Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun

[Mythos]

Damn, it's now 50 years old! They supposedly finished recording it in Jan-1968.

And it still sounds as brilliant and fresh as when I first heard it around 72 or 73 when I started getting into Pink Floyd (at the age of 14 or so). It never fails to put me in that mellow trans-like introspective state of euphoria.

Nick Mason's drums set the tone for the entire song, then there's Richard White's spacey keyboards, Rodger Waters cosmic bass and vocals and the least heard are the guitars of Gilmour and Barrett! And is supposedly the only song that featured both David Gilmour and Syd Barrett. Not surprising that Mason said it was his favorite PF song.



A quote from wikipedia (below) shows that it was way too futuristic for even the forward-thinking minds of the day: "Jim Miller of Rolling Stone described "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun", along with "Let There Be More Light", as "boring melodically, harmonically, and lyrically. Miller further described the production work as "not as glittery as the first album's, and the instrumental work is shoddy and routine. Miller also described the track as too long." (What an idiot..!)

[at least 100 dead]

Brilliant tune. Part of its beauty of is that any beginner can play it and create magic.

[Frankh]

<3

...the live version on Ummagumma, right down to the mysterious fadeout...
(It was how I lost my live Floyd cherry, along with Astronomy Domine, for which there is also great <3)

...somewhere along the line, at some point in time,I can't remember now where or when...

...I heard a complete version of the Set The Controls from the Ummagumma set...

... or at least I think I did...

...and there's a reason why they truncated it...

lol

...hell, it's still around 9 minutes long isn't it?...


I, too was around 14 in 1972 or so when I first heard this stuff. Instant Floyd fan. Agreed about the cool, minimalist vibe to it.

Although, I had somehow heard Floyd even earlier than this. They somehow arranged to reach these ears and prick 'em up possibly sometime in the late 60's. Have a distinct memory of one of those school box turntables with the speaker built into the lid, you know the kind (those of you with sufficient dust buildup on the ol' footwear), and the odd, percussive and tape effect sounds of Zabriskie Point's Heartbeat Pigmeat coming out of it.

Was summoned by sound up to the device to read the label. Couldn't have been more than 11.

Love that early stuff. Much, much <3.

[notallwhowander]

Classic! The brooding atmosphere is superb.

[DoubleDrummer]

I have never seen that video before -- thanks for posting.
If you bought the Super-Duper version of the original OSI release, you got a cover of this song......................a well-done cover.

[arturs]

I discovered Set the Controls at age 14 but this was 1981. Yes, absolutely magic to my teenage brain 37 years ago and still has that effect today.

Funny story about how I bought it (the "Nice Pair" 2 LP). I had heard Genesis' Lamb on the radio but missed the band name. I thought it was a great song and went to a record store and asked about this Lamb on Broadway song. The clerk told me it was by Pink Floyd. We searched through all the LPs and couldn't find the song title, and he said "oh I bet it is on this one (the Nice Pair) but it probably has a weird title." So I bought it and I will always be grateful to that ignoramus for turning me on to early Floyd..

[rcarlberg]

In that era PF were breaking new ground, creating moody music without writing what you'd call conventional "songs." Today it's hard to remember how revolutionary this stuff was.

I wish DSOTM had never come out.

[Mister Triscuits]

This is where the real Pink Floyd starts for me. The psych-pop Syd Barrett band and the Waters-dominated AOR phase are fine, but this in-between era is where all the magic happened.

[chalkpie]

In that era PF were breaking new ground, creating moody music without writing what you'd call conventional "songs." Today it's hard to remember how revolutionary this stuff was.

I wish DSOTM had never come out.

I'm not sure I agree about "songs" as Syd wrote many songs in the early era - I think they combined the atmospheric/textural/spacey music quite well with the English/whimsical (slightly) more traditional songwriting.

As for Dark Side never being released (and can I assume written?), I would say that's quite an odd statement bordering on the absurd. imo.

[DocProgger]

As for Dark Side never being released (and can I assume written?), I would say that's quite an odd statement bordering on the absurd. imo.

I agree. It's not like DSOTM was a collection of pop ditties. It's an album all musically linked together and thematic and meant to be listened to as a whole. Some people might not like it as much as the earlier stuff (I like Meddle slightly more because of Echoes), but to wish one of the most iconic prog albums ever was never created and released is just silly.

[Skullhead]

This is the correct music for the video. The original post included a mocked up conglomeration of the studio version music with the Live at Pompeii footage which doesn't do either justice.

It's a shame some people on youtube do things like this and 2 million people view it.

[JKL2000]

In that era PF were breaking new ground, creating moody music without writing what you'd call conventional "songs." Today it's hard to remember how revolutionary this stuff was.

I wish DSOTM had never come out.

Just don’t ever listen to anything Floyd did after Meddle. That’s pretty simple.

[Paulrus]

IMO this song and "Careful with that Axe, Eugene" are what gave PF the lifeline to survive in the immediate post-Syd period. To me they are the band's thumbprint in the 1968-1970 era. Not to mention providing inspiration to hundreds of bands since.

[Drake]

This is where the real Pink Floyd starts for me. The psych-pop Syd Barrett band and the Waters-dominated AOR phase are fine, but this in-between era is where all the magic happened.

Where is the AOR?

[Mister Triscuits]

Where is the AOR?

Call it "classic rock" if you prefer.

[ronmac]

Where is the AOR?

Album-oriented rock

[ronmac]

Stunningly, I actually heard this great track on the local radio station just last week. Of course, it was by request. Then again, most people who request songs around these parts request the same old same old they play every friggin' day.

[rcarlberg]

Just don’t ever listen to anything Floyd did after Meddle. That’s pretty simple.

Good advice, and pretty much my rule. Oh, parts of WYWH are pretty good, and truth be told I enjoyed most of DSOTM when it first came out. But it was (and continues to be...) wayyyy overplayed on the radio!!!

Which is why I wish it had never come out. If Floyd had continued down the path they were blazing on Meddle, Saucerful, Pompeii, Massed Gadgets and The Man and the Journey, just think where they'd be today! Think where popular music might be today! By playing to the lowest common denominator with DSOTM Floyd set back musical progress by twenty years, IMO.

[Smörgåsbord]

This is where the real Pink Floyd starts for me. The psych-pop Syd Barrett band and the Waters-dominated AOR phase are fine, but this in-between era is where all the magic happened.

Couldn't agree more!

[ronmac]

Good advice, and pretty much my rule. Oh, parts of WYWH are pretty good, and truth be told I enjoyed most of DSOTM when it first came out. But it was (and continues to be...) wayyyy overplayed on the radio!!!

Well, you could stop listening to the radio.

[ronmac]

So, what do true Pink Floyd fans prefer?

[Mister Triscuits]

Album-oriented rock

...or "Always On Radio."

[MYSTERIOUS TRAVELLER]

I personally like the piece Saucerful of Secrets better... and the earlier Astronomy Domine and Interstellar Overdrive. But STCFTHOTS is a good one

[rcarlberg]

Well, you could stop listening to the radio.

40 years ago.

[Skullhead]

So, what do true Pink Floyd fans prefer?

No Waters, no Floyd.

I'm sure he was difficult to work with, and a total control freak, but he brought an edge to the band that was needed to keep the listener fully invested.
Post Waters sounds like David Gilmore solo albums. Good albums, but it's not really Pink Floyd is it?

The PF concerts I saw with just Gilmore felt like a solo artist who just hired everyone to go on tour for a huge show. I mean how many people were on stage?
The music got bigger than their ability to pull it off. It was just entertainment.

Live, they were best when it was just the four of them on stage getting it on with the great chemistry they had.