I'm obviously lacking in any new material that I find the need to review at the moment!
I do have one cd that I really have not enjoyed that will remain nameless for now. As
soon as I find the time to actually "try" and listen to it again, expect to find
reviews on many of the remastered cds to hit the stores over the past few months. This
is a great time to promote the quality work done to the Pink Floyd collection. I was
going to review their greatest hits collection "Echoes", but I find it more inspiring
for myself to write about their original studio albums. "Wish You Were Here" isn't
only one of the best Pink Floyd albums, it should rank up their as one of the best
rock albums of all time. Released in 1975, much like The Beatles' "Abbey Road", this
cd is timeless in sound, production, and performance.
Besides "The Wall" in 1979, Pink Floyd didn't really write concept albums. They were
definitely unifide in theme and sound, and good examples of this can be found on "Dark
Side of the Moon" and "Meddle". Bassist/lyricist Roger Waters was the main force in
creating these concepts. "Wish You Were Here" was accidentally thrown into the
conceptual arena by the visit of ex-Floyd lead man and guitarist Syd Barrett. Barrett by
the mid 70's had sadly passed well into the drug-induced schizophrenia that dominates
his life until this day. His unannounced visit to the band while they were recording
this album inspired the band to write "Shine On You Crazy Diamond". One of the best
examples of Floyd's cosmic "sound", the lyrics are a fitting tribute to the man who
led the band during the 60's; "You reached for the secret too soon, you cried to the
moon. Shine on you crazy diamond. Threatened by shadows at night, and exposed in
the light. Shine on you crazy diamond". Besides "Echoes" off the "Meddle" album,
no single track has unified the band in sound like "Shine On..." has. The song makes
an appearance again at the end of the album, featuring amazing slide guitar work
from David Gilmour and keyboards that were far ahead of their time courtesy of Richard
Wright. Besides their tribute to Syd Barrett, the band takes a few shots at their
record company. After their meteoric rise in fame after the release of "Dark Side of
the Moon", Pink Floyd soon realized that record companies don't always have their
client's best interests at heart. "Welcome the Machine's" blending of multi-tracked
acoustic guitars and haunting synthesizers is one of the more powerful tunes on the
release. "Welcome my son, welcome to the machine. What did you dream? It's alright
we told you what to dream". Obviously, Pink Floyd rebelled against any meddling with
their musical direction. "Have a Cigar" is a more direct attack on the industry that
treats music and musical acts as "product"; "You gotta get an album out, you owe it
to the people, we're so happy we can hardly count!". This disdane for the record industry,
and what the band was becoming, would eventually morph into the elaborate concepts of "Animals" and "The Wall", but
these two albums would start to see the band dissolving before our eyes, but the band's
chemistry was incredibly unified on the title track. "Wish You Were Here" is a mainstay
on classic rock formatted radio, but the uplifting melody of this track proves how
warm and "human" Floyd could become at times. Dave Gilmour's sweet voice rises over all
other instruments here. Putting aside syths on this particular track, the folk effect
of simple piano, Nick Mason's simple drumming, bass, and acoustic guitars shows that the
band could play with tightness and power, without relying on synthesizers and bombastic
guitars all the time.
I was never that thrilled to see Pink Floyd regroup without Roger Waters in the late 80's.
They started to become the "product" or "machine" that Waters so eloquently noted on
"Wish You Were Here". I still never considered them a sell out, but their attraction was
the ability of all four members to play together as one in a very inspiring manner. By
the mid 70's, no one did it better than Floyd. This remastered collection contains lyrics,
in studio pictures, and art work that never appeared on the original release. The sound
quality is excellent, which isn't a surprise since the standards of this band were always
very high. Take some time to re-discover this rock jem from the 70's!
