Pink Floyd - See Emily Play

Original UK Columbia mono 7" 45 RPM single

24-bit 96kHz FLAC

A joyous slice of pop psychedelia, featuring the most advanced studio production techniques of its time, See Emily Play was Syd Barrett and the Floyd's second single. It was produced by Norman Smith and recorded at Sound Techniques studios on 21st May 1967. The song See Emily Play was originally entitled Games For May and had been premiered in an early version with different lyrics at the band's ground breaking Games For May concert at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on 12th May. It was apparently written by Syd specially for the occasion.

The eponymous Emily is generally believed to be Emily Young, now a distinguished sculptor but in 1967 a teenager on the London alternative scene. With a taste for beat poetry and recreational hallucinogenics, she was nicknamed "the psychedelic schoolgirl" and seems to have known Syd quite well.

The single was a top ten hit in the UK, peaking at no. 6 in the final week of July 1967. This was the apex of the so-called Summer Of Love and, to give a flavour of  the times, the top ten that week also included Procul Harum's A Whiter Shade of Pale, The Beatles' All You Need Is Love, Scott Mackenzie's San Francisco, as well as Dave Davies' Death Of A Clown.

With chart success came the obligation to promote the single and the Floyd duly appeared twice (according to Nick Mason in his memoir Inside Out - A Personal History Of Pink Floyd, though other accounts say it was three times) on the BBC's weekly TV chart show Top Of The Pops. Syd sang live vocals while the band mimed to a backing tape. This was perhaps understandable, given the difficulty of reproducing the complexities of the studio recording live. Syd however was becoming impatient with the demands of commercialism and was reluctant to do the TV appearances. Mason reports him as arguing, "If John Lennon doesn't have to do Top Of The Pops, why should I?" 

EMI long ago misplaced or maybe even wiped (though no one's owned up to that) the four-track master tape of See Emily Play. All that remains is the mixed down mono version that appears on this single and all subsequent reissues and compilation appearances (except for the fake stereo one on the original Relics LP). There never was a true stereo mix and never will be unless the four-track master is miraculously found.

A typical mono 45 RPM pop single of its time, this record was cut a little "hot" and the A-side is prone to groove wear and audible distortion. This wasn't helped by the less than stellar turntables  (equipped with the then-prevalent very heavy cartridges, often with a faster wearing sapphire stylus) available to most of the kids who bought pop records in 1967. This was still a few years before half-decent Hi-fi gear became something that was more accessible to the masses. My copy of Emily is in unexceptional condition, but I found that by ripping it with a simple elliptical needle (instead of the usual Jico SAS) I could avoid the worst of the distortion. In fact, while maybe not 100% perfect if subjected to a critical listen on headphones, I don't think it sounds too bad at all. 

The promo 7" of Emily came in a picture sleeve, reproduced above, featuring a child-like drawing by Syd. General release copies though came in a green and white Columbia company sleeve (if only the original owner of mine had heeded the helpful record care tips printed on the reverse!) This seems a little mean as the single appeared in various picture sleeves (some featuring Syd's art work, some photos of the band) in other countries.