Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun
| "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Song by Pink Floyd from the album A Saucerful of Secrets | |||||||||||||||||||
| Released | 29 June 1968 (UK) 27 July 1968 (US) |
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| Recorded | 7–8 August, October 1967, January 1968 Abbey Road Studios, London |
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| Genre | Psychedelic rock, space rock | ||||||||||||||||||
| Length |
5:27 ("A Saucerful of Secrets" version) 9:27 (Ummagumma live version) |
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| Writer | Roger Waters | ||||||||||||||||||
| Producer | Norman Smith | ||||||||||||||||||
| A Saucerful of Secrets track listing | |||||||||||||||||||
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"Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" is a song by British rock band Pink Floyd and is featured on their second album A Saucerful of Secrets (1968).[1] It was written by Roger Waters[1] and features a drum part by Nick Mason played with timpani mallets. The song was regularly performed between 1967 and 1973[1] and can be heard on the live record of the 1969 album Ummagumma[1] and seen in the 1972 movie Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii.[1] It also appears on the compilation album Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd which was released in 2001.
According to an interview with David Gilmour on the 2006 documentary Which One's Pink?, the song features minor guitar work both from Gilmour and Syd Barrett, making "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" the only Pink Floyd song that features all five band members, though many listeners couldn't really discern the guitar tracks as Richard Wright's keyboards and organs were overlapping the guitars.
The song's recording commenced in August 1967, with overdubs recorded in October of that year and in January 1968. In an article reprinted in the book Pink Floyd – through the eyes of... by Bruno McDonald, Roger Waters admitted to "borrowing" the lyrics from a book of Chinese poetry from the Tang Dynasty period (which was later identified as the book Poems of the late T'ang, translated by A.C. Graham).[2]
Some of the borrowed lines were written by Li He, whose poem "Don't Go Out of the Door" contains the line "Witness the man who raved at the wall as he wrote his questions to Heaven",[3] and Li Shangyin, whose poetry contained the lines, "watch little by little the night turns around", "countless the twigs which tremble in dawn" and "one inch of love is one inch of ashes."
The song has been a staple in Roger Waters' solo tours. Beginning with the 1984–1985 tours, "Set the Controls..." has been presented in a radically rearranged rendition - with female backing vocals, saxophone solos and a guitar solo (and even a shakuhachi solo in 1985). A truncated version (just the three verses) of the song featuring a simple acoustic guitar part was performed on a handful of occasions during the Radio K.A.O.S tour of 1987. The song was included in the set list for Waters' 2006-2008 tour, and previously his In the Flesh tour, featuring stills from the videos of "Arnold Layne" and "Scarecrow" projected on large screens. In June 2002, audiences enjoyed a surprise when the two nights at London's Wembley Arena saw the appearance, as guest drummer for the performance of the track, of Waters' former Pink Floyd bandmate Nick Mason, the first indication of a reconciliation following the acrimonious split of the mid-1980s.
Contents |
[edit] Personnel
- Richard Wright – Farfisa organ, vibraphone
- Roger Waters – vocals, bass guitar
- Nick Mason – drums (played with timpani mallets)
- David Gilmour – guitar
- Syd Barrett – guitar
[edit] Alternative and live versions
- Pink Floyd performed the song from 1967–1973. The last ever performance with Waters, took place on 13 October 1973 at the Stadthalle, Vienna.[citation needed] In 1984/1985 and from 1999–present, Roger Waters has performed the song.
- On both the live Ummagumma disc and the Live at Pompeii, the song is significantly extended with a wide range of dynamics. For instance the drums stop in the quiet middle section.
- A version of the song, containing a saxophone solo, features on Waters' In the Flesh: Live DVD, as well as Disc 1 of the 2002 album of the same name.
[edit] Cover versions
- A cover version was also done by prog metal supergroup OSI and is on the bonus disc of their debut album OSI.
- Another version of the song was done by Israeli doom/death band Salem.
- On Erasure's 1994 release of their single "Run to the Sun", a remix by Chris and Cosey is titled the "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun Mix".
- Smashing Pumpkins played a twenty-minute live version of the song in the final leg of their 2008 tour and released a cover of the song in their Live Smashing Pumpkins album series.
- Sludge metal band Nightstick covered the song on their 1995 album Blotter.
- Black metal band 1349 recorded a cover version which appears on their album, Revelations of the Black Flame.
- German band The House of Usher recorded a cover version which appears on their 2007 compilation album, When Our Idols Fall.
- Experimental group Psychic TV recorded a cover of the song for their 1996 album Trip Reset.
- Sludge metal/hardcore punk band Kylesa have performed a version of the song in their live set.
- Finnish experimental electronic artist Mika Vainio made a cover version titled "Set the Controls to the Heart of the Sun" on his 2008 album Oleva.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e Mabbett, Andy (1995). The Complete Guide to the Music of Pink Floyd. London: Omnibus,. ISBN 0-7119-4301-X.
- ^ Allusions to Classical Chinese poetry in Pink Floyd
- ^ Palacios, Julian (2010). Syd Barrett & Pink Floyd: Dark globe. London: Plexus. p. 265. ISBN 9780859654319. http://books.google.com/books?id=DvgH58uEPFAC&pg=PA265. "Waters borrows a succinct line from 9th-century poet Li He's 'Don't Go Out of the Door', which appeared in the original poem as: 'Witness the man who raved at the wall as he wrote his questions to Heaven.'"
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