[x] A Saucerful of Secrets

Most of the Floyd lp's are pretty straightforward to get in - but how would one classify Saucerful? Part of it (Remember A Day, Jugband Blues, etc.) was recorded by the Barrett lineup, while the rest of it (the title track, at least) was recorded by the Gilmour one (although spelt "Gilmore" on the original LP). It's not known exactly which tracks were by which lineup in some cases, and it's not even completely certain whether or not some tracks (Corporal Clegg, for example) had both Barrett and Gilmour on them.

How, in this case, does one specify the band members? I suspect this question has already been agonised over ...

I think that Rules 2a and 2b take care of that situation. Both were in the band during the recording of the album, so we could list all five members (although it would also be helpful to know exactly what the credits say). I always thought there was some amount of overlap during which the band operated as a quintet. I imagine you've heard the big news...

Goodness, yes - I'd never have thought it possible in my lifetime ...

[en.wikipedia.org] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Saucerful_of_Secrets :

Gilmour started recording with the band in January 1968 and Barrett remained until March 1968.

[en.wikipedia.org] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Set_the_Controls_for_the_Heart_of_the_Sun :
Gilmour and Barrett are both on this song, and it appears that Gilmour added his parts in January 1968, when he joined the band.

Quintet lineup?

Been up and down this road over and over again the last few years, desperate to see whether we can get away with this.

According to Vernon Fitch in his Pink Floyd Encyclopedia, the sessions were as follows:
a) Aug 7, 1967
b) Feb 15, 1968 (mixing: 4-track to mono
c) Apr 23, 1968
d) Apr 26, 1968
e) May 2, 1968

Don't know where the info comes that Gilmour played on it in Jan 68 but it may be suspect.

In Jan 1968, Gilmour played on:
Jan 18, 1968: Let There Be More Light.
Jan 31, 1968: Corporal Clegg
Jan 24-25: See Saw

Sorry.

Perhaps then we don't have a single song that reflects a simultaneous five-person recording. But it seems that we do have an ongoing recording session in which all five members participated and a two-month subset of that session during which all five were in the band together.

Your source agrees that Gilmour recorded at least something in January 1968 when Barrett was in the band. In the worst case, that would be sufficient for a ghost member. But when, as here, we have a continuous recording session and this type of overlap, shouldn't we have a five-person lineup for those January 1968 recordings?

It Would Be So Nice. But I'm not sure if I agree.

Although Barrett never actually left till March, I'm not sure he actually committed any work to a recording in the period between when DG joined and SB left.

So I'm not sure we should Meddle.

But now I consider: suppose we have a single song: started by one lineup and finished by another - does this feature two lineups? If so, then yes, we have our 5-member lineup.

There's the facts, up to you to interpret them!

"If two different lineups work on the same song (e.g. lineup A start work on it, lineup changes, lineup B finishes it) then to save confusion, that song is deemed to have been worked on by all members of both lineups *if and only if* all members of both lineups are concurrent during at least part of the interval between when that song was started and that song was completed."

Alternatively you can scrap the bit after if-and-only-if and credit the "set union" in all conditions. (We need LaTeX support on this forum.)

I believe this may already be happening on some entries: works completed / polished off / remixed by others credit the entire workforce?

I think you're right that we shouldn't Meddle. We do credit the entire workforce for works / completed / polished off by others, but the crediting gets broken into multiple lineups, [www.bandtoband.com] http://www.bandtoband.com/band/guns-n-roses/chinese-democracy being one of the most complicated examples. Surely there's a live recording somewhere of these five guys together?

Doubt it. DG was originally invited to join in the first place so as to replace SB on stage.

[www.pinkfloyd.com] http://www.pinkfloyd.com/history/timeline_1968.php says there were at least four shows with the five-person lineup. [pinkfloydarchives.com] http://pinkfloydarchives.com/tourdate.htm#1968 shows four dates (one with two shows) for a total of five such performances. Unsurprisingly, there are no available recordings.

[www.youtube.com] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hd2Szs11_aY is a Gilmour interview saying (twice) that there were five shows with the five-person lineup.