Big Ears

I am a Pink Floyd fan and came at them from their peak albums, Meddle and Dark Side of the Moon. In their wake were Relics and Embryo (on the Harvest sampler, Picnic). I also remember Alan Freeman playing Astronomy domine on his Saturday Rock Show on BBC Radio One.

I wouldn't say I was a Syd Barrett fan, but Piper at the Gates has some great tracks in Interstellar Overdrive, Astronomy Domine and . . . Bike! Astronomy Domine was hugely influential and was the template for most progressive rock. Ian McDonald said King Crimson took their cue from Sgt Pepper and Pet Sounds, but they must also have heard Astronomy Domine.

Saucerful of Secrets has Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun, which is very atmospheric and ahead of its time (1968). I'm a Rick Wright fan, so I like Remember a Day too.

Umma Gumma is a pretty good live album, but the only strong solo piece is Waters' Grantchester Meadows. It makes me feel that Waters was behind the idea of solo tracks, as the rest are messy. Atom Heart Mother has standouts in Gilmour's Fat Old Sun and Wright's Summer '68, but really has too much brass.

Meddle is Pink Floyd's best album, despite containing their worst track, Seamus. The latter apart, every track is good, especially Echoes, which is fantastic. What makes the side-long epic is the interplay between Gilmour and Wright. Following Wright's tragicaly premature death, Gilmour said he could not play Echoes without him. To his credit, Waters, while not my favourite person, does add some funky bass playing. There is a stupendous version on Gilmour's Live in Gdansk album, which also, of course, features Wright, and almost reduced me to tears. One of These Days has Waters and Gilmour playing driving bass guitars, along with backward cymbals and a distorted voice. Pillow of Winds, the excellent Fearless and St Tropez are equally strong, although it has become fashionable to knock St Tropez for some reason.

I do not think I have ever heard Obscured by Clouds. Dark Side of the Moon is a great album, despite everyone saying it is a great album. Time/Breathe Reprise, Us & Them and Money are perfectly constructed tracks, but you have to hear the album as a whole to get the full effect. On the Run, Any Colour You Like and Brain Damage, along with the abstract voices and sound effects, serve to enhance the the main tracks. DSOTM is certainly Pink Floyd's most refined album by the time it was released.

Wish You Were Here was a disapointment to me after Dark Side, because it sounded flat and in need of editting with some added punch. On reflection, the band felt guilty at their success without Barrett, but Waters was not to be troubled by his conscience again. Although dominated by Waters, Animals is actually a very good album, (a) due to the instrumentation and (b) despite the writer's attempt at right-on social comment.

Waters managed to sack the band's best musician, Rick Wright, for The Wall album, which turned out to be one long self-pitying whinge. On the live version, the most innovative playing is (needless to say) from Wright, by then a session musician and upon whom it was encumbent to come up with linking passages. There are a couple of tracks salvaged by Gilmour, namely Comfortably Numb and the great Young Lust. These days, I cannot bring myself to listen to The Final Cut without Rick Wright, which is just a collection of outttakes from the already overlong The Wall.

When Roger Waters left Pink Floyd, they did not miss him at all. Momentary Lapse of Reason and Division Bell are both in my collection.

My Pink Floyd Top 10 therefore is:

1. Dark Side of the Moon (for sentimental reasons and consistency)
2. Meddle (the best album, but contains Seamus)
3. Animals (the calm before the storm)
4. Umma Gumma (good live material, but messy solo tracks)
5. The Division Bell
6. A Momentary Lapse of Reason
7. Wish You Were Here (how could it follow DSOTM?)
8. Relics (compilation of early tracks)
9. Atom Heart Mother (experimental and brass-y)
10. Pulse or Is There Anybody Out There?