I remember when a friend came back from London in 1967 with a copy of Piper At The Gates Of Dawn, Pink Floyd's first album, tucked under her arm. It said everything I wanted music to say and then some. So when Saucerful Of Secrets came out in 1968, I couldn't wait to get it.
And that's when the disappointment sat in. But not for long. Pink Floyd had lost its founding member and guiding force Syd Barrett to increasing instability and mental illness. And because of that, Saucerful wasn't the same Pink Floyd I had expected. But in a way it was different - they had somehow grown. Although much of the album did have Syd in it, he was relegated to only one song and his contributions on the other three songs were somewhat negligible.
But Saucerful Of Secrets was a turning point for the band and it laid the groundwork for who they were to become a short time later.
So tonight's track is the opening of the album. Let There Be More Light was a harbinger of things to come for the band. It would be a new and different trail. But it would have lasting impressions.
It wasn't the old Pink Floyd - it was a new and different one - and they both could be appreciated.