Well, I quite like "Piper At The Gates Of Dawn" - but, yes, post-Syd/pre-Meddle is my least favorite era of PF. And yet Nick Mason may be on to something. Neither Roger nor David really play anything after the debut album (esp. Roger) - they stick mostly to the "main sequence" (i.e., 'Meddle' to 'The Wall'). However, there was an audience that liked the pre-Meddle PF - that is, they were able to remain a band for the years before they became more traditionally progressive.
Well, I concur - good luck to Nick. I'd probably check out the band if they came over here...