PINK FLOYD (Group, Art-rock/Progressive-Rock, Psychedelic) Practically from its inception in 1965, Pink Floyd was on the cutting edge of psychedelic rock experimentalism, utilizing feedback, sound effects, light shows, unorthodox lyrical themes, and spacey productions.
It was band member Syd Barrett (b. Jan. 6, 1946) who gave the band its moniker, inspired by Georgia bluesmen Pink Anderson and Floyd Council. Barrett's trippy songwriting on their debut album, "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" (UK #6), set the band even further apart from most bands of the time. Barrett, however, left the band due to psychological deterioration encouraged by drug abuse, leaving bassist Roger Waters (b. Sep. 9, 1944) to take over the primary songwriting duties.
The band's sonic explorations achieved focus with 1973's seamless The Dark Side of the Moon (#1), an album that placed them firmly in the big time. Follow-up albums Wish You Were Here (#1), Animals (#3), The Wall (#1) and The Final Cut (#6) enjoyed phenomenal success.
Waters revealed an increasingly vitriolic spirit in his conceptual themes as he addressed the breakdown of individual dignity in the face of perceived Orwellian post-World War II social order.
It should be said that guitarist David Gilmour's (b. Mar. 6, 1946) soaring guitar work and songwriting contributions on The Wall's Comfortably Numb gave him a high profile in the band. After The Final Cut, Waters and the band acrimoniously split up in 1983, leaving them to pursue various solo efforts, with moderate success.
Gilmour reformed Pink Floyd in 1987 with drummer Nick Mason (b. Jan. 27, 1945) and keyboardist Rick Wright (b. Jul. 28, 1945), releasing A Momentary Lapse of Reason (#3), which sparked a flurry of lawsuits between Waters and the band over the ownership of the name. While the album lacks the thematic bite of Waters's input, the band's sound is intact, helping the album become a world-wide hit. The new Pink Floyd's success continued in 1994, when The Division Bell topped the charts upon its release. -- Rick Clark
THE PIPER AT THE GATES OF DAWN / Aug. 5, 1967 / Capitol ***** The
debut album combines long, group-written, largely instrumental
compositions with shorter, whimsical, eclectic pop songs written
by lead singer and guitarist Syd Barrett (his only full-length album
appearance with the group). A wonderful evocation of the distinctly
British take on '60s psychedelic music. (NOTE: Avoid the out-of-
print LP version "Pink Floyd," Tower 5093, which alters the
original UK album). -- William Ruhlmann
TONIGHT LET'S ALL MAKE LOVE IN LONDON / 1968 / CBS *** Peter
Whitehead's 1967 film "Tonight Let's All Make Love in London"
was an attempt to document the mid-'60s Swinging London pop
scene at its peak. The soundtrack was an instant collector's
item, divided between interview snippets with such scenemakers
as Michael Caine, David Hockney, Julie Christie, and Mick
Jagger, and marginal incidental music by unmemorable pop
acts produced by Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham
(Vashti and Twice As Much). The Small Faces' contribution,
'Here Comes the Nice,' is easily available elsewhere. Allen
Ginsberg (misspelled "Alan" on the original sleeve) reads the
poem that gave the film its own name. The chief attraction of this
CD reissue is the addition of two lengthy, otherwise unavailable
cuts by the original Pink Floyd lineup in 1967 (mere snippets
had appeared on the original LP). Their 16-minute version of
'Interstellar Overdrive' (recorded for their first LP) starts off
scintillatingly, then degenerates into a rather aimless jam. The
12-minute 'Nick's Boogie,' not available in any other version, is a
considerably more aimless, free-form instrumental piece
dominated by scraping guitars. Even in its expanded CD reissue,
this album will only appeal to hard-core collectors. -- Richie
Unterberger
THE (sic) SAUCERFUL OF SECRETS / June 29, 1968 / Capitol *** A
transitional album on which the band moved from Barrett's
relatively concise and vivid singles to spacey, ethereal material
with lengthy instrumental passages. Barrett's influence is still
felt (he actually did manage to contribute one track, the jovial
'Jugland Blues'), and much of the material retains a gentle,
fairy-tale ambience. 'Remember a Day' and 'See Saw' are
highlights; on 'Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun,' 'Let
There Be More Light,' and the lengthy instrumental title track,
the band begin to map out the dark and repetitive pulses that
would characterize their next few records. -- Richie Unterberger
MORE / July 1969 / Capitol ** Commissioned as a soundtrack to the
seldom-seen French hippie movie of the same name, "More"
was a Floyd album in its own right, reaching the Top 10 in
Britain. The group's atmospheric music was a natural for the
movies, but when assembled for record, these pieces were
unavoidably a bit patchwork, ranging from folksy ballads to
fierce electronic instrumentals to incidental mood music.
Several of the tracks are pleasantly inconsequential, but this
record does include some strong compositions, especially
'Cymbaline,' 'Green is the Colour,' and 'The Nile Song.' All of
these developed into stronger pieces in live performances, and
better, high-quality versions are available on numerous
bootlegs. -- Richie Unterberger
UMMAGUMMA - Nov. 1969 / Capitol *** A two-disc set containing a
definitive live set, the second, experimental contributions from
each of the band members. -- William Ruhlmann
ATOM HEART MOTHER / Oct. 1970 / Capitol *** Pink Floyd started to
stretch out its long numbers here, with the orchestrated title
track taking up an entire side of the album. Still not as focused
as they would be, the group nevertheless was beginning to show
the musical ambition that would lead to their later successes.
-- William Ruhlmann
RELICS / May 1971 / Barclay **** A singles collection from the Syd
Barrett era, containing the British hits 'Arnold Layne' and 'See
Emily Play,' among other psychedelic nuggets. -- William
Ruhlmann
MEDDLE / Oct. 30, 1971 / Capitol **** With "Meddle," Pink Floyd
instrumentally arrived at an airy ensemble sound, which would
eventually find full flower on their 1973 classic "The Dark Side
of the Moon." This approach is particularly evident on 'Echoes,'
a periodically languorous jam that takes up one half of the album.
Nevertheless, there are enough sonic concepts and pleasant
melodies at work on this album to make it worthwhile to the
Floyd fan looking to dig deeper than "The Dark Side of the
Moon" and "The Wall." -- Rick Clark
OBSCURED BY CLOUDS / June 1972 / Capitol ** Like 'More,' 'Obscured
by Clouds' was a soundtrack album Pink Floud threw together
quickly for a film by Barbet Schroeder. Songs like 'Free Four'
show Roger Waters developing the songwriting skill that would
catapult Pink Floyd to mass stardom with its next release, "The
Dark Side of the Moon." -- William Ruhlmann
DARK SIDE OF THE MOON (sic) / March 24, 1973 / Capitol ***** Pink
Floyd's instrumental prowess and mastery of sound effects,
married for the first time to bassist Roger Waters' lyrics about
madness, 'Time,' 'Money,' and other concerns make for the most
impressive mood music of the decade (and sales of 25 million
copies so far). -- William Ruhlmann {28 million in 1998 - Wayne}
WISH YOU WERE HERE / Sept. 12, 1975 / Columbia ***** A concept
album paying tribute to Syd Barrett ('Shine On You Crazy
Diamond') and lambasting the music industry ('Have a Cigar').
-- William Ruhlmann
ANIMALS / Oct. 2, 1977 / Columbia *** Consisting of heavily reworked
songs that had long been a part of Pink Floyd's live repertoire
and were now given an Orwellian overview. "Animals" found
Pink Floyd acting as the mouthpiece for Roger Waters'
increasingly vitriolic takes on modern life. The result was one of
its less successful later efforts. -- William Ruhlmann
THE WALL / Nov. 1979 / Columbia ***** This is Roger Waters' meditation
on the travails of a rock star, whose unhappy life causes him to
build a psychological barrier between himself and the rest of the
world. Contains the #1 hit 'Another Brick in the Wall (Pt.2)' and
the concert favorite 'Comfortably Numb,' (cowritten by David
Gilmour). -- William Ruhlmann
COLLECTION OF GREAT DANCE SONGS (sic) / Nov. 1981 / Columbia
** Anyone who knew anything about Pink Floyd knew that a
dance band they were not, so this profit-taking, holiday-season
compilation, courtesy of Columbia Records, was intended
ironically. Arguably the quintessential album band, Pink Floyd
is not well-served by compilations, especially one on which two
parts of 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond' are edited together and
there's a re-recording of 'Money.' Stick to the full-length versions.
-- William Ruhlmann
WORKS / 1983 / Capitol ** Capitol records gets into the Pink Floyd
compilation game, but why bother when all you have in mind is
the same old tired tracks, plus one previously unreleased song
appropriately called 'Embryo'? -- William Ruhlmann
THE FINAL CUT / April 1983 / Columbia *** A Roger Waters solo album
in all but name, containing the composer's response to Britain's
Falklands War in the form of a massive condemnation of war
and government. -- William Ruhlmann
A MOMENTARY LAPSE OF REASON / 1987 / Columbia ** A David
Gilmour album in all but name, heavily featuring the kind of
atmospheric instrumental music and Gilmour guitar sound
typical of the Floyd before the now-departed Roger Waters
took over, but lacking Waters' unifying vision and lyrical ability.
-- William Ruhlmann
DELICATE SOUND OF THUNDER (sic) / Jan. 2, 1988 / Columbia **
This live album documents their 1987-1988 world tour.
-- Rick Clark
SHINE ON (Box Set) / Nov. 17, 1992 / Columbia **** A lavish and
expensive nine-CD box set of Pink Floyd's greatest hits -
which are all albums, naturally. Seven albums ('A Saucerful
of Secrets,' 'Meddle,' 'The Dark Side of the Moon,' 'Wish You
Were Here,' 'Animals,' 'The Wall,' and 'A Momentary Lapse
of Reason') have been digitally remastered; when the 8 discs
are set together on the shelf, their spines form the prism and
rainbow from the cover of 'The Dark Side of the Moon.' 'Shine
On' also includes an extra disc of early singles, housed in a
digi-pak, and a hardcover book with plenty of pictures and text.
Since there is no previously unreleased material included on
the set, the only incentive for hardcore fans who already own
the albums is the packaging and remastering, both of which
are impressive. 'Shine On' is certainly worth the investment for
those who don't already own the music. -- Stephen Thomas
Erlewine
THE DIVISION BELL / 1994 / Columbia ** The second post-Roger Waters
Pink Floyd album is less forced and more of a group effort than
"A Momentary Lapse of Reason" - keyboard player Rick Wright
is back to full band membership status and has co-writing
credits on five of the 11 songs, even getting lead vocals on
'Wearing the Inside Out.' Some of David Gilmour's lyrics (co-
written by Polly Sampson and Nick Laird-Clowes of the Dream
Academy) might be directed at Waters, notably 'Lost for Words'
and 'A Great Day for Freedom,' with its references to "the wall"
coming down, although the more specific subject is the Berlin
Wall and the fall of Communism. In any case, there is a
vindictive, accusatory tone to songs such as 'What Do You
Want From Me' and 'Poles Apart,' and the overarching theme,
from the album title to the graphics to the "I-you" pronouns in
most of the lyrics, has to do with dichotomies and distinctions,
with "I" always having the upper hand. Musically, Gilmour,
Nick Mason and Wright have largely turned back the clock to
the pre-'Dark Side of the Moon' Floyd, with slow tempos,
sustained keyboard chords and guitar solos with a lot of echo.
-- William Ruhlmann
PULSE / 1995 / Columbia ** Pink Floyd claim they had no intentions of
recording another live album when they began 'The Division Bell'
tour, but performing 'The Dark Side of the Moon' in its entirety
convinced the group to release another double live set, called
'Pulse.' There's no question that the group is comprised of
talented musicians, including a number of studio professionals
that augmented the trio on tour. Whether they're inspired
musicians is up to debate. A large part of Pink Floyd's live
show is based on the always impressed visuals; on the
'Division Bell' tour, they closed each show with an unprecedented
laser extravaganza. In order for the visuals and the music to
coincide, the group needed to play the sets as tightly as possible,
with little improvisation. Consequently, an audio version of this
concert, separated from the visuals, is quite dull. Pink Floyd
play the greatest hits and the new songs professionally, yet the
versions differ only slightly from the original recordings, making
'Pulse' a tepid experience. (The first edition of the album featured
a blinking red light - a symbolic representation of the "pulse" - in
the spine of the disc and cassette). -- Stephen Thomas Erlewine
DARK SIDE OF THE MOO / Bo*tleg **** Look at the title carefully; it's not
the Floyd _meisterwerk_, but a wittily titled (and packaged, with
"Atom Heart Mother"-like cows on the cover) bo*tleg of their rarest
studio tracks. Presented in 99-100% of their original fidelity,
these include some choice and necessary items that would cost
you quite a bit to assemble piece by piece. From the Syd Barrett
era, we have 'Candy and a Currant Bun,' the brilliant B-side to
their debut 'Arnold Layne' single, and 'Apples and Oranges,' the
legendary flop single from late 1967. Other late-'60s (post-Syd)
flop singles include the pleasant psychedelic ballads 'It Would
Be So Nice' and 'Point Me at the Sky.' A number of the other
tracks, including contributions to the "Zabriski Point" soundtrack,
the original studio version of 'Astronomy Domine' (cut off the
U.S. version of the first LP), and the different 'Interstellar Overdrive'
that showed up on the "Tonight Let's All Make Love in London"
soundtrack, have appeared on CD since the mid-'80s issue of
this bo*tleg. If you're not inclined to spend an additional $50 or
so tracking these down, it certainly makes sense to spring for
this, if you can find it. -- Richie Unterberger
RHAPOSDY IN PINK (THE PSYCHEDELIC YEARS: The Incredible BBC
Recordings) / Bo*tleg **** Packaged under various titles, this is
*the* collection of material to hunt for if you're looking for
unreleased Floyd from the post-Barrett, pre-'Dark Side' era.
Bo*tleg fidelity doesn't come any better than this; it's one of the
very few occasions where you could argue that the sound may
actually be *better* than most official releases. These BBC
airshots from the late '60s and early '70s focus on rather obscure
material; 'Julia Dream, 'If,' 'Green is the Colour,' 'Embryo,' and the
never-released 'Muderistic Women' (a blueprint for 'Careful With
That Ax, Eugene.') There are also full-bore workouts of 'Echoes'
and 'Atom Heart Mother Suite' that, depending on one's taste,
could be argued to exceed the officially issued versions. The
double LP, still findable, contains about 85 minutes of music
and is a great value. -- Richie Unterberger
SAUCERFUL OF OUTTAKES / Bo*tleg *** There is a huge demand for
Syd Barrett material, and, alas, a very limited supply. This is
probably the best compilation of unreleased Barrett-era Floyd,
through the material and sound quality are erratic. 'Lucy Leave'
and 'I'm a Kingbee' are the band's very first demos, showing a
much more R&B-oriented outfit, and the live version of
'Astronomy Domine' is pretty good. The BBC sessions contain
a bunch of songs from the classic 'Piper at the Gates of Dawn'
album in muffled, hissy fidelity that is nonetheless an
improvement on many previous bo*tlegs. These included two
of the most coveted Barrett-Floyd treasures, the unreleased
songs 'Vegetable Man' and 'Scream Thy Last Scream,' chaotic
but fascinating pieces which illustrate Syd's decent into
madness more vividly than anything else he recorded with the
group. Be on the lookout, though, for much clearer studio
outtakes of these two songs (perhaps recorded with the Floyd,
perhaps solo) that have appeared on bo*tlegs throughout the
years. -- Richie Unterberger
