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Embryo (Pink Floyd song)

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"Embryo"
Song by Pink Floyd
from the album Picnic – A Breath of Fresh Air
ReleasedMay 1970
Recorded26 November, 3-4 December 1968
StudioAbbey Road Studios
GenrePsychedelic folk
Length4:39
LabelHarvest (UK)
Songwriter(s)Roger Waters
Producer(s)Norman Smith

"Embryo" (sometimes called "The Embryo") is a song by Pink Floyd.[1][2] It was recorded in 1968 and regularly performed live in 1970–71,[3] but never released on any regular Pink Floyd studio album.

A studio version appeared in 1970 on the rare multi-artist album Picnic – A Breath of Fresh Air.[4] Its next appearance was in 1983 on Pink Floyd's own compilation Works. It then appeared in 2007 on A Breath of Fresh Air – A Harvest Records Anthology 1969–1974 (one of only three tracks from the original sampler album to be included in the similarly-titled anthology).[5] Multiple renditions of "Embryo" appeared on the band's 2016 box set The Early Years 1965–1972; two versions were also included on the smaller 2-disc compilation The Early Years 1967–1972: Cre/ation (2016).

Studio version

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The studio version of the song was recorded late 1968 and intended for the album Ummagumma.[3][6][7] David Gilmour sang the lead vocal, and the accompaniment includes piano and Mellotron. The track includes bassist Roger Waters speaking high-pitched vocal gibberish, having sped his voice up in a similar manner to his work with Ron Geesin.[8]

The first recording session began on 26 November. The group kept the first take, but replaced it with a new recording on 3 December. Overdubs were recorded the next day, but then the track was abandoned. Gilmour later said, "we all went off it for some reason".[7] The band decided to make the studio half of Ummagumma a series of solo projects, and so the group-recorded "Embryo" was dropped from the running order.[9]

The track was first released on the 1970 multi-artist sampler album Picnic – A Breath of Fresh Air.[6] The record company, Harvest Records obtained clearance from producer Norman Smith to use the track, but the band did not consent to this release, and asked for it to be withdrawn.[10][6] It later appeared on the US compilation album Works.[6] A three-minute version, similar to the studio cut, was recorded live at a BBC session in December 1968.[11]

"Embryo" was finally granted widespread release in the 2016–2017 Early Years box set. The set includes the original studio recording, the 1968 BBC live session, and other live performances from 1970 and 1971.

Live performances

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Pink Floyd regularly played the song in concert in 1970-71.[6] The earliest known performance was on 18 January 1970, at the Fairfield Halls, Croydon,[12][13] followed by 11 February 1970, at the Town Hall, Birmingham.[14]

Live performances featured a different arrangement from the studio version, which was expanded to include instrumental jamming, lasting between 10 and 25 minutes. The lead vocal was shared with Gilmour and Richard Wright in harmony, and Gilmour contributed a lead guitar motif between verses. After two verses, Waters led a jam session around a two-bar riff on the bass, while tape-recorded noises of young children played in the background, which could be panned around the venue using the azimuth co-ordinator. Following this, Gilmour played a "whale song" effect (by the reversing the cables on his wah-wah pedal), which would later be used in the song "Echoes".[15] Some live performances included making various squeaks and squeals into his reverberated vocal mic (similar to those in "Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict").[16]

"Embryo" was recorded for two BBC Radio concerts at the Paris Theatre, London, compered by John Peel. The first was on 16 July 1970, which was transmitted three days later.[17] At the concert, Peel complemented the performance of "Embryo", calling it "very hopeful, optimistic music".[18] The second was on 30 September 1971 and broadcast on 12 October.[19]

The last time "Embryo" was played was on 20 November 1971 at the conclusion of the band's North American tour in Cincinnati.[20]

Release history

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"Embryo" has been released on the following official releases:

  • Picnic – A Breath of Fresh Air (1970) (demo version)
  • Works (1983) (demo version)
  • A Breath of Fresh Air – A Harvest Records Anthology 1969–1974 (2007) (demo version)
  • The Early Years 1965–1972 (2016) (various renditions included in the box set's individual volumes)
    • Volume 2: 1968 – Germin/ation (live recording, BBC Radio session 2 December 1968)
    • Volume 3: 1969 – Dramatis/ation (demo version)
    • Volume 4: 1970 – Devi/ation (several live versions: BBC Radio session 16 July 1970; Pop Deux Festival de St. Tropez, 8 August 1970; Roland Petit Ballet, 5 December 1970)
    • Volume 5: 1971 – Reverber/ation (live recording, BBC Radio session 30 September 1971)
  • The Early Years 1967–1972: Cre/ation (2016) (demo version; live recording, BBC Radio session, 16 July 1970)

Personnel

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Studio version

According to Jean-Michel Guesdon and Philippe Margotin:[7]

Live version

  • David Gilmour – co-lead vocals, electric guitar
  • Richard Wright – co-lead vocals, Hammond organ
  • Roger Waters – bass guitar
  • Nick Mason – drums

Cover versions

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  • A cover of the song, by German psychedelic/ Krautrock band Fantasyy Factoryy, appears on the 2001 compilation CD More Relics - A Tribute To Pink Floyd, issued by Sysyphus Records.[21][22]
  • German band RPWL recorded a cover for their album "RPWL plays Pink Floyd".

References

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  1. ^ Strong, Martin C. (2004). The Great Rock Discography (7th ed.). Edinburgh: Canongate Books. p. 1177. ISBN 1-84195-551-5.
  2. ^ Mabbett, Andy (1995). The Complete Guide to the Music of Pink Floyd. London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-4301-X.
  3. ^ a b Manning 2006, p. 227.
  4. ^ Kellman, Andy (2011). "Works - Pink Floyd | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 13 September 2012.
  5. ^ "A Breath of Fresh Air: A Harvest Records Anthology, 1969-1974 - Various Artists : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 13 September 2012.
  6. ^ a b c d e Mabbett 2010, p. 85.
  7. ^ a b c Guesdon & Margotin 2017, p. 202.
  8. ^ Shea 2009, p. 205.
  9. ^ Kopp 2018, p. 136.
  10. ^ Guesdon & Margotin 2017, pp. 202–203.
  11. ^ Kopp 2018, p. 67.
  12. ^ Povey 2007, p. 128.
  13. ^ Hodges, Nick and Priston, Ian Embryo: A Pink Floyd Chronology 1966–1971. Cherry Red Books, 1999, p. 192.
  14. ^ Povey 2007, p. 129.
  15. ^ Kopp 2018, pp. 136–137.
  16. ^ Mabbett 2010, p. 89.
  17. ^ Povey 2007, p. 134.
  18. ^ Kopp 2018, p. 137.
  19. ^ Povey 2007, p. 148.
  20. ^ Povey 2007, p. 151.
  21. ^ "Various - More Relics - A Tribute To Pink Floyd". discogs.com. 18 May 2001. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  22. ^ "Review - VARIOUS ARTISTS - More Relics - A Tribute To Pink Floyd - POWERMETAL.de" (in German). powermetal.de. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  • Mabbett, Andy (2010). Pink Floyd: The Music and the Mystery: The Music and the Mystery. Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-857-12418-0.
  • Guesdon, Jean-Michel; Margotin, Philippe (2017). Pink Floyd All the Songs – The Story Behind Every Track. Running Press. ISBN 978-0-316-43923-7.
  • Kopp, Bill (2018). Reinventing Pink Floyd: From Syd Barrett to the Dark Side of the Moon. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-538-10828-4.
  • Manning, Toby (2006). "Soundtracks, Compilations & Bootlegs". The Rough Guide to Pink Floyd (1st ed.). London: Rough Guides. ISBN 1-84353-575-0.
  • Povey, Glenn (2007). Echoes : The complete history of Pink Floyd. Mind Head Publishing. ISBN 978-0-955-46241-2.
  • Shea, Stuart (2009). Pink Floyd FAQ : Everything Left to Know ... and More!. Backbeat. ISBN 978-1-617-13395-4.
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