All Pink Floyd!

[Mezachhas]

And Animals, and Dark Side, and Wish You Were here and the final cut and...

[Darth Spoon]

I disagree that the band would've been just as successful if Syd stayed. What made Floyd successful during the 70s was Waters' writing and Gilmour's guitar-work. Now if Syd was there to support this, rather than being the frontman, it might've worked. But I couldn't imagine Syd wanting to stick around while "his" band took its cues from others and not him.

[Duke]

Well, as stated, Waters was already there and Gilmour arrived before Syd was finally out on his arse. Though I actually think that Syd was as fine a guitar player in his own way. And he did allow the other guys to write as well, so I don´t see a problem there.

 

Though my main point is really that I want another song as weird, mysterious and downright scary as "Astronomy Domine".

[Dark Wader]

It would of been interesting to see where the band had gone had Syd stayed, but honestly, then The Wall, Dark Side, Animals, Wish You Were Here and to a lesser extent Meddle would never of existed, and that material outweighs anything Syd came up with (in my opinion at least). Gilmour probably would of had some involvement with the band anyway, considering he was good friends with Syd (and actually taught him how to play the guitar.)

[SithLordDarthMaul]

im sorry duke, but i dont think syd is anywhere close to the guitar player that gilmour is

[Transducer X]

im sorry duke, but i dont think syd is anywhere close to the guitar player that gilmour is

 

Opinions. I'd rather listen to Barret's feedback than another of Gilmore's cheesy blues solos.

[SithLordDarthMaul]

to each their own i suppose, i should have put that it was just my opinion though.

[Arica]

Well, as stated, Waters was already there and Gilmour arrived before Syd was finally out on his arse. Though I actually think that Syd was as fine a guitar player in his own way. And he did allow the other guys to write as well, so I don´t see a problem there.

 

Though my main point is really that I want another song as weird, mysterious and downright scary as "Astronomy Domine".

 

Do you think they could've continued in the vein of stuff like Astronomy Domine, though? Syd's writing seems so grounded in the psychedelic sound that I wonder if they could have survived the fizzling out of the psychedelic scene... I would have loved to hear a couple more albums with Syd, but in the long run, I think the changes were for the best. Roger's writing was more adaptable; they were able to make it through the '70s without sounding outdated or lame, which is a heck of an achievement in my opinion, in light of bands like Jefferson Airplane/Starship, who didn't make the transition very well at all. I mean, I'm not trying to dismiss Syd's stuff, because I love it, too, but I'm also glad they were able to have a long and productive career with Roger (well, you know, until he pissed everybody off, heh).

[Duke]

For a while, sure they could have continued in than wein. And pretty much did. The transition from psychedelia would likely have happened anyway, it did for just about every other band of the era. I really like Syd´s "The madcap laughs" which I guess could be classified as some kind of post-psychedelia, it would have been very interesting to hear that material with a real band (i e Floyd).

 

Ah well, it´s all a moot point since Syd´s mental health made it all impossible. Anyway, I would have preferred just about anything over "Division bell", damn that album puts me to sleep!

[Mezachhas]

I've actually not yet made it through the whole of the album, that or Momentary Lapse. My copy of The Final Cut has never been played.

 

Give me time, I'm still taking in 1968-1979

[Duke]

I wish my copies were unplayed. Not in a collector´s way, more like in a "Highlander 2" way.

[Dark Wader]

They're actually not that bad. Actually they're not even bad, there is still damn good material on both discs. Lapse of Reason does suffer a bit too much of the 80's industrial sound, but there is still great tracks on there (Sorrow, On the Turning Away) and Division Bell could lose a couple of tracks, but it definitely has enough good material for it to stand up with the rest of the Floyd material.

 

Lapse of Reason though is a Gilmour solo record the same way The Final Cut is a Waters solo record. Division Bell was a good return to the musical focus of Floyd, which had been missing in the post-Animals CD's. . .it's a good record just to sit back and chill out to in the background.

[Duke]

"Final cut" has a nice gloom-and-doom feeling to it, I simply find it totally lacking in the songwriting department. "Lapse of reason", yeah it definitely has some good songs, and it IS the sound I can´t get into. Not sure I would call it industrial, more like flat. Bit of the same as Dire Straits had on "Brothers in arms", it sounds completely lifeless for lack of a better word.

 

"Division bell" however is the one I really dislike. To me, it´s just a rehash of old ideas and the old Floyd-sound without capturing the magic. "High hopes" is quite frankly the only song I remember from it. Maybe it´s because I don´t like background music, which is a good description. I want music to grab me by the balls and twist them. In a good way.

[Darth Spoon]

I'm with Wader on this.

 

Final Cut to me sounds like the The Wall b-sides, which it really is. It's an entire album of what on the Wall would've been considered "filler" (even though the "filler" on The Wall works beautifully in the grand scheme of things). It's my least favourite Floyd album of the lot.

 

Momentary Lapse was for me Gilmour's best solo album to date. I don't consider it a Floyd record at all, but when comparing it to Gilmour's other work it stands out a lot. But the fact that I listen to it and it sounds more dated than DSOTM, WYWH and the like, is worrying. But Sorrow is in my top 5 favourite Floyd tracks ever, so it's not a total loss. Learning to fly has its charm too.

 

Division Bell doesn't "grab you by the balls" as Duke would say, like other Floyd albums in the past did. It's closer to the Floyd I know and love, and with some good moments (High Hopes). But it's not an album to be listened to for its brilliant lyrics and melodies, but as something you might put on after you've had a couple of scotches and sitting in front of a fireplace or lying on your back. I guess you could consider it "Diet-Floyd"

 

I always found it interesting that, with all the imagery of the prism/pyramids that DSOTM entailed, that it actually signalled an apex/summit for the band. Up until then they struggled to find a 'sound', experimenting with different styles in the wake of Syd's departure. But after DSOTM we saw the cynical, or perhaps bitter, Floyd. I remember Gilmour saying that the goal was to become rich, famous and all that, and that when they finally got there it was an anti-climax and they were left to feel "Oh...is that it?". Each album post DSOTM (before Waters left) gets more bitter and cynical, culminating in The Wall/Final Cut. I always felt it was appropriate that the direction the band took mirrored the visual imagery of DSOTM. Up to a great height, and then downwards just as quickly.

[Mezachhas]

Final Cut to me sounds like the The Wall b-sides

 

The original working title was "Spare Bricks" according to Mason.

[Darth Spoon]

I always wondered whether

 

And if you make it past the shotgun in the hall,

Dial the combination, open the priesthole

And if I'm in I'll tell you what's behind the wall.

 

was actually Pink offing himself. We do hear a shotgun blast after-all.

[Mezachhas]

I hope not. I like to think that The Wall had a happy ending

[Darth Spoon]

I always got the feeling that the album was cyclical, that Pink would only build another wall next time and use the same old excuses to do it. Having the soft music at the end of Outisde the wall matching the music right before In the Flesh? hints at this.

 

But I guess it's deliberately left open to the listener, which is no doubt how Roger wanted it.

[Mezachhas]

I heard Roger talking on the commentary for the Wall film about how the ending is about a new generation starting with promise. But it does hint of that promise being squandered with the looping track (which I always forget about because I almost always listen to the live album anymore)

[Darth Spoon]

Speaking of The Wall

 

 

You can find the rest here

[SleepinGiant]

ANIMALS videos!

 

Dogs (Pt.1)

Dogs (Pt.2)

Pigs (Three Different Ones) (Pt.1)

Pigs (Three Different Ones) (Pt.2)

Sheep (Pt.2)

 

They're all quite good, but SHEEP particularly kicks ass!

[Darth Spoon]

For anyone interested in the story of the Floyd, from the 2007 BBC special...

The Pink Floyd story- Which one's pink?

 

Part 1 (Early days)

Part 2 (Gilmour steps in)

Part 3 (Saucerful to Dark Side)

Part 4 (Wish you were here to Animals)

Part 5 (The Wall to Momentary Lapse)

Part 6 (Division Bell to Live 8 and today)

 

Of particular interest of course being the final exchanges from the band members

Wright: "I would love to go out and play the Floyd music again"

Mason: "Stubborn isn't the word. Talking about leading a horse to water but you can't get it to drink. Well these horses can't even be led to water"

Waters: "I don't think it WILL happen. Well, you can ask David when you speak to him"

Gilmour: "Anything can happen"

 

Being diplomatic for the cameras? You be the judge

[Darth Dude]

I love Floyd but they are really hit & miss. Their songs are either breathtakingly awesome, or diabolically ****. I can't find much middle ground with them.

 

Just recently bought Remember That Night: David Gilmour Versus The Royal Albert Hall DVD... Two versions of Echoes! Count em! Two!!!

[Darth Spoon]

Speaking of Echoes

 

Part 1

Part 2

[Skorpion]

Pink Floyd are awesome, even if I've only got DSOTM, Meddle, and Wish You Were Here. And even then only on burned CDs.

 

Still, I ran Echoes through my new computer speakers last night. SO much better than my earbuds, even with the occasional sympathetic rattle from the stuff on the desk.