Talk:A Nice Pair

Untitled
The info-bar on the right of the article says that the album recieved a 2 out of 5 stars by All Music Guide. However, that mark was given to the "bad" US edition, while the UK edition was given 4 out of 5 stars. This should be in the info-bar, but how to solve without making the formatting look bad?--dmakatra 14:23, 27 July 2006 (UTC)
 * How's that? 134.117.141.106 00:04, 27 July 2007 (UTC)

Dark Side of the Moon
Hi there, I just dicovered that on the bottom centre picture on the backside, There's a DSOTM- Album hanging on the wall!!! Good luck with the article! -Fedde Tinga (Holland) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.80.117.86 (talk) 13:58, 28 May 2009 (UTC)
 * Yes, that is a photo showing part of the Hipgnosis office. The two men are Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey "Po" Powell; I don't know which is which. They are in the process of discussing (and then rejecting) an all-pink sleeve for a Pink Floyd LP, possibly "Dark Side". The left-hand wall is covered with record sleeve ideas; some of these were adopted, such as the "Dark Side" sleeve that you noticed, as well as the one directly below it, two rows down (desert sand dune, with red balls in a curving line) - see Elegy (The Nice album). Further details in a book called "Walk Away Renée - The Work of Hipgnosis", by Storm Thorgerson, published circa 1978. --Redrose64 (talk) 17:15, 11 August 2009 (UTC)

Pow R. Toc H.
Is it true that the song Pow R. Toc H.'s version differs from the Piper album? Are the songs different version than on original albums? --212.213.216.210 18:30, 2 August 2007 (UTC)
 * No. Only "Astronomy Domine" is different that the original. It's taken from the Ummagumma album. Doc Strange 14:03, 16 October 2007 (UTC)
 * And Thats only on the U.S. (Harvest/Capitol) edition. The UK (EMI/Harvest) version has the original Piper album version. Cianmccann (talk) 16:21, 30 May 2008 (UTC)


 * "Pow R. Toc H." is the same as on Piper. "Astronomy Domine" is the live version from Ummagumma, with the applause at the end chopped off.  "Flaming" is a slightly different mix than the Piper version; apparently this version was used on a USA single (perhaps b-side to "See Emily Play"?  I'll have to look it up). "Interstellar Overdrive" is faded out, without the segue into "The Gnome."

There is a lot of confusion about what is what on the US version of this album, but this should clarify it. Basically, the original US release of Piper (called just Pink Floyd), chopped off "Astronomy Domine," "Flaming" and "Bike." When it came time to assemble A Nice Pair, Capitol made due with what they had in their vaults, not what EMI had in the UK (i.e., the original, full Piper album). Hence, the substitution of the live "Astronomy," the single mix of "Flaming" and the non-segued "Overdrive," (since the the edited US first album had placed "Overdrive" at the end of the album and lopped off the segue then). "Bike" was pulled by Capitol from the Relics compilation for A Nice Pair. That is how they came up with this bastardized version of Piper which, while certainly not preferable to the original UK version, is an interesting take on the album, especially coupled with the Saucerful tracks. Leamanc (talk) —Preceding undated comment was added at 20:04, 1 August 2008 (UTC)


 * I've overhauled the article, and hopefully it contains all the necessary information discussed here. If it doesn't, please make further edits. --A Knight Who Says Ni (talk) 21:08, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

Good work, Knight! The article is now concise, factual and informative, and more importantly *accurate*. I did some more research and found out that the "US single mix" of "Flaming" is actually the same as on the mono version of Piper. So this adds another interesting twist to this compilation: it's all in stereo except for "Flaming." Including that in the article might be digging into minutiae though. Leamanc (talk) —Preceding undated comment was added at 05:45, 10 August 2008 (UTC)


 * It's worth mentioning, so I added it. Thanks. --A Knight Who Says Ni (talk) 02:24, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

Some more details on the U.S. issue of A Nice Pair. I have owned a copy of this album since the late 70's and it definitely has the full length stereo mix of "Flaming" as on the U.K. album, not the edited mono single version. All U.S. copies of the album have the stereo track. The person here who thinks the mono single version is on the U.S. album has never actually listened to the record. In fact I never even knew that the single version of "Flaming" differed from the stereo album version until I heard the mono version on the UK 1997 mono CD of "Piper At The Gates of Dawn." I have changed the article to correct this error. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 63.224.57.157 (talk) 04:22, 15 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Thanks for the information, but I have heard a copy of this album that does have "Flaming" in mono, so it must have been that way originally, and corrected in a later pressing. You said your copy is from the late 70s, but it's hard to tell exactly when the substitution was made, so I have not attempted to guess.  It's good that you also noticed the article had some ambiguous wording, but the correction seemed a little repetitious, so I reworded again.  I also added the info that the American version was also issued in Canada, as I've seen one that definitely has the long version of "Astronomy Domine". --A Knight Who Says Ni (talk) 14:11, 15 February 2009 (UTC)


 * I've got to second what Knight said about "Flaming" being in mono. (I'm the one who originally brought it up.)  My copy is the USA version, and a pressing from the original run; it has the dentist's office and the woman's boobs uncensored, which means it is an original 1973 pressing.  Believe me, I've listened to it a lot, and can verify it is the "US single mix," which is the same as the 1967 British Piper LP mix. Sorry, 63.224.57.157, but the original run of this album was all in stereo, except for the mono "Flaming." Leamanc (talk)  —Preceding undated comment added 21:42, 22 July 2009 (UTC).
 * I dug out my cassette copy of A Nice Pair (it's from around 1989 or so), and "Flaming" is definitely stereo here. But I also listened to my vinyl copy again the night before, and it is for sure the mono version there.  There are significant differences in the mono and stereo versions of this song, so it's pretty easy to tell, but I did do a headphones test in both cases.  Original 1973 press, mono "Flaming"; later presses, stereo "Flaming." Leamanc (talk) 03:10, 10 November 2009 (UTC)
 * But are yours the UK or USA versions? From earlier discussions, that is a significant factor. --Redrose64 (talk) 12:39, 10 November 2009 (UTC)
 * All of my copies are USA versions, Harvest/Capitol. Leamanc (talk) 15:01, 1 December 2009 (UTC)

UK version: sleeves and matrix
My copy is quite an early one, although not original: it has W.R. Phang top right of the front cover, but a circular plain white sticker over that. The matrix numbers in the runout grooves of my stereo copy of Piper are YAX 3419 and YAX 3420; my copy of "Saucer" has YAX 3633 and YAX 3634 - the runout grooves of the two "A Nice Pair" discs bear the same four matrix numbers, so the UK versions were straight reissues with no musical difference.

Besides the W.R. Phang / Japanese Monk change, the inner sleeves varied too. Every copy I've seen has one blue and one green inner sleeve, each with a "Piper" cover on one side, and a "Saucer" cover on the other; but the corners vary. Mine have the upper corners cut off at about 30 degrees to the horizontal; but the blue one also has one of its lower corners cut at 45 degrees. I have seen a copy with four rounded corners to each inner sleeve (in a Japanese Monk outer sleeve). --Redrose64 (talk) 17:46, 11 August 2009 (UTC)

Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun
An editor has added this song to those featuring Syd Barrett, with the edit comment "it's the only song verified to feature the "5-man" Pink Floyd lineup", so verified where, exactly? I have a book which categorically states otherwise:
 * OK, if there are three with Syd--"Remember a Day" and "Jugband Blues" not being contested--what is the third track? I do believe it is "Set the Controls For the Heart of the Sun." Leamanc (talk) 01:20, 4 December 2009 (UTC)
 * Corporal Clegg --Redrose64 (talk) 12:44, 4 December 2009 (UTC)
 * Corporal Clegg --Redrose64 (talk) 12:44, 4 December 2009 (UTC)

There are no page numbers; it's in the entry for June 21, 1968 in the first paragraph describing "A Saucerful of Secrets". --Redrose64 (talk) 12:55, 10 November 2009 (UTC)
 * Both of them played live together a few times (I believe Barrett wasn't plugged in though), but never recorded together. MAYBE written by Barrett and performed by Gilmour, but certainly not played by both (not to mention there is only one guitar in the song). -  ʄɭoʏɗiaɲ  τ ¢  18:01, 10 November 2009 (UTC)
 * Right then. I'm upgrading the tag from citation needed to dubious. --Redrose64 (talk) 18:33, 10 November 2009 (UTC)

Editor in question here. David Gilmour has mentioned that Syd played on "Set the Controls..." in several interviews over the years. Many of those interviews are on Pink Floyd fan sites...vague reference, I know. But, on the Wikipedia page for "Set the Controls..." there is a concrete reference (Gilmour confirms it on his 2006 DVD On An Island). Leamanc (talk) 05:11, 1 December 2009 (UTC)
 * Further unverified info from myself from 25 years of Pink Floyd research. :-) Syd, in 1968, claimed that the only song that he did not participate in, in some capacity was "Corporal Clegg."  It has been unverified conjecture that the guitar solo at the end of "Let There Be More Light" was a previously unused scrap of Syd's playing from 1967 sessions; it has been verified he played electric slide guitar on "Remember a Day"; the above mentioned references to the 5-man Floyd on "Set the Controls..."; Syd had at some points claimed to contribute some music to the title track; some sources cite "See Saw" as being from the same 1967 sessions that produced "Remember a Day"; and of course, no one disputes "Jugband Blues" is pure Syd.  Anyway, most of this can't be confirmed because there are few documents of the recording sessions and the hazy memories of all those involved.  But for the longest time I thought it was accepted fact that "Set the Controls..." featured all five members.  There are two guitars after all; listen close for an acoustic (Syd?) and the gently strummed electric (Gilmour).  —Preceding unsigned comment added by Leamanc (talk • contribs) 05:19, 1 December 2009 (UTC)  Leamanc (talk) 05:22, 1 December 2009 (UTC)

Proposal
A proposal for changes to this article, has been made at Talk:Pink Floyd discography. Please state if you're for or against, over there. Thanks! --A Knight Who Says Ni (talk) 15:03, 13 March 2010 (UTC)

Canadian album cover
I never owned this LP; my recollection is of a version which is censored with the black bar. Varlaam (talk) 11:32, 29 June 2011 (UTC)

Cassette Version
I'm sure I owned a version of this compilation on cassette in the late '80s where the two albums were completely mixed in with each other i.e. both sides of the tape had some tracks from each album on it, and not necessarily in their original running order either. Does anyone else remember this and can maybe confirm and find a link to it? Martyn Smith (talk) 17:56, 27 December 2011 (UTC)