Music Review by Bill Rendall

Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd

Syd Barrett was originally the creative force of Pink Floyd. Unfortunately he suffered psychological problems which were exacerbated by drug use. This lead to him being ousted from the band.

After Barrett's departure it took a while for the remaining band members to gain the confidence to take over the reins. Their albums showed signs of brilliance but there was a lack of consistency and direction.

With Dark Side of the Moon they finally achieved a winning combination of experimental sound effects and commercially appealing music. There were still traces of Barrett's influence in the album's theme of madness. The line "And if the band you're in starts playing different tunes" from 'Brain Damage' was inspired by Barrett's penchant for playing different tunes than the rest of the band members as his mental condition deteriorated.

The follow up album, Wish You Were Here, is my favourite. The pressure on the band to repeat the success of Dark Side of the Moon influenced the album's content. 'Have a Cigar' and 'Welcome to the Machine' are two of the sharpest attacks on the music industry I have heard. David Gilmour didn't want to sing 'Have a Cigar' because he thought Roger Water's lyrics were too harsh. It is a pity Waters didn't sing it himself, though he claimed his voice was strained at the time. They brought in Roy Harper to sing lead vocals.

Wish You Were Here pays tribute to Syd Barrett with the title track and the epic 'Shine on You Crazy Diamond.' The feeling that pervades the album is sadness and disillusionment. On Wish You Were Here the sadness has a soft, mellow quality but subsequent albums became more bitter and cynical as Waters' lyrics increasingly reflected his bleak perspective on the world. Also the keyboard contribution to subsequent albums became progressively smaller as Rick Wright lost motivation and got squeezed out of the band.

Some years later Pink Floyd released their epic double album The Wall which I think is overrated. It does have some great moments, such as Gilmour's guitar solo in 'Comfortably Numb', but a lot of it is theatrical waffle, particularly towards the end. It is ironic that Waters was effectively saying that he wanted to separate himself from his audience, yet fans lapped up the concept and bought truckloads of the album.

The Final Cut marked the nadir of the band's descent into bitter cynicism. This album mainly consisted of Waters' songs that the other band members had rejected from the The Wall.

The band then broke up but some years later Gilmour resurrected Pink Floyd without Waters. Waters disputed the rights to the use of the band's name but eventually lost the court case.

I think both Gilmour and Waters were essential members of Pink Floyd. I prefer Gilmour's musical offerings to Waters' after the two split company but I think it would have been more honest if the later Pink Floyd albums were released as Gilmour solo albums. It would also have been more honest if The Final Cut was released as a Waters solo album.

The career of Pink Floyd traced a long arc which lead up to Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here and then fell away. I recommend Wish You Were Here as the album to have from the peak of their career.

The Pink Floyd video I recommend is Live at Pompeii which was recorded shortly before Dark Side of the Moon was released. Live at Pompeii is unusual for a live recording as there is no audience. The band set up in an ancient outdoor amphitheatre and played for the camera crew. The recording captures the four band members playing together effectively as a unit without the large cast of supporting musicians used in subsequent concerts.

There are some jarring edits in Live at Pompeii but in compensation there are some great atmospheric sounds using echo units, slide guitar and keyboards. The only live song that pales in comparison to the studio version is 'One of These Days' because only Waters plays bass guitar. The studio version is driven along by both Gilmour and Waters playing bass guitars.

An interesting video from more recent times is the DVD of David Gilmour recorded at the 2002 Meltdown Concert. This recording includes a number of Pink Floyd classics performed in a stripped down acoustic format without the electronic effects that typified the Pink Floyd sound. As a special treat for guitarists the extras include a close look at Gilmour's guitar solos.