Pink Floyd's debut album, a sound that will shock anyone who only knows the traditional Pink Floyd. This is an entirely different band. Syd Barret, the band's creator, writes and sings all but one of the songs. While the opening track "Astronomy Domine" and the psychedellic instrumental "Interstellar Overdrive" point at what the band would later become, most of the other tracks are up-beat, jazzy, and even comedic. The lyrics don't make sense, nor are they supposed to. This album is a product of drug use by a very talented singer/songwriter and a group of equally talented individuals who would become the Pink Floyd we all know. Despite all this, it's a very good album once the shock subsides. Just don't look for any meaning in it. It's designed to be a fun listen, and it accomplishes.
A Saucerful Of Secrets
I did not expect this album to be as good as it was, considering it was made by a band without a leader. But nevertheless, some great songs came out of this one. You'll know that when you hear "Let There Be More Light." "Corporal Clegg" is funny, and you can meditate to "Set The Controls For The Heart of The Sun." The best song here is the title track, although I do prefer the live version on Ummagumma. "Jugband Blues" is Barret's last song, and it's almost haunting to listen to. But all in all, this album is definitely a nice surprise.
More (soundtrack)
Although this is probably the least essential album in the collection, this soundtrack to some 60s hippie flick is actually quite good, and varied in texture. You get some good psychedellic music with "Up the Khyber" and "Ibiza Bar," some blues with "Green is the Colour" and "Cymbaline" some fast rock and roll with "The Nile Song" and a few laughs with "A Spanish Piece." This one is mainly for completists, or if you just dig variety.
Ummagumma (double album)
Two great albums combined into one great buy! While both albums are essentially pychedellic rock, the music is very different. The studio album puts emphasis on sound over music, and the effect it has on your ears is as trippy as it gets. In particular, "Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving With a Pict" is awesome to listen to as well as say. Each band member makes their own contribution, offering a wide variety of sound and music, but I must confess this one is hard to get in the mood for. The live album is just plain great. Four favorites from earlier albums, each as incredible as the last. The best version of "Astronomy Domine" is here, as well as a spectacular version of "A Saucerful of Secrets." It's hard to believe that the band was ever able to top themselves.
Atom Heart Mother
This album is essential for the almost 24-minute long opening, "Atom Heart Mother Suite" but the rest of it takes some time to grow on you. "If" and "Fat Old Sun" don't seem good at first, but after a few listens, they sound much better, like most earlier Floyd songs. Richard Wright's contribution, "Summer '68" is great on the first listen, and is one of the best "fast" songs the band ever recorded. Then, there's the 15-minute long "Alan's Psychedellic Breakfast" which is the most blatantly drug-inspired song in the band's history. The song, recorded in Nick Mason's kitchen, features the sounds of breakfast, spaced between and during three trippy pieces of music. It takes a little more time for this one to grow on you. But, if for no other reason, get this album for the opening track.
Meddle
One of the most underrated Floyd albums of all time. Just because there are a couple "weak links" doesn't mean this album isn't worth it. "One of These Days" is a terrific instrumental. "A Pillow of Winds" and "Fearless" are different, but they grow on you. "San Tropez" doesn't seam like a Pink Floyd song at all, and "Seamus" while quite crappy is not actually that bad to listen to. But the real reason to buy this album is "Echoes." This 23 minute opus is indescribably good. Once the climax hits at 18:14 you'll know your money was worth it. Plus, with this album you can perform 2001: Echoes and the second half of Dark Side of the Wall. If you don't have it, get it.
Obscured by Clouds (soundtrack)
This is the bridge between two eras of Floyd music, and it compares to neither. The music is distinctly Pink Floyd, but it's more than obvious it was written for a movie. The movie "La Vallee" from what I've read is about a group of people who search for gold in a valley obscured by clouds, and have some sort of spiritual and sexual experiences. I haven't seen it, nor do I really want to, but the music is great. While no songs can be called "masterpieces" you'll find yourself moving to "Childhood's End" and the great beat of "Free Four." So if you're not obsessed with masterpieces, and you just want to hear a tight album full of good songs, pick this one up.
Dark Side of the Moon
The greatest album of all time. If you don't already own this, stop reading, and get it right now. No collection of CDs is complete without this album. Don't let anyone tell you it's overrated. They don't know what they're talking about. Every song on this CD is unique in it's own way. The music of "Time" is mezmerizing. The lyrics of "Us and Them" will make you think. The tune of "Money" will have you dancing. The instumentals "Great Gig in the Sky" and "Any Colour You Like" are incredible. And to top it all off, the climax "Eclipse" is the most emotion-stirring moment of music you'll ever hear. The first time I heard this album, I couldn't understand how I had come so far in life without it. There's something magic in the instrumentals, and something meaningful in the lyrics. More on this album can be found on the philosophy page. But this is my top pick for Floyd albums, and all others.
Wish You Were Here
If you met God and asked him what music was, you'd be handed a copy of Wish You Were Here. The best psychedellic music Pink Floyd ever produced is found on each part of "Shine On You Crazy Diamond". The song "Wish You Were Here" is just an incredibly touching piece of music. It would be enough if that was all that was on this album, but you also get as an added bonus, "Welcome to the Machine" with incredible music and sound effects, and "Have a Cigar" which is the epitome of Pink Floyd rock. This album is an undisputed must-have for any Pink Floyd collecter.
Animals
The forgotten album, this piece of work is sure to satisfy any Floyd fan. This music is great if you're angry, sad, or happy. The first and last track, "Pigs On the Wing" are short, lyrical pieces which tie the rest of the album together. The best song is "Dogs" a 17 minute masterpiece with a message that can't be missed. The guitar work of Dave Gilmour is seldom better than on this track, and Waters' lyrics here are among his best. "Pigs" has a great beat, and "Sheep" is just good music. It may not be considered a must-have by most, but I think it is, and if you own Darkside and Wish, you should get this one.
The Wall (double album)
How can this album be described? It was the first Pink Floyd CD I bought, and I bought it just for "Another Brick in the Wall" and "Comfortably Numb" (which I still believe to be the best Pink Floyd song of all time). Now I own almost all of them. This album is very different from anything they released beforehand, but it's the greatest conceptual album ever produced. The music is superb, and the lyrics are powerful, but the story is what's really at the heart of the album. The struggle that Pink has is the struggle all of us go through in this world as everyone and everything that happens builds a wall around us. This and Darkside are the two essential Floyd albums for any music collection. See more about its meaning on the philosophy page.
The Final Cut
You really have to be in the right mood for this one. Roger Waters combines the passion for his lost father with a social commentary in his last album with the band. The Final Cut has the same anger that made The Wall so good, although it is more slow-paced. "The Post War Dream" is a sad and haunting tune, as well as "The Gunner's Dream." Perhaps the most confusing to anyone who was not an adult at the time of this album is "The Fletcher Memorial Home." If you really want, some research will be sure to make this song more enjoyable. It takes a few listens to realize it, but never were Waters' lyrics so great as on this album. The lyrics to "The Final Cut" can make you cry, "Not Now, John" can boil you're anger, and the haunting last song, "Two Suns In The Sunset" is the emotional closing that will leave you breathless. Truly a masterpiece, but in a much different sense than the others.
A Momentary Lapse of Reason
In my reviews, I like to focus on the music rather than the people behind it, but with an album this controversial, I feel I must offer my opinion on the matter. There are plenty of people who would tell you that this album is the work of a "band on autopilot." There is some truth to that. Many more people were involved in the production and performance of the songs on this album. But that doesn't mean there is no artistic genius here. A lot of people will also tell you that without Roger Waters, there is no Pink Floyd. They also said that when Barrett left. No, any true Floyd fan will stick with the music through all its eras. The Post-Waters era puts forth a different kind of music, but after hearing "Learning to Fly," "Terminal Frost" or the magnificent "Sorrow," it's plain to hear that despite it's higher budget and lack of Roger, it still has that same Pink Floyd quality.
The Division Bell
Dave Gilmour never ceases to amaze me. It was just his guitar solos at first, but now with Waters gone, he leads the band in putting together this 65 minute masterpiece of music. This is the last studio-recorded album put out by Pink Floyd, and it looks as though it will stay the last. Either way, it does not fall short. The band came a long way from Piper, and if this is the last then it's no dissappointment. The music seems deeper and sadder, while the lyrics vary in their level of meaning. "Marooned" is just raw instrumental genius. The background singers on "Wearing the Inside Out" and other songs add a new dimenion to the music. The last song, "High Hopes" inspires an emotion almost as powerfull as "Eclipse" or "Comfortably Numb". The music is strong enough to bring tears from your eyes.
P*U*L*S*E (live double-album)
Once you've heard this spectacular live album, you will never know how you could have lived without it. There are two things to rate a live album on, and that is the selection of the songs played, and the quality of those versions. Spanning the entire three decades of Pink Floyd music, this live performance only offers songs from 6 albums, but that's enough. The CD instantly takes you right into the audience of a Pink Floyd concert, and opening with a shortened but extremely well-done version of "Shine on You Crazy Diamond". Then they journey back to their very first album for "Astronomy Domine". Following that are selections from the later albums, mostly from The Division Bell. Some of these songs are actually better than on the studio album. Gilmour then gives his Roger Waters impression (not his greatest talent) in "Hey You", and soon you become a witness to the awesome "Sorrow" (better than studio), "High Hopes" (not as good) and finally, "Another Brick In The Wall Part 2", the highlight of which is definitely the unique-to-this-album instrumental. But 75 minutes is hardly enough to satisfy a true Floyd fan, and where is all the stuff from Dark Side of the Moon? Well, Dark Side in its entirity is played by the band on the second CD. The low points are the solo from "Time", the lack of synthesized effects on "Any Colour You Like", and that poor woman trying to measure up to the studio-recorded vocal improvisation on "The Great Gig In The Sky". The high points are the beginning track with the featured pulsing heartbeat, and the extended instrumental from "Money". Nothing could ever be as good as the original versions of those songs, but hearing them live gives them a different dimension. The first encore is "Wish You Were Here", to which the audience sings along, which is not so annoying as it sounds. The last encore and perfect to leave the show is "Run Like Hell", which is my favorite version of that song. But the second encore is the best piece of music I've ever heard, and that's "Comfortably Numb" featuring an extended guitar solo that is literally breathtaking. The heart and soul that Gilmour just pours into that guitar is so powerful it can bring tears to my eyes. This album is worth every penny, and so much more.
Is There Anybody Out There? The Wall Live (live double-album)
The Wall is not just music, it's a phenomenon. This live version of The Wall gives you probably about half the experience of attending a concert of The Wall performed live. If only I'd been around back then to have gone to one. If you already own The Wall, it is not necessary to get this album, but me, being a completist and a fan of live Pink Floyd music, had to buy it, and my only regret is that I hardly listen to the studio version anymore. The comparison is simple: while the studio version of the second half is better, the live version of the first half blows the studio version away. The dissappointments on the second half are "Comfortably Numb", still great but not as strong, and "The Trial" where Waters' talent for voices doesn't shine through as much as on the studio album. I love the live "Outside The Wall" though, which is much more up-beat. But the first half of the live album is enough reason to get it. Not just for the extended instrumental for "Another Brick in The Wall Part 2" which is the best version there is, or the rockin' live version of "Young Lust" but for the bonus tracks not on the original studio album. I can't get enough of "What Shall We Do Now?" an angry and powerfull ballad about human ignorance which on the movie but not the album. And the instrumental "The Last Few Bricks" placed after "Another Brick in The Wall Part 3" is so incredibly powerfull that it's a shame they couldn't fit it onto the studio version, which leaves such a gap where that song should be. Sometimes the applause, or the band talking to the audience can seem to be a distraction from the message, until you realize it's all part of the experience. Hardly essential, but like all my Floyd albums, I have no regrets about it.
