Pink Floyd

They are both very good albums. Wish You Were Here is considered by many to be their finest work and Meddle has the wonderful Echoes, one of their best tracks on it. Both recommended.

2 of the best, WYWH is probably my favourite Floyd album.
Get them no collection is complete without.

That is a stupid statement of course a collection won't be complete without them, get them any way.

Pink Floyd's finest album is their debut album Piper At The Gates of Dawn; they never came close this masterpiece again: although they did makes some good records. Whilst I would recommend both Meddle and WYYH, if you havent got the deluxe version of Piper then this triple CD set has the singles of the period too including See Emily Play and is where I would start.

The next two albums I would buy with members of the Pink Floyd on them are, of course, Madcap Laughs and Barrett, both available as part of the Crazy Diamond box set, but it takes two to know, two to know.


ATB Rotf

Ignore the first album it's not a Pink Floyd one.

All in all you're just another brick in the wall, Biggy.

I would not be as blunt as BigH47, but I do think there are two Pink Floyd's (well maybe three).

The Syd Barrett Pink Floyd is very different from the one that recorded 'Dark Side of the Moon'. Barrett's Floyd were fun and psychedelic, and has charming lyrics.

If you like 'Dark Side...' then 'Wish You Were Here' is definitely a good buy, every track on the album is wonderful. 'Meddle' has 'Echoes' which is good, and also 'One of these days' (which was re-worked as the intro to the second section of Crazy Diamond), the other tracks are not particularly special.

I think there could be a third Pink Floyd, which was the Gilmour Floyd, who recorded 'Momentary Lapse of Reason', 'The Division Bell', 'Delicate Thunder'(live) and 'Pulse' (also live). Some good playing, but I feel didn't have the depth of the 70's Floyd.

'Animals' 1977 is my favourite Floyd album, (I am probably in a minority in that view), but 'Wish You Were Here' runs it close.

I agree with your synopsis of the '3 Floyds', Jamie.

I think the true Pink Floyd is the second one which had Waters leading it and Gilmore Wright and Mason in tow. Therefore all albums by these 4 must be owned.

You see, Waters and Gilmore need each other to write the beautiful music - it was essential that there was the friction between them to produce fantastic music. Both Waters and Gilmore know this as by themselves:

Waters' music doesn't have the same melodic pull.

Gilmore's music has limp and superficial lyrics.

That is my view.

Barrett's music is more foundational to what Waters developed it into.

Jon

[QUOTE]Originally posted by ROTF:
Pink Floyd's finest album is their debut album Piper At The Gates of Dawn; they never came close this masterpiece again:

Agreed - my favourite track being Lucifer Sam

All albums mentioned are good in different ways. I agree that mid-period Floyd made the best records but there are great songs / tracks either side of the 'classic' line-up (Barret was a mad genius and produced wonderful, quirky songs but the Waters / Gilmour version is musically superior IMO)

Other observations; 1. Animals is certainly one of their best but I always thought it a poor, 'flat' recording; 2. Pink Floyd did not make enough records - internal strife or laziness slowed down production and the floyd legacy is considerably smaller than it should be (and I don't agree with the arguement of long gaps between releases makes for better quality - a record every year to 18 months should have been possible for a band with Pink Floyd's back-up and resources). 3. Best record, even though it has been played to death and back, is DSotM.

Norman

Well,I´ve bought Echoes : the best of Pink Floyd,because is a collection and has the records of the albuns I mentioned here!

quote:

Originally posted by BigH47:
Ignore the first album it's not a Pink Floyd one.

Yes it is - it's the real Pink Floyd - it's the rest that are not Floyd (Walters, Wright, Gilmore, Mason) - except Jugband Blues and some other bits of SFOS.

After Syd left, Walters spent time writing songs about Syd - strange eh.

Nonetheless, Syd's ex-backing band did make some mighty fine records then Walters left and they should have called it a day.

BTW which one's Pink.

It's awfully considerate of you to think of me here
And I'm much obliged to you for making it clear
That I'm not here.


Says it all really -

Night prowling, sifting sand.
Padding around on the ground,
he'll be found
when you're around.
That cat's something I can't explain

ATB Rotf

quote:

Originally posted by JamieL:
'Animals' 1977 is my favourite Floyd album, (I am probably in a minority in that view), but 'Wish You Were Here' runs it close.

Jamie,

Never fear Animals is my top pick as well so don't feel lonely and out in the cold.

I also think Syd is over rated his lyrics are childish and if he had not lost it Floyd would have gone nowhere. Though Roger Walters did seem to be heavily affected by his close friends mental deteriation but that is to be expected. Most groups bang on about lost love between a man and a women Walters wrote about the lost love of a best friend and thats what made Pink Floyd unique in many ways.





Dean..

quote:

Originally posted by Whizzkid:
I also think Syd is over rated his lyrics are childish and if he had not lost it Floyd would have gone nowhere.

Dean..

I prefer child-like as the more apt description -

The black and green scarecrow as everyone knows
Stood with a bird on his hat and straw everywhere.
He didnt care.
He stood in a field where barley grows.

His head did no thinking
His arms didnt move except when the wind cut up
Rough and mice ran around on the ground
He stood in a field where barley grows.

The black and green scarecrow is sadder than me
But now hes resigned to his fate
cause lifes not unkind - he doesnt mind.
He stood in a field where barley grows

His lyrics are in the world of Carroll and Lear and fit perfectly with the music. Remember that at the time we were being bombarded with protest songs and people who thought that singing war is bad would change the world. Syd's songs were from an inner experience and were not about the world outside and, IMHO, all the better for it. It was a shame that so much was drug-induced because that destroyed him. Syd was not alone with bringing such things to music, but he was one of the first to create popular music that was not indebted to rhythm and blues and moved us on from rock n roll - for that small mercy alone Syd should be immortalised.

See Emily Play will be popular is 100 years time when much of the rest of modern music is being forgotten - see if I'm not right

ATB Rotf

Ok ROTF,

I conceed to the childlike innocence of his musings, I was being a bit disingenuous, but I fear he would have never matured to become what many believe he would have become and as a result of that Pink Floyd would have stagnated and died. Its a tragedy what happened to him but I fear inevitable considering the circumstances.



Dean..

I'm with you there Dean.

I find Syd's stuff bordering on the twee. The post-Barrett material is far more to my liking. With the exception of Atom heart Mother that is...

steve

quote:

Atom heart Mother

My favourite non-Syd Floyd elpee - great album.

There was a detailed article about it in Record Collector, especially Ron Geesin contibution, which should not be underestimated - once you have all Syd's records then this is the one to go for.

Some of it now, like Atom Heart Mother, strikes me as absolute crap, but I no longer want or have to play stuff I don't enjoy - David Gilmour - November 1994

Please click to hear Gilmour plays Atom Heart Mother 2008 at Cadogan Hall

ATB Rotf

quote:

Well,I´ve bought Echoes : the best of Pink Floyd

Maybe not the 'best' of PF as such {if you're strictly an album aficionado} but certainly good enough if all you're after is a snapshot of PF.

Curious group {enigma , maybe ?} when taken as a whole (IMO) - each and every album has at least a couple of good tracks but each and every album also contains a few borderline/wrong side of average tracks for a group so critically acclaimed/highly revered.

quote:

Syd was not alone with bringing such things to music, but he was one of the first to create popular music that was not indebted to rhythm and blues and moved us on from rock n roll - for that small mercy alone Syd should be immortalised.

...Ooooo-er ROTF steady on! Syd was certainly capable of writing some fascinating lyrics but he was definately of his time ..in the mid 60's child-like essentially english lyrics abounded amongst the paisley set ....but imho Syd's legacy has been somewhat overstated (sacrilege?!)

...I don't reckon you can begin to compare Syd Floyd and post Syd Floyd because in essence they are (became) two different bands .....would Syd (if his life had not gone down the path it did) have become a writer to match Lennon and Mcartney / Ray Davies et al? ...and as for immortalising Syd for moving us on from rock and roll .....give me a wop bop a lu bop a wop bam boom any day

quote:

Originally posted by ROTF:
Please click to hear Gilmour plays Atom Heart Mother 2008 at Cadogan Hall

ATB Rotf

If you listen closely you can hear me grin; watching Gilmour in a 3-400 capacity venue...

quote:

Originally posted by Nuno Baptista:
What you think about "I wish you were here" and "Meddle"?

Absolute masterpieces You can't go wrong buying these.

quote:

Originally posted by Nuno Baptista:
Well,I´ve bought Echoes : the best of Pink Floyd,because is a collection and has the records of the albuns I mentioned here!

IMHO these albums work best as a concept album listening from the first track to the last - you miss out on a lot if you don't get the whole album - just think of the many great transitions between tracks.

Meddle, Dark Side, WYWH.

Pretty fine trio.

quote:

quote:
Originally posted by Nuno Baptista:
Well,I´ve bought Echoes : the best of Pink Floyd,because is a collection and has the records of the albuns I mentioned here!
IMHO these albums work best as a concept album listening from the first track to the last - you miss out on a lot if you don't get the whole album - just think of the many great transitions between tracks.

I totally agree. There is noting like listening to an original album from end to end. You loose the context in a compliation and they never work as well.

Nuno, go and get the original albums!

Just off to listen to Barrett, Madcap Laughs

NOt to be a pedant, but if the people wishing to be clever and quote loads of lyrics and make definitive statements about the members of the band, could you please get the names of the members right!.....its Roger Waters, NOT Walters!!!!!!

And The Wall is the best Floyd record ever imho, although WYWH is a classic.

Ryan

Nuno; I would highly recommend both Meddle and WYWH though I have to agree with ROTF re: Piper and the madcap genius that was Syd especially when you consider that nothing quite like Piper had been recorded before.

Everytime I upgrade my Naim kit I play Piper and it just gets better and better, which tells you a lot about the excellent recording and production which took place at Abbey Road during the time when the Beatles were recording Sgt Pepper in the next studio. Both were landmark albums.