Pink Floyd United Kingdom
"The most underrated PF studio album. This is not for you if you do not like Roger Waters' political views, or generally the mixing of political opinion and music. But if you do, or if you can separate, this is a really well made album that has a lot to offer. Soft and calm musically, really aggressive lyrically, and unequivocally British. I prefer it over any of their earlier (pre-DSOTM) albums, or the Gilmour-dominant releases that came after."
"This album is - of course - no highlight in Pink Floyd's discography (there are enough anyway ;) ), but a nice soundtrack album with some classics and some filler pieces. Sometimes gets extremly rough for PF standards (i. e. Nile Song) Highlights: Green Is The Colour (also live!), Cymbaline, Nile Song Lowlights: no really bad songs, but Party Sequence and More Blues are sort of boring."
"Although "Dark Side of the Moon" might have become more iconic, "Wish You Were Here" to me is the peak of Pink Floyd's achievement. "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", in particular, sums up all the qualities that made me a hardcore Floyd fan for years. I first heard it on the Saturday night rock show on Radio 1, wondering what on earth was that bluesy guitar solo floating through the air, over a dreamy wash of synth. Then there were those four notes, resounding into silence, and the four notes again. It was David Gilmour of course, and the whole band's playing is spaced and timed to perfection. The song itself, when it eventually arrives, is a powerful and deserving tribute to their original lead singer Syd Barrett, filled with nostalgia for the times before his mind disintegrated. After the song, as if it couldn't get any more perfect, it finishes with not one, but two exquisite sax solos over a glittering layer of guitar arpeggios.
The central songs are filled with cynicism. Embittered with the ways of the soulless, money-obsessed music industry, Roger Waters comes up with some distinctively acerbic lyrics. On "Welcome to the Machine", Rick Wright's keyboards create a sinister industrial throb, insistent and creepy. "Have a Cigar" is a great example of Floyd's funky blues-rock style, propelled by wah-wah organ. After the bitter ranting of the previous two songs, the beautiful ballad "Wish You Were Here" is a reflective comedown. This must be the most suitable Floyd song for one man with a guitar to sing and strum along to, simple and wistful.
The most often overlooked part of this album is the second half of "Shine On You Crazy Diamond". This is not just a reprise, but a fully fleshed out piece. Starting with an impressive build up of tension that recalls their earlier masterpiece "Echoes", with the whole band putting everything into it. This blends smoothly into one last verse of the song, this rousing final tribute followed with some funky jamming and plenty of keyboard whizzes from Wright.
There's a sad tale associated with the recording sessions for "Wish You Were Here". The band and their hangers-on wondered who the dishevelled stranger was sitting in the corner of the reception. He turned out to be the very subject of the song they were recording, who they had not seen for years - Syd himself had briefly come out of seclusion to pay them a visit."
"It seems like everything possible has been said about this album. Perfect, a work of a genius, immortal as the moon, dark as the night. What haven't been said about the brilliant production, the perfect tunes, the efficient effects & the strict finish. After hearing every compliment possible, PF really don't need me to be their criticizer, but still - here are my two pennies:
"Dark Side Of The Moon" is a soundtrack of a lifetime. As the time ticks out, the money that we chase, the insanity that we fear of, the forlorness of the human excistence inside this wide space. Waters' writing is surely sharper than ever and the production is planned till the last bit. Some components of this album are so imprinted in our memory, such as the clock ticking, the cashier effect (that became so popular, ironically, in economy shows...), Claire Torry's shouts, the crazy laughters of some studio engineers - all of them are soaked in the collective memory of PF & music fans throughout the world. This is surely the most famous prog record, and i can say that "DSOTM" was a turning point in the evolution of the music industry, in Great Britain as well as in the world.
Listening to "Money", the greatest hit from the album, it's pretty ironic - when you think about the way that Gilmour protests against the same things that he stands for today: cause in 1973, it's easy to protest against the system, but i guess that after so much years of success and packed stadiums, you can easily became of the same system; considering that these revolutioners are now having car collections (like Nick Mason) and spending their time on Yachts & concorde planes. Although it is still a marvellous album it's still hard to see that those great artists don't stay comitted to their statements & beliefs.
My favorite tracks are two: First - "Us & Them", a song that fits incredibly to everyone's soundtrack, and is still on mine. Great text by Waters, that is simple but yet so exact. A great track musically as well... My second favorite is without a doubt "The Great Gig In The Sky" - which is, like "us & them", a great musical track, brilliant chords used by Richard Wright. I think that both of these two are definitely symphonic prog that are typical on this album and also on some parts of "Wish U Were Here" & "The Wall".
So even though the money wasn't so good for the Floyds (aspecially during "The Wall" era), and they behave today like braggart dinosaurs (specially Waters). Even though the relation to the album has gone way out of proportion, Even though it's still hard to explain why so many people are still connected to this album so deeply, considering that it still sold in the original price (33 years after the first release!!), Even though Waters is still making good amount of money from this album (In worldwide tours), And even though some claim that is not a prog record (Well, i guess when a record is successfull, it's not prog anymore, huh?..), and even though many people has said it before :)"
"IMO this is a masterpiece ... even though there are other Pink Floyd albums that are even better - like Wish You Were Here and Dark Side of the Moon. Those albums are more progressive in many ways and an amazing team effort, whereas this is essentially a Roger Waters solo album. It is also regressive, it might even be considered easy listening by the standards established by their previous albums. But then again progressiveness and musical complexity cannot be the only criteria."
