Pink Floyd - Meddle

Like I've said in my review of David Gilmour's newest album, I'm a huge Pink Floyd fan. I can't really even name a favorite album. But the radio seems to love just playing stuff on the radio from Dark Side Of the Moon onward. "Wish You Were Here" is a great song, and so is "Comfortably Numb," but they've been overplayed. If you've only really heard Pink Floyd on the radio, then I would like to recommend to you Meddle.

Meddle was released in 1971, before Floyd hit it big with Dark Side. What I love about this album is although Syd Barrett is long gone, this is the album where David Gilmour really makes his presence known, and the band starts to sound like that famous '70s sound its known for. It only has six tracks, but what an amazing six tracks.

The sound of wind opens the album, using those nonmusical sounds Floyd would become known for. Soon a echoing bass line starts, and so begins "One Of These Days." The echo effects are used heavily and this song, and it gives the song its dark feel. The song is almost totally instrumental. A couple minutes into the song persistent knocking is heard, and then Gilmour's familiar guitar playing. If you listen carefully you can even hear what sounds like the "Doctor Who" theme. Then a voice through a vocoder says the song's only line, "One of these days I'm going to cut you into little pieces." That's when the song really kicks into high gear. This song is a Pink Floyd classic and rightfully so.

The wind from "One Of These Days" slowly fades out as the acoustic and electric slide guitars of "A Pillow Of Winds" begin. Gilmour sings on this one, and the acoustic guitars have an almost Eastern quality to them. It's a nice relaxing, psychadelic change compared to the frantic madness of the opening track. What really makes the song stand out as a Floyd song is it's actually a love song. Gilmour sings of contentment, with his love by his side. It's one of the most beautiful Pink Floyd songs.

Next comes one of my favorite Floyd songs of all time, especially lyric-wise. "Fearless" incorporates fans of the Liverpool Football Club singing "You'll Never Walk Alone" making it the second album I've reviewed to use Rogers & Hammerstein's Carousel. I love the acoustic guitar on this song. David Gilmour once again sings lead on this one. The guitars, football chorus, and lyrics all combine for an uplifting experience.

You say the hills too steep to climb
Climbing.
You say youd like to see me try
Climbing.

You pick the place and Ill choose the time
And I'll climb
The hill in my own way.
Just wait a while for the right day.
And as I rise above the tree-line and the clouds
I look down, hearing the sound of the things youve said today.

"San Tropez" and "Seamus" are probably the two weakest songs on the album, but that doesn't make them bad songs. They just don't particularly stand out to me. "San Tropez" has a swing feel to it, and "Seamus" pays tribute to Pink Floyd's blues roots. The latter also features a dog's barks and howls.

After the simple 12-bar blues of "Seamus," the grandness of "Echoes" is a major change. This song is the masterpiece of the album, and probably also the greatest masterpiece of Floyd's career. All four members of Floyd contributed to the composition of this song, and it takes up the entire side B of the original vinyl version of Meddle. This song in my opinion is the best of the symphony length pieces of the '70s progressive rock era. Pages could be written about the make up of this song alone. A piano note played through a rotating Leslie speaker opens the song, as if Pink Floyd is searching for something beyond the dark depths of the ocean. If you really want an in depth analysis of this song, please read its wikipedia entry. It's probably the best entry for a rock song I've read. Roger Waters claims Andrew Lloyd Weber rips off this song for his theme for Phantom Of The Opera, and I wholeheartedly agree.

As you can see from the excessive length of this entry, this is an album I feel strongly about. I may like Animals or even The Wall better, but this I strongly encourage anyone who wants to get more into Floyd to start with this album here.

For further reading:
Pink Floyd's homepage
All Music Guide's Pink Floyd entry
Wikipedia's Pink Floyd entry

David Gilmour - On an Island

David Gilmour is a guitarist. He's in some hippie band, I forgot which one.

I'm kidding of course. The band David Gilmour is in is the legendary Pink Floyd. If you forced me to name three favorite bands, I would quickly come up with The Beatles, and Floyd. Then I'd blow my brains out trying to pick the third. But there will always be these two. I'm that guy who will go nuts on you if you say "My favorite Pink Floyd song is 'Wish You Were Here.'" It's a good song, don't get me wrong, but it makes me feel you've never even heard anything off Meddle.

Floyd changed dramatically with the exit of Roger Waters. It then became Gilmour's band. However, the contributions of Rick Wright and Nick Mason can't be ignored. Wright appears on On an Island and it's enough to give the album that Floydian sound.

"Castellorizon" opens the album, and it's an instrumental. It has an ambient, experimental sound to it, with its use of bells and even fireworks. Finally, Gilmour's guitar lets out its distinctive wail and I am eagerly anticipating what's in store for me.

The title track features vocals by none other than David Crosby and Graham Nash. I first learned to appreciate Nash with "Bus Stop" by the Hollies. Here, he and Crosby has a nice harmonic touch to Gilmour's haunting vocals. The song itself has a retro sound to it, and almost sounds like it could have been made 30 years ago. I'd almost swear Alan Parsons was engineering again.

"Take a Breath" opens with a chant backed with augmented guitar chords. It has all of the trademark Floyd guitar effects that I became so familiar with from listening to the Wall over and over again when I was 17. I really enjoy the lyrics.

This kind of love is hard to find
I never got to you by being kind
If I'm the one to throw you overboard
At least I showed you how to swim for shore

When you're down is where you'll know yourself
Then if you're drown there's nothing else
When you're lost you need to find yourself
Then you'll find out that there's no one else

There's just so many songs I like on this CD. "This Heaven" has a good bluesy feel to it, with its use of acoustic guitar and organ. "Smile" features steel guitar and acoustic guitar to begin with, before the full orchestra joins in. It's a sweet little song. "Pocketful of Stones" is mostly just Gilmour's vocals backed with piano, and a little orchestration. It's relaxing and hypnotic.

I really think this is the best CD Gilmour has contributed to since A Momentary Lapse of Reason. I always considered it to be one of my favorite Floyd albums even though it's quite different from the Floyd of the '70s. This is one I know I will be listening to again and again, even if it never gets as much airplay for me as "Echoes."

For further reading:
David Gilmour's homepage
All Music Guide's David Gilmour entry
Wikipedia's David Gilmour entry