Pink Floyd:
Around The Mystic
Catalog: A103 AULICA
Misc.: S.I.A.F.
Produced: Made in Italy 1989
Date: 69/10/19

Sources: 1969- 29 Apr 1970 Tracks 1, 2, 6a: 29 Apr 1970, KQED TV Studios, San Francisco Track 6b: 17 Sept 1969, Concertgebouw, Amsterdam Tracks 4, 8: Dec 1969, Zabriskie Point recording session, Rome Track 5: 1969, BBC “Moonlanding Special” Tracks 3, 7: 1969, London?

Tracks:

1. Grantchester Meadows 7:27
2. Green Is The Colour [+ Careful With …] 12:48
3. Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun 11:10
4. Jupiters Eye [Oneone/Corrosion?] 6:24
5. Trip On Mars [Moonhead] 5:35
6. Cymbaline 18:28
7. A Saucerful Of Secrets 6:44
8. Improvisation [Fingal’s Cave] 2:00
Total Time: 71:25

Band:
Roger Waters*
David Gilmour*
Rick Wright*
Nick Mason*

Comments from the original uploader: Grantchester Meadows and Green Is The Color are GREAT. Set The Controls For The Heart of the sun is a jolly good piece. Jupiters Eye/ Trip On Mars – one of these two is another version of Careful With That Axe, Eugene. Cymbaline is the best version so far. A Saucerful Of Secrets is only the last 6 minutes, which is too bad, because they’re great. Improvisation is SPLENDID, just great.

Overall: This is a really must have roio : the audience is very calm, and only applauds between songs. The quality of the recordings is not excellent, but good. -ANON

Strange collection, tracks are definitely not all from 19. Oct. 1969. Some of them are clearly studio recordings. Audience only between the songs audible. Saucerful features only the last part. Cymbaline is extra-long and extra-good!

This is a rare one, the bootleggers have spent quite some effort on this one, and have even made up some funky names. Jupiters Eye is a piece of Corrosion. Trip on Mars is the best version of Moonhead I’ve heard. Improvisation is Fingals Cave. And to complicate matters even further, the footsteps in Cymbaline have been replaced with Oenone. Grantchester Meadows and Green .. are probably taken from a performance of The Man and The Journey. All in all this ROIO is very enjoyable, since it has both a VG sound quality and the Performance/Rarity value is also high.

The only sad thing is that ASOS only has the last 6:44 minutes, but still, if you happen to see this cheap …

Also, if you’re hunting for authenticity this is *NOT* your disk, it’s a bunch of recordings from different concerts thrown together in one disc, coupled with some official but rare floyd songs -GERHARD

I think is a fairy forgery, not a ’69 London concert. “Jupiter’s eye” and “Improvisation” are from “Oneone /Fingal’s cave” studio outtake (listen to ‘Total Eclipse’), while the audience applause is artificial (all the same identical through the “concert”!!!, and it seems recorded in a small ambient, not in a theatre). The sound quality is variable (in “Grandchester Meadows” you can listen to scratches from vinyl source). Moreover “Grandchester Meadows”, “Set the Controls” are identical from those of Fillmore West, San Francisco Oct. 1970. The other live pieces are from the same or other ’70 concerts, I have not established yet. Thanks to Roio contributions for help in discovering this vile cheat. I’m very dejected about that. Please, let this ROIO to simpletons like me. -PELLE

“This is taken from various sources, not ‘London, October 19 ’70’ as stated in TAP 48 – including the BBC sessions, the Zabriskie Point outtakes from the Omayyad b*****g LP, and an ‘unknown’ concert. Furthermore, each song has been doctored by some unscrupulous mixer. Careful observation reveals that the audience applause (apparently from only a handful of people) at the start of each song is identical, the first being a 7.27 Grantchester Meadow.

Green is the Colour/Careful with that axe, Eugene (12.48) are the BBC performances, with the fake audience; although Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun (11.00) is a legitimate piece.

Jupiter’s Eye is where the butchery begins. After some research, I concluded that this is, in fact, Oneone from Omayyad, over-dubbed with the sound of bubbling mud (i.e. ‘Live at Pompeii’). Trip on Mars, meanwhile, is Moonhead from Music For Architectural Students. Cymbaline (18.28) is extended; about 6.15 in, the song is interrupted by footsteps and a slamming door. I realise that such effects were not uncommon for live performances of this track, but the abrupt switch makes me doubt that this was the work of the Floyd; who, even on a bad day, could do better. This is followed by a spacey intrumental passage – actually an extract from Omayyad’s live version of Interstellar Overdrive – then a repeat chorus, and a further ten minutes of Cymbaline.

Saucerful of Secrets (6.44) is, as stated in TAP 48, the Celestial Voices sequence from that track. The closing Improvisation (2.00) is a poor reproduction of Omayyad’s Fingal’s Cave, albeit with added audience !

However, despite all the trickery. I agree that Around the Mystic is an excellent CD; my favourite, in fact !” -TAP

It claims to be from one concert (London, 19 Oct 1969), but this is obviously a compilation of different performances. There are some annoying things with this RoIO. Some audience applause are added between songs (they are always the same!) and are in stereo. Most of the tracks are mono. It seems that this CD was mastered from vinyl, with some strange things added in the mix! So, sometimes one can hear “stereo” effects, but only because of the “stereo” vinyl scratches, and the stuff added.

1. Grantchester Meadows It’s from the KQED TV show, 29 Apr 1970. In the middle of the song, there is a very low noise (similar to a bass drum) that doesn’t appear on the original version (see “Colourful Meadows”). But this version seems to be “clearer” than the “Colourful Meadows” version (there is no crackle suppression as for “Colourful Meadows”). The performance is great. Ex-

2. Green Is The Colour This is in fact “Green Is The Colour” + “Careful With That Axe, Eugene”, again from the KQED TV show, 29 Apr 1970. It sounds far better than the “Colourful Meadows” CD. Again, a great performance. Ex-

3. Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun One of the 3 tracks in stereo. I have not identified the concert yet. VG+

4. Jupiters Eye It’s in fact “One One”, from the Zabriskie Point recording sessions, recorded in Rome, December 1969. It’s in stereo. But, sadly, they over-dubbed it with some bubbling sound! For authenticity, the “Ultra Rare Trax vol.2” version is far better. Ex-

5. Trip On Mars It’s in fact “Moonhead”, from the BBC “Moonlanding Special”, probably recorded in 1969. Very rare. Maybe you should buy the CD only for this track. VG+

6. Cymbaline It lasts more than 18 minutes, but there are in fact TWO different versions of “Cymbaline” mixed together. It begins with the KQED TV performance, 29 Apr 1970. But, at the end of the (short) walking section (at 6:44), it turns into the Cymbaline intro from Amsterdam, 17 Sept 1969. This intro is sometimes entitled “Sleep”, on other RoIOs. Then we have the entire “Cymbaline” from Amsterdam. VG+

7. A Saucerful Of Secrets There is only the “Celestial Voices” part. Stereo. I have not identified the concert yet. Nice version. VG+

8. Improvisation It’s in fact “Fingal’s Cave”, from the Zabriskie Point sessions, Rome, December 1969. Mono. The “Ultra Rare Trax vol.2” version is better, and in stereo. VG+

So, this RoIO is not bad, but it is not essential. Buy it if you don?t have “Moonhead or if you want to hear clear versions from the KQED TV show (and you don’t mind if there are some vinyl scratches…). – MARC-OLIVIER