Corrosion (Siréne- 235)
Ernst- Merck Halle, Hamburg, Germany – November 14th, 1970
Disc 1: Astronomy Domine, Fat Old Sun, Cymbaline, Atom Heart Mother, Corrosion/Grooving With A Pict, The Embryo
Disc 2: MC, Green Is The Colour, Careful With That Axe Eugene, Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun, A Saucerful Of Secrets
Corrosion features a good to very good audience source that captures a solid performance from Pink Floyd during their third European tour of 1970. It is clear enough to enjoy but distorts a bit in the louder sections and is hissy during the quieter portions. Disc one starts at the correct speed and gradually speeds up but all of disc two runs about 3% fast and there are cuts between all the tracks.
The set list contains all the essentials from the pre-Meddle era with a very interesting surprise before “The Embryo”. “Corrosion”, as it’s titled on this release, has also been referred to as “Improvisation” and even “Grooving With A Pict” on other titles. The jam really doesn’t have much to do with the track from Ummagumma but does contain a very “Pict-ish” style rant by Roger at the end.
A few minutes into the track Waters starts to play a descending bass line very similar to what would evolve into the solo section behind “Money”. Another very similar jam was played before “The Embryo” three days earlier in Gothenburg, often referred to as “Libest Spacement Monitor” but without Roger’s rant. These are the only two known references to this jam which makes these essential shows for Floyd collectors. “Atom Heart Mother” is performed without orchestra and has a tiny cut at 8:45 probably from a tape flip.
“Green Is The Colour” is an interesting version with Nick Mason experimenting with some different drum feels but Gilmour seems distracted and mumbles through parts of the verses. Roger’s final introduction of the night is rather humorous (and sarcastic) and a request from the crowd for “The Nile Song” has him answering, “never heard of it” before saying goodnight and introducing “A Saucerful Of Secrets”. Overall, a great early Floyd show and an enjoyable listen throughout.
Previously released by Siréne’s sister label, Ayanami, as Improvisations and on Grooving With A Pict on Hip Cat, both are CDR format and are among some fan-produced titles as well. Corrosion is a fantastic release with very nice cover art thankfully on silver disc this time. Siréne has been releasing too many great titles on CDR lately which just don’t appeal to some collectors. I think a lot of people would rather see the focus on new silver titles with less rehash of older, already overdone, titles. Perhaps another label will try to improve on this release in the future by speed correcting it but until then this should stand as definitive.
