Picnic – A Breath of Fresh Air


Picnic – A Breath of Fresh Air is a sampler issued by the Harvest Records label, originally released in 1970 and notable for including the previously unreleased Pink Floyd song, "Embryo".
The similarly-entitled A Breath of Fresh Air – A Harvest Records Anthology 1969–1974 released on 14 May 2007 borrowed most of the original title, but had only three tracks in common with its precursor. Although most tracks featured were of similar vintage, the album was a retrospective compilation, rather than a promotional sampler.

History

launched the Harvest label in 1969 to take advantage of the progressive rock market, and like many record labels at the time, they produced a budget-priced showcase album of their artists. Their roster of artists was large and interesting enough to support a double album retailing at 29s/11d. The result was an eclectic mixture of traditional folk, hard rock, psychedelia and obscurities.
The inclusion of "Embryo", without the approval of Pink Floyd, and which the band considered unfinished, resulted in the album's prompt withdrawal. Some editions do not credit the track to Pink Floyd on the inside cover.

1970 release track listing

2007 release track listing

Disc one

  1. "Evil" – Edgar Broughton Band
  2. "Listen Learn Read On" – Deep Purple
  3. "Druid One" – Third Ear Band
  4. "Station Song" – Pete Brown and His Battered Ornaments
  5. "Rainmaker" – Michael Chapman
  6. "Singing A Song In The Morning" – Kevin Ayers
  7. "A Forsaking: Our Captain Cried" – Shirley and Dolly Collins
  8. "Careful with That Axe, Eugene" – Pink Floyd
  9. "Armchair Theatre" – Tea and Symphony
  10. "Big Bear Ffolly" – Bakerloo
  11. "Round And Round" – Panama Ltd. Jug Band
  12. "Octopus" – Syd Barrett
  13. "Painter" – Deep Purple
  14. "Country Morning" – Pete Brown & Piblokto!
  15. "Francesca" – Roy Harper
  16. "Bad Penny" – Forest
  17. "Backwood" – Chris Spedding
  18. "Real Cool World" – Greatest Show On Earth
  19. "Breathe" – Roger Waters and Ron Geesin
  20. "Taking Some Time On " – Barclay James Harvest

    Disc two

  21. "There's No Vibrations But Wait" – Edgar Broughton Band
  22. "Soulful Lady" – Michael Chapman
  23. "Entropy" – Quatermass
  24. "Black Sheep Of The Family" – Quatermass
  25. "Grass" – The Pretty Things
  26. "Salisbury Plain" – Shirley & Dolly Collins
  27. "Embryo" – Pink Floyd
  28. "Shouldn't Have Took More Than You Gave" – Dave Mason
  29. "Speed King" – Deep Purple
  30. "Magic Woman Touch" – Greatest Show On Earth
  31. "Aeroplane Head Woman" – Pete Brown & Piblokto!
  32. "Baby Lemonade" – Syd Barrett
  33. "Don't You Grieve" – Roy Harper
  34. "October 26" – The Pretty Things
  35. "Song from the Bottom of a Well" – Kevin Ayers
  36. "First Leaf of Autumn" – Michael Chapman
  37. "Call Me a Liar" – Edgar Broughton Band

    Disc three

  38. "She Said" – Barclay James Harvest
  39. "South Africa" – Roy Harper
  40. "Evening Over Rooftops" – Edgar Broughton Band
  41. "Do Ya" – The Move
  42. "When the City Sleeps" – Bombadil
  43. "Lady Rachel" – Kevin Ayers
  44. "10538 Overture" – Electric Light Orchestra
  45. "The City " – Mark-Almond
  46. "Spaceship" – Spontaneous Combustion
  47. "Macbeth" – Third Ear Band
  48. "Fresh Air" – Jan Akkerman
  49. "Twelve Hours Of Sunset" – Roy Harper
  50. "Wells Fargo" – Babe Ruth
  51. "Showdown" – Electric Light Orchestra
  52. "Jet Silver and the Dolls of Venus" – Be-Bop Deluxe

    Album cover

None of the artists who were featured on the album are portrayed on the outer cover. The front and rear of the gatefold show a group of people wearing World War II gas masks sitting in sand dunes with a dead bird on the sand. The interior of the sleeve displays the covers of most of the albums from which the tracks are taken against the background of an incoming sea tide. This background features a family walking across the sands in a washed-out monochrome. The cover design and photographs are credited to Hipgnosis, famous for their progressive rock album cover designs.