Point Me At The Sky
Roger Waters, David Gilmour / 3:34
Musicians
David Gilmour: vocals, electric rhythm and lead guitar, backing vocals
Roger Waters: vocals, bass, backing vocals (?)
Rick Wright: organ, piano, vibraphone, harpsichord (?), Mellotron, backing vocals
Nick Mason: drums, maracas
Unidentified musician: cello (?)
Recorded
Abbey Road Studios, London: October 22–23, 28–30, November 4–5, 1968 (Studios Two and Three, Room 70)
Technical Team
Producer: Norman Smith
Sound Engineer: Peter Mew
Assistant Sound Engineers: Neil Richmond, Anthony Clarke, Graham Kirkby, Alan Parsons
Genesis
In a BBC documentary broadcast in December 2007, Roger Waters (lyricist and co-composer) and David Gilmour (co-composer) explained that they wrote “Point Me at the Sky” at the urgent request of EMI, which wanted to release a single along the lines of the preceding ones. Although Syd Barrett was no longer a part of Pink Floyd when “Point Me at the Sky” was recorded (October and November 1968), he still cast a shadow over the group, and in particular over Roger Waters. Waters takes up the atmosphere of the nursery rhymes that Barrett was so fond of to tell us about a talented, and not a little insane, inventor. Henry McClean has built a cosmic glider and asks his friend Eugene to fly with him to the sky. The final words clearly announce the tragic end that awaits them: And all we’ve got to say to you is good-bye, followed by Crash, crash, crash, crash, good-bye, inevitably evoking the Icarus of Greek mythology who died as a result of flying too close to the sun…
The end of “Point Me at the Sky” may be sad, but the song’s message is in perfect harmony with the happy philosophy of the flower children of the second half of the sixties. This is a heroic ode to the act of self-transcendence, to the discovery of new experiences, whether psychedelic or not, in short an indictment of the modern world with its mundanity and alienation. In spite of the sad ending, the musical atmosphere of this composition by Waters and Gilmour is reasonably cheerful, carried by a good dose of psychedelia that owes as much to Syd Barrett as it does to the Beatles (John Lennon in particular).
When it was released as a single on December 7, 1968, “Point Me at the Sky” failed to find its audience (any more than the B-side, “Careful with That Axe, Eugene,” did). “That was the last of the unknown singles,” the ever-perceptive Roger Waters would later comment, adding “I don’t know why we did it. It was a constructed attempt and it didn’t happen.”36
Production
“Point Me at the Sky” required multiple sessions. Two takes from October 23 were used as the basis for the overdubs: the third for the first part of the song and the fifth for the second part. The track proved difficult to get right, with the various moods requiring fairly systematic production input. David Gilmour comes straight in with the vocal line, against a background of Hammond organ, vibes, and pedal-board bass notes, all played by Rick Wright. Gilmour’s voice is gentle and the atmosphere serene. He also plays electric slide guitar for some very mellow sounds obtained with the Binson Echorec and reverb. This is followed by a rock sequence sung by Roger Waters, who is also excellent on bass, supported by the imperturbable Nick Mason, who works his Premier kit with considerable energy. This in turn develops into a refrain vaguely reminiscent of the Beatles’ “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” with Gilmour back on lead vocal supported by harmonies from his colleagues. According to the session records at Abbey Road, and also Glenn Povey’s book The Complete Pink Floyd, a cello and a harpsichord were also recorded on October 29. If so, both instruments are totally inaudible, presumably buried in the mix. This may have been in order to avoid sounding too Beatles-like… “Point Me at the Sky” is a good pop-rock song from a band and its producer who were clearly looking for a hit, with Gilmour adding some guitar overdubs and a solo distorted with wah-wah, Wright an acoustic piano and Mellotron effects, and Mason some maracas. However, it is first and foremost the vocal arrangements that grab the attention, not least as a result of the group devoting part of the sessions on October 28, 29, 30 and November 4 to them. As a result, the refrains and, in particular, the bridge with its ethereal climax were enhanced with harmonies worthy of, well… Norman Smith.
Although well made, this single did not meet with the anticipated success, leading Pink Floyd to give up its quest for hit singles, written specifically for this purpose rather than for inclusion on an album. When the group returned to the charts more than eleven years later, it would be in the number 1 spot with “Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2,” taken from the 1979 album The Wall.