My Top 1000 Songs #661: Summer '68

[I've been writing up my Top 1000 songs on a daily basis--you can see them all in descending order by hitting the All My Favorite Songs tag.] 

There are better Pink Floyd songs, more deserving of inclusion on this list, but "Summer '68" has long been a sentimental favorite. It's an atypical song in their varied repertoire, even for the peripatetic years between Syd Barrett's departure and Dark Side--one of a handful of songs written and sung by keyboardist Rick Wright, whimsical and romantic (or as romantic as a quickie with a groupie can be) and ultimately a surprisingly baroque piano-driven pop song.

It's also a bright light on the much-derided 1970 LP Atom Heart Mother, which even guitarist David Gilmour has essentially disowned. The side-long title suite, and Gilmour's "Fat Old Sun," aren't bad, though they're both greatly improved on live sets from the era--but "Summer" is an ideal studio track, colorfully produced, with some cool musical modulations and vocal tricks, and the title suite's brass section making a reappearance (though, in contrast, this one never made it into their live shows).

Here's a lovely, fully orchestrated cover version (don't know the artist?) from 2013:

And another symphonic cover!