"Candy and a Currant Bun" is the B-side to

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philosophical lyrics an ...

's first single, "

Arnold Layne "Arnold Layne" is a song by English rock band Pink Floyd. Released on 10 March 1967, it was the band's first single release. It was written by Syd Barrett. Lyrics The song's title character is a transvestite whose strange hobby is stealing wo ...

". Its lyrical content is about drugs and casual sex.

Lyric change

When performed live in 1967, the song was known as "Let's Roll Another One" and contained the line "I'm high – Don't try to spoil my fun", but the record company forced

Syd Barrett Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett (6 January 1946 – 7 July 2006) was an English singer, songwriter, and musician who co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd in 1965. Barrett was their original frontman and primary songwriter, becoming known for his ...

to rewrite it, at the suggestion of

Roger Waters George Roger Waters (born 6 September 1943) is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. In 1965, he co-founded the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. Waters initially served as the bassist, but following the departure of singer-s ...

, without the controversial drug references.

Critical reception

When the collection ''

Relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

'' was released in 1971, critic

Dave Marsh Dave Marsh (born March 1, 1950) is an American music critic, and radio talk show host. He was an early editor of '' Creem'' magazine, has written for various publications such as '' Newsday'', ''The Village Voice'', and ''Rolling Stone'', and has ...

wrote in ''

Creem ''Creem'' (often stylized in all caps) is a monthly American music magazine, based in Detroit, whose main print run lasted from 1969 to 1989. It was first published in March 1969 by Barry Kramer and founding editor Tony Reay. Influential crit ...

'' that he had expected "Candy and a Currant Bun" to be on it. (It was not.) His album review was largely composed of a paean to this missing track, writing in part that "It's simply the definitive 1967 British rock'n'roll single. It's also uniquely powerful, like one of those first two or three

Who Who or WHO may refer to: * Who (pronoun), an interrogative or relative pronoun * Who?, one of the Five Ws in journalism * World Health Organization Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Who, a creature in the Dr. Seuss book '' Horton He ...

45s, the kind that send chills runnin' up and down your spine, and make you listen time and time again. Unlike the Pink Floyd's later work, 'Candy And A Currant Bun' never ditches rock'n'roll for space music, but it does manage to give something of the sense of multi-galactic perspective that the best of Pink Floyd's (read Syd Barrett's) music has had."

The Mars Volta cover

The Mars Volta The Mars Volta is an American progressive rock band from El Paso, Texas, formed in 2001. The band's only constant members are Omar Rodríguez-López (guitar, producer, direction) and Cedric Bixler-Zavala (vocals, lyrics), whose partnership for ...

's cover of "Candy and a Currant Bun" was released in some U.S. indie stores as free 5"

VinylDisc The VinylDisc is a combination of a digital layer, either in CD or DVD format, and an analog layer, which is a vinyl record, developed by the German company Optimal Media Production. It consists of a silver layer containing CD or DVD and a blac ...

in 2008. It was given away with purchase of the album ''

The Bedlam in Goliath ''The Bedlam in Goliath'' is the fourth studio album by American progressive rock band the Mars Volta, released on January 29, 2008, on Gold Standard Laboratories and Universal Motown Records. Produced by guitarist and songwriter Omar Rodríguez-L ...

''. The VinylDisc was an experimental format that contained a digital side and a vinyl side, one side playing in a CD player, while the other side playing on a turntable. The vinyl side contains the Pink Floyd cover "Candy and a Currant Bun", while the CD side contains the audio track for "Candy and a Currant Bun" as well as the "

Wax Simulacra "Wax Simulacra" is a single from the album ''The Bedlam in Goliath'' by The Mars Volta. The single debuted on November 18, 2007, on San Francisco's Live 105 FM. It was previously played live by the band under the name "Idle Tooth". The B-side "Pul ...

" video as enhanced content. It also comes with a removable foam spindle insert to switch between CD and vinyl. The track was a bonus track on the UK and Australasian releases of the album.

Personnel

– lead vocals, electric guitars *

Rick Wright Richard William Wright (28 July 1943 – 15 September 2008) was an English musician who was a co-founder of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. He played keyboards and sang, appearing on almost every Pink Floyd album and performing on a ...

–

Farfisa organ Farfisa (Fabbriche Riunite di Fisarmoniche) is a manufacturer of electronics based in Osimo, Italy, founded in 1946. The company manufactured a series of compact electronic organs in the 1960s and 1970s, including the Compact, FAST, Professiona ...

, harmony vocals *

– bass, screaming *

Nick Mason Nicholas Berkeley Mason, (born 27 January 1944) is an English drummer and a founder member of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. He is the only member to feature on every Pink Floyd album, and the only constant member since its formation i ...

– drums, backing vocals (spoken "drive me wild" line)

References

{{authority control Pink Floyd songs The Mars Volta songs 1967 songs Songs about drugs Songs about casual sex Songs written by Syd Barrett Song recordings produced by Joe Boyd it:Arnold Layne/Candy and a Currant Bun#Candy and a Currant Bun