Iconic-Definitely one way to cement your status as one of the biggest bands in the world
Released on September 8th, 1975, after the major success of Pink Floyds most notable album The Dark Side Of The Moon, Pink Floyd knew they had to come up with something incredible, 44 minutes long and 5 songs, the album was destined to be great.
Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Pts. 1-5.
Despite the opening being quite long, it sends your mind into a different dimension.
This is really shown around 4 minutes when it gets slightly heavier with the drums from Nick Mason you can really sense something is going to happen. The vocals kick in and you immediately think about Syd Barrett, who the song was written about. In 1968, Barrett bad to depart the band due to unfortunate mental health troubles, during the recording of this record, Barrett actually visited the band at Abbey Road studios and observed. A musical masterpiece with squealing, beautiful guitar solos and extremely moving lyrics. The backing vocals are an integral part of this song especially in Part 4, where Roger Waters sings, David Gilmour and Richard Wright on the backing vocals.
I don’t think there was a better way to start off the album, this song had everything. The rating shouldn’t even be a debate. 10/10.
Welcome To The Machine
The bass from Roger Waters is simply sensational, the notable use of VCS (voltage controlled studio) gives this song a space vibe and a very different aspect to the band but it all works perfectly along with Nick Masons organ playing.
An extremely under appreciated song in the collection of Pink Floyd. 10/10.
Have A Cigar
From the first minute you can sense some similarities to ‘Welcome To The Machine’ which is track 2 on the album so you can sense the band are going with a certain theme. Gilmour’s guitar work is absolutely amazing. The lyrics and melody make this a stunning song to listen to. The more times you listen to the track the more you can pick out.
Beautiful Lyrics by Roger waters. Insane instrumentals. 10/10.
Wish You Were Here
The title track and its very acoustic centred, really a mind-blowing song. Meaningful lyrics that tell a story, this song is very much influenced by Waters, that is the case with most of this album. But its Gilmour’s vocals that are so perfect and add to the already amazing instrumental aspect, this was an instant hit with many.
I wish I could rate this higher, the guitar just sounds great especially towards the end of the song after we’ve been taken on a psychological journey. I do think its impossible to hate this song. 10/10.
Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Pts. 6-9.
Unfortunately the last track but what a way to end it. A beautiful, peaceful start, and then like typical Pink Floyd song the guitar hits, the bassline from Waters gives it a slight Motown feel and it sounds incredible. The ongoing saxophone is a vital part of the song and its such a beautiful way to end an album and a tribute to their friend and ex-bandmate Syd Barrett who tragically passed away in 2006.
As far as closing tracks go, this was amazing, it had it all. The baseline really gets stuck in your head and the different stages of the song were very different but somehow grasped you and made you want to listen to it more and more. Pink Floyd just knew how to create suspense. 10/10.
Conclusion
Wow. The more you listen to this album the more you fall in love with it, I wish it had more songs but the songs we did have were genuinely perfection. It gripped me and made me daydream from track 1-5, such a great tribute, album and most of all an absolute masterpiece following on from their previous album and they would’ve been under pressure to make a record even close to The Dark Side Of The Moon, but somehow they did and they took us on an emotional rollercoaster in the process.