Pink Floyd - The Embryo (1971) WNEW FM

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• published: 13 Apr 2014
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Pink Floyd: London - Broadcast WNEW-FM (1971-09-30) EX. Neonknight Tape Transfer/ Little Pieces Production (LPP)/(June 2012) http://thinkfloyd61.blogspot.com.br/2014/05/pink-floyd-london-wnew-fm-1971-lpp-2012.html Neonknight's Notes: This complete WNEW-FM, New York, broadcast of the band's 1971 BBC session is a fascinating and important discovery. WNEW-FM tapes normally contain only the two unique songs to the broadcast: stereo versions of Embryo and Blues, and both tracks are often converted to mono. Kbrubaker's tape contains the full 55 minute WNEW-FM broadcast in stereo. Kbrubaker's cassette is from the same lineage as recordings already circulating of Embryo and Blues. It has identical flaws but sounds better. The Maxell chrome tape was recorded very 'hot' and took it well. In this new version both songs have a warm, dynamic analogue feel to them that I have not experienced with other copies, particularly the DAT versions circulated in the 1990s. Arguably of greatest interest from a research perspective is the fact that Embryo and Blues are sourced from tape, whereas the other songs are from vinyl (evidenced by occasional vinyl crackles during quieter passages). This strongly suggests that the late, great DJ Alison Steele (aka The Nightbird) was playing a BBC Transcription Services disc. There are just two brief moments that prove the recording to be from WNEW-FM. The first is a station identification appearing at 8:20m of Embryo and the second is a brief comment from Alison Steele after Echoes. From her tone I think it is reasonable to infer that it would be the last song from the set that she would be playing. Blues is still the incomplete track everybody is familiar with. Listening to the song again of late I have been wondering whether the excerpt was all the BBC recorded. Embryo has been omitted from most, if not all repeat airings of the show, most probably as a consequence of the band never having given the track a full release. For those not familiar with the various versions, the BBC have retained a mono copy of Embryo (here we are offering a stereo copy) and no longer have the recording of Blues. The mono Embryo features in a number of copies of the concert that have been previously circulated. We took a conscious decision to leave the songs in the order they are on Kbrubaker's tape. It was tempting to re-order them to how they were really played by the band but we felt that would undermine the value of this offering as an archival record. Some collectors believe that WNEW-FM aired the concert in 1971 but to the best of my knowledge we can't be sure that was so. We can be certain, however, that it was broadcast between 1971 and 1979 as Steele left the station that year. In a thread on Yeeshkul Ron Toon said that he believed that the show was only broadcast once by WNEW-FM, and I think he is likely to be right. I tried writing to the station archivist and he couldn't help, unfortunately. Why the BBC would have sent Embryo and Blues to WNEW-FM is a mystery. One explanation is that the Beeb was, I believe, somewhat in awe of any US station asking for their material back then, and often prepared to go the extra mile to provide the best possible service. Neonknight Tape Transfer/ Little Pieces Production (LPP)/(June 2012) - Yeeshkul