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Nick Mason: Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets
Live at the Roundhouse

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: Sony Music
Released: 2020.08.19
Time:
 49:02 / 47:36
Category: Pop/Rock
Producer(s): Jim Parsons
Rating:
Media type: 2xCD
Web address: www.thesaucerfulofsecrets.com
Appears with: Pink Floyd
Purchase date: 2020
Price in €: 1,00





 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


CD 1

[1] Interstellar Overdrive (Syd Barrett) - 5:50
[2] Astronomy Domine (Syd Barrett) - 4:11
[3] Lucifer Sam (Syd Barrett) - 3:12
[4] Fearless (David Gilmour / Roger Waters) - 5:02
[5] Obscured by Clouds (David Gilmour / Roger Waters) - 4:27
[6] When You're In (David Gilmour / Nick Mason / Roger Waters / Richard Wright) - 1:55
[7] Remember a Day (Richard Wright) - 3:32
[8] Arnold Layne (Syd Barrett) - 3:15
[9] Vegetable Man (Syd Barrett) - 2:27
[10] If (Roger Waters) - 1:55
[11] Atom Heart Mother (Ron Geesin / David Gilmour / Nick Mason / Roger Waters / Richard Wright) - 7:14
[12] If [Reprise] (Roger Waters) - 1:52
[13] The Nile Song (Roger Waters) - 3:40


CD 2

[1] Green Is the Colour (Roger Waters) - 4:07
[2] Let There Be More Light (Roger Waters) - 3:37
[3] Childhood End (David Gilmour) - 3:33
[4] Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun (Roger Waters / Nick Mason / Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets) - 12:21
[5] See Emily Play (Syd Barrett) - 3:03
[6] Bike (Syd Barrett) - 2:23
[7] One of These Days (David Gilmour / Nick Mason / Roger Waters / Richard Wright) - 5:57
[8] A Saucerful of Secrets (David Gilmour / Nick Mason / Roger Waters / Richard Wright) - 9:17
[9] Point Me at the Sky (David Gilmour / Roger Waters) - 3:14

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


Nick Mason - Drums, Gong, Bell, Percussion, Executive Producer
Guy Pratt - Bass, Vocals, Cymbals on [CD2:8], Gong on [CD2:4]
Gary Kemp - Guitars, Vocals
Lee Harris - Guitars, Backing Vocals
Dom Beken - Keyboards, Programming, Backing Vocals

Jim Parsons - Producer
Tony Smith - Executive Producer
Peter Brandt - Engineer
Pat "OGL" Baker - Production Manager
Steve Carr - Live Sound
Wayne Chappell - Drum Technician, Stage Manager
Mike Clement - Bass Technician, Guitar
Andy Corns - Bass Technician, Guitar
Nick Davis - Mixing, Sound Production
Jack Dickinson - Video Technician
Jill Furmanovsky - Photography
Chris Gadd - Tour Manager
Vix Gilbert - Assistant
Jo Greenwood - Project Coordinator
Michael Hamm - Liner Notes
Simon Honywell - Live Sound
Paul Howling - Lighting Technician
Will Ireland - Photography
Sharon Jackson - Production Assistant
Pete Kalopsidiotis - Setup
Paul "PK" Kelly - Lighting Director
Owain Lloyd - Keyboard Technician
Mark Bradshaw - Lighting Technician
Dee Miller - Monitors
Santo Nicolosi - Photography
James Tonkin - Director
Lana Topham - Archivist
Brett Turnbull - Photography Director
Patrick Woodroffe - Lighting Design

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


It’s been said that music is the closest thing we have to time travel. Case in point: the new live album and concert film from Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets. Released today, September 18, Live At The Roundhouse captures the former Pink Floyd drummer and his supergroup of talented friends – guitarists Lee Harris and Gary Kemp, keyboardist Dom Beken, and longtime Floyd associate Guy Pratt on bass – as they tackle some of Pink Floyd’s earliest deep cuts in the famed London venue. The 22-song set is available today in an array of formats: Blu-ray, DVD, 2-LP, and 2-CD/DVD (the latter of which we had the pleasure to review).

It came as a surprise when, in 2018, Nick Mason announced a world tour with a new band, Saucerful of Secrets. Even though David Gilmour and Roger Waters, respectively, had built new careers revisiting Pink Floyd and solo successes in arenas and grand halls, it hadn’t really occurred to anyone that Nick Mason might chart a similar course. But why not? He was Pink Floyd’s most dependable member – the ever-steady heartbeat of the band, the only one to appear on every album and experience every era. The affable timekeeper had long stood in the shadows of his bandmates and their acrimony, and now it was his turn in the spotlight.

From the start, Mason made clear that his show would be markedly different from those of his former bandmates. While Gilmour’s and Waters’ concerts tended to spotlight the band’s mid-’70s successes (and excesses) with songs from Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals, and The Wall, Mason would track his own unique course by focusing only on pre-Dark Side material. On the heels of the 2016 Early Years box set, the Syd Barrett-led era was fresh in the minds of Floydians and had no doubt found a new audience. So every ingredient was just about perfect here: great material, a fantastic band, and, as is Nick Mason’s specialty, impeccable timing.

But one more ingredient that makes this particular performance so special is the venue itself. London’s Roundhouse holds an important place in Pink Floyd’s history, as it was something of a second home to the band from 1966 to 1972. It’s near-magical to hear Nick Mason tackle that early material in the venerated space – a case of déjà vu for all involved. Of course, the music is also a trip down memory lane, but not too overtly so. Whether it be the early singles of 1967 and 1968, or the heavier fare from the early ’70s, the Saucerful of Secrets band makes the songs their own while simultaneously honoring the arrangements that fans have come to love. If that weren’t enough, many of these songs hadn’t been performed onstage in decades (if at all) and were finally given a chance at a new life.

The show begins with “Interstellar Overdrive.” It’s a fitting opener as it served as a centerpiece of Pink Floyd’s earliest performances. Fifty years on, we witness a new band on fire with dynamic dual-guitar interplay, dizzying keys, and of course Nick – his talents undiminished despite so long away from the stage – remaining the steady heartbeat. The utter joy on audience faces as they segue into a lengthy jam section is palpable in the film. After a year on stage together, the Saucerfuls proved a well-honed unit, explorative yet deliberate and always capable of keeping the view on the seat’s edge.

“Astronomy Domine” follows. The Syd Barrett-era favorite is the first vocal of the night, and while no one could perfectly replicate the voice of Syd Barrett (or David Gilmour or Roger Waters, for that matter) The Saucerfuls do a respectable and convincing job. Here, we see the band gel with one another again as they easily navigate shifting tempos with interlocked guitar solos and intricate drum accents. The Barrett celebration continues with “Lucifer Sam,” followed by the first “radio hit” of the night, “Fearless.” This is our first taste of the (slightly) later-period Floyd. Gone are the twee accents, the technicolor psychedelia, and the Farfisa. In their place, a more progressive sound took root.

The Saucerful of Secrets turn out a note-perfect performance complete with Rodgers and Hammerstein’s anthem “You’ll Never Walk Alone” as sung by a crowd of Liverpool Football Club fans. The chant fades and distorts, making way for an other-worldly synthesizer lead into “Obscured By Clouds.” The title track to the 1972 album is often overlooked, lost between the game-changing Meddle and the career-redefining Dark Side of the Moon. Yet the song isn’t lost on the audience who clap along, entranced by its spacey and funky groove. After this foray into the early ’70s, it’s back to the psychedelic era with Guy Pratt taking on Richard Wright’s “Remember A Day.” Next, two of the most recognizable tunes of the band’s early days: the breakthrough single “Arnold Layne” and the positively wacky “Vegetable Man.”

Next up is a thrilling medley of “If” and “Atom Heart Mother.” These tracks saw Pink Floyd really stretching out for the first time, employing orchestral scores and meticulously organized extended forms to great effect. Here, the band strips down Atom Heart Mother‘s title track of its orchestral grandeur, seamlessly reshaping the arrangement for a five-piece band. It’s followed by the rocker “The Nile Song” off the 1969 album More, a tender reading of “Green Is the Color,” the 1968 album cut “Let There Be More Light,” and a thrilling “Childhood’s End.” They close out the set with energized renditions of crowd pleasers “Set the Controls For the Heart of The Sun,” “See Emily Play,” “Bike,” and, of course, “One of These Days” which features Mason’s unmistakable treated vocals. They return for an encore of “Saucerful of Secrets” and a spirited “Point Me at the Sky,” before leaving the stage to a well-deserved uproar of applause.

For many fans in the audience, this was likely the first time hearing many of these songs live in concert. According to statistics on setlist.fm, Pink Floyd performed “If” only three times in 1970 and ’71; “Green Is The Color” hadn’t been played in 48 years; “Childhood’s End” was retired in 1973; and “The Nile Song” had never been performed by a member of Pink Floyd before. For this author, these performances were the most special of the night and those which best demonstrate the goal of the Saucerful of Secrets project. It’s not just about honoring this overlooked period of Pink Floyd’s music, but allowing it to exist again in a new context. Placed in the capable hands of Mason, Harris, Kemp, Pratt, and Beken, these songs are no longer history pieces, but living and breathing works experienced as something new. With Live At the Roundhouse, we get a chance to experience the thrill of seeing these supremely underrated songs performed onstage, presented beautifully in sound and vision.

As you’d probably expect from a Pink Floyd-related release, the audio is expertly mixed. Nick Davis’ engineering highlights the band’s instrumental prowess whether in stereo or 5.1 surround sound, and there’s plenty of it to go around. Each member contributes joy, power, restraint, and passion. They’re capable of playing so freely, giving each instrumentalist ample room to move, while remaining simultaneously locked in with one another. It’s that electricity found in the best ensembles that makes this concert so thrilling. Visually, the direction and editing are stunning, truly bringing the viewer into the action with perspectives from every inch of the concert hall and every angle of the stage. Wide overhead shots, closeups of every player, scenes from every vantage point of the audience, and even some tasteful psychedelic effects make it an exciting film that you can really get sucked into.

Between some songs, the director has chosen to include interviews with the band. While this sometimes spells bad news for a concert film, here they actually help the pacing. Unlike some of the worst offenders, these interviews aren’t just some loosely cobbled-together behind-the-scenes pieces where the band says, “Hey, look, we’re on tour! Check out our fancy jet…” Here, each interview provides context on how the band was formed, their almost spiritual connection to the venue, and their love for playing this material together. Still, viewers have an option in the main menu to play just the songs for that uninterrupted concert experience. And for those who crave more glimpses behind the scenes, the disc includes further band interviews and intimate rehearsal footage as bonus features.

The 2 CDs and DVD are packaged in individual card sleeves within a groovy die-cut slipcase. Adding to the package is a beautifully designed 32-page book full of concert photos, notes, backstage snapshots, and interviews with the band as they reflect on Saucerful of Secrets and their grand concert at The Roundhouse. In this era of COVID lockdowns (which indeed affected this very release, originally slated in March), we could all use a dose of music time travel. Whether you want to relive this top-tier concert from Mason and Co.’s magical tour or live vicariously as the very far-out sounds of early Floyd take on new life, Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets: Live At The Roundhouse is the concert to get… There is no other way!

Sam Stone - September 18, 2020
The Second Disc



Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets are an English rock band formed in 2018 to perform the early music of Pink Floyd. The band comprises Pink Floyd drummer and co-founder Nick Mason, Pink Floyd collaborator Guy Pratt, guitarists Gary Kemp and Lee Harris, and keyboardist Dom Beken.[1] As many fans had discovered Pink Floyd with their bestselling 1973 album The Dark Side of the Moon, Mason wanted to bring their earlier material to a wider audience. The band made their debut in May 2018 at Dingwalls in London, before embarking on a European tour in September 2018 and a North American tour in 2019. A 2020 European tour was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In September 2020, the band released a live album and film, Live at the Roundhouse.

Pink Floyd were formed in London in 1965 by Syd Barrett (guitar, lead vocals), Nick Mason (drums), Roger Waters (bass guitar, vocals), and Richard Wright (keyboards, vocals). Barrett left in 1968, replaced by guitarist David Gilmour, and Waters left in 1985; Wright died in 2008. While Gilmour and Waters continued performing Pink Floyd material in their solo shows, Mason worked on Pink Floyd reissues and compilations.[4] After assisting with Pink Floyd: Their Mortal Remains, a 2017 museum exhibition about Pink Floyd, Mason said: "You end up feeling like you belong to English Heritage. Everything you talk about and do is something that happened forty years ago. It was actually beginning to make me feel a bit old."

Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets formed in 2018, after former Blockheads guitarist Lee Harris and bassist and Pink Floyd collaborator Guy Pratt approached Mason with the idea of forming a band to perform Pink Floyd's early psychedelic material. They were joined by vocalist and guitarist Gary Kemp of Spandau Ballet, and Orb keyboardist Dom Beken, a collaborator of Wright. Pratt and Beken previously worked together in the electronic band Transit Kings. Mason stressed that Kemp was not "taking the place" of Barrett, but that "it was to do with who had the enthusiasm for it, and Gary did". According to Mason, in early rehearsals, "The interesting thing was that it all sort of began to sound good straight away. That was mainly, I think, driven by their enthusiasm."

As many fans had discovered Pink Floyd with their bestselling 1973 album The Dark Side of the Moon, Mason wanted to bring their earlier material to a wider audience. He said he did not want to perform as a tribute act similar to the Australian Pink Floyd Show, or perform shows similar to those by Waters and Gilmour; they wanted to "capture the spirit" of the music rather than recreate it. The group received the blessings of Mason's surviving Pink Floyd bandmates. They take their name from the second Pink Floyd album, A Saucerful of Secrets (1968).

Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets made their debut at a sold-out test show at Dingwalls, a 500-seat club in London, in May 2018. This was followed by three small shows at the Half Moon, Putney, a European tour in September 2018, and a North American tour in 2019. On 18 April 2019, Waters surprised the audience at the New York Beacon Theatre by joining the band to sing "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun". The band was due to begin a European tour in April 2020, but this was postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In September 2020, the band released a live album and film, Live at the Roundhouse.

Wikipedia.org




The audio and video content of Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets Live at the Roundhouse mirrors its packaging and vice-versa. A die-cut slipcase and the alternately glossy and flat finish of its subdued color scheme on 2CDS, a DVD and a thirty-page booklet presents much the same range of nuance as this quintet’s performance of Pink Floyd material taken exclusively from the period before Dark Side of the Moon in 1972.

Snippets of conversation appear in the film at well-timed junctures, during which Mason and company—guitarist/vocalist Gary Kemp, bassist/vocalist Guy Pratt (a member of the post-Roger Waters Floyd touring ensemble), guitarist/vocalist Lee Harris and keyboardist/vocalist Dom Beken —reference the early days of Pink Floyd. Yet, this is not an exercise in nostalgia, but rather a scrupulously-arranged and produced set of music on its own terms, a homage to the original band to be sure, but an honest interpretation thereof.

So, for all the reverence the individuals express for the work, they are not respectful to a fault: as indicated by their lively body language and stage presence in general, they are playing with this music as they play it, having some fun with it and imbuing the songs with their individual and collective personalities. And that goes for those tunes of ominous grand crescendos like “Set The Controls For the Heart of the Sun” or the quintessential English rock and roll of the Sixties like “See Emily Play.”

Such tunes as the latter are interspersed with the atmospheric likes of the former throughout the near two hour set, effectively achieving a dual goal: honoring the author of the shorter tunes, founding Floyd member Syd Barrett (who was replaced by David Gilmour), and expertly pacing the performance. In keeping with Pink Floyd presentations, but kept in appropriate proportion, the stage production suits the music (an impeccable audio mix available on the DVD in either stereo or surround sound), which in turn reflects the real-time action on film.

Furthermore, lighting and special effects (including a stage backdrop similar to this package’s cover art) are proportionate to the Roundhouse venue, illuminating its structure but never intruding in the relative intimacy of the approximately 1700 capacity audience. And even sans many closeups, these attendees seem as knowledgeable as they are attentive, responding to dramatic cues in the music and showmanship but never over-dramatically so; for instance, the spontaneous group singalong around “Fearless” almost sounds rehearsed, evidence how this crowd remains as down to earth as the performers they are watching. Still, everyone present would appear to find the experience transportive.

The pragmatic common sense Nick Mason and company applied to the formation and preparation of this project extends to this Live at the Roundhouse release. That’s to say, there are no overly clever exclusive insertions between the two configurations–besides those of the video medium comprised of interviews with the musicians and some footage of rehearsals—so the CD sequencing has a flow of its own that approximates the show in its entirety on video. Meanwhile, the enclosed collection of prose, (b&w and color) photos and all due credits more than just scratches the surface of the germination and the execution of this unusual concept.

That said, all the meticulous attention to detail here may still beg the question of how much attraction this offering holds for an audience mostly familiar with Pink Floyd’s most popular mainstream efforts and/or the work done under the aegis of Gilmour following the departure of the mastermind of The Wall, Roger Waters. And it’s possible too that some followers of the group, dating back to the Syd Barrett’s tenure with the group or the era just prior to Dark Side may even harbor some reservations with this unit’s approach to the iconic Brits’ heritage. But the fact is, the band that calls itself Saucer Full of Secrets is doing a great service to the overall legacy of the fabled group by breathing life into this music through its own enthusiasm and imagination.

Doug Collette - September 25, 2020
Copyright © 2020 Glide Publishing



"Live at the Roundhouse" is unlike any other concert film connected with Pink Floyd. It's the nearest thing you can get to a time machine, transporting you back to the very earliest days of the band. Nick Mason, the only band member to have played on all of Pink Floyd s studio albums, returns to the group's earliest records, joined in the line-up by Gary Kemp, Guy Pratt, Lee Harris and Dom Beken. Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets took the drummer back to clubs for the first time in 1967, then to theatres, across the UK, North America and Europe, playing only music his old band had recorded before The Dark Side of the Moon. Captured from the band's celebrated shows at London's Roundhouse, where Pink Floyd played some of their most revered early shows in the 1960s, the film features a uniquely thrilling set list including songs hailing from Syd Barrett's time with the band. Only four songs from this eclectic roster have ever previously appeared on official live releases by Pink Floyd or its members. Everything else is being experienced for the first time since their original live performances.

Amazon.com



»Nick Mason’s Saucerful Of Secrets Live At The Roundhouse« wurde am 19. Mai 2019 aufgenommen. Der Mitschnitt fängt einen mitreißenden Gig einer gefeierten Tour ein, bei dem Masons Combo vor ausverkauftem Haus den Sound der frühen Pink-Floyd-Ära wieder aufleben lässt. Die Band präsentiert im legendären Londoner Roundhouse Songs, die seit den späten 60er Jahren nicht mehr live zu hören waren sowie Titel außerhalb des Floyd-Repertoires.

»Nick Mason’s Saucerful Of Secrets Live At The Roundhouse« wird über Sony Music veröffentlicht und als Doppel-LP, Doppel-CD/DVD und Blu-Ray erhältlich sein.

Nick Mason, Gary Kemp, Guy Pratt, Lee Harris und Dom Beken, aka Nick Mason’s Saucerful Of Secrets formierten sich, um Pink Floyd-Songs, die jahrzehntelang nicht mehr live zu hören waren (Songs aus der Ära vor dem Erscheinen von »Dark Side Of The Moon«!) endlich wieder einmal vor Publikum zum Besten zu geben. Für Nick bedeutete dies das Ende seiner mehrjährigen Bühnenabstinenz, denn er war seit 2007 nicht mehr aufgetreten. Und so machte er den folgenschweren Vorschlag: »Lasst uns doch einfach in einen Proberaum gehen, ein paar Nummern spielen und sehen, was dabei rauskommt ...«

Ein paar Monate später, am 20. Mai 2018, war der Pink-Floyd-Drummer zurück auf der kleinen Clubbühne - zum ersten Mal seit 1967. Ort des Geschehens: das Dingwalls, ein Pub im Londoner Stadtteil Camden, wo der Gig von Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets von Kritik und Publikum frenetisch bejubelt wurde.

Noch in derselben Woche folgten drei Auftritte im Half Moon in Putney, in deren Anschluss eine Tour durch UK, Nordamerika und Europa angekündigt wurde, die sofort ausverkauft war. Für April und Mai 2019 wurden ein paar zusätzliche UK-Shows geplant, zwei davon im Roundhouse. Dort hatten Pink Floyd zum ersten Mal am 15. Oktober 1966 gespielt, auf der Launch Party des Underground-Magazins International Times.

»Nick Mason’s Saucerful Of Secrets Live At The Roundhouse« fängt die Live-Atmosphäre perfekt ein. Die Aufnahme entstand nur knapp 500 Meter vom Dingwalls entfernt, fast genau ein Jahr nach dem ersten Auftritt der Band. Man spürt, dass die Musiker mit Spaß und Leidenschaft ans Werk gehen, lässt sich von ihrer Energie und Begeisterung anstecken, mit der sie die Songs performen. Angefangen bei Arnold Layne, einem Titel der im Stil einer Garagenband dargeboten wird, über Vegetable Man und die psychedelische Reise von Interstellar Overdrive, bis hin zu entspannt-spacigen Tracks im Stil von Atom Heart Mother oder Green is the Colour – die Verve, mit der Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets alte Pink-Floyd-Songs wieder aufleben lassen, ist atemberaubend.

jpc.de



»... mehr als außergewöhnlich, ein wahres Freudenfest und eine Erinnerung daran, was für eine besondere und brillante Band Pink Floyd waren … Wenn Sie nur das leiseste Interesse am Pink Floyd haben, dann sollten Sie diese Combo nicht verpassen … sie wird Ihnen das Hirn wegblasen, auch ganz ohne LSD.«

(Michael Hann, Financial Times)



»Der Sound war spektakulär, mitreißend, elektrisierend und hypnotisch. Auf eigenartige Weise wurde die Rockmusik der frühen Tage in bizarre und wundervolle Formen verwandelt … es war ein Set von erstaunlicher Intensität, das jeden Anflug von Nostalgie ins Lächerliche zog. Und am Ende stand die Frage: Hat sich die Rockmusik seit den Sixties eigentlich wirklich weiterentwickelt?«

(Neil McCormick, The Daily Telegraph)



»Eine fantastische Reise, eine Wiederentdeckung und im Zentrum der Show: Nick Mason.«

(David Bennun, Metro)



»Very Special«

(Mark Taylor, Record Collector Magazine)



»Die reine Spielfreude und die energiegeladene Performance der Band sind ansteckend und beinahe greifbar.«

(Ian Fortnam, Classic Rock Magazine)



»Eines dürfte klar sein – wir werden hier Zeugen eines ganz besonderen Ereignisses.«

(Jerry Ewing, Prog Magazine)



»Die brillante Show ist das erklärte Gegenteil zu allen notorisch auf die 1970er-Jahre konzentrierten Pink-Floyd-Revival-Inszenierungen.«

(Stereo, Oktober 2020)
 

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