Pink Floyd
London 1966/1967 (CD/DVD)
(Snapper/Highnote)
First Appeared in The Music Box, November 2005, Volume 12, #11
Written by John Metzger
In late 1966, director Peter Whitehead (who, in his film Wholly Communion,
had enshrined poet Allen Ginsberg’s appearance at the International Poetry
Incarnation) was hired by the British Film Institute to capture the essence of
"swinging London" for a piece titled Tonite Let’s All Make Love in London.
As part of the project, Whitehead organized Pink Floyd’s very first studio
session, where he documented the recording of a pair of instrumentals: Interstellar Overdrive and Nick’s Boogie. Although little of this
material made it into the final cut of his movie, the footage of the band was
reassembled and released on video in the mid-’90s under the title London
1966/1967. Recently transferred to DVD, the package has been augmented with
brief interview segments that feature Mick Jagger, Michael Caine, painter David
Hockney, and actress Julie Christie, but it’s the performances by Pink Floyd
that make the set worthwhile. Interstellar Overdrive, in particular —
with its throbbing bass lines, slashing guitars, whirling organ, and pounding
percussion — is a shrieking blast of manic violence that even during its softer
interludes retains its ominous presence. Interspersed with a kaleidoscopic blur
of artful, ’60s-style imagery that was shot at the UFO Club and the 14 Hour
Technicolor Dream Festival, London 1966/1967 offers a gritty glimpse of
the unfurling underground music scene inside the British capital.
London 1966/1967 (CD-DVD) is available from Barnes & Noble.
To order, Click Here!
Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2005 The Music Box