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Pink Floyd — Free Four
Album: Obscured by Clouds
Avg rating:
7.4

Your rating:
Total ratings: 3025









Released: 1972
Length: 3:58
Plays (last 30 days): 2
''One two free four''

The memories of a man in his old age
Are the deeds of a man in his prime
You shuffle in the gloom of the sick room
And talk to yourself as you die

Life is a short warm moment
And death is a long cold rest
You get your chance to try
In the twinkling of an eye
Eighty years with luck or even less

So all aboard for the American tour
And maybe you'll make it to the top
But mind how you go
And I can tell you 'cos I know
You may find it hard to get off

But you are the angel of death
And I am the dead man's son
He was buried like a mole in a fox-hole
And everyone's still in the run
And who is the master of foxhounds
And who says the hunt has begun
And who calls the tune in the courtroom
And who beats the funeral drum

The memories of a man in his old age
Are the deeds of a man in his prime
You shuffle in the gloom of the sick room
And talk to yourself as you die
Comments (261)add comment
 srv9863 wrote:

Peeling potatoes in the kitchen with Radio Paradise in the background (as always). Every so often I hear something that makes me say 'Who is this?' and usually find some new-to-me band that is worth investigating. In this case it was Pink Floyd, but a song I'd never heard before. Sounds fresh and exciting, wasn't prepared for something this vintage. Most excellent



This exact scenario happens to me.
Alot.  Love finding "new to me" stuff from an
already favorita band...
Early reference to Rogers father, Fletcher Walters killed not far inland from the Anzio landings in early 1944, his body was never located. Hard growing up without a dad, I know.

But you are the angel of death
And I am the dead man's son
He was buried like a mole in a fox-hole
And everyone's still in the run

 srv9863 wrote:

Peeling potatoes in the kitchen with Radio Paradise in the background (as always). Every so often I hear something that makes me say 'Who is this?' and usually find some new-to-me band that is worth investigating. In this case it was Pink Floyd, but a song I'd never heard before. Sounds fresh and exciting, wasn't prepared for something this vintage. Most excellent



I was driving and listening to this playing on RP about an hour and a half ago, I could have sworn it was the Beatles! 😄
 sfyi2001 wrote:

1972 -
"Eighty years with luck or even less"

2021 -
- Waters is 78 and Gilmour is 75 . . . .




2023: Waters released his own version of The Dark Side of the Moon ("Redux") and he reads these lyrics on one of the tracks. Very gloomy!
Peeling potatoes in the kitchen with Radio Paradise in the background (as always). Every so often I hear something that makes me say 'Who is this?' and usually find some new-to-me band that is worth investigating. In this case it was Pink Floyd, but a song I'd never heard before. Sounds fresh and exciting, wasn't prepared for something this vintage. Most excellent
 lily34 wrote:

wow. i have never heard this. i love it.




That is why we come to RP.  EXCELLENT TUNE!  Thanx RP!   
 bam23 wrote:

I guess you're new to Pink Floyd. Cheering up is not their forte. 



This comment really gave me a good chuckle. Thank you , bam23.
wow. i have never heard this. i love it.
The memories of a man in his old age
Are the deeds of a man in his prime
You shuffle in the gloom of the sick room
And talk to yourself as you die

Life is a short warm moment
And death is a long cold rest
You get your chance to try
In the twinkling of an eye
Eighty years with luck or even less

- Some of my favorite lyrics of all time, and good advice for young folks to keep in mind. Btw, I sure appreciate music that tackles life's weighty topics and moves beyond common song topics such as 1.) I really love you, 2.) I'm really glad we aren't a together anymore, 3. I'm physically attracted to you, 4.) I'm feeling really good, or 5.) I'm feeling really bad.
The guitar solo is so out of place. Sounds like Slash wanking over a psychedelic track.
Spinal Tap. The Early Years
 p.bayliss43 wrote:

Floyd didn't really do soundtracks to spaghetti westerns. Their album" Obscured by Clouds" is the soundtrack to the movie La Vallée, also known as Obscured by Clouds, which is a 1972 French film written and directed by Barbet Schroeder. The film stars Bulle Ogier as Viviane, a woman who goes on a weird voyage of self-discovery through the New Guinea bush and villages. Google "obscured by clouds movie" and click images, and you will see some great images from the movie. I have vague memories of seeing the movie 48 years ago. It was a long time ago and I was pretty stoned at the time, but I remember really enjoying it.
they also did music for "More"; though I've only seen "Barfly", will look for this one.

Thank you, RP!

1972 -
"Eighty years with luck or even less"

2021 -
- Waters is 78 and Gilmour is 75 . . . .


If Norman Greenbaum farted I suppose this is what it might sound like
 kbs wrote:
Having just seen the concert/documentary of Nick Mason's 'tribute' band Saucerful of Secrets https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...  where they have rejuvenated the 'forgotten' early Floyd tracks. This was one of them. 
I recommend the DVD? or broadcast program to those who can see it "Those in the UK/Ireland (& selected other locations) should watch free-to-air TV channel Sky Arts tonight (Nov 21st) from 10pm. Following the Floyd's Delicate Sound (which starts at 8pm), Sky Arts are showing Nick Mason's Saucerful Of Secrets: Live At The Roundhouse!"
 
look after the king of R n R please 


 Spiderwoman wrote:
OMG it's 2021 and just at this very moment I'm finding out this was by Pink Floyd! And I grew up on classic rock. WTF?! Thank goodness Radio Paradise set me straight!
 
Look after the king of R n R please 
OMG it's 2021 and just at this very moment I'm finding out this was by Pink Floyd! And I grew up on classic rock. WTF?! Thank goodness Radio Paradise set me straight!
 kwacka wrote:


And when I heard Spirit in the Sky I though of Canned Heat's 'Refried Hockey Boogie' from 2 years before Norman Greenbaum.

 

Also what I was thinking but the guitarsolo rings another bell. Not sure which bell...
I was young in '72.
Have never heard this.
Diggin' it.
Never said 'dig' much either. Don't know why I do now, but yeah.
HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone.

Having just seen the concert/documentary of Nick Mason's 'tribute' band Saucerful of Secrets https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...  where they have rejuvenated the 'forgotten' early Floyd tracks. This was one of them. 
I recommend the DVD? or broadcast program to those who can see it "Those in the UK/Ireland (& selected other locations) should watch free-to-air TV channel Sky Arts tonight (Nov 21st) from 10pm. Following the Floyd's Delicate Sound (which starts at 8pm), Sky Arts are showing Nick Mason's Saucerful Of Secrets: Live At The Roundhouse!"
 james_of_tucson wrote:
When they were doing work for spaghetti western sountracks, they freely admitted to not putting 100% into the efforts.  This track comes from that period.  The song has some fantastic elements, but didn't get re-worked like their better material did.  

It's funny to see people criticize a group like Pink Floyd, whose main contribution was to alter the definition of "success" a few times :-)
 
Floyd didn't really do soundtracks to spaghetti westerns. Their album" Obscured by Clouds" is the soundtrack to the movie La Vallée, also known as Obscured by Clouds, which is a 1972 French film written and directed by Barbet Schroeder. The film stars Bulle Ogier as Viviane, a woman who goes on a weird voyage of self-discovery through the New Guinea bush and villages. Google "obscured by clouds movie" and click images, and you will see some great images from the movie. I have vague memories of seeing the movie 48 years ago. It was a long time ago and I was pretty stoned at the time, but I remember really enjoying it.
 Felix_The_Cat wrote:
I love PF. This is one of their laziest compositions. 
 
Well maybe - though as part of a movie sound track, i think it worked well in the movie and as a single (one of few PF tunes that work well on their own IMO) - Long Live RP and PEACE to all!! 
 Dahlia_Gumbo wrote:
This song didn’t cheer me up at all during the COVID-19 physical distancing.
 
I guess you're new to Pink Floyd. Cheering up is not their forte. 
 Dahlia_Gumbo wrote:
This song didn’t cheer me up at all during the COVID-19 physical distancing.
 
It might be a little too much to expect Floyd to substitute for actual intimacy. I'm giving it a shot and it's worked out so far.
triggers of some good memories
I love PF. This is one of their laziest compositions. 
 Wilfrue wrote:

That was my thought... "Is this a Norman Greenbaum song?" It took me a second to place it. Nice to hear a gem. One of the reasons I stick with RP.
 

And when I heard Spirit in the Sky I though of Canned Heat's 'Refried Hockey Boogie' from 2 years before Norman Greenbaum.

 Cynaera wrote:

Okay, I looked, but couldn't find a prior post, so I'll just tell my story here. I had an ancient reel-to-reel Webcor, and Dad had worked magic and hooked it into a stereo unit with an FM radio, so I spent a lot of time recording music from an FM station out of Salt Lake CIty. It was the first time I'd ever heard "Kentucky Woman" by Deep Purple, or "Powder Blue Mercedes Queen" by the Raiders, or "Heavy Disguise" by Strawbs - or this song by Pink Floyd.  I recorded all that stuff, and more. I might actually still have the reels, somewhere...

My point is that once I heard this song, I was forever open to anything musical, and I can't listen to this song without zapping into the past and grinning.

 

Wow wow wow..
This song didn’t cheer me up at all during the COVID-19 physical distancing.
Just played the album today.  Favorite song on the album.  This album was made on the side while they were making DS.  Kind of a transitions album that got buried by DS once it came out.
 mread wrote:
 
 
Some of it is here - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOZQLDxFnhcjNWsvjMFKM0iyjQ6y7C088

UK based so never heard of this. Just watched Abba to see how it was and I'm not convinced it was live...Plenty of Piano notes being played that you couldn't hear, till you could at the right time. As to the singing - couldn't make up my mind if its live or not.
Who's that madman on guitar, could it be that guitar god:  David G? 
I've never heard a Pink Floyd song that reminded me of something Raffi might've recorded.
 h8rhater wrote:
Yeah... Don Kirshner's rock concert, which was noted for only allowing true live performances, sucked.
Only the following never-heard-of crappy artists appeared live on the program during it's 8 year run on late night:
ABBA, The Allman Brothers Band, Ambrosia, Andy Gibb, Argent, Average White Band, Bad Company, Badfinger, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Black Sabbath, Brownsville Station, Joan Baez, Bee Gees, Pat Benatar, Black Oak Arkansas, Blood Sweat & Tears, Blue Öyster Cult, Brooklyn Dreams , David Bowie, The Byrds, Harry Chapin, Cheap Trick, Alice Cooper, Jim Croce, Sarah Dash, Devo, Dixie Dregs, The Doobie Brothers, Eagles, Earth Wind & Fire, Edgar Winter Group, Electric Light Orchestra, Bryan Ferry, Fleetwood Mac, Foghat, Rory Gallagher, Golden Earring, Grand Funk Railroad, The Guess Who, George Harrison, The Hollies, Billy Joel, Journey, James Gang, Kansas, B. B. King, KISS, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Lake, Lenny Williams, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Mahogany Rush, Meatloaf, Melissa Manchester, Manfred Mann's Earth Band, Frank Marino, Don McLean, Molly Hatchet, Montrose, Mother's Finest, Maria Muldaur, New York Dolls, Ted Nugent, Gary Numan, Ohio Players, Outlaws, Robert Palmer, The Police, Billy Preston, Prince & The Revolution, Pure Prairie League with Vince Gill, Ramones, Lou Rawls, Rainbow, Helen Reddy, REO Speedwagon, The Rolling Stones, Linda Ronstadt, Todd Rundgren, Rush, Rose Royce, Santana, The Sex Pistols, Seals & Crofts, Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Slade, Jimmy Hendrix, Slave, Sly & the Family Stone, Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes, Sylvester, Sparks, The Stampeders, Starz, Steely Dan, Steppenwolf, Steve Miller Band, Stephanie Mills, Cat Stevens, Switch, Bram Tchaikovsky, The Temptations, Marc Bolan and T. Rex , Ike & Tina Turner, UFO, Uriah Heep, Village People, Joe Walsh, Van Morrison , Walter Murphy, War, Waylon Jennings, Weather Report, Wishbone Ash, Stevie Wonder

Sorry Hater, I couldn't enjoy your list without commas, so I added them.
I watched the show a few times in its day, maybe some of that old stuff is on YouTube now?
Sounds like Pink Floyd before the drugs kicked in.
The intro always puts me in mind of the Grateful Dead. The thought makes me smile every time.
 Da Do Ron Ron > Free Four > Spirit in the Sky
 coloradojohn wrote:
This was an interesting period for PF, because it seemed that by then none of them were holding anything back. It was as if they were really confident that they were out from under the shadow of being Syd's band, free at last from trying to maintain or mimic such a fissile and tragic psychedelic trajectory, and they were exploring what they could do on the merits of their own creativity. Waters' lyrics and arrangements became more dramatic and narrative, more insightful and mature, and Gilmour's guitar was more often satisfyingly throaty and saturated, even when not the center of attention. While they were still really all over the place on this record, in spots in Childhood's End, I hear clear hints of the symphonic scope and tightly focused grandeur of their next album, Dark Side of the Moon.
 

Fine points - agreed.
 fredriley wrote:

Using 'f' for 'th' is very common in the Sahf-East of the UK, especially London, so the intro could well be the speaker's natural accent. This is evident also with famous Lahndan musicians such as Lily Allen and Damon Albarn (wiff his ahtrageous Sahf Lahndan accent). The Cockney dialect is strange, right enough, though a lot of Cockney rhyming slang has made its way into common English due to the influence of TV and radio. Know what I mean, john? ;-)
 
I still chuckle about my Tufnell Park comprehensive school mates trying to figure out if one was saying 'three' or 'free', "Wot you mean? Free or free?" I used to have to translate the telly for my dad.
                                       fave floyd anthem!

Image result for guitat david gilmore
Another "Pre- Wall" song about the hazards of being in a Rock band
...And if you do a few more American Tours - you'll write a masterpiece about it.
 kingart wrote:
Quick, send me a song with better or more ironic lyrics. 

I'm waiting.....

That's what I thought.
 
Well be-bop-a-Lula she's my baby
Be-bop-a-Lula I don't mean maybe
Quick, send me a song with better or more ironic lyrics. 

I'm waiting.....

That's what I thought.

This was an interesting period for PF, because it seemed that by then none of them were holding anything back. It was as if they were really confident that they were out from under the shadow of being Syd's band, free at last from trying to maintain or mimic such a fissile and tragic psychedelic trajectory, and they were exploring what they could do on the merits of their own creativity. Waters' lyrics and arrangements became more dramatic and narrative, more insightful and mature, and Gilmour's guitar was more often satisfyingly throaty and saturated, even when not the center of attention. While they were still really all over the place on this record, in spots in Childhood's End, I hear clear hints of the symphonic scope and tightly focused grandeur of their next album, Dark Side of the Moon.
Pure genius and a gem of an album. Many a happy hour humming along to this.....
 Prius wrote:
Perfectly links with "Spirit in the sky", by Norman Greenbaum.

 
That was my thought... "Is this a Norman Greenbaum song?" It took me a second to place it. Nice to hear a gem. One of the reasons I stick with RP.
Love it! Always been a favorite.

{#Bananajam}
{#Bananajam}{#Dancingbanana_2}{#Music}{#Bananasplit}{#Dancingbanana}{#Bananapiano}{#Group-hug}{#Drummer}{#Dance}
Great song {#Skull}
 konakid wrote:
Love this track! Always have and always will. Any true Floyd fan would too. To all you nay sayers I say get off your high horse. This is just as classic as any other Floyd. Get a life and quit your dam bitchin'.    {#Naughty}

 
I agree almost completely with what you say, although really, to each their own, right?  I understand you like it because so do I and I get that.  Having watched the film (which I liked better than the reviews it got) and understanding the "Obscured by Clouds" reference, I also understand how this song fit in to the film.  I did see the film after knowing (and really liking) the song - I was well known for cranking this on my awesome car stereo, and making people try to guess who this was. 

10 on this song for me. 


 WonderLizard wrote:
First, the Ramones started out as a Bay City Rollers bubble gum pop band—check out this week's ish of Rolling Stone with the Ramones on the cover. Second, I think it's highly likely that Donald Trump learned the art of the comb-over from Don Kirshner.
 
The Ramones were from Queens.

The Rollers were from Scotland.

Aye laddie, ye be off by a few thousand miles. 
 Whoa Kool! Great seeing Rachel Maddow in her Big Hair days, hmmmm baby shake it!!!

Proclivities wrote:

dancin'

 


 kingart wrote:
Great stuff. 

But I hear Norman Greenbaum and Spirit in the Sky, which preceded this by 3 years. 

When I die and they lay me to rest 
Gonna go to the place that's the best....
 
dancin'
Perfectly links with "Spirit in the sky", by Norman Greenbaum.
 HazzeSwede wrote:
Great song,some people must be out of focus!

Everything's bokeh. Nothing to worry about.

I'll stop.
      Dam right!! Relayer wrote:
I always loved this album.  Not your usual PF album, but it was still an incredible album. The band always seemed to have a different approach when doing soundtracks as opposed to their other albums.

One great trivia bit about this album I learned from reading Nick Mason's book was that they were busy recording DSotM, and took a "break" to travel to the south of France to write and record this album.  Think about that...they needed a break from the demands of DSotM, and their idea of a break was to go to France and record a soundtrack album.  Work ethic there.

 


Love this track! Always have and always will. Any true Floyd fan would too. To all you nay sayers I say get off your high horse. This is just as classic as any other Floyd. Get a life and quit your dam bitchin'.    {#Naughty}
 SmackDaddy wrote:

Excuse me, but where did you come up with this nonsense?

The Ramones began playing gigs in mid-1974, with their first show at Performance Studios in New York City. The band, performing in a style similar to the one used on their debut album, typically performed at clubs in downtown Manhattan, specifically CBGB and Max's Kansas City. In early 1975, Lisa Robinson, an editor of Hit Parader and Rock Scene, saw the fledgling Ramones performing at CBGB and subsequently wrote about the band in several magazine issues. The group's vocalist Joey Ramone related that "Lisa came down to see us, she was blown away by us. She said that we changed her life, She started writing about us in Rock Scene, and then Lenny Kaye would write about us and we started getting more press like The Village Voice. Word was getting out, and people starting coming down." Convinced that the band needed a recording contract, Robinson contacted Danny Fields, former manager of the Stooges, and argued that he needed to manage the band. Fields agreed because the band "had everything ever liked," and became the manager in November 1975.

On September 19, 1975, the Ramones recorded a demo at 914 Sound Studios, which was produced by Marty Thau. Featuring the songs "Judy Is a Punk" and "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend," the band used the demo to showcase their style to prospective labels. Producer Craig Leon, who had seen the Ramones perform in the summer of 1975, brought the demo to the attention of Sire Records' president Seymour Stein. After being persuaded by Craig Leon and his ex-wife Linda Stein, the Ramones auditioned at Sire and were offered a contract, although the label had previously signed only European progressive rock bands. Drummer Tommy Ramone recalled: "Craig Leon is the one who got us signed, single handed. He brought down the vice president and all these people—he's the only hip one in the company. He risked his career to get us on the label." The label offered to release "You're Gonna Kill That Girl" as a single, but the band declined, insisting on recording an entire album. Sire accepted their request and agreed to release a studio album instead.



 


The memories of a man in his old age
Are the deeds of a man in his prime 

presage 

The sun is the same in a relative way but you're older,
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death.

Amazingly prescient for men so young. 


 kingart wrote:
Great stuff. 

But I hear Norman Greenbaum and Spirit in the Sky, which preceded this by 3 years. 

When I die and they lay me to rest 
Gonna go to the place that's the best....

 

 
And BECAUSE I hear Spirit in the Sky ALL OVER IT - I have to give it a 1.  Sounds like a total rip off to me.
 joempie wrote:

yeah, and t-rex. i gave it a 3, my lowest PF rating ever...

 
Sorry to report the same here 
 WonderLizard wrote:

First, the Ramones started out as a Bay City Rollers bubble gum pop band—check out this week's ish of Rolling Stone with the Ramones on the cover. Second, I think it's highly likely that Donald Trump learned the art of the comb-over from Don Kirshner.

 
Excuse me, but where did you come up with this nonsense?

The Ramones began playing gigs in mid-1974, with their first show at Performance Studios in New York City. The band, performing in a style similar to the one used on their debut album, typically performed at clubs in downtown Manhattan, specifically CBGB and Max's Kansas City. In early 1975, Lisa Robinson, an editor of Hit Parader and Rock Scene, saw the fledgling Ramones performing at CBGB and subsequently wrote about the band in several magazine issues. The group's vocalist Joey Ramone related that "Lisa came down to see us, she was blown away by us. She said that we changed her life, She started writing about us in Rock Scene, and then Lenny Kaye would write about us and we started getting more press like The Village Voice. Word was getting out, and people starting coming down." Convinced that the band needed a recording contract, Robinson contacted Danny Fields, former manager of the Stooges, and argued that he needed to manage the band. Fields agreed because the band "had everything ever liked," and became the manager in November 1975.

On September 19, 1975, the Ramones recorded a demo at 914 Sound Studios, which was produced by Marty Thau. Featuring the songs "Judy Is a Punk" and "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend," the band used the demo to showcase their style to prospective labels. Producer Craig Leon, who had seen the Ramones perform in the summer of 1975, brought the demo to the attention of Sire Records' president Seymour Stein. After being persuaded by Craig Leon and his ex-wife Linda Stein, the Ramones auditioned at Sire and were offered a contract, although the label had previously signed only European progressive rock bands. Drummer Tommy Ramone recalled: "Craig Leon is the one who got us signed, single handed. He brought down the vice president and all these people—he's the only hip one in the company. He risked his career to get us on the label." The label offered to release "You're Gonna Kill That Girl" as a single, but the band declined, insisting on recording an entire album. Sire accepted their request and agreed to release a studio album instead.


I always loved this album.  Not your usual PF album, but it was still an incredible album. The band always seemed to have a different approach when doing soundtracks as opposed to their other albums.

One great trivia bit about this album I learned from reading Nick Mason's book was that they were busy recording DSotM, and took a "break" to travel to the south of France to write and record this album.  Think about that...they needed a break from the demands of DSotM, and their idea of a break was to go to France and record a soundtrack album.  Work ethic there.
 kcar wrote:

You have to put Bay City Rollers at or near the top of that list. England should have split from Scotland right then and there. 

My God, the True Sign of The Apocalypse: A Bay City Rollers' reunion

The US had its share of crap bands from the 70s and bad music shows. "Don Kirshner's Rock Concert" came on after SNL at around Sunday 1 am and it wasn't nearly good enough for that time slot. 

 
First, the Ramones started out as a Bay City Rollers bubble gum pop band—check out this week's ish of Rolling Stone with the Ramones on the cover. Second, I think it's highly likely that Donald Trump learned the art of the comb-over from Don Kirshner.
Probably my favorite Pink Floyd song.
 
Nice! I don't think I have ever heard this before on any radio station or stream. Roger Waters almost sounds cheerful for once, especially if you don't listen to the words.
Meddle, Obscured, Saucer, Atom... Anytime Bill you play deep tracks from PF it is fantastic! 
 daveinnj wrote:


Good Grief, Did Greenbaum steal this? It's the same beat, and the same theme - both would make excellent Funeral Songs.

 
That would be an interesting trick, stealing something 3 years before it was around.

 kingart wrote:

Great stuff. 

But I hear Norman Greenbaum and Spirit in the Sky, which preceded this by 3 years. 

When I die and they lay me to rest 
Gonna go to the place that's the best....

 

 
Good Grief, Did Greenbaum steal this? It's the same beat, and the same theme - both would make excellent Funeral Songs.
Just thinking...okay song, not great, but this really marks the beginning of the searing guitar tone that DG would have mastered by 1975. 

More random thoughts, but who else was playing lead on a strat like this in '72? Jimi was dead,  Clapton was messing about with them in the early '70's but everyone else was playing Les pauls. Beck, Santana, Duane Allman, Page...

By the time he'd got it sorted out the way he liked it, it wasn't anything like a stock strat sound, but he'd figured out how to get the limitless sustain of the Gibsons, but with the bite of the single coils at the beginning of the note, that red hot attack....
Bless Rog, he can always make an up tempo 3 chord ditty sound depressing!
 kcar wrote:

You have to put Bay City Rollers at or near the top of that list. England should have split from Scotland right then and there. 

My God, the True Sign of The Apocalypse: A Bay City Rollers' reunion

The US had its share of crap bands from the 70s and bad music shows. "Don Kirshner's Rock Concert" came on after SNL at around Sunday 1 am and it wasn't nearly good enough for that time slot. 

 
Yeah... Don Kirshner's rock concert, which was noted for only allowing true live performances, sucked.  Only the following never-heard- of crappy artists appeared live on the program during it's 8 year run on late night: 
ABBA The Allman Brothers Band Ambrosia Andy Gibb Argen tAverage White Band Bad Company Badfinger Bachman-Turner Overdrive Black Sabbath Brownsville Station Joan Baez Bee Gees Pat Benatar Black Oak Arkansas Blood, Sweat & Tears Blue Öyster Cult Brooklyn Dreams David Bowie The Byrds Harry Chapin Cheap Trick Alice Cooper Jim Croce Sarah Dash Devo Dixie Dregs The Doobie Brothers Eagles Earth, Wind & Fire Edgar Winter Group Electric Light Orchestra Bryan Ferry Fleetwood Mac FoghatRory Gallagher Golden Earring Grand Funk Railroad The Guess Who George Harrison The Hollies Billy Joel Journey James Gang Kansas B. B. King KISS Gladys Knight and the Pips Lake Lenny Williams Lynyrd SkynyrdM ahavishnu Orchestra Mahogany Rush Meatloaf Melissa Manchester Manfred Mann's Earth Band Frank Marino Don McLean Molly Hatchet Montrose Mother's Finest Maria Muldaur New York Dolls Ted Nugent Gary Numan Ohio Players Outlaws Robert Palmer The Police Billy Preston Prince & The Revolution Pure Prairie League with Vince Gill Ramones Lou Rawls Rainbow Helen Reddy REO Speedwagon The Rolling Stones Linda Ronstadt Todd Rundgren Rush Rose Royce Santana The Sex Pistols Seals & Crofts Sensational Alex Harvey Band Slade Jimmy Hendrix Slave Sly & the Family Stone Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes Sylvester Sparks The Stampeders Starz Steely Dan Steppenwolf Steve Miller Band Stephanie Mills Cat Stevens Switch Bram Tchaikovsky The Temptations Marc Bolan and T. Rex Ike & Tina Turner UFO Uriah Heep Village People Joe WalshVan Morrison Walter Murphy War Waylon Jennings Weather Report Wishbone Ash Stevie Wonder

 DaidyBoy wrote:

There were loads, too many to mention.  Top of The Pops was godawful rubbish at times, particularly watching it now on BBC iPlayer.  If you really want to see what a farce British TV was back then, look up some of the old episodes on the 'net.  The "audience" look like they have been press-ganged.  No wonder we have issues.

 
The audience were worried!  They knew what was going on in the background/after the show (but no-one in authority wanted or cared to know).
 kingart wrote:
Great stuff. 

But I hear Norman Greenbaum and Spirit in the Sky, which preceded this by 3 years. 

When I die and they lay me to rest 
Gonna go to the place that's the best....

 

 
yeah, and t-rex. i gave it a 3, my lowest PF rating ever...
Great stuff. 

But I hear Norman Greenbaum and Spirit in the Sky, which preceded this by 3 years. 

When I die and they lay me to rest 
Gonna go to the place that's the best....

 
I manged to make it all the way through Mushaboom and then this. Now that's redemption!
 kcar wrote:

You have to put Bay City Rollers at or near the top of that list. England should have split from Scotland right then and there. 

My God, the True Sign of The Apocalypse: A Bay City Rollers' reunion

The US had its share of crap bands from the 70s and bad music shows. "Don Kirshner's Rock Concert" came on after SNL at around Sunday 1 am and it wasn't nearly good enough for that time slot. 

 
Ha ha. We gave Scotland their chance to cut and run but they bottled. Good luck to them.

ps I just looked at this link and was devastated to realise that I remembered all their names.  Hells teeth.
 DaidyBoy wrote:

There were loads, too many to mention.  Top of The Pops was godawful rubbish at times, particularly watching it now on BBC iPlayer.  If you really want to see what a farce British TV was back then, look up some of the old episodes on the 'net.  The "audience" look like they have been press-ganged.  No wonder we have issues.

 
You have to put Bay City Rollers at or near the top of that list. England should have split from Scotland right then and there. 

My God, the True Sign of The Apocalypse: A Bay City Rollers' reunion

The US had its share of crap bands from the 70s and bad music shows. "Don Kirshner's Rock Concert" came on after SNL at around Sunday 1 am and it wasn't nearly good enough for that time slot. 


 james_of_tucson wrote:
When they were doing work for spaghetti western soundtracks, . . . .

 
This album was the soundtrack for a French art film called La Vallée which is set in New Guinea.  Might be more accurate to call it an "escargot Southwest-Pacific western" than a "spaghetti western."

Do wish you'd add "The Gold Is In The..." from the same album to the playlist.
 james_of_tucson wrote:
When they were doing work for spaghetti western sountracks, they freely admitted to not putting 100% into the efforts.  This track comes from that period.  The song has some fantastic elements, but didn't get re-worked like their better material did.  

It's funny to see people criticize a group like Pink Floyd, whose main contribution was to alter the definition of "success" a few times :-)

 
No one is beyond criticism.
 DaidyBoy wrote:

There were loads, too many to mention.  Top of The Pops was godawful rubbish at times, particularly watching it now on BBC iPlayer.  If you really want to see what a farce British TV was back then, look up some of the old episodes on the 'net.  The "audience" look like they have been press-ganged.  No wonder we have issues.

 
{#Lol}


1972 ...

Sonically, this tune was slightly ahead of its time.

... and the lyrics are great!



Life is a short, warm moment
And death is a long cold rest.




Never hear this enough, even after all these years....
 treatment_bound wrote:

Never saw Top of the Pops, as it didn't make it across the pond.  Wish it would have, however. All we ever got on Thursday nights in the early seventies was crap like (the original) "Ironside".

What were some of the other UK "joke bands" (in your estimation) who graced your telly back then? 

 
There were loads, too many to mention.  Top of The Pops was godawful rubbish at times, particularly watching it now on BBC iPlayer.  If you really want to see what a farce British TV was back then, look up some of the old episodes on the 'net.  The "audience" look like they have been press-ganged.  No wonder we have issues.
 On_The_Beach wrote:

Damn, I always kinda liked this song, but now that big farting synthesizer sound kinda puts me in the mind of Monty Python. Can't you just see Eric Idle and Co. stumbling around like idiots with this song as soundtrack? OK, maybe it's just me.

 
Ha Ha.  Like the ones where Status Quo, Chas and Dave and all those old farts used to think they were funny arseing about with Dave Lee Travis and Jimmy Savile.  Oops, not so funny now, are they?

This is a dreadful song. 
 DaidyBoy wrote:

and me.  Dreadful. Reminds me of those horrible joke bands that used to appear on Top of The Pops on Thursday evenings in the 70's.

 
Damn, I always kinda liked this song, but now that big farting synthesizer sound kinda puts me in the mind of Monty Python. Can't you just see Eric Idle and Co. stumbling around like idiots with this song as soundtrack? OK, maybe it's just me.
When they were doing work for spaghetti western sountracks, they freely admitted to not putting 100% into the efforts.  This track comes from that period.  The song has some fantastic elements, but didn't get re-worked like their better material did.  

It's funny to see people criticize a group like Pink Floyd, whose main contribution was to alter the definition of "success" a few times :-)
 DaidyBoy wrote:

and me.  Dreadful. Reminds me of those horrible joke bands that used to appear on Top of The Pops on Thursday evenings in the 70's.

 
Never saw Top of the Pops, as it didn't make it across the pond.  Wish it would have, however. All we ever got on Thursday nights in the early seventies was crap like (the original) "Ironside".

What were some of the other UK "joke bands" (in your estimation) who graced your telly back then? 
As sad as Syd's fate was, I think Pink Floyd improved dramatically after him. Just my opinion of course, but Pink Floyd headed by Waters and Gilmour is just brilliant. This one, not so much. Just another band from the late 60s/ early 70s.... Gilmour's guitar playing was great even here though. Good thing that didn't change too much, but rather kept on improving!
Damn Gilmour still shows his chops even on their obscure stuff. New PF tune for me.
 andrea924 wrote:

Ditto your ditto.



 
and me.  Dreadful. Reminds me of those horrible joke bands that used to appear on Top of The Pops on Thursday evenings in the 70's.
 kingart wrote:
Which came first, Norman Greenbaum Spirit in the Sky or this? Hmmm… Just sayin'. 

 
Greenbaum's tune came out a few years (1969) before this song.
 kingart wrote:
Which came first, Norman Greenbaum Spirit in the Sky or this? Hmmm… Just sayin'. 

 
Just what I was thinking....
Which came first, Norman Greenbaum Spirit in the Sky or this? Hmmm… Just sayin'. 
 Relayer wrote:
Damn I love Gimour.  He can do no wrong in my book.  Yes, Waters wrote 70% of the Floyd Music, but Gilmour created the all important Pink Floyd "sound".  Without Gilmour, all the Floyd albums would be dry and irritating (like Pros & Cons of Hitchhiking).  I am sure that last comment will stir up the p!ssed off Waters fans.

 
No disagreement from me, Relayer. Their best work was clearly together, in Pink Floyd. The post-Waters Floyd albums were pretty limp, so it works both ways.
Great tune from a great band!  Love Gilmore's guitar!
Favourite tune from this album. Turn to 11 on the volume knob.
Lovely first verse!
The memories of a man in his old age
Are the deeds of a man in his prime.
You shuffle in the gloom of the sickroom
And talk to yourself as you die. 
One of my very favorite songs about sadly wasted lives and lonely days nearing death's door.....
 Mystery Guest wrote:

A big regretful ditto from me....
 
Ditto your ditto.


Everyone on my trip loves this song!

{#Propeller}
 Cynaera wrote:

Okay, I looked, but couldn't find a prior post, so I'll just tell my story here. I had an ancient reel-to-reel Webcor, and Dad had worked magic and hooked it into a stereo unit with an FM radio, so I spent a lot of time recording music from an FM station out of Salt Lake CIty. It was the first time I'd ever heard "Kentucky Woman" by Deep Purple, or "Powder Blue Mercedes Queen" by the Raiders, or "Heavy Disguise" by Strawbs - or this song by Pink Floyd.  I recorded all that stuff, and more. I might actually still have the reels, somewhere...

My point is that once I heard this song, I was forever open to anything musical, and I can't listen to this song without zapping into the past and grinning.

 

miss you so much, Cynaera...

love this song...
 
Always reminds me of Monty Python. 
 shutter wrote:
Always an instantaneous 11 on the volume knob...

 
yours goes to 11?
Wonderfull song
A mini Prequel to The Wall
A classic!  Love this one - lots of memories.
1972 !!!!

Ahhh, this really hits the spot on this cold Saturday evening hanging out in my home bar.  Did I say cold? I meant cold and wet! {#Angel}
This is Pink Floyd?!! The things you grow up on and don't know you don't have any idea about.
O yes! The deeds of a man in his prime... Thank you Bill! {#Umbrella}  Heavy rain in Auckland but Free Four has cheered me up good & proper!
Wow.  Hated this song so much I just had to know who did it ... and was shocked it is Pink Floyd.  I'm a fan and this may be the only song by them that I can honestly say is really terrible.
 Relayer wrote:
Damn I love Gimour.  He can do no wrong in my book.  Yes, Waters wrote 70% of the Floyd Music, but Gilmour created the all important Pink Floyd "sound".  Without Gilmour, all the Floyd albums would be dry and irritating (like Pros & Cons of Hitchhiking).  I am sure that last comment will stir up the p!ssed off Waters fans.
 
This Floyd fan agrees! {#Dancingbanana_2}
Ghiaap wrote:
Another lame tune ...... 3
 

Another lame listener. 2 {#Ass}{#Ass}
Another lame tune ...... 3
Laaaahndon, No! IIIIeeeeessex!

 
fredriley wrote:

Using 'f' for 'th' is very common in the Sahf-East of the UK, especially London, so the intro could well be the speaker's natural accent. This is evident also with famous Lahndan musicians such as Lily Allen and Damon Albarn (wiff his ahtrageous Sahf Lahndan accent). The Cockney dialect is strange, right enough, though a lot of Cockney rhyming slang has made its way into common English due to the influence of TV and radio. Know what I mean, john? ;-)