Christmas 2011 - Pink Floyd - The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

The date is the 25th of December, 2011. The thundering of tiny feet can be heard down the stairs. Sqeals of delight.

Now, at this point I was far too old the thunder down the stairs on Christmas morning (I did have tiny feet mind) but I didn't care. Luckily the sherry and mince pie had gone, been taken presumably by a mystical and unseen entity (probably my gran) and in return lay presents piled to the sky (ahem). As a shooting star flew past, and a reindeer could faintly be heard against the silent glory of a snowy Christmas morning, I received my first ever turntable.

If I'm honest, it was far less magical than that. After being woken at the unchrismassy hour of about 5 by a younger brother, and having my coffee spiked with cold water by my gran, not to mention feeling un-refreshed due to my previous days shift at a *high profile budget clothing chain* and unappealed by the thought of a Boxing Day shift, I lumbered down the stairs. But the prospect of a new Rega RP1 put all that out of my mind (even the coldwater coffee taste in my mouth).

As a budget turntable, the Rega RP1 is ultimately unparalleled. At £230 it isn't cheap mind, yet you might as well properly appreciate your records, even if you are just getting started. It is musical, reliable and straightforward and a LOT of fun. I couldn't recommend it higher. Within 10 minutes of beginning the set up it is singing, and sounding pretty awesome, despite the need for a fairly lengthy run in required. If you are a beginner, it's perfect. You'll need an amp and speakers (any HiFi dealer will help you match them) and you need to make sure you have a pre-amp (or phono stage) either built in or as a separate to your amplifier (a CD player doesn't need one of these, but a turntable does. They're built in most modern quality amplifiers).

As it turns out, within 10 minutes my RP1 was singing the opening static of "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" the debut album by a little known psychedelic rock outfit Pink Floyd. It's quite frankly a masterpiece in funny noises, garden gnomes and is the only album I know of that concludes with a bunch of quacking ducks. I knew of the album prior to discovering it in the garage, and whilst my dad had mentioned he did have it, the buzz of excitement gained when finding something desirable in amongst a load of shit was still there. This is quite a magical feeling, yet as elusive as it is beautiful.

My copy was purchased (I think) in the mid-eighties by my dad and quite frankly I don't give him enough credit for it, the problem being that he has a pretty awesome taste anyway so I can't let anything out that might give him the upper hand. It's on the Fame label and is a UK stereo reissue from 1983. It sounds pretty awesome and is available at about £15.00 to £20.00 in great condition (this is recommended). I wouldn't pay too much for condition, VG+ is acceptable for a 1983 reissue of a 1967 album. Most desirable will be the 1967 UK press with the flip back cover in either mono or stereo fetching well into excess of £200. The stereo is presumably rarer yet I tend to find the mono might be more desirable due the the wide panning in the album (my copy open features hard panned left/right vocals and drums etc. in some places. Comparable to the 1966-67 stereo Beatles albums in this respect). They are the copies I would consider - suited to your preference. Steer clear of coloured copies, they are most likely (if not even definitely) unofficial "fakes". Also stay away from the 2011 (or 2010, I forget) remaster. This is not an exception to the general rule "remasters are kind of shite".

And there you have it. A great oak grows from a tiny acorn. An average oak also grows from a tiny acorn. A rather expensive, time consuming, infuriating yet beautiful and under appreciated oak also grows from a tiny acorn (presumably some kind of genetically modified acorn).

In the words of Pink Floyd:
"DUH DUH DUH DUH DUH DUH DUH DUH DUH DUH DUH DUH DUH DE DUH DE DUH DUHHHHHHHHHHH *wewewewe wooo shhhhhmtp"

Questions or queries? Leave a comment! 5 points also for obtaining the correct source of the above quote.

Have a great day