A Saucerful of Secrets

A Saucerful of Secrets
Studio album by
Released28 June 1968
Recorded9 May 1967 – 3 May 1968
Studio
Genre
Length39:25
LabelEMI Columbia
ProducerNorman Smith
Pink Floyd chronology
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
(1967)
A Saucerful of Secrets
(1968)
More
(1969)
Singles from A Saucerful of Secrets
  1. "Let There Be More Light"
    Released: 19 August 1968 (US)

A Saucerful of Secrets is the second studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 28 June 1968[4] by EMI Columbia in the UK and in the US by Tower Records. The mental health of the singer and guitarist Syd Barrett deteriorated during recording, so David Gilmour was recruited; Barrett left the band before the album's completion.

Whereas Barrett had been the primary songwriter on Pink Floyd's debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967), on A Saucerful of Secrets each member contributed songwriting and lead vocals. Gilmour appeared on all but two songs, while Barrett contributed to three.[5] "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" is the only song on which all five members appear.

A Saucerful of Secrets reached number nine in the UK charts, but did not chart in the US until April 2019, peaking at number 158. It received mostly positive reviews, though many critics have deemed it inferior to The Piper at the Gates of Dawn.

  1. ^ Edmondson PhD, Jacqueline (10 May 2011). Music in American Life: An Encyclopedia of the Songs, Styles, Stars, and ... Farrar, Straus and Giroux. p. 147. ISBN 978-1-4299-6589-7. Retrieved 3 April 2017. ...Although Pink Floyd found its own origins in the psychedelic rock of the late 1960s—most notably in The Piper at the Gates of Dawn(1967) and A Saucerful of Secrets(1968)...
  2. ^ Bill Martin (14 December 2015). Avant Rock: Experimental Music from the Beatles to Bjork. Open Court. p. 68. ISBN 978-1-4299-6589-7. Archived from the original on 21 May 2021. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  3. ^ Bill Martin (14 December 2015). Listening to the Future: The Time of Progressive Rock, 1968–1978. Open Court. p. 165. ISBN 978-1-4299-6589-7. Archived from the original on 21 May 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  4. ^ "Timeline". Pink Floyd - The Official Site. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  5. ^ Gulla, Bob (2009). Guitar Gods: The 25 Players Who Made Rock History. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press. p. 92. ISBN 978-0-313-35806-7.