It must have been an odd time for Pink Floyd. The band had been together for three years and had gone from playing "happenings" at the UFO Club and rising out of the London Underground music scene to signing to EMI, releasing singles, a few successful ("Arnold Layne" and "See Emily Play") and some not so much ("Apples and Oranges") and a well-received LP ('Piper at the Gates of Dawn').
Syd Barrett, the creative focal point of the band, had written virtually every song the band had recorded up to this point, lone exceptions being the two 'Piper' instrumental tracks (credit given to the entire band), one Roger Waters' penned track from 'Piper' ("Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk" - not a classic), and the B-side to the "Apples and Oranges" single ("Paint Box" - good, but also not a classic), written by, at that time, the band's secondary creative force, Richard Wright.
The story has been well-told. Barrett, whether due to undiagnosed and/or untreated mental illness, the inability to handle a meteoric rise of popularity and fame, untamed drug abuse, or some combination of that mix, became distanced from the band. His presence transforming from light to dark. More practically speaking, his presence becoming unbearable to his bandmates to the point that one day, they just decided not to pick him up on the way to the gig.
David Gilmour, an exceptional guitarist and vocalist, had joined the band, at first to merely play Syd's parts....parts he either would no longer, or could no longer, perform, and then, later, to completely replace Syd entirely.
At the time, Syd's exit from the band must have been viewed as suicide for a band that could only muster up a couple of mediocre songs written by other members. With the advantage of looking backward, Syd's ousting may have been the single most important event in the band's history. It's hard to imagine that any of their records from 'Meddle' on forward could have been created with a Syd Barrett in the band.
But, there was an awkward phase between Syd's exit and the time when Roger Waters's songwriting came into its own and David Gilmour's creative contributions would become noticeable. Luckily, this awkward phase didn't last too long. The band's second LP, 'A Saucerful of Secrets', is brilliant, if not cohesive. It is the sole album of the catalog that gives us a glimpse of what a five-piece Pink Floyd may have sounded like. Following this was a soundtrack ('More') and a double-album that was half-live and half-studio solo pieces ('Ummagumma'). This gave the band well over a year to find their way without the band's original visionary before releasing a true, proper album.
This awkward, transitory phase was documented, however, via a few singles, the first of which was "It Would Be So Nice", written by Richard Wright, who may have been considered at that time the presumptive heir to Barrett's dominance of the band. It is the first Pink Floyd recording without Syd Barrett (although he appears on the cover), recorded at Abbey Road Studios in February 1968, and released April 12, 1968, a couple of months before the release of the 'Saucerful...' LP.
The single was a commercial failure (it did not chart), the band hated it, it was barely performed (although Setlist.fm shows two instances where it was played), and, most recently, Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets, who dug deep into the early era of Pink Floyd, ignored it in their shows.
The song was virtually erased from the band's history, failing to appear on any of the more well-known packages documenting the early days (i.e., the 'Relics' comp.), and I personally never heard it until I bought 'The Dark Side of the Moo', a fairly well-known bootleg of early Pink Floyd material.
The verse is certainly English whimsy, a fair reproduction of some of the early Barrett-era songs or even a bit of what the Beatles were occasionally doing on their records. Lyrics such as "Everybody wakes, in the morning / Hot tea and can't stop yawning / Pass the butter please" invokes an image, but are not exactly inspiring.
However, Nick Mason's distinctive drum fill out of the pre-chorus into the main chorus, is exciting and announced a complete change of tone. The repetitive chorus of "It Would Be So Nice" is almost anthemic with its descending chords, the band singing in unison, with an extra Richard Wright vocal on the fade-out. Musically and, especially lyrically, not a groundbreaking song. Even though the song, thankfully, did not portend even the near future of the band, it is not an awful song.
The B-side of the single is another non-album track, "Julia Dream", and, unlike it's A-side, seems to point in a direction the band would take, at least for a little while, when they explored more pastoral and atmospheric music, which could be found on some of the 'Ummagumma' material and especially on the 'Atom Heart Mother' record.
The song is a huge leap forward for Roger Waters when compared to "Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk" as "Julia Dream" is far more captivating and hypnotic. It also showcases for the first time David Gilmour's pacifying, meditative and somehow disembodied voice.
The song may have been just as ignored in the live setting as "It Would Be So Nice", but was at least included on some well-known Pink Floyd compilations, such as 'Relics'.
Although this was hardly a pioneering single, or a single that made much of an impact at all, it is a bit of an interesting documentation of a lost and overlooked phase of transition for a band that would soon become one of the most unique voices in music.
It Would Be So Nice
Julia Dream
