Scream Thy Last Scream
"Scream Thy Last Scream" | |
---|---|
Song |
"Scream Thy Last Scream" is an unreleased song by Pink Floyd, written by frontman Syd Barrett and was scheduled to be the band's next single.[1][2][3]
Contents
Recording
Only two takes are complete.[1] It was recorded in the same sessions as "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun", on 7–8 August 1967.[4][5][2]
Music and lyrics
The song features: several changes in tempo, a sped-up double-tracked vocal part by Barrett, while drummer Nick Mason simultaneously sings the normal part[5][6] (one of the rare moments he ever sang on a Floyd record),[7] a range of bells,[8] crowd noises,[8] an instrumental section that continually increases in speed featuring wah-wah guitar solos and keyboards, and surreal lyrics.[9] Barrett is only clearly audible on one line in the song, "she'll be scrubbing bubbles on all fours".[5]
Aborted release and other versions
The two tracks were arranged to be released as a single on 8 September, before it was vetoed by the band's record company, EMI.[10] The song was again scheduled for release, this time with "Vegetable Man" as the B-side, but cancelled and both tracks remain unreleased.[1][11]
A promotional video was made for the track, directed by poet Spike Hawkins.[1] A final studio cut of "Scream Thy Last Scream" was completed along with a somewhat different BBC radio version (which features both Barrett and Mason on lead vocals)[12] and even some live recordings.[13] All are widely available on bootleg recordings.[14] A late-Barrett era rendition was recorded live in Rotterdam in November 1967, at the Hippy-Happy Fair.[15] Producer Malcolm Jones (who produced Barrett's The Madcap Laughs solo album) had remixed "Vegetable Man" and "Scream Thy Last Scream",[16] for inclusion on the Barrett rarities album Opel (1988), however the band blocked its inclusion.[17][18]
The song's chord progression and melody were later reworked for Barrett's song "Baby Lemonade", from his 1970 album Barrett.
Personnel
- Syd Barrett – guitar, sped-up double-tracked vocals, vocals (one line)
- Richard Wright – keyboards
- Roger Waters – bass guitar
- Nick Mason – drums, lead vocals
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Mason, Nick. Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2004). ISBN 978-0-297-84387-0.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://pinkfloydhyperbase.dk/unreleased/index.html#SCREAM THY LAST SCREAM
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.