LSD--is one of the tragedies of rock history. The making of Dark Side of the Moon and Floyd's other great albums is recounted in detail, as are the mounting of "The Wall" and the creation of the flying pigs, crashing planes, "Mr. Screen" and the other elements of their spectacular stage shows. The book also explores the many battles between bass player/songwriter Roger Waters and the rest of the group, leading up to Water's acrimonious departure for a solo career in 1984 and his unsuccessful attempt to dissolve the group he had left behind.

[Kallee Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This biography of Pink Floyd is simply fantastic. Shaffner begins by diving into the London underground music scene of the 60s and the ways our original Floyd members find music and one another. From there we get to journey with the Floyd through exploring new ways of recording music, the building of a fan base, the breaking of the charts, the constantly re-forming of their band, the inspiration and meaning behind their music, the creation of their spectacular shows, and the ups and downs of the band's members. This book doesn't paint a picture of a band who always get along or feel passionate about their work but a band who persevere and create new things, which decades later more generations have come to be moved by.

[Matti Karjalainen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nicholas Schaffnerin "Pink Floydin odysseia" (Johnny Kniga, 2006) ilmestyi alun perin jo vuonna 1991. Sujuvasti kirjoitetussa musiikkiteoksessa käydään läpi niin mielenterveysongelmista kärsineen Syd Barrettin Piper at the Gates of Dawn-vuodet, aika maailman massiivisimpana ja menestyksekkäimpänä progesauruksena kuin riitojen sävyttämä 1980-lukukin.

Vuoden 2005 painokseen on lisätty Michael Heatleyn kirjoittamat jälkisanat, joissa käydään läpi muun muassa melko epätodennäköiseltä tuntunutta paluuta konsettilavalle Live8 -tapahtumassa. No, onhan sitä senkin jälkeen Pink Floyd -leirissä tapahtunut asioita, mutta ihan hyvänä johdatuksena kirja siitä huolimatta toimii kuun pimeälle puolelle.

[Trace Reddell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Written while the Waters-less version of Pink Floyd were on their "Delicate Sound of Thunder" tour, this book sputtered out for me with too much on the familiar story of the Waters vs. Gilmour et al battles. I read through Part Two's closing statements on "The Final Cut" and put the book back on the shelf. Schaffner had some good stories, but ultimately the book lacked substance on the music itself. I'm not in agreement that the Floyd were basically struggling through a holding pattern from the time of "Piper at the Gates of Dawn" to "Dark Side of the Moon," but Schaffner had little of interest to say about great albums like "Meddle" and "Obscured by Clouds."

[Derrelicto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Con una investigación profunda (incluso en lo que tiene que ver con Waters, a quien nunca pudo entrevistar), el autor cuenta la vida de la banda desde los tiempos de Barrett hasta el Delicate sound of thunder.
La edición es del 2012. ¡Del 2012! Hubiera sido bueno que lo actualicen, que cubran el Division bell, el Pulse y que lleguen hasta el Live8, pero no, les pareció buena idea dejar la historia a finales de los 80...
Como sea, resulta ameno leer la intimidad de una de las bandas más grandes, y una de mis favoritas. Pero también es triste toda la historia de Syd, esa espiral de locura de la que no pudo escapar y que uno hubiera querido evitar.

[ACJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ah yes, a band of misfits made some music and it was good, good, good.
I think all of them - Syd, Roger, Gilmour, Wright and Mason have all made their mark in the great songs this band has made - but Rick will certainly hold my heart just for "Great Gig in the Sky" and "Echoes".

Tell me is something eluding you sunshine,
Is this not what you expected to see?
If you want to find out what's behind these cold eyes
You'll just have to claw your way through this disguise!

*cues the drums and that heavy guitar*
ROLL SOUND EFFECTS!

[Pachyderm Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Given the time period when this was published (after the amicable and/or acrimonious split between Gilmour & Waters; viz, "amicable" or "acrimonious" depending on who one asks,) this book, although written by an outsider and still a "confidant" in conjunction with Pink Floyd before the time of publication, this book remains the most thoroughly researched of many and any Pink Floyd tomes covering the twists, trysts, and supposed (down) turns of Pink Floyd's career leading to departure of Barrett and Waters, with the former passing away in 2006.

[Maria Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Schaffner racconta divinamente, la storia dei Floyd!

Dinamismo e cinismo, accompagnano le gesta di 5 uomini che hanno dato forma, alla più grande band della musica contemporanea.
Peccato per la sorte dell'autore, morto così giovane; mi sarebbe piaciuta tantissima la sua analisi di tutta la fase successiva al 1989, dall'uscita di The Division Bell fino alla meraviglia di Amused to Death di Waters solista.
Forse questo ultimo disco, avrebbe fatto rivedere a Schaffner la sua posizione "eccessivamente" critica verso Roger.

Veramente una bella biografia.
Consigliatissima!

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author did a great job in compiling the complete story of one of the most legendary bands ever. From the revolutionary band in 1967 to the multimedia extravaganza later on. Each chapter titled with reference to one of their songs, the time with and after Syd Barrett in full details, their classic albums, gigs, selected discography, their approach... some great pictures are included too. This is ultimate reading for every Pink Floyd fan or those who want to know more about that enigmatic band. Highly recommended!

[Ed Schmauder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good biography of Pink Floyd, focusing mainly on the early Syd Barrett years, but giving a full account of the entire history of the band plus their solo careers.

I’ve read a lot of rock biographies and came away surprised and disappointed when some of my idols turned out to be unlikeable jerks. New strategy at play with this book: I already knew these guys were assholes.

[SarahKat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so good. I knew Syd Barrett's story, having read Crazy Diamond last year, and the gist of a lot of the Waters/Gilmour drama from my dad who was a Pink Floyd fan. This really delves into the group from start to when this book was written. And it's well-written. Interesting and at times sad or funny. Definitely not just a dry recounting of albums and concerts.

[robert wallick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting but dragged a little bit a lot of good insight into the music scene and development of the times for me I found the interaction of other musicians and groups the most interesting I wasn’t a big fan of Pink Floyd as I like singers and songwriters with stories better that entertainment and a light show but book was well written and informative