''A Nice Pair'' is a compilation album by

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

, re-issuing their first two albums, ''

The Piper at the Gates of Dawn ''The Piper at the Gates of Dawn'' is the debut studio album by English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 4 August 1967 by EMI Columbia. It is the only Pink Floyd album made under the leadership of founder member Syd Barrett (lead vocals, ...

'' and ''

A Saucerful of Secrets ''A Saucerful of Secrets'' is the second studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 28 June 1968 by Columbia Graphophone Company, EMI Columbia in the UK and in the US by Tower Records (record label), Tower Records. The menta ...

'' in a new

gatefold A gatefold cover or gatefold LP is a form of packaging for gramophone record, LP records that became popular in the mid-1960s. A gatefold cover, when folded, is the same size as a standard LP cover (i.e., a 12½-inch 2.7-centimetresquare). ...

sleeve. The album was released in December 1973 by

Harvest Harvesting is the process of collecting plants, animals, or fish (as well as fungi) as food, especially the process of gathering mature crops, and "the harvest" also refers to the collected crops. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulses fo ...

and Capitol in the United States and the following month in the United Kingdom by Harvest and

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

. It reached number 36 in the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' album charts and was certified gold by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA) in March 1994.

Release history and track variations

There are a few differences between the US and UK issues of the first LP of this compilation. In the US,

Harvest Records Harvest Records is a British-American record label belonging to Capitol Music Group, originally created by EMI in 1969. History Harvest Records was created by EMI in 1969 to market progressive rock music, and to compete with Philips' Vertigo ...

and its distributor

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

reconstructed their edition from tapes used for the US pressing of the band's 1967 debut album (Simply titled "Pink Floyd") mixed with other recordings from the UK version. As explained in a note on the back cover of the US edition, songs dropped from the original US LP, " Flaming", " Astronomy Domine" and "

Bike A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. B ...

" were restored for this re-issue. However, some of these restored songs are different from the UK version: The eight-minute live recording of "Astronomy Domine" from '' Ummagumma'' replaces the original four-minute studio recording. " Interstellar Overdrive" fades out slightly early (as it did on the original US LP) and adds a few seconds of silence before " The Gnome" rather than the immediate segue found on the UK version. "Flaming" is an alternate mix and edit which previously appeared as a US single, and the only track to appear on this album in mono. In later pressings, the correct stereo version of "Flaming" was restored. The US version of this album was also released in Canada.

Cover art

The cover is by

Hipgnosis Hipgnosis were an English art design group, based in London, that specialised in creating album cover artwork for rock musicians and bands. Their commissions included work for Pink Floyd, Def Leppard, T. Rex, the Pretty Things, Black S ...

, who designed many other Pink Floyd covers, and consists of four grids of nine small images, including some proposed but previously unused album cover designs. Several images depict a well-known phrase or saying in the form of a

visual pun A visual pun is a pun involving an image or images (in addition to or instead of language), often based on a rebus. Visual puns in which the image is at odds with the inscription are common in cartoons such as '' Lost Consonants'' or '' The Fa ...

; for instance, the centre right-hand panel on the front depicts "a

fork in the road ''Fork in the Road'' is the 31st studio album by Canadian / American musician Neil Young, released April 7, 2009, on Reprise Records. The album was released on vinyl on July 26, 2009. Background The album was inspired by Young's Lincoln Continen ...

", while the bottom right represents "a fine kettle of fish". Another picture presents two puns on the album title: a nice

pear Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in late summer into mid-autumn. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the Family (biology), family Rosaceae, bearing the Pome, po ...

, and an image of a woman's pair of breasts; the latter is censored with a black bar on some copies, while other US copies opted to cover it with a purple and white sticker over the shrink wrap. Initial copies had a picture of a Mr. W.R. Phang's dental surgery on the cover (a genuine business photographed in Hammersmith, west London), but Dr. Phang objected because NHS dentists were not permitted to advertise, and the picture was replaced with one of a gargling monk. US editions from the 1980s restored both the nudity and the W.R. Phang photo. Other photos illustrate "laughing all the way to the bank", and "nip in the air", through the use of a levitating Japanese person. The selection of band photos on the inside cover also varies, with some copies including a photo of a shirtless, disturbed-looking Syd Barrett from ''

The Madcap Laughs ''The Madcap Laughs'' is the debut solo album by the English singer-songwriter Syd Barrett. It was recorded after Barrett had left Pink Floyd in April 1968. The album had a lengthy recording history, with work beginning in May 1968, but the bul ...

'' cover photo session, while others replace it with a photo of a smiling Barrett sitting by a car. The album was the band's next US release after ''

The Dark Side of the Moon ''The Dark Side of the Moon'' is the eighth studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 1 March 1973, by Capitol Records in the US and on 16 March 1973, by Harvest Records in the UK. Developed during live performances before ...

'', and introduced new fans to the earlier psychedelic sound of the

Syd Barrett Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett (6 January 1946 – 7 July 2006) was an English singer, guitarist and songwriter who co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd in 1965. Until his departure in 1968, he was Pink Floyd's frontman and primary songwriter, ...

period of Pink Floyd, which contrasted greatly to the style of their more recent work. Following the worldwide re-issue of the original two albums on CD, including the original UK version of ''The Piper at the Gates of Dawn'', ''A Nice Pair'' is now out of print.

Track listing

All songs by

, except where noted.

''The Piper at the Gates of Dawn''

;Side 1 ;Side 2

''A Saucerful of Secrets''

;Side 1 ;Side 2 Cassette versions in the UK feature ''Piper'' on side one and ''Saucerful'' on side two. For the US versions, "Bike" was moved to the beginning of side two, due to the longer running length of "Astronomy Domine" on this version.

United States release

The US 8-track version alters the running order more radically. ;Program 1 #"Astronomy Domine" #"Lucifer Sam" #"Matilda Mother" #"Flaming" #"Pow R. Toc H." ;Program 2 #"Interstellar Overdrive" #"The Gnome" #"Chapter 24" #"The Scarecrow" #"Bike" ;Program 3 #"Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk" #"Let There Be More Light" #"Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" #"Corporal Clegg" #"Jugband Blues" ;Program 4 #"A Saucerful of Secrets" #"See Saw" #"Remember a Day"

Personnel

;Pink Floyd *

–

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

on British version of "Astronomy Domine", "Lucifer Sam", "Matilda Mother", "Flaming", "Pow R. Toc H.", "The Gnome", "Chapter 24", "The Scarecrow", "Bike", and "Jugband Blues" *

David Gilmour David Jon Gilmour ( ; born 6 March 1946) is an English guitarist, singer and songwriter who is a member of the rock band Pink Floyd. He joined in 1967, shortly before the departure of the founder member Syd Barrett. By the early 1980s, Pink F ...

– guitars,

kazoo The kazoo is a musical instrument that adds a ''buzzing'' timbral quality to a player's voice when the player vocalizes into it. It is a type of '' mirliton'' (itself a membranophone), one of a class of instruments that modify the player's v ...

, vocals, lead vocals on American version of "Astronomy Domine", "Let There Be More Light", and "Corporal Clegg" *

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 has been the only constant member since the band's formation in 1965, and the only member to appear on every ...

–

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

, kazoo, vocals, lead vocals on "Corporal Clegg" *

Roger Waters George Roger Waters (born 6 September 1943) is an English musician and singer-songwriter. In 1965, he co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd as the bassist. Following the departure of the group's main songwriter Syd Barrett in 1968, Waters became ...

–

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

, percussion, vocals, lead vocals on "Pow R. Toc H.", "Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk", "Let There Be More Light", and "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" * Richard Wright –

Farfisa Farfisa () 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, Professional and VIP ranges, and later, a se ...

and Hammond organs,

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

tack piano A tack piano (also known as a harpsipiano, jangle piano, and junk piano) is an altered version of an ordinary piano, in which objects such as thumbtacks or nails are placed on the felt-padded hammers of the instrument at the point where the ha ...

electric piano An electric piano is a musical instrument that has a piano-style musical keyboard, where sound is produced by means of mechanical hammers striking metal strings or reeds or wire tines, which leads to vibrations which are then converted into ele ...

Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which causes a length of magnetic tape to contact a Capstan (tape recorder), capstan, which pulls i ...

harmonium The pump organ or reed organ is a type of organ that uses free reeds to generate sound, with air passing over vibrating thin metal strips mounted in a frame. Types include the pressure-based harmonium, the suction reed organ (which employs a va ...

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

vibraphone The vibraphone (also called the vibraharp) is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using Percussion mallet, mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone ...

celesta The celesta () or celeste (), also called a bell-piano, is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. It looks similar to an upright piano (four- or five-octave), albeit with smaller keys and a much smaller cabinet, or a large wooden music ...

xylophone The xylophone (; ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets. Each bar is an idiophone tuned to a pitch of a musical scale, whether pentatonic or heptatonic in the case of many African ...

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

tin whistle The tin whistle, also known as the penny whistle, is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is a type of fipple flute, a class of instrument which also includes the recorder and Native American flute. A tin whistle player is called a whistl ...

, vocals, lead vocals on British and American versions of "Astronomy Domine", "Matilda Mother", "Remember a Day", "See-Saw", "Let There Be More Light", and "Corporal Clegg" ;Additional personnel *

Peter Jenner Peter Julian Jenner (born 3 March 1943) is a British music manager and a record producer. Jenner, Andrew King and the original four members of Pink Floyd were partners in Blackhill Enterprises. Early career Peter Jenner is the son of Will ...

– intro vocalisations on British and American version of "Astronomy Domine" * Norman Smith – drums and

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

on "Remember a Day" and

drum roll A drum roll (or roll for short) is a technique used by percussionists to produce a tremolo, sustained sound for the duration of a musical note, written note.Cirone, Anthony J. (1991). Simple Steps to Snare Drum', p.30-31. Alfred. . "The pur ...

on "Interstellar Overdrive", producer *The Salvation Army (The International Staff Band) on "Jugband Blues" ;Cover design * Sleeve design by

* Graphics by Richard Evans * Illustrations by Colin Elgie, Bob Lawrie

Charts and certifications

Charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nice Pair, A Albums produced by Norman Smith (record producer) Albums with cover art by Hipgnosis Albums with cover art by Storm Thorgerson Pink Floyd compilation albums 1974 compilation albums Capitol Records compilation albums Harvest Records compilation albums EMI Records compilation albums