When this record was re-released a few months ago, I initially passed up my first chance to grab one. After some immediate regret, I spent the next month or so trying to find another copy. I eventually located a red version and was thrilled when it showed up in the mail. Not too long after, a blue copy came up and I grabbed that one as well. That’s kind of how things go with boots. If you see something you like, you would do well to get it while you have the chance. These types of records are made in limited numbers, and the places you find them for sale tend to cut off the supply when they find out what they are.
Sysyphys, no doubt intended to be spelled Sisyphus… a reference to the legendary king of Ephyra, has what I believe to be the best classic cover art of any Pink Floyd bootleg album. The cover illustration captures the story of the doomed king of legend; forced by the gods to endlessly roll a boulder up a hill. It is beautiful in its simplicity. When this show was originally released in Germany back in 1978, the cover was the same. It was, however, only available in red. With the modern Italian re-press, we get the choice between red and blue, and it doesn’t hurt just to pick up both and have the complete set.
Each copy comes pressed on wax that’s supposed to correspond to the color of the sleeve. The blue looks great, but the red came out more like a marbled orange color. In any case, I think it still looks pretty good. Just like the original release, we once again have plain white labels. In order to see what side you’re on, you need to look closely at the almost invisible deadwax inscriptions. With this being a single LP, it isn’t too big of a deal. Some references point to the record label that released the original pressing to be “Angry Taxman”, but this version has no indication at all of whoever it was that printed it. Each color is limited and hand-numbered out of 75.
When I was cleaning the records before the first spin, I noticed that both of them had a slight warp. The red was worse than the blue, but both were minor and neither one affected play. Other than that, both colors looked good, and the vinyl itself is of high quality. The quality of the sleeve is pretty standard. I wouldn’t say it’s heavy, but it’s not cheap either. Both copies came with standard white inner sleeves.
Side A – Amsterdam Free Concert (26/06/1970) Side B – Civic Center, Santa Monica, California (16/10/1971)
A1 Careful With That Axe, Eugene
A2 Cymbaline
B1 A Saucerful Of Secrets
B2 Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun
The actual music on this record is taken from two different shows, neither one of which is heard very often. That’s a shame, because the recording quality and performances we have here are fantastic. Nothing in the production of the record gets in the way of the music, and the pressing is very quiet with no clicks or pops. The set lists are the ones that are most commonly found on bootlegged shows, but these versions are some of the best I’ve heard. In particular, the version of Cymbaline found here is certainly one of my favorites. That’s the track that stood out most to me, but really everything here is very enjoyable.
This will be one of my shorter reviews, but in this case, I think I’ve said nearly all there is to say. Sysyphus is a great re-release of some lesser-known Floyd shows, and the album art and overall pressing quality should delight any collector. Unlike some of the other titles I’ve gotten recently, it’s my opinion that this one hasn’t been over pressed. Even though it’s still new, it doesn’t come up for sale often, and the ones that do are snatched up almost immediately. I can see this one going up in value in the not-too-distant future. If you manage to track a copy down, you can expect to pay between 75.00 US and 130.00 US for it regardless of color. A solid 9/10 release here (the white labels are passable because they stayed true to the original release, but I don’t like the warping even though it’s slight). Get it while it’s still around!