Pink Floyd, Akira and Denise "The Grease"

In my recent Carole King post (Link), I told you about my friend Akira, who's my connection for Japanese CDs and vinyl.  I also told you that she also gave me spiffy Japanese editions of '461 Ocean Boulevard' and 'Wish You Were Here', and that I'd post some of my favorite Akira (who's mad as a hatter) stories.

I first met Akira in 1975.  That year I was invited to a mathematical conference in Tokyo, Japan.  Akira (a brilliant mathematician in her own right) was an assistant to Kiyosi Itô, founder of Itô calculus (the subject of my second PhD), she was also tasked with meeting me at Haneda Airport.

As I passed through the exit door of the Japanese customs hall, I saw a woman holding up a sign that read: "Dr. Babs" (it literally said that).  We greeted each other, and headed to Akira's car.

As we were driving to central Tokyo, Akira asked me, "Do you like Thai sticks?".  I smiled and nodded my head, and Akira pulled a spliff out of the glove compartment, that would have impressed Peter Tosh.  We've been good friends and kindred spirits ever since.

One of my favorite Akira stories involves a Pink Floyd concert, Akira and Denise "The Grease".

In 1977 Akira was working on Wall Street, and living a few blocks from me in Greenwich Village.  That July, Pink Floyd played four shows at Madison Square Garden, and Akira and I along with our mutual friend Mary were going to one of the shows.  The morning of the show, Mary called and said she couldn't make the show, so I called Denise "The Grease" to see if she wanted to go.  At the time, Denise was a Disco Diva, and wasn't sure if she wanted to go, but she eventually said yes.

That afternoon, Akira showed at my place, pulled a container of iced tea, out of her shoulder bag, and told me, "I dissolved some blotters in it".  We drank some iced tea, and smoked some joints, waiting for "The Grease" to show.  When "The Grease" arrived, I was in a different room on the phone.  After my phone call, I experienced a huge "acid shiver" and walked in to the kitchen, where "The Grease" was gulping down the rest of the iced tea. " I was really thirsty!" said "The Grease".  I started to giggle, which set Akira off, too.  Denise wanted to know what was so funny?  I explained to her, that there was acid in the iced tea. "You mean LS-fuckin'-D?" asked "The Grease", who then looked at Akira, and asked her, "Why the fuck did you give me fucking LSD?"  Akira, still giggling, and in a heavy Japanese accent said, "I told you it was electric, right?" "Electric?...I thought you said it was excellent" said "The Grease".  I explained to Denise "The Grease" that she needed to calm down, and I made her a strong "7&7" (Seagram's Seven and 7 Up) which at the time was her favorite mixed drink.  After a few "7&7s", and a few joints later, "The Grease" was calm and smiling.  I asked Akira, "What was the dose in the iced tea?" She said, "I made iced tea for three, so I put six blotters in it." I laughed, then I laughed some more, causing Akira to crack up, and "The Grease" apprehensively joined in on the hilarity.

At Madison Square Garden, "The Grease" was a stranger in paradise.  The Pink Floyd show was a treat for the senses, which consisted of the 'Animals' album played in its entirety, and Denise "The Grease's" face was priceless when a huge pig flew around Madison Square Garden.  After which, they took a break, and then played 'Wish You Were Here', in its entirety.  Followed by two encores: "Money" and "Us and Them".  

"The Grease" never dropped acid again.  

Akira, and I refer to the incident as "A Floydian Slip-up".

More on Akira, in future posts.

While I'm not the biggest Pink Floyd fan, I've always liked 'Wish You Were Here'.

So for your dinning and dancing pleasure, here are two different sounding versions of 'Wish You Were Here'.  Audiophools, I mean Audiophiles rather, bicker over which one sounds better, you can decide for yourself.

I'm also including in the freeload a "Boot" of alternate studio recordings from the 'Animals' and 'Wish You Were Here' sessions titled, 'From Abbey Road to Britannia Row'

This is the version I recently got from Akira.  This one has a catalog number of SRCS 8483.  This is a remastered 1997 30th anniversary edition.  It has Track Peak Levels: 100 / 100 / 100 / 89.3 / 92.0

This version with the catalog number of 35DP 4 is an interesting release, and is referred to by Pink Floyd aficionados, and audiophools, I mean audiophiles (why do I keep doing that?) rather, as the "two track version", as the CD only has two tracks. Track 1 is side A of the original 1975 vinyl release, with track 2 being side B.

And here's the "Boot"
Tracklist:
1 Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts 1-9)
2 Welcome To The Machine
3 Have A Cigar
4 Sheep (Raving and Drooling)
5 Dogs
6 Pigs (Three Different Ones)
7 Sheep Sound Effects 

Both versions of 'Wish You Were Here' sound very nice, see which one you like best.

For the freeload, which Pink Floyd album do you play the most?