A Saucerful of Secrets is the second studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 28 June 1968 by EMI Columbia in the UK and on 27 July 1968 in the US by Tower Records. The mental health of singer and guitarist Syd Barrett deteriorated during recording, so guitarist David Gilmour was recruited; Barrett left the band before the album's completion.
Whereas Barrett had been the primary songwriter on Pink Floyd's debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967), on A Saucerful of Secrets each member contributed songwriting and lead vocals. Gilmour appeared on all but two songs, while Barrett contributed to three. "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" is the only song on which all five members appear.
A Saucerful of Secrets reached number nine in the UK charts, but did not chart in the US until April 2019, peaking at number 158. It received mostly positive reviews, though many critics have deemed it inferior to The Piper at the Gates of Dawn.
Recording
Pink Floyd released their debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, in August 1967. Work began on A Saucerful of Secrets in the same month at EMI Studios (now Abbey Road Studios) in London with producer Norman Smith. The first songs recorded by the band were "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" which was penned by Roger Waters, and "Scream Thy Last Scream", which was written by Syd Barrett but with additional lead vocals sung by Nick Mason both recorded on 7–8 August 1967. The tracks were planned for release as a single on 8 September, but this was vetoed by Pink Floyd's record company, EMI.
In early October of '67, the band returned to the studio and recorded "Vegetable Man", another Syd Barrett composition (who also performed lead vocals), and "Scream Thy Last Scream" which was again re-scheduled for release, only this time with "Vegetable Man" as the B-side, but it was once again vetoed by their label EMI. The band returned on 19 October to record "Jugband Blues", another Barrett composition, with Smith booking a Salvation Army band on Barrett's recommendation. During these sessions, bandleader Syd Barrett overdubbed slide guitar onto "Remember a Day", an outtake from The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. The band took a break from the album sessions to record what was to be the last Pink Floyd single penned by Syd Barrett "Apples and Oranges" on 26 and 27 October. A few days later, they recorded what would become the B-side, "Paint Box", before leaving for their first US tour. On November 17, 1967, "Apples and Oranges" was released as a single following Pink Floyd's US tour. Despite the band performing it on American Bandstand on 7 November which was their US television debut, it failed to chart higher than number 55 in the UK charts. Roger Waters later blamed Norman Smith's production for the single's failure to top the charts, stating "'Apples and Oranges' was destroyed by the production. It's a fucking good song". When asked in December 1967 by Melody Maker about the song's disappointing chart run, Barrett replied he "couldn’t care less really. All we can do is make records which we like. If the kids don't, then they won't buy it. All middle men are bad."
Around this time, the mental health of guitarist Syd Barrett was being called into question by the band; he was often unresponsive and would not play, leading to the cancellation of several performances and Pink Floyd's first US tour. In December 1967, reaching a crisis point with Barrett, Pink Floyd added guitarist David Gilmour as the fifth member. According to Jenner, the group planned that Gilmour would "cover for [Barrett's] eccentricities". When this proved unworkable, "Syd was just going to write. Just to try to keep him involved."
For two days from 10 January 1968, Pink Floyd reconvened at EMI Studios, attempting to work on older tracks: Waters' vocals and keyboardist Richard Wright's organ were overdubbed onto "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun", while drummer Nick Mason added vocals to "Scream Thy Last Scream".