Pink Floyd "The Final Cut" (1983)

The Final Cut
release date: Mar. 21, 1983
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,28]
producer: Roger Waters, James Guthrie, Michael Kamen
label: Harvest Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "The Post War Dream" - 2. "Your Possible Pasts" - 4. "When the Tigers Broke Free" - 6. "The Gunner's Dream" - 12. "Not Now John" - 13. "Two Suns in the Sunset"

12th studio album by Pink Floyd released four years after The Wall (Nov. 1979). As was the case then, Roger Waters is in almost complete control, as he not only wrote all tracks except one (co-written with Gilmour), but he also came up with the concept of the album, which is about loss and betrayals of war, and specifically WWII and The Falklands War. Also, Waters is the only band member to be credited as producer of the album, and he also deigned and made the album cover. David Gilmour and Nick Mason are credited as band members, despite Gilmour adding a couple of great guitar solos to "Your Possible Pasts" and "The Fletcher Memorial Home", and critics are divided in seing this as the final by the band and an actual solo release by Waters using the band name - some go as far as to argue that only a record contract obligation kept Waters from releasing this under his own name. Another point of discussion is that several tracks are in fact outtakes from The Wall, and Gilmour didn't forget to address that Waters now found compositions good enough despite they had previously been rejected for their missing qualities.
The album is the most mainstream pop / rock, singer / songwriter album by Pink Floyd to date, and I recall my immediate disappointment after having purchased the album. Yes, it contains fine songwriting and is almost like a linear novel, but Waters' voice and arrangements are tiresome in the long run, and I have never paid the album a lot of interest and actually resold it about a decade later. Still, the production sound is fine, the stories are anything but mediocre, and a couple of strong tracks keep it above average. In the aftermath of the album, Waters intended to dissolve the band, knowing as he had become its undisputed, yet self-appointed, leader. Gilmour and Mason, however, wanted to continue Pink Floyd, which led Waters to initiate law-suits against his former colleagues who won the right to carry on using the band name. Gilmour and Mason's decision to continue as Pink Floyd would later result in the first album without Roger Waters with A Momentary Lapse of Reason (Sep. 1987).
[ allmusic.com 3 / 5 stars ]

Pink Floyd "The Wall" (2 lp) (1979)

vinyl cover

The Wall
release date: Nov. 30, 1979
format: 2 lp vinyl (gatefold) / cd (1990 reissue)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,12]
producer: Bob Ezrin, David Gilmour, Roger Waters, James Guthrie
label: EMI / Harvest / EMI - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: A) 1. "In the Flesh?" - 2. "The Thin Ice" - 3. "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 1)" - 4. "The Happiest Days of Our Lives" - 5. "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)" - 6. "Mother" - - B) 1. "Goodbye Blue Sky" - 3. "Young Lust" - 4. "One of My Turns" - 6. "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 3)" - - C) 1. "Hey You" - 2. "Is There Anybody Out There?" - 3. "Nobody Home" - 5. "Bring the Boys Back Home" - 6. "Comfortably Numb" - - D) 1. "The Show Must Go On" - 2. "In the Flesh" - 3. "Run Like Hell" - 4. "Waiting for the Worms" - 6. "The Trial"

11th studio album by Pink Floyd originally released on Harvest is released as a double gatefold album. Roger Waters continues his dominating position in the band, which also made this the last album with the original line-up, or at least what was the band since the second album (with David Gilmour replacing Syd Barrett). Waters has written all compositions (with the exception of three co-written with Gilmour, and one with Bob Ezrin) and exclusively put him and Gilmour in the production seat of band members, which was another new initiative. The recording of the album was a long enduring process in and out of studios on both sides of the Atlantic, which resulted in Richard Wright's departure of the band, apparently, feeling he had no part in the project anymore.
This was not the first album I listened to with the band but it was the first I purchased. I remember being in London in Mar. 1980 and having brought a list of albums to buy on behalf of my older brother with at least three Pink Floyd albums that I didn't know of. My brother already had The Wall, so I knew that, I really liked it, so I got myself a copy alongside albums with The Police, Dire Straits and what have you - I didn't even know of punk rock until I came back home and later in 1980/81 discovered a whole new world of fantastic music. The Wall is of course enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die", and, although, rating The Dark Side of the Moon (1973) higher, which has to do with its musical significance, The Wall is the Floyd album I have played the most and it's certainly my favourite Pink Floyd album if forced to pick just one.
Highly recommended.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5 stars ]

~ ~ ~

This post is part of MyMusicJourney, which enlists key releases that have shaped my musical taste when growing up and until age 14. Most of these releases come from my parents' and / or my older brother's collection.

Pink Floyd "Animals" (1977)

Animals
release date: Jan. 23, 1977
format: digital
[album rate: 2,5 / 5]
producer: Pink Floyd
label: Harvest / EMI - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Pigs on the Wing" - 3. "Pigs (Three Different Ones)"

10th studio album by Pink Floyd is another conceptual album but also a change of style. The overall theme is loosely based on George Orwell's "Animal Farm" and therefore a hierarchy of animals reflecting their value and / or status in society. It's also said to be a response to the British punk rock movement in which the band saw positive changes with music being political- and social-minded, but Animals still presents music on its own terms like a secluded and inhuman space. All previous albums gave room for all band members contributing with his own compositions on equal terms, but here I think, Roger Waters for the first time positions himself as the songwriter of the band, and unfortunately at the sacrifice of the band's unity. Waters is credited as text and songwriter on all compositions, only Gilmour is co-writer of the music for the track "Dogs". To me this is more like The Final Cut (1983) than any of their other albums except for this one being a more indistinct stylistic release with both bits of psychedelic rock as on earlier albums, and progressive rock art rock as on the tighter and more successful Wish You Were Here (1975). It's like the narration of an idea, the concept, and one man's story from start to finish in what I find a monotone and simplistic way, in contrast to the more diverse and spacious tale of The Wall (1979) with much more poignant songs.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5, The Daily Telegraph 3 / 5, Rolling Stone Album Guide 2 / 5 stars ]

Pink Floyd "Wish You Were Here" (1975)

Wish You Were Here
release date: Sep. 12, 1975
format: vinyl (reissue) / cd (2011 remaster)
[album rate: 4 / 5]
producer: Pink Floyd
label: Harvest - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: 1. "Shine on You Crazy Diamond (Part One) (1-5)" - 2. "Welcome to the Machine" - 3. "Have a Cigar" - 4. "Wish You Were Here" - 5. "Shine on You Crazy Diamond (Part Two) (6-9)"

9th studio album by Pink Floyd following 2½ years after The Dark Side of the Moon (Mar. 1973), which had been an enormous commercial and artistic success, and as a result the band then found it difficult to work on new material.
Wish You Were Here is far from its predecessor but nevertheless it's still another great achievement by a highly innovative band. Stylistically, this it signals a move away from the experimental and psychedelic universe, and it's more like the band's first combo of progressive rock and art rock album, a style the band would later continue on The Wall (1979) and later successive albums.
Wish You Were Here is one of my favourite Pink Floyd albums and like their '73 album this is enlisted in countless lists with the best albums of all time, and thus (deservedly) included in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die". Again, the iconic cover art is made by (George Hardie at) Hipgnosis.

My vinyl issue is a Swedish print purchased around 1982-84.
[ allmusic.com, Blender, The Daily Telegraph 5 / 5 stars ]

1975 Favourite releases: 1. Bruce Springsteen Born to Run - 2. Patti Smith Horses - 3. Pink Floyd Wish You Were Here

BEST OF 1973:Pink Floyd "The Dark Side of the Moon" (1973)

The Dark Side of the Moon
release date: Mar. 24, 1973
format: cd (2011 remaster)
[album rate: 4,5 / 5]
producer: Pink Floyd
label: EMI - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: 1. "Speak to Me" - 2. "Breathe" - 3. "On the Run" - 4. "Time" - 5. "The Great Gig in the Sky" - 6. "Money" - 7. "Us and Them" - 8. "Any Colour You Like" - 9. "Brain Damage" - 10. "Eclipse"

8th studio album by Pink Floyd originally released by Harvest. The album was already under its way in the early 70s after recording Meddle (1971) and the soundtrack album Obscured by Clouds (1972), and apparently it was initiated with the ideas for an early version of "Eclipse", which closes the album, a song the band had been playing at live concerts. The album is different. Actually, it's just that, 'cause it sounds like nothing else, and that's also its biggest strength. It's a concept album in the way that it has a founding idea behind it, which is to deal with things in life that bothered the band members at the time when things became difficult while working with Syd Barrett. These things were identified as 'time, money, madness, death'. The album contains great tracks like "Breathe", "On the Run", "Time" and "Money", but the greatest thing about the album is the album itself. I remember listening to pieces of it as a kid in the mid and late 70s, and I also recall how out-of-this-world the album felt like. It fascinated and interested like no other album. It has been reissued, remastered, reproduced, and repackaged a zillion times or more, and it's one of the best selling albums ever made (in the US it's the second best selling album, and #8 in the UK). Naturally, it's in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
Today I find that the album still has an appeal, which is quite outstanding. The cover art was made by (George Hardie) at Hipgnosis.
[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone Album Guide, Sputnikmusic, The Daily Telegraph 5 / 5 stars ]

1973 Favourite releases: 1. Pink Floyd The Dark Side of the Moon - 2. Black Sabbath Sabbath Bloody Sabbath - 3. John Cale Paris 1919

Pink Floyd "Obscured by Clouds" (OST) (1972)

Obscured by Clouds (soundtrack)
release date: Jun. 3, 1972
format: digital (2011 remaster)
[album rate: 2 / 5]
producer: Pink Floyd
label: Harvest Records / EMI  - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 3. "Burning Bridges" - 4. "The Gold It's in the..." - 8. "Free Four"

7th studio album by Pink Floyd - originally released on Harvest and reissued by EMI - is the band's second soundtrack album to a movie by Barbet Schroeder - this time the film "La Vallée". The style is more psychedelic folk pop and feels like a return to their first singles rather than a progression from Meddle (1971).
[ allmusic.com 2 / 5, The Daily Telegraph 3 / 5 stars ]

Pink Floyd "Meddle" (1971)

Meddle
release date: Nov. 13, 1971
format: cd (reissue)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5]
producer: Pink Floyd
label: Harvest Records (org. release) / EMI (reissue) - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "One of These Days" (4 / 5) - 3. "Fearless" (4 / 5) - 6. "Echoes" (4 / 5)

6th studio album by Pink Floyd sees the band continue its experimental style with progressive rock. The album is less psychedelic and much tighter putting it more on level with the Deep Purple album Fireball (1971). The track "Echoes", which was the only composition on the B side of the original vinyl album with its near 24 min. playing time, is one of the band's great iconic tracks, and one pointing much to the music found on Dark Side of the Moon (1973) as well as to the album Wish You Were Here (1975). "Fearless" is another great track on the album, and perhaps also made famous due to the incorporation of the Liverpool FC anthem "You'll Never Walk Alone". I recall my older brother playing this track particular loud as he was a Liverpool fan. The cover art is designed by Hipgnosis.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Blender 4 / 5, Rolling Stone Album Guide 3,5 / 5 stars ]

Pink Floyd "Atom Heart Mother" (1970)

Atom Heart Mother
release date: Oct. 10, 1970
format: cd
[album rate: 3 / 5]
producer: Pink Floyd, Norman Smith
label: Harvest Records - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: 1. "Atom Heart Mother" - 2. "If" - 3. "Summer ´68" - 4. "Fat Old Sun" - 5. "Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast"

5th studio album by Pink Floyd gave the band its first number #1 on the UK albums chart list. Musically, it's another experimental album introducing symphonic progressive with long classical sounding parts. The title track is an almost 24 min. long instrumental composition in 6 parts credited all band members and Ron Geesin. I think, the best and most memorable tracks here are "Summer '68", and "Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast", but apart from that the band here demonstrates its technical skills and a focus on what is possible in a studio with quadraphonic sound recordings. The cover art is legendary, and is designed by Hipgnosis.
[ allmusic.com 3 / 5, The Daily Telegraph 2 / 5 stars ]

Pink Floyd "Ummagumma" (1969) (live)

Ummagumma (live)
release date: Oct. 25, 1969
format: 2 cd
[album rate: 2 / 5]
producer: Pink Floyd, Norman Smith
label: Harvest Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: "Grantchester Meadows" - "The Narrow Way (Part 1)"

4th studio album by Pink Floyd released four months after the band's soundtrack album More to a movie by Barbet Schroeder (dealing with youth and heroin addiction). The album was released as a double lp (sold at the price of one normal album) with disc 1 as the recording of four live tracks, and with disc 2 featuring five new studio recordings. I recall this album from my brother's lp collection and an album he played frequently in the 1970s. The studio cd contains tracks composed exclusively by all four band members starting off with "Sysyphus (Part 1-4)" by Richard Wright - four pieces of highly experimental instrumental music (touching on modern classical), followed by two tracks by Roger Waters, "Grantchester Meadows", the finest track on the album in a blend of folk pop and psychedelic baroque pop, and the track "Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving With a Pict", which again is a highly experimental track of sounds and noises. followed by "The Narrow Way (Part 1-3)" (of different styles of instrumental and mostly harmonic music) written by David Gilmour, and ending with three experimental pieces "The Grand Vizier's Garden Party (Part 1-3)" by Nick Mason.

Well, my guess is that the album's popularity at the time of release had to do with the band's mix of highly experimental rock combined with chunks of more ordinary music, putting the band at the edge of creativity as avant-garde of pop / rock and as European counterparts to Frank Zappa. Today, I only find it somewhat amusing but generally of little musical interest.
[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5, The Daily Telegraph 3 / 5 stars ]

Pink Floyd "A Saucerful of Secrets" (1968)

A Saucerful of Secrets
release date: Jun. 29, 1968
format: digital
[album rate: 2,5 / 5]
producer: Norman Smith
label: EMI Columbia - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Let There Be More Light" - 2. "Remember a Day"

2nd studio album by Pink Floyd is almost as iconic as the debut. It's the last studio album to feature founding member Syd Barrett who took part in the initial composing and recordings but was replaced by new member David Gilmour as Barrett's behaviour became too troublesome for the band. Apparently, he was severely afflicted by heavy LSD use (reportedly as the only member of the band), and he purposely untuned his guitar while playing, or he would refuse to play at all. Waters, Wright, and Gilmour rewrote most tracks for the album, and only one composition, track #7 "Juggband Blues" is by Barrett. The album is highly experimental, which peaks on the almost 12 minutes long title track. Like its predecessor, the album withstands mostly as a musical document.
[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5, Rolling Stone Music Guide, The Daily Telegraph 3 / 5 stars ]

Pink Floyd "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" (1967)

The Piper at the Gates of Dawn [debut]
release date: Aug. 5, 1967
format: digital
[album rate: 4 / 5]
producer: Norman Smith
label: EMI Columbia - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Astronomy Domine" - 2. "Lucifer Sam" - 4. "Flaming" - 7. "Interstellar Overdrive" - 8. "The Gnome" - 10. "Scarecrow" - 11. "Bike"

Studio debut album by Pink Floyd formed and consisting of Syd Barrett on lead guitar and vocals, Roger Waters on bass and vocals, Richard Wright on organ, piano, and vocals, and with Nick Mason on drums and percussion. 8 out of 11 tracks here are composed and written solely by Syd Barrett, which basically was the case at the early stage of the band at a time when psychedelic rock was the predominant style of the band. The remaining tracks are credited the band and Waters (#6). The album is enlisted in a number of best of albums, and is alongside the bands second album A Saucerful of Secrets (1968) lauded for being the the first real psychedelic rock albums where Pink Floyd takes experimental rock to new territories. The US version of the album also included the band's first huge single success "See Emily Play", although, that track seems very much out of sync with the rest of the compositions except perhaps from "The Gnome". Today, the album is music history. I don't find it great nor very interesting but in a musical perspective, the album is outstandingly original, and therefore enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die". Needles to say, the album has been reissued in a number of editions - most noteworthy, I recon, is the "40th Anniversary Edition", which comes in a 2 and 3-disc version of the album with disc 1 containing the mono mix and with disc 2 containing a stereo version of the original European edition of the album. The bonus disc edition (disc 3) also contains the band's first three singles alongside several outtakes.
[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone Album Guide, Q Magazine 5 / 5, The Daily Telegraph 4 / 5 stars ]

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40th Anniversary Edition