Sunday 25 November 2007

Pink Floyd

If you have never really listened to the Floyd, and only know them through Another Brick in the Wall (Part Three), you are missing out.
Here's some of their best.



That was, The Machine, from probably their best album, Wish You were Here. It's a short album, only five tracks long, but already showcasing that Floyd invention, that of tracks that connect into eachother.

The second track here, is from The Wall. It's quite dark if you listen to the lyrics,but it is beautiful, all the same.



Lastly, we have a track all about the place where Blair will go when he retires. The video is quite amusing, although I have no idea where it comes from.



Pink Floyd were truly great- or certainly, the four albums of the seventies and early eighties, Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You were Here, the Wall and The Final Cut are operatic in their intensity, mood creating in a way that would make Mozart cry.

At their peak, they sold their message far more effectively than so many groups with a socio/political message. Their lyrics ever clever, subtle, you listen, absorb and ponder.

I recommend listening to any one of these albums, if you have a couple of hours free. But please, if you are going to listen to the Floyd, it has to be done properly.

Get yourself a drink, do anything else you might want to do to get in the mood and lie back on the sofa, eyes shut. Turn your phones off and make sure no one is coming round.

And just listen, from start to finish. No track skipping, no pausing, no leaving the room.

Let the Floyd in.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Although very different from later fare, due to Syd Barrett's exit, I would add Piper at teh Gates of Dawn to teh must listen list. Avoid Atom Hear Mother, Umma Gumma and anything post Final Cut like the plague though!

Anonymous said...

Spot on about that track from The Wall C by I.

It always seemed to come on at a particular stretch of road near Faversham, when I would play the album incessantly, and start it when I'd left home much earlier.

This is a favourite track from The Wall and indeed, as you descibe, very deep and moving. The line 'break my balls' just drops into the song like a rocket!

The Division Bell is my personal favourite though. I know it has all the modern electric stuff, but the depth of the story is astonishing!

Good post.

Did you ever subscribe to the Wizard of Oz / Dark side of the moon yarn?

Anonymous said...

No mention of 'Animals'?

Anonymous said...

Ahh, I love almost every Floyd album.

Wish you were here is a favorite of mine, as well. What beautiful, haunting music.

Echoes or Shine On...(all the parts) are my favorite songs, though. Each note tells us how much they cared for their craft.