QOTD - Pink Floyd

[Esau]

Well,for the last week or so I decided to go on a Floyd binge and listen to the catalog and alot of live shows I have and after listening to alot I came to the conclusion that my favourite album has to be The Final Cut.(Although,there's many others I greatly love also,ei: The Wall,which The Final Cut was sorta the follow up to)

Many factors played in my deciding this,mostly the feeling I get from this album is the main thing,the sullen melancoly feeling,lonely solitude and sad imaginery it invokes within me & my mind,I love music that creates imaginery and can effect my mood in different ways,this album does that for me and the perspective Water's had of British politics during the second world war is sorta deep or dark I guess too,but also a sad truth & testament to what was going on at the time.I've always been attracted to war stories and movies etc of that era for some reason.Also,lyrically I find this album superb,musically it's not perhaps to the level of previous albums but is still sweet.

I've heard & read many folks feel this is one of Floyd's worst albums,with Water's taking an egotistic,self absorbed apporach to this because it was indeed his own poems originally and perhaps not entirely to the bands liking.

But when I hear songs like the gunners dream,two suns in the sunset & The Final cut,not to mention that the song When The Tigers Broke Free which was in the movie The Wall but not on the album since it was to be released on The Final cut,I am stretched to think the band didn't dig this album themselves.

So,what would be your favourite album?

Explain why if ya wish.

[CyberHippie]

My Floyd knowledge is pretty limited. So for me it's all about DSOTM. I've got it in DTS surround sound and it blows my fucking mind!

[PhishyK]

hey Esau, I'm completely in love with the Final Cut. That album is so incredibly beautiful. I have been listening to it alot lately, actually, especially with the recent anniversary of D-day. A beautiful album and a truly emotional experience every time I listen to it. Thanks for bringing this up!

p.s. The Wall and DSOTM are pretty amazing too. Simply the fact that pretty much everyone in the 1st world have these CDs says alot.

[dave-O]

I think the majotiry of the backlash against The Final Cut was that it was more of a Waters solo album than a band effort. That and it's frigging depressing. I do enjoy it, but it's not an every day (or even every month) listen.

For me, the big one is Animals. Compositions are great, lyrics are dark. Pigs, Sheep, Dogs? There's a bit of each of those in each of us...

[MarcO]

Pink Floyd was an important band for me. They were the first major live act I ever saw (at CNE, late Summer 1987) and even before that, the one act I had seen was Clearlight, a local Floyd cover band (I was in Grade 7 or 8, they played at Highland Secondary in the gym - it was great!). They were, after Led Zeppelin, a major obsession of mine. I went to record shows and used record shops looking for bootleg records and cassettes, and proudly chased after rare recordings of them doing Dark Side in it's original form, of the Wall being performed in LA, of early Syd Barrett stuff, the Obscured By Clouds material that they performed once or twice, BBC stuff, Pompeii. There were, of course, the Ivor Wynne 75 show and the Oakland 77 show circulating in great quality. Had all the solo albums, including the Rick Wright and Nick Mason stuff. Have you ever heard "Music From The Body" by Riger Waters? Well, I have and it's nuts!

I never really chose to stop listening to them, I just kind of went on to other things. Years later, after high school, I went through a period of rediscovering them and came to the conclusion - which I still hold today - that clearly their prime stuff leads them to Dark Side Of The Moon. With the exception of Animals after that, their albums became more cumbersome, self-absorbed, arrogant and neurotic. Why do I exclude Animals? I dunno - because it's almost got a raw punky feeling, a palpible anger that lends those long trippy tracks just the right touch of venom without allowing Waters to completely override the entire project with his horrible, self-absorbed visions of grandeur. As an album, it's perfect: spooky, weird, great playing, interesting lyrics, sonically sound and not over-exposed.

As compared to The Wall, such a loser of an album, in my opinion. I know it sold gazillions, and you can count me as one of those kids who played it over and over alone in his room, watched the movie three billion times, trying….. trying…… trying to make it out to be more than it was. In actuality, as time has passed, I've come to realize it is the worst kind of music imaginable: self-absorbed to the point of embarassment, "heavy, man", ponderous, over-ambitious, clearly the sound of a man who not only has contempt for his band but his audience and himself. "Plastic Ono Band" it is not. You can probably infer what I think of The Final Cut! The fact that Waters feels The Wall is the work of genius doesn't help. The guy is nuts. And not nuts in a good way, like Ol' Dirty Bastard, just a horrible human being. I honestly would rather listen to Human League than The Wall! And I'm still blown away by the utter lunacy of his craptacular "The Wall Live In Berlin". Roger Waters must be the most miserable person alive.

I'm not so sure I can pick a favorite but Meddle might come close. That, along with classics like Obscured By Clouds, More, Ummagumma, those are the sounds of a four-piece art band creating psychedelic spaces and quality tunes, examining the vagarities of life but holding together as a unit, a band as vital as the Stones were at the time, a major contribution to music. But I never need to hear "Welcome To The Machine" or "Run Like Hell" ever again.

Ok then, my favorite Pink Floyd album is Animals. ::

[Guest Low Roller]

Hmmm... tough question... Choosing a favorite Pink Floyd album is tougher than voting off a Phish album every day.

I can't claim to be an expert on every Pink Floyd album, but each album has a certain appeal to me. Animals, for instance, is a great album of catchy tunes, whilst Meddle is more a long strange trip. DSOTM is a classic album, as is the Wall. Wish You Were Here? Classic. The Division Bell is far from bad. I've only heard The Final Cut a handful of times, but it never really captivated me. Maybe it's time to revisit it however.

If I had to choose just one it would be Wish You Were Here.

[Rob Not Bob]

Re : Final Cut ... some tracks on it are, for me, just kind of there ... but the best tracks on it are awesome (Gunner's Dream, The Final Cut, etc.)

Favorite Album : Wish You Were Here ... for me, I find Wish You Were Here is drastically underrated, The Wall is somewhat overrated, and Dark Side Of The Moon is just as great as people say it is.

All, of course, IMHO.

RnB

[Esau]

Marc0,

I remember Clearlight,we used to party with them once in awhile,played the Courtcliffe long weekend parties all the time in the late 80's.Good bunch of guys too.

Bad picture,doesn't do the music they played any justice,but they were an awesome Floyd cover band at the time.

[MarcO]

Cool! Love the hair!

The show I saw, they encored with........ "Aqualung"?!?!?

And then there was the time I was in Grade 8 and my buddy Mike Clark and I played our "when-will-we-be-old-enough-to-do-lots-of-acid?" version of Interstellar Overdrive to some horrified little kids at the end of the year talent school at Dundana (his school, not mine). I still remember the principal asking me never to come back there, a problem since my Mom was the custodian there for years. :: hahahaha

[Jaimoe]

The Delicate Sound Of Thunder. I love Floyd without Barrett and Waters.

But seriously, my favourite Pink Floyd album is Wish You Were Here. I just love the songs and the album gets in and out in a relatively short period of time.

[ollie]

I've been a pretty big Floyd fan, off and on. My favourite album is Animals. Others come close but there's not a weak note on that album, IMO. I love the vicious character portraits that ring so true. Dogs is particulary good in this regard. I like the last set of lyrics the most. "Who was found dead on the phone? Who was only a stranger at home? Who was given a pat on the back?, etc." Each of those lines says so much. Also love the acoustic country guitar feel, especially when it's shattered by Gilmour's first electric lead break.

"And it's too late to lose the weight you used to need to throw around."

[hamilton]

I'm going to have to say Meddle... I suppose because it's the trippiest, all in all. And because "Fearless" is such a fucking great song.

[Rob Not Bob]

Actually, I love all of Animals too ... my favorite track is Pigs (Three Different Ones) because the rhythm is so freakin' funky!

RnB

[Booche]

Oh maaaaaaan,

I dont know.............

Animals and Wish You Were Here have always had a soft-spot in my heart, but I spent so many nights tripping out to DSOTM that I think I have to go with that. I mean, I had some REALLY intense experiences with that album.

[Jakis]

Wish your were here...and animals. I think the two shine ons are incredible and love have a cigar...the whole cd from start to finish is great..imo

[Stapes]

Spent alot of time with this one. It's my fav simply based on nostalgia.

[boogieknight]

I do believe we have our next round of survivor

[colinw]

Good thread Esau. Pink Floyd was my major obsession for about 10 years before I started into the jamband world. I still find myself playing some of the many live shows or studio albums I have from Floyd though. I spent years collecting rare pressings, imports, singles, vinyl, cassette, CD, video, etc of Floyd.

I always seem to change my mind but currently my favourite album is Meddle. For one, Echoes is on it, and that kicks ass. I also enjoy the other seventies stuff - Animals, WYWH, Atom Heart Mother, DSoTM. I also love the Wall, although it is far from my favourite.

Some of the early seventies live shows are amazing with crazy older jam songs, and wild improv!

Roger Waters is a genious in my opinion. His solo albums are great concepts and very well done. Not an everyday listen, but outstanding lyrics, concepts and usually a great guitarist (Jeff Beck, Clapton, etc). The Final Cut is pretty much a Waters solo album and is one of my favourites. If you haven't heard any solo stuff I urge you to check it out. I saw Wtaers solo a couple of times a few years ago and the shows were really great.

Post Waters Floyd is also well appreciated by me and I loved seeing the Division Bell shows in 94, but the 70's period where Waters and Gimlour were well in sync was the best Floyd period.

Colin

[bradm]

Roger Waters is a genious in my opinion. His solo albums are great concepts and very well done. Not an everyday listen, but outstanding lyrics, concepts and usually a great guitarist (Jeff Beck, Clapton, etc).

Which albums are with Jeff Beck, and has Beck ever toured with Waters?

Aloha,

Brad

[colinw]

[quote

Which albums are with Jeff Beck, and has Beck ever toured with Waters?

Aloha,

Brad

Jeff Beck played on Roger Waters solo album Amused to Death. Waters never toured for that album, only debuting his Amused songs on the In the Flesh tour of 99 (and Doyle Bramhall was the guitarist!).

Roger sat in with Beck once for a few tunes from Amused to Death. Here is some detail on one of them: http://www.rogerwatersonline.com/tours_jeff_beck_concerts.html

Colin