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List Price: $17.00 | | Publisher: Delta
Salesrank: 256980
Released: June 1, 1992 |
| Our Price: $9.82 |
| Used Price: $0.47 |
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| Media: Paperback |
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Editorial Review:
Saucerful of Secrets is the first in-depth biography of this very private group. At the heart of the saga is Syd Barrett, the group's brilliant founder, whose public decline into shattered incoherence--attributable in part to his marathon use of LSD--is one of the tragedies of rock history. The making of Dark Side of the Moon and Floyd's other great albums is recounted in detail, as are the mounting of "The Wall"  and the creation of the flying pigs, crashing  planes, "Mr. Screen" and the other elements of their spectacular stage shows. The book also explores the many battles between bass player/song writer Roger Waters and the rest of the group, leading up to Water's acrimonious departure for a solo  career in 1984 and his unsuccessful attempt to disolve the group he had left behind.
Saucerful of Secrets is an electrifying account of this ground-breaking, mind-bending group, covering every period of their career from  earliest days to latest recordings. It is full of  revealing information that will be treasured by all who love Pink Floyd's music.
Saucerful of Secrets: The Pink Floyd Odyssey Reviews:
Very Good!. 
2008-12-30 - A Very well written and Complete history of Pink Floyd up to 1992. My only wish was that the Author would add a few Chapters on Newer things such as the G8 reunion, Richard Wright's death, and Semi reunion at a Syd Barrett memorial and plus the Division Bell and Amused to Death CD's, but that's just nit picking. A very fair account although Roger Water's king size Ego comes across badly.
Best overall Floyd biography out there 
2008-10-07 - The recent demise of Pink Floyd keyboardist Rick Wright was my impetus for reading this well-researched biography of the rock group. I'm a fan of the Waters/Gilmour Floyd (as opposed to the Syd Barrett Floyd or the Waters-less Floyd), and Schaffner does a great job of distinguishing these different periods of the band, putting a nice perspective on the way the transitions occurred given the personalities involved. It's interesting to note that Floyd was unlike many other rock groups at the time, having grown up middle-class (or, in the case of Wright, upper-class), which partly explains their sound, which relied less on the three-chord blues imported from American (with which groups such as the Who and the Rolling Stones modified in their own ways to make popular both in Britain and back in the States) and more on experimentation, especially with sound effects. In fact, I hadn't realized just how important sound effects were to the Floyd sound until having this pointed out to me by Schaffner.
I probably found the discussion regarding Syd Barrett the least interesting thing here, but that's due to my personal distaste of the psychedlic-style that was his hallmark. Others who like Barrett's music will likely find much to discover herein about Barrett, how both fame and constant LSD use took its toll on him, and how he was eventually ousted from the group that he ostensibly was the leader of. Of the other major change--the revival of the Floyd name sans Roger Waters--I was much more intrigued and found that Schaffner had done a good job in helping me see both sides of the issue. Personally, I think that Roger Waters and David Gilmour are like John Lennon/Paul McCartney: while both are good songwriters solo, they were great songwriters when they wrote together. Waters tends to be much, much too wordy in his solo material, neglecting the music and sometimes even the sound of the words, while Gilmour's lyrics are painfully juvenile at times (I never thought I would here "glove" rhymed with "love" in a Pink Floyd song).
For the true fan, this material may be old hat, but for the casual fan, this was an excellent overview of the Floyd career from the beginning to the classic rock concert circuit.
great book!!!
2007-09-13 - As a true Pink Floyd fan I can sincerely say that the author of the book does a great job in telling the story of this great band.
Saucerful of Secrets 
2007-02-10 - Buy Nick Mason's "Inside Out" biographical book instead. Much better - great photos & the real story. This one's a snoozer.
What do I have to say to make you buy this book??
2007-01-05 - Its incredible, best book about Pink Floyd you will ever read.
If you're a fan, whether it is an avid fan or a casual fan, you will enjoy this book. It features wonderful details about the especially elusive Syd years, and it starts well before Pink Floyd was still The Pink Floyd Sound. It tells the entire story of how the band was formed, their live band stage, their success with dark side, all the way until the end of their career.
Highly Recommended
