Random Precision
11th March 2008, 22:50
Inspired by the thread about the Animals album. I wonder if anyone will be nerdy enough to actually vote competently in this, or even to discuss. Oh well :(
I define the eras of the band's career as follows, anyone is free to disagree.
1. Syd Barrett Era (1964-1968)
Albums: Piper at the Gates of Dawn
Lineup: Syd Barrett (vocals, guitar), Roger Waters (bass), Rick Wright (keyboards), Nick Mason (drums). Music and lyrics predominantly by Barrett.
Piper is regarded as one of the best psychadelic albums made, but I think that "schizophrenic" might be a better word to describe it, considering both the sound of the music and Syd's mental state. Influenced by American blues and English pop, with a copious dose of Sgt. Pepper, this era is markedly seperate from their later eras, and any of us who have listened to Piper know that Floyd sans Syd would start playing much different tunes. This period in the band's career runs from their start as a group in 1964 and ends sometime in Syd's mental decline, as the other band members phased him out of public appearances. His replacement by his friend Dave Gilmour marks the end.
2. Experimental Era (1968-1970)
Albums: A Saucerful of Secrets, More, Ummagumma, Atom Heart Mother, Obscured by the Clouds
Lineup: Roger Waters (bass, vocals), Dave Gilmour (guitar, vocals), Rick Wright (keyboards, vocals), Nick Mason (drums). No predominant songwriter.
This is the period in which the band attempted to find their definitive style, coming up with mixed results. On one hand, they produced brilliant live performances (first disc of Ummagumma) and groudbreaking experimental work, and on the other a wide range of experimental failures, for example the "Atom Heart Mother Suite" and second disc of Ummagumma. Like it or hate it (most will do the latter), this is the era in which they produced, in a rough form of course, the "Pink Floyd Sound" that we know from their greatest albums of the seventies. In this era the band was most profoundly influenced by the avant-garde classical movement.
3. Breakthrough Era (1971-1975)
Albums: Meddle, Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here
Lineup: Roger Waters (bass, vocals), Dave Gilmour (guitar, vocals), Rick Wright (keyboards, vocals), Nick Mason (drums). No predominant songwriter.
This is the era in which Floyd became Floyd. Their experiments with sound in the years before had not been in vain, as the complex, multi-layered sound that was dominated by synthesizers along with the normal instruments won them great success. The styles of their songwriters, Waters, Gilmour and Wright merged into a polished collaborative sound. With Waters' distnctive bass lines, Gilmour's unique blues guitar, Wright's haunting keyboard melodies and harmonic textures, and Mason's sharp, precise drumming, their music became much mellower than the harsh sounds of, say Atom Heart Mother. This was accentuated by philosophical lyrics, as well as the voice of Dave Gilmour, who became the band's dominant singer.
4. Roger Waters Era (1976-1985)
Albums: Animals, The Wall, The Final Cut
Lineup: Roger Waters (bass, vocals), Dave Gilmour (guitar, vocals), Rick Wright (keyboards up until the middle of The Wall sessions), Nick Mason (drums). Music and lyrics predominantly by Roger Waters.
Wish You Were Here, was, unfortunately, the band's collaborative apex, and afterwards Roger Waters began to assume more creative control of the band's direction. His style is most noted for lyrics of heavy social commentary. Animals saw a fusion of the two styles, with both Waters' social lyrics and the rest of the band's textured sound. His "dictatorship", as some have put it, began during sessions for The Wall, and culminated with the expulsion of Rick Wright from the band at Waters' impetus. During this era, the music became more guitar-based, at the expense of the keyboards and saxaphone, which became background textures. The music, however, was as fully nuanced as ever, with a full orchestra taking parts in both The Wall and The Final Cut. In the former, Waters' lyrics and concepts propelled the music toward the height of a theatrical performance. The latter, however, featured songs that were for the most part sparsely arranged and had only Waters' voice with one exception; this was reflective of the level of his creative control over the band at that point, although tensions between him and Gilmour had reached such a high level that he was often the only one in the studio. It was eventually labeled "A Roger Waters album performed by Pink Floyd".
5. Dave Gilmour Era (1987-1995)
Albums: A Momentary Lapse of Reason, The Division Bell
Lineup: Dave Gilmour (guitar, vocals), Rick Wright (keyboards), Nick Mason (drums). Music and lyrics was written in a hodgepodge collaboration including Dave Gilmour, his wife Polly Samson, and various professional songwriters from outside the band.
Roger Waters departed the band in 1985, describing it as a "spent force creatively". When Gilmour and Mason decided to ciontinue on without him, this caused a great deal of legal wrangling, but they finally won the rights to the name and their first Waters-less album was released in 1987. Because Waters had been the main songwriter for so long, the band was forced to call on outside help, a move that was heavily criticized by many old fans. Nick Mason hardly played at all on Momentary Lapse, and Rick Wright was only rehired after the sessions were completed, leading many to regard it as a Dave Gilmour solo effort in much the same way The Final Cut is a Roger Waters solo effort. Their next and last album, The Division Bell, was somewhat a return to form with a mellow sound resembling that of the seventies heyday, and Rick Wright made his first creative contributions to the band in 20 years. This is unfortunately the last we've seen of the band in the studio, with an occasional live performance, the best of which was their reunion with Roger Waters at Live 8 in 2005. It doesn't sound like we'll be hearing much more from old Pink, though...
I define the eras of the band's career as follows, anyone is free to disagree.
1. Syd Barrett Era (1964-1968)
Albums: Piper at the Gates of Dawn
Lineup: Syd Barrett (vocals, guitar), Roger Waters (bass), Rick Wright (keyboards), Nick Mason (drums). Music and lyrics predominantly by Barrett.
Piper is regarded as one of the best psychadelic albums made, but I think that "schizophrenic" might be a better word to describe it, considering both the sound of the music and Syd's mental state. Influenced by American blues and English pop, with a copious dose of Sgt. Pepper, this era is markedly seperate from their later eras, and any of us who have listened to Piper know that Floyd sans Syd would start playing much different tunes. This period in the band's career runs from their start as a group in 1964 and ends sometime in Syd's mental decline, as the other band members phased him out of public appearances. His replacement by his friend Dave Gilmour marks the end.
2. Experimental Era (1968-1970)
Albums: A Saucerful of Secrets, More, Ummagumma, Atom Heart Mother, Obscured by the Clouds
Lineup: Roger Waters (bass, vocals), Dave Gilmour (guitar, vocals), Rick Wright (keyboards, vocals), Nick Mason (drums). No predominant songwriter.
This is the period in which the band attempted to find their definitive style, coming up with mixed results. On one hand, they produced brilliant live performances (first disc of Ummagumma) and groudbreaking experimental work, and on the other a wide range of experimental failures, for example the "Atom Heart Mother Suite" and second disc of Ummagumma. Like it or hate it (most will do the latter), this is the era in which they produced, in a rough form of course, the "Pink Floyd Sound" that we know from their greatest albums of the seventies. In this era the band was most profoundly influenced by the avant-garde classical movement.
3. Breakthrough Era (1971-1975)
Albums: Meddle, Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here
Lineup: Roger Waters (bass, vocals), Dave Gilmour (guitar, vocals), Rick Wright (keyboards, vocals), Nick Mason (drums). No predominant songwriter.
This is the era in which Floyd became Floyd. Their experiments with sound in the years before had not been in vain, as the complex, multi-layered sound that was dominated by synthesizers along with the normal instruments won them great success. The styles of their songwriters, Waters, Gilmour and Wright merged into a polished collaborative sound. With Waters' distnctive bass lines, Gilmour's unique blues guitar, Wright's haunting keyboard melodies and harmonic textures, and Mason's sharp, precise drumming, their music became much mellower than the harsh sounds of, say Atom Heart Mother. This was accentuated by philosophical lyrics, as well as the voice of Dave Gilmour, who became the band's dominant singer.
4. Roger Waters Era (1976-1985)
Albums: Animals, The Wall, The Final Cut
Lineup: Roger Waters (bass, vocals), Dave Gilmour (guitar, vocals), Rick Wright (keyboards up until the middle of The Wall sessions), Nick Mason (drums). Music and lyrics predominantly by Roger Waters.
Wish You Were Here, was, unfortunately, the band's collaborative apex, and afterwards Roger Waters began to assume more creative control of the band's direction. His style is most noted for lyrics of heavy social commentary. Animals saw a fusion of the two styles, with both Waters' social lyrics and the rest of the band's textured sound. His "dictatorship", as some have put it, began during sessions for The Wall, and culminated with the expulsion of Rick Wright from the band at Waters' impetus. During this era, the music became more guitar-based, at the expense of the keyboards and saxaphone, which became background textures. The music, however, was as fully nuanced as ever, with a full orchestra taking parts in both The Wall and The Final Cut. In the former, Waters' lyrics and concepts propelled the music toward the height of a theatrical performance. The latter, however, featured songs that were for the most part sparsely arranged and had only Waters' voice with one exception; this was reflective of the level of his creative control over the band at that point, although tensions between him and Gilmour had reached such a high level that he was often the only one in the studio. It was eventually labeled "A Roger Waters album performed by Pink Floyd".
5. Dave Gilmour Era (1987-1995)
Albums: A Momentary Lapse of Reason, The Division Bell
Lineup: Dave Gilmour (guitar, vocals), Rick Wright (keyboards), Nick Mason (drums). Music and lyrics was written in a hodgepodge collaboration including Dave Gilmour, his wife Polly Samson, and various professional songwriters from outside the band.
Roger Waters departed the band in 1985, describing it as a "spent force creatively". When Gilmour and Mason decided to ciontinue on without him, this caused a great deal of legal wrangling, but they finally won the rights to the name and their first Waters-less album was released in 1987. Because Waters had been the main songwriter for so long, the band was forced to call on outside help, a move that was heavily criticized by many old fans. Nick Mason hardly played at all on Momentary Lapse, and Rick Wright was only rehired after the sessions were completed, leading many to regard it as a Dave Gilmour solo effort in much the same way The Final Cut is a Roger Waters solo effort. Their next and last album, The Division Bell, was somewhat a return to form with a mellow sound resembling that of the seventies heyday, and Rick Wright made his first creative contributions to the band in 20 years. This is unfortunately the last we've seen of the band in the studio, with an occasional live performance, the best of which was their reunion with Roger Waters at Live 8 in 2005. It doesn't sound like we'll be hearing much more from old Pink, though...