Double X

I love his soft vocals, it makes a great contrast to Waters vocals. Gilmour and Wright are my favorite vocalists in the group.


That's cool, each to his own. Some people like certain sounds, but Gilmour just plain doesn't cut it for me. He is a plus backing vocals and sometimes lead, but his voice can really drag on sometimes.

I wouldn't call his style technical, most of his solos are simple pentatonic blues, but like Satana he knows how to hit those really long notes, and he has one of the best ears of any guitarist I've ever heard, his tone is amazing too.

I meant as in technically, like skillfully. But as a guitarist I have no big problem.

Animals has some great riffing, Have a Cigar and Wish You Were Here are pretty sweet riffs too.

It's not that he can't riff. He's just more of a lead player than a rhythm player, everyone else handles rhythm perfectly fine and Pink Floyd just aren't a guitar riff band.

This can show sometimes though - when Wright and Waters do not stabilize the song (a bunch on The Wall and perhaps other areas), Gilmour's lack of rhythm can make the song fall apart sometimes.

Simple dosen't = bad. It's true he's not that great technically, but he comes up with some pretty good if simple basslines. Money, Have a Cigar. and Let There Be Light all have some pretty damn good basslines.

Gilmour is a better bassist though, and he did play most of the bass on Animals and The Wall.

I know, i.e. Arnold Layne is a great and simple bass line (and a great song) but he could have done much more innovative things if he was that skilled at bass.

Waters is my favorite lyricist.

Definitely not a bad one

IMO Pink Floyd have been way better song crafters post Syd, I can't stress that enough.

See, Syd' made more of the music I like, quick tempo and catchy lyrics and dabbed weird noises in it to make it crazy. His lyrics did not make sense all of the time...but who cares? He was not really trying to make a statement in every song (see: John Lennon). Great Beatles songs like Penny Lane, I Am The Walrus, Maxwell Silver Hammer, etc. have no real meaning but they are still great. Most of Syd's stuff flows great and it sounds awesome. But its very, very easy to hate Syd. I haven't met a single person face to face who liked 'The Madcap Laughs' when they listened to it. I love it though, for the madman lyrics, weird chords, and nifty background sounds in some songs.

But Waters the most skilled? Nah, that would be Gilmour, then Wright.

I believe the title of the thread had talent labeled with songwriting and instrumental.

Gilmour... The best musician overall, and my favorite singer in the group. His solo stuff is actually pretty good. And he may very well be my favorite guitarist.

Waters... IMO the best songwriter, and his concepts have been a big part of the bands success.

Agreed.

Wright... One of my favorite rock keyboardists, and I actually like his voice more than Waters. His songwriting is underrated too, poor lyricist but great melodist.

I'll admit to never hearing Wright sing a song. I do like his keyboard though, especially on Animals (Pigs and Sheep are great) and Pow R. Toc H. has a nice little solo. Water's voice is great though, it can sound very bitter (Run Like Hell, Pigs).

Barrett... Pipers and Madcap are both excellent, but I still think he is very overrated as a songwriter.

Yes to the first point...and a big No to the second point. But his lyrics aren't supposed to touch you, I doubt he wrote any of his solo stuff to touch the general audience. He never advocated for anything, he just wrote for himself. And it sounded pretty good.

Mason... ONE OF THESE DAYS I'M GOING TO CUT YOU INTO LITTLE PIECES.

Yeah, he does very little. He's a drummer though, so he isn't expected to do much. I don't mind him but he definitely doesn't stand out anywhere except in Astronomy Dominé and Bike. I rarely hear him in songs.