A Saucerful of Secrets - Release and Reception

Release and Reception

The album was released in the UK on 29 June 1968 on EMI's Columbia label as both mono and stereo LPs, reaching number 9 in the UK charts. It was released in the US by the Tower Records division of Capitol, where it remains the only Pink Floyd album to not chart. However, when reissued as A Nice Pair with the original version of The Piper at the Gates of Dawn after the success of The Dark Side of the Moon, the album did chart at number 36 on the Billboard 200. "Let There Be More Light" was released a single, backed with "Remember a Day", in the US on 19 August 1969.

The CD stereo mix of the album was first released in 1988, and in 1992 was digitally remastered and reissued as part of the Shine On box set. The remastered stereo CD was released on its own in 1994 in the UK and the US. The mono mix version of the album has never been officially released on CD.

Upon its release, Rolling Stone magazine's review was unfavourable, writing that it is "not as interesting as their first" and "rather mediocre", highlighting the near-departure of Syd Barrett as one of its detractors. Allmusic reviewer, Richie Unterberger called the album "gentle, fairy-tale ambience", with the songs that move from "concise and vivid" to "spacy, ethereal material with lengthy instrumental passages."