I’m not sure when this record was released, and wasn’t Music For Pleasure one of those odd 1960s/1970s labels that pumped out all manner of product to fulfil whatever was currently in vogue? I’m sure I’ve seen (and, indeed, bought) lots of MFP records that would fall into the comedy/easy listening/’odd’ bracket. I have some recollection that there are interesting things afoot with this particular album, and any confirmation of these things would be appreciated:
- Relics has been released on another label. Hasn’t it?
- A different version of the sleeve exists without the pink colouring.
Ah. Duh. I just turned over the sleeve and saw a relatively large piece of text that deals with at least one of the above points:
Previously released on the Starline label (SRS 5071) under the same title
Maybe it was that release which had the slightly different cover? Should I stay awake worrying about these things?
I bought this record a looooong time ago, perhaps in something like 1990 or 1991, I’d imagine. Gosh. Twenty years ago. Seeing the sleeve now reminds me of many hours spent hanging out at a friend’s house; a friend who was several steps ahead of me in the record collection/music appreciation stakes. He had a copy of Relics alongside comprehensive collections of David Bowie’s releases (including, most interestingly and amusingly, his very early Davy Jones/’Laughing Gnome’-type output). We’d sit around listening to records for hour upon hour, and this educated me not only in the ways of some bands (like Pink Floyd and The Beatles) that I’ve gone on to get extraordinarily into, but also widened my horizons by introducing me to the work of – to reel a few names off from memory – Linton Kwesi Johnson, Gil Scott Heron, Ravi Shankar, and many more. This wasn’t so much a piece of specific musical education; more a set of lessons in how to listen to as much and as varied music as you can, in order to fully appreciate what’s good and what’s not. And to know why.
Whenever people ask that oft-posited question ‘If you could have been at any gig ever, which one would it have been?’ my answer is almost always “Pink Floyd – UFO Club – around 1968”. I’ve said that so often now, and seen so much footage of the band from that time, that I’ve almost convinced myself of actually having been there, which is both illogical and tragic. But hey, that’s what happens when you come across a really great band.
I think the Starline release didn’t have the letters coloured in. And I think for the CD reissue someone actually made a model of the machine on the vinyl version front cover (drawn by Nick Mason ?) and a photo if it is the CD cover. I could be wrong as I am hurriedly typing without resorting to Google. I recently read and enjoyed this: http://tinyurl.com/38po9v4 . It’s a more incisive read than Nick Mason’s book, but I did come away from it thinking it probably wasn’t that much fun being in Pink Floyd.
Can I borrow that book at some point?
Yes, of course. I’ll give you your Paolo Hewitt Creation book back as well.