New Pink Floyd album coming out in October?

[Shawn]

Echoes. That's the primary reason it ranks so high. Plus...One Of These Days, Pillow of Winds and Fearless.

I like Seamus, it's a lark and I don't mind a sense of humor now and again, sure is more fun than anything Waters would contribute post-77.

Any of those albums could change order depending on what kind of mood I'm in. When I first did the list I thought about having WYWH and Meddle tied for first place, but then I just flipped a coin in my mind.

Edited July 9, 2014 by Shawn

[Guy Berger]

Whatever Pink Floyd I end up listening to in the next few decades is likely to be dominated by concert recordings from their peak as a live act (1969-73).

[Shawn]

There is some great live Floyd from '74 as well.

[A Lark Ascending]

I have a Sept 1971 concert that came out shortly before 'Meddle' (titled 'Meddled' by whoever put this version together) - especially intriguing for me as I remember listening to it on the radio (and trying to record it on a cassette recorder with a mike up against the radio speaker! Gave up after several members of the family burst in the room and spoilt it!).

I'm probably that very rare beast - someone who puts 'Atom Heart Mother' at the top of my personal list. They were still a very experimental band and I love the 'all-over-the-place' nature of the record - 'Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast' normally gets hammered by the critics but I really like the pastoralism of the piece. Some of Gilmour's guitar on the main 'suite' is the man at his poised best. I get the impression that that experimental side got pulled in after the experiment with the album played on domestic implements (!). DSotM was a much more conventional record.

'Meddle' is my other favourite. Had that pre-ordered in the record shop at the time. I was living in Cornwall at the time so the feedback sections on 'Echos' always remind me of the gulls wheeling and gliding over the local cliffs. It always gets a play on the iPod when I'm walking a beach on my annual trip down there (two more weeks!!!!).

Not claiming they are the best; but they retain a nostalgic hold on me, as much for what they evoke in my brain as any musical merits.

[Shawn]

The version of Echoes from Live At Pompeii is a total ass-kicker, a more visceral arrangement but no less interesting.

I dig Atom Heart Mother, I just have to be in the right mood for it. Ummagumma I think is underrated, the live disc is great (and the Saucerful material works better) and I'm really fond of Gilmour's "The Narrow Way" from the studio album.

[A Lark Ascending]

Ummagumma I think is underrated, the live disc is great (and the Saucerful material works better) and I'm really fond of Gilmour's "The Narrow Way" from the studio album.

Agree about that live disc. I knew that before I knew the original album versions so they always sound the 'correct' ones to my ears!

All of disc 2 strikes me as interesting experiments that don't invite regular listening but are nice to hear every now and then....except the Mason piece (zzzzzz)!

'Granchester Meadows' is one of their loveliest ballads, sound effects and all....and I always loved the Ron Geesin thing that followed!

I really like 'Relics' too - it was the place I first heard the earlier Pink Floyd. Some of the tracks there were hard to get in the early 70s being lost on long deleted singles or those strange movie albums.

[Guy Berger]

There is some great live Floyd from '74 as well.

Yeah but by then, the first derivative was negative.

[RogerF]

I think these YouTube clips illustrate perfectly why I prefer early over middle/late Floyd - that doesn't mean that after Wish You Were Here or Animals they weren't great, it's just when I lost interest. Basically by the mid seventies they had morphed into a different group (IMO).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSsjxbRxgqY Saucerful of Secrets Secrets Live at Pompeii (1972)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMpGdG27K9o Careful with that axe Eugene (1973)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTfDUyUkVYE Astronomy Domine (1967) (the talking/interview bits are so ludicrously funny)

[Scott Dolan]

So bands aren't allowed to evolve? We put their first album under glass and demand they sound like that forever?

[RogerF]

So bands aren't allowed to evolve? We put their first album under glass and demand they sound like that forever?

Yes they certainly are. But do we have to evolve with them? I prefer to listen to their earlier music but I wouldn't criticise (publicly) their later works.

[Steve Reynolds]

In retrospect, my favorite Pink Floyd music is the pre-Dark Side of the Moon material. Of the later records, Animals is my favorite.

My favorites:

Obscured by Clouds

Meddle

More

Ummagumma - some weaker tracks but the peaks - Grantchester Meadows and some of the live stuff - make it a very worthwhile recording - plus it was my first Pink Floyd LP (double LP) and I had the 8 Track!!

Also - Selections from Piper at the Gates of Dawn if it includes See Emily Play which is my favorite Floyd tune ever.

Edited July 10, 2014 by Steve Reynolds

[Shawn]

There is some great live Floyd from '74 as well.

Yeah but by then, the first derivative was negative.

Huh?

[Scott Dolan]

I'm glad I wasn't the only one who didn't get that...

BTW, I'll give my own little bit of love to both Umma Gumma and Atom Heart Mother. Both albums were incredibly uneven, IMO. But, their high points were quite high.

I admit I'm not fond of most of their live stuff from the time. They always struck me as a band who loved to noodle, but were only decent at it. Kind of like a person who can juggle, but only a little bit. I think they finally found their stride with that long bridge on Echoes. Then they turned immediately towards stronger song writing, and that's when they figured out who they were, IMO.

Oddly enough, their two most successful albums from the 70's were the two that contained no extended workouts.

Edited July 10, 2014 by Scott Dolan

[Guy Berger]

There is some great live Floyd from '74 as well.

Yeah but by then, the first derivative was negative.

Huh?

They'd peaked and were getting worse.

[mjzee]

It was a calculus reference. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derivative

[Chuck Nessa]

Great news. I have never had the opportunity of buying a release by them. I hope I'm not disappointed.

[Shawn]

Great news. I have never had the opportunity of buying a release by them. I hope I'm not disappointed.

The award for "grouchy old man post of the day" goes to...

[Chuck Nessa]

I wasn't grouchy - only truthful.

When these records were released, I was managing record stores and heard them all - one by one for hours and hours. I never felt the need to purchase one. So, stick it somewhere and let me know if you get a rash.

Edited July 11, 2014 by Chuck Nessa

[medjuck]

I saw them in Hyde park in (I think) 1968. Was Syd still with them then? I was more impressed at the time with a new group that opened for them because they had a flute player who sounded like Roland Kirk or Denny Zeitlin-- though not as good. (Yes it was Jethro Tull and the name stuck with me so that I was able to win tickets to see John Lee Hooker when I identified the group on a call-in radio show back in Toronto. It was the flute player that I recognized.)

[Shawn]

I saw them in Hyde park in (I think) 1968. Was Syd still with them then? I was more impressed at the time with a new group that opened for them because they had a flute player who sounded like Roland Kirk or Denny Zeitlin-- though not as good. (Yes it was Jethro Tull and the name stuck with me so that I was able to win tickets to see John Lee Hooker when I identified the group on a call-in radio show back in Toronto. It was the flute player that I recognized.)

Very cool! Ian became a much better flute player over the years. I wish I could time travel back and catch some of those shows....

Syd was already gone before they embarked on that tour, so you saw them with Gilmour.

[Scott Dolan]

I wasn't grouchy - only truthful.

When these records were released, I was managing record stores and heard them all - one by one for hours and hours. I never felt the need to purchase one. So, stick it somewhere and let me know if you get a rash.

Not sure why you feel the need to thread crap, Chuck.

You're better than that.

[Shawn]

It was my fault, I should have kept my mouth shut. As usual.

[Teasing the Korean]

Frankly, I like The Pink Floyd much more than Pink Floyd.

[Scott Dolan]

Not me. I still don't get the fascination with Pipers. It's kind of like the Bitches Brew of Rock. People swear by them, but I've never made heads or tails of either.

Although, at least in Pipers case I won't turn it off out of irritation.

[A Lark Ascending]

BTW, I'll give my own little bit of love to both Umma Gumma and Atom Heart Mother. Both albums were incredibly uneven, IMO. But, their high points were quite high.

I admit I'm not fond of most of their live stuff from the time. They always struck me as a band who loved to noodle, but were only decent at it. Kind of like a person who can juggle, but only a little bit. I think they finally found their stride with that long bridge on Echoes. Then they turned immediately towards stronger song writing, and that's when they figured out who they were, IMO.

Oddly enough, their two most successful albums from the 70's were the two that contained no extended workouts.

Again this is all perception, but what appeals to me about AHM is the unevenness (not in quality but texture and shape). Whereas DSotM sound like a more conventional album to me with a built in 'hit' (you almost sense a record company guiding them towards a more commercial approach, something I'm sure they would have bristled at, and yet...). Not knocking that but at the time I loved it for a few weeks and then found it's attraction wear off quickly. Now that happens with everything at some point - I just find I need to leave it longer than the earlier records between plays to really enjoy it.. What I like about 'WYWH' is the way the strong songwriting is balanced with the extended structures.

I agree that PF were not the greatest of rock improvisers - nowhere close to King Crimson or the Grateful Dead. But what they were brilliant at in their extended pieces was establishing a sense of mood. The long tracks on 'WYWH' work because of the effective textures that build up the moods rather than any particularly clever playing.