RATINGS:
PINK FLOYD:
1.PIPER AT THE GATES OF DAWN (FAIR) Released in 1967, this album is psychedelic landmine. Pink Floyd founder, Syd
Barrett, often starts his songs with music that sounds very much like a normal pop or folk
tune. Eventually, however, his songs dive headlong into a jumble of noise, and just when
the listener can barely take any more, the songs suddenly become coherent again. Most of
the songs on this album wander from sweet pop tunes to wild sonic distortions and back
again. Of all the albums in the late sixties which tried to capture an LSD trip on record,
this album comes the closest. "Interstellar Overdrive" is one of the most far-out songs you
will ever hear. You'll need to pull out some rather large fans to listen to this song, because
you'll probably need to smoke plenty of pot to even comprehend it. "Astronomy Domine"
and "Lucifer Sam" are probably the two best songs on this album, or at least the two most
accessible. "Astronomy Domine" sounds very much like the Floyd people would come to
know in the late 70s. "Lucifer Sam" is an ode to Barrett's cats and comes out sounding
much like an old James Bond theme.
2.A SAUCERFUL OF SECRETS (GOOD) Released in 1968, this album begins the Roger Waters era of Pink Floyd.
Original bassist, Roger Waters, recruited Barrett's friend and follow guitarist, David
Gilmour, to replace Barrett. Barrett had fallen prey to mental illness after the release of
the first album when all his LSD usage began to catch up with him. Waters took over
Barrett's song-writing duties while Gilmour took over as lead guitarist. Saucerful of
Secrets provides a more familiar Pink Floyd sound with Waters rhythmic bass guitar and
strange lyrics accompanied by Gilmour's wailing guitar solos. The title track is similar to,
but somewhat more coherent and more enjoyable than, "Interstellar Overdrive." "Let
There Be More Light" and "Remember a Day" set the tone for future Floyd albums. The
most hauntingly beautiful song on this album, however, is the classic "Set the Controls for
the Heart of the Sun."
3.UMMAGUMMA (FAIR) Released in1969, This double album is valuable because of the magnificent live
versions of the band's songs found on the first part of this album. (The cassette tape version
of Ummagumma omits three of the live songs in order to fit this album onto one double
length tape. This cassette version of Ummagumma is therefore rated POOR.) The studio
songs on part two of this double album are much less impressive. These songs are
significant in that they are the first time the band makes use of sound effects. The best
studio song on this album is the lovely "Grantchester Meadows."
4."MORE" SOUNDTRACK (GOOD) Released in1969, this album provides a strong mixture of psychedelic sounds
and folk music. It is with this album that the last remnants of Barrett's Floyd disappear.
Richard Wright asserts himself with "Cirrus Minor." The band shows their heavier side
with "The Nile Song." The best folk influenced song on this album is the sweet "Green Is
the Colour." The band shows that they still have psychedelic flair with the soundtrack's main
and dramatic themes. The two real highlights of this fine album, however, are the tender
"Crying Song" and the melodic "Cymbaline."
5.ATOM HEART MOTHER (POOR) Released in1970, Atom Heart Mother is essentially a failed experiment. This
album is Pink Floyd's attempt at art-rock. The album and all the songs on it are not
worthy of any attention. Pink Floyd quickly and wisely moved away from this style of
music.
6.RELICS (GOOD) Released in 1971, Relics is a collection of old singles from the band's early days
in 1966-68. This collection contains some great early tunes from both during and after
Barrett's time with the band. The instrumental "Careful with that Axe, Eugene" is a
classic. "Julia Dream" is a soft, tuneful, trippy little number. Two of the best songs on
this album, however, are the two early Barrett tunes "See Emily Play" and "Arnold
Layne."
7.MEDDLE (EXCELLENT) Released in 1971, Meddle laid the groundwork for the Floyd classics of
the mid to late 70s. The centerpiece of this album is the enchanting opus "Echoes."
"Fearless" is one of the band's finest tunes. "One of These Days" is a hard and heavy super
bass jam which is still a fan favorite. Conversely, "A Pillow of Winds" is a soft and
charming little song.
8.OBSCURED BY CLOUDS (FAIR) Released in 1972, Obscured By Clouds has the same style of music as the More
soundtrack, except with a little more folk and a little less psychedelic sounds. For that
reason, this album is not quite as strong as the More soundtrack. Nevertheless, some fine
songs are on this album. The opening theme "Obscured By Clouds... When You're In" is
powerful and mesmerizing. "Wots... Uh the Deal" is wonderfully trippy. "Mudmen" and
"Childhood's End" are probably the best songs on the album however.
9.THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON (EXCELLENT) Released in 1973, The Dark side of the Moon became one of the
greatest rock albums of all time. It is based on themes of madness, paranoia, and
alienation. All the songs on this well-produced album are set to a masterful blend of sound
effects. All the intelligent lyrics, incredible sound effects, and complex and powerful music
combine to form a masterpiece which is perfect in execution, flawless in delivery, poignant
in its message, and dynamic in its sound. Every song and sound effect fits perfectly into
place, from the opening and closing heartbeat to the alarm clock on "Time." This album is
an absolute masterpiece.
10.WISH YOU WERE HERE (EXCELLENT) Released in 1975, This album represents the second in a short but
significant run of classic albums for Pink Floyd. This album is a great follow-up to the
Floyd masterpiece. Wish You Were Here centers around the glorious opus "Shine On
You Crazy Diamond." The surrounding songs don't stray far for the centerpiece's theme
of exploitation, isolation, and pessimistic world views. The whole album works out as a
tribute of sorts to Barrett and his troubles with the harsh world of the music industry. The
title track, "Welcome to the Machine," and "Have a Cigar" all fit nicely into this well-structured classic.
11.ANIMALS (EXCELLENT) Released in 1977, Animals is based on the George Orwell books Animal
Farm and 1984. This album is the third straight classic for Floyd. It follows the same
style as Wish you Were Here. Animals has a great blend of acoustic and electric guitar
pieces. The epic proportions of this album do not spoil the songs' powerful affect. This
album gives a wonderfully dark view of the modern industrial world and the people who
inhabit it. Dogs, sheep, and pigs serve as metaphors for humanity in this album. The
songs here are well-constructed and meaningful.
12.THE WALL (EXCELLENT) Released in 1979, The Wall is the last classic album in Floyd's streak of
excellence in the mid to late 70s. Waters expands on previous themes of isolation in this
double album. The Wall, and all the albums, stories, videos, and movies that go with it, is
the creation of Roger Waters. Luckily, the rest of the band was there to provide great
music which may have gotten lost if Waters had decided to do this album alone. It is the
all the odd themes and lyrics of Waters combined with the beautiful guitar solos of
Gilmour which make this album so effective. Nowhere is this effect more apparent than
on the classic song "Comfortably Numb." If anything, this album is great in its diversity.
The album uses psychedelic, folk, pop, rock, and blues sounds, and
surprisingly, they are all effective. "Another Brick in the Wall," "Empty Spaces," "Young
Lust," "Hey You," and "Run Like Hell" are some of the best examples of the strength and
diversity of this double album.
13.THE FINAL CUT (POOR) Released in 1983, The Final Cut sounds more like a Roger Waters solo album
than a Pink Floyd album. Waters's lyrics on this album are a true masterpiece.
Unfortunately, the music which accompanies it is rather sterile. It seems that Gilmour's
inspiration is gone on this album while Richard Wright is gone completely. Gilmour's
presence does show up occasionally on songs like "The Gunner's Dream" and "Not now
John." If you want to know the true excellence of this anti-war album, you should get a
copy of the lyrics and read them yourself rather than having Waters do it for you, for that is
what is left after you remove the sterile music from this album: Waters and his lyrics.
14.A MOMENTARY LAPSE OF REASON (POOR) Released in 1987, This album is a triumph for the three remaining members of
Pink Floyd, because they were able to revive the Pink Floyd machine which Waters had
wanted to bury after his departure. After a long court case, Gilmour and the others won
the right to continue on by themselves under the name of "Pink Floyd." Yet, one has to
wonder why they bothered. It must be because of the exhilarating live shows which
continue to thrill fans around the world. It was certainly not because of the new studio
music. Even though Waters had become too overbearing, his presence was a crucial part
of the Pink Floyd chemistry. In the mid to late 70s, it was the tension and clash of ideas
between Waters and Gilmour that resulted in the excellent music. When the two gave up
their struggle to work together, the magic was lost. With the first post-Waters album, his
presence is clearly absent from the music. A Momentary Lapse of Reason actually starts
off strong with "Signs of Life" and "Learning to Fly," but the rest of the album is not
nearly as powerful.
15.THE DIVISION BELL (POOR) Released in1994, the Division Bell's best feature is that it launched another great
tour. As for the songs on the album, only "Keep Talking" is a reminder of the great songs
this band once produced.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
1. The previously unreleased song "Embryo" is on the Pinks Floyd hits Album "Works."
2. The vocals on "Have a Cigar" are done by Roy Harper.
© 1997 t-specht@students.uiuc.edu
Get your own Free Home Page