Released 11 November 2016 Genre Psychedelic rock Producer(s) Norman Smith | Recorded 7–8 August 1967 Writer(s) Syd Barrett | |
"Scream Thy Last Scream" is a song by Pink Floyd, written by frontman Syd Barrett and was scheduled to be the band's next single after "See Emily Play".
Contents
The song was released on The Early Years 1965-1972 box set in November 2016, which is its first official release.
Recording
Only two takes are complete. It was recorded in the same sessions as "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun", on 7–8 August 1967.
Music and lyrics
The song features: several changes in tempo, a sped-up double-tracked vocal part by Barrett, while drummer Nick Mason simultaneously sings the normal part (one of only 4 moments he ever sang on a Floyd record), a range of bells, crowd noises, an instrumental section that continually increases in speed featuring wah-wah guitar solos and keyboards, and surreal lyrics. Barrett is only clearly audible on one line in the song, "she'll be scrubbing bubbles on all fours".
Aborted release and other versions
The two tracks were arranged to be released as a single on 8 September, before it was vetoed by the band's record company, EMI. The song was again scheduled for release, this time with "Vegetable Man" as the B-side, but cancelled for the second time. Both tracks remained officially unreleased, but appeared on many bootlegs until November 2016. The two tracks, along with others such as "Jugband Blues" and another unreleased track called "In the Beechwoods" were remixed in 2010 and also included in the "Early Years" box set.
A promotional video was made for the track, directed by poet Spike Hawkins. A final studio cut of "Scream Thy Last Scream" was completed along with a somewhat different BBC radio version (which features both Barrett and Mason on lead vocals) and even some live recordings. All are widely available on bootleg recordings. A late-Barrett era rendition was recorded live in Rotterdam in November 1967, at the Hippy-Happy Fair. Producer Malcolm Jones (who produced Barrett's The Madcap Laughs solo album) had remixed "Vegetable Man" and "Scream Thy Last Scream", for inclusion on the Barrett rarities album Opel (1988), however the band blocked its inclusion.