Pink Floyd: The Endless River

[cobguy]

I don't live in a cave, never did.

If you never heard of Pink Floyd, I'd have to question that! :nana:
Why weren't they at Woodstock? Possibly because it was around that time that lead singer Syd Barrett was going insane. Any concerts played at this time didn't work out well. Syd would show up and sit on the floor instead of performing. This is the story that The Wall is based on. Syd left in 1968 so in 1969 Pink Floyd was busy trying to reform the band and find a new sound. One that was more instrumental driven. The songs were long and sparse in vocals. This may not have fit in well with Woodstock.

 

[ssjones]

Unfortunately Woodstock was a mess and not a real barometer of music for the era. The list of musicians who DIDN'T play is pretty impressive: A guy named Boy Dylan, who was there neighbor but abstained.. The Rolling Stones weren't invited. Eric Clapton. Led Zeppelin took a pass. The Beatles were breaking up at that point.
I don't know how you can miss a band like Pink Floyd. Dark Side of the Moon was on the the charts from 1973 to 1988 (I think). If you don't live in a cave, it must be close! (no offense)
That reminds of me of what my country-music fans asked me after The Who played the Superbowl. After the show, my friend asked if I had any CD's for "The Who". I said yes, why. He said he'd never heard them before, but they sounded pretty good. He grew up in a very rural part of Maryland, but how can you miss the 40 plus years of The Who??? I loaned him a few CD's...

 

[portascat]

There were some true transcendent artists at Woodstock (Hendrix, Alvin Lee, Joplin, The Who, Carlos Santana, Crosby-Stills-Nash-Young), there were still more strictly period artists who contributed little more than the sound of the times (Country Joe and the Fish comes immediately to mind*).
Hendrix and Joplin died early. Alvin Lee was a phenomenal guitar player to the end, and contributed widely including to quasi Christian Rock (along with George Harrison, Ronny Wood and others) with Marlon LeFevere.
The Who, Santana, and Neil Young continue to play, but truly to very select audiences.
Pink Floyd managed to transcend all the eras well and without cliche, maintaining new material and new sounds, but all easily classified as "Floyd". Not everyone likes it, but it never lacked attention to detail or performance, in spite of the constant bickering in the band. The Rolling Stones couldn't even do that.
* I have a recording of the 1968 (or 1969) first US set / performance of Led Zeppelin. They opened for Country Joe and The Fish. You can feel the collective gasp of every person in the audience as "Dazed and Confused" winds up, and the collective sigh of Joe McDonald and crew as they see the lights dim on that era.

 

[saint007]

Pink Floyd has come a long way since Intergalatic Trot. :wink:

 

[saint007]

Pink Floyd has come a long way since Intergalatic Trot. :wink:

 

[saint007]

Pink Floyd has come a long way since Intergalatic Trot. :wink:
I remember the Capital Records rep telling me on the day Dark Side Of The Moon was released that this would be to Pink Floyd what Abbey Road did for the Beatles. At the time, I said no f----- way! I was working at Rock Radio then.
Also looking forward to the new Foo Fighters "Sonic Highway".
Read yesterday where Robert Plant turned down 800 million for a Zep reunion for 35 shows. Good for him!

 

[jmatt]

I think it's ironic that - in my opinion - "Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2" is the worst song on the 2 album set. And I think to the casual fan, that's the song that embodies Pink Floyd the most. Radio airplay does that I guess.

 

[ssjones]

I agree jmatt. "The Wall" is my least favorite album. I'm certain the repetitious radio play has to be the culprit.

 

[brian64]

Both The Wall and Amused to Death contain complex storylines from start to finish which prohibit any single song from being properly understood out of context. Of course ATD was never on the radio, but anyone who is only familiar with the radio hits from The Wall would have no clue what it's really all about.
Unfortunately, the movie didn't do it justice imo, but it was ok. It's better as theater of the mind though.

 

[jmatt]

Both The Wall and Amused to Death contain complex storylines from start to finish which prohibit any single song from being properly understood out of context

I agree. But if anything, I think Another Brick in the Wall Part 2 doesn't fit with the rest of the album. To me it ruins the flow of the whole. CD2 is one of the albums currently loaded into my car stereo. Long commute times let me listen to all of album 2 twice today alone. I owned the movie (VHS of course). I'm guessing I've listen to Disc 2 50 times in the last three months alone. And I bought the CD about 30 years ago.

 

[brian64]

Put me in the Waters is a POS camp.

POS is one thing...that's perfectly fine. The only people who don't get called a POS by someone are people who don't take a stand on anything. Feel free to consider me a POS too, because the fascist, genocidal nature of Israeli government policy has been obvious to me for many, many years...long before I ever knew of Waters saying anything about it.
But the "anti-Semitic" label is just soooooo hackneyed it's pathetic. There is a great irony here as well in that the Palestinian people are Semitic people...whereas many of the Israeli elites are not. (And no, I certainly don't see the Palestinians as blameless either...but I sure as hell am not drinking the Israeli kool-aid).

 

[metalheadycigarguy]

I didn't know they were releasing a new album. I think the "Division Bell" was a great album, so this should be an interesting listen.

 

[elduderino]

I saw Waters do Dark Side of the Moon in St.Paul at the Xcel in 07?. Hands down one of the best concerts I've ever been to. I was going through a rough patch then got the tix for free. It was the "psychotherapy" I needed at the time!

 

[ssjones]

Guys: Please leave the politics to Roger Waters.

 

[petes03]

Any Pink Floyd with David Gilmour at the helm is all right by me! But Syd Barrett..... I can do without!

 

[jmatt]

So has anyone got the album yet? Anyone heard any of it?

 

[corncobguy]

Yeah I got it and have listened to it twice now and I'm disappointed with it. I think it's a good album but not what i expected. It sound's a lot like the Division Bell just softer and more mellow. Good pipe smoking music actually but outside of that I don't know.

 

[adam12]

There is way too little appreciation for Animals in this thread! That album is infreakincredible!!
YOU GOT TO BE CRAZY

GOTTA HAVE A REAL NEED

 

[natibo]

 

[ssjones]

I get it natibo!
Ok, I was in the car for several hours this evening and that was a good opportunity to listen to this album in it's entirety. As a Pink Floyd fan, I had to have this. But, it's really not that good. The only real "song" is the one released, "Louder than Words", which is pretty good. The rest of the songs feel like bits and pieces of projects or the start to a song. I definitely hear some references to the sound of "The Wall". To my ears, it sounds a bit disjointed. This is an all Gilmour show and is missing the Waters touch.
This review sums it up pretty well, just a tad harshly:

Andy Gill of The Independent gave the album one out of five, calling it "just aimless jamming, one long thread of Dave Gilmour's guitar against Rick Wright's pastel keyboards and Nick Mason's tentative percussion, with nary a melody of any distinction alighted upon for the duration .... without the sparking creativity of a Syd or Roger, all that's left is ghastly faux-psychedelic dinner-party muzak."[57] The NME gave it five out of ten and wrote that The Endless River "sounds like what it is: a collection of spruced-up outtakes from 1994's Division Bell. On those limited terms it works well enough, and it’s interesting from a certain geeky perspective, but it's never quite as satisfying or substantial as you want it to be."