Home | Songs By Year | Songs from 1967
Apples and Oranges (song)
Buy Apples and Oranges (song) now from AmazonFirst, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the song. And once you've experienced the song, tell everyone what you thought about it.
Wikipedia article
{{Infobox song
| name = Apples and Oranges
| cover = ApplesandOranges.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Sleeve for UK promotional release; the UK retail single used a generic company sleeve
| type = single
| artist = Pink Floyd
| album =
| B-side = Paint Box
| released = November 1967
| recorded = 26 and 27 October 1967
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = Psychedelic pop
| length = 3:08
| label = Columbia (EMI)
| writer = Syd Barrett
| producer = Norman Smith
| prev_title = Flaming
| prev_year = 1967
| next_title = It Would Be So Nice
| next_year = 1968
| misc =
}}
"'Apples and Oranges'" is the third United Kingdom single by Pink Floyd, the final one written by Syd Barrett, and released in 1967. The B-side was "Paint Box" written by Richard Wright. The song is about a girl whom the narrator meets at the supermarket. It is one of only a handful of songs by Pink Floyd which deals directly with love.
The song was recorded shortly before the band's US tour, on 26 and 27 October.
TV performances
Pink Floyd, along with Barrett, mimed the song on their first US televised performances on 'The Pat Boone Show' and 'American Bandstand'. Barrett kept his lips closed during the first performance but mimed competently on the latter show, of which footage survives. After Barrett was replaced by David Gilmour, the band recorded a promotional film in Belgium in a fruit market with Roger Waters lip synching, as Barrett had left the band by this point.
Release
This was the group's first single that failed to break into the UK charts, and their US label Tower Records issued a US-only single instead: "Flaming" b/w "The Gnome" (Tower 378). Waters blamed the single's sales performance on Norman Smith: "'Apples and Oranges' was destroyed by the production. It's a fucking good song". When the single failed to reach the charts, Barrett's reply was that he "couldn't care less."
Further release
Both sides of the single were mixed in stereo, but the single was issued in mono, which was very muddy and probably contributed to its lack of success. The stereo mix of "Paint Box" first appeared on the 'Relics' compilation (1971), and both tracks appeared in stereo on the 'Masters of Rock' compilation (1974). The other four early UK singles were issued in mono originally. "Arnold Layne", "See Emily Play", "It Would Be So Nice", and "Point Me at the Sky" only exist in mono or false stereo, while "Julia Dream" was remixed for stereo at a later time, for inclusion on 'Relics'. Mono and stereo mixes of "Apples and Oranges" and the mono mix of "Paint Box" are included in the 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition release of 'The Piper at the Gates of Dawn'.
Reception
"It's a happy song, and it's got a touch of Christmas. It's about a girl who I saw just walking round town, in Richmond." Syd Barrett
NME hailed it as "the most psychedelic single the Pink Floyd have come up with", however, it was "pretty hard to get a hold of".
Personnel
*Syd Barrett electric guitar, lead vocals
*Richard Wright Hammond organ, piano, electric piano, backing vocals, falsetto lead vocals (bridge)
*Roger Waters bass guitar, backing vocals
*Nick Mason drums, tambourine
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Category:1967 singles
Category:Pink Floyd songs
Category:Songs written by Syd Barrett
Category:1967 songs
Category:Columbia Records singles
Category:Psychedelic pop songs
Buy Apples and Oranges (song) now from Amazon
<-- Return to songs from 1967