New Pink Floyd album coming out in October?

[Scott Dolan]

OK, so since there are at least a few Floyd fans in this thread, I have to ask: what is your favorite post-Waters album from the Floydian universe?

I personally would say that, hands down, it is Amused To Death. Whatever one thinks of Waters, this album is an absolute masterpiece, IMO. But to be fair, I also think The Final Cut is a masterpiece. Though, in the case of TFC, I REALLY have to be in the mood and fully prepared to listen to it. But, Your Possible Pasts/One Of The Few/The Hero's Return/The Gunners Dream/Paranoid Eyes might be, for my money, the most amazing five song sequence of all time.

I still only own the original CD release, so I don't have When The Tigers Broke Free to mix into that.

If there are any other fans of TFC here, is it worth getting the 2004 re-issue? Seems like When The Tigers... would fit into that sequence well enough, but I've never been inclined to pull the trigger.

[Steve Reynolds]

In the days of LPs I liked The Final Cut

I've never listened to a minute of post Roger Waters Pink Floyd (sic)

[7/4]

I didn't really expect Roger Waters to be on this.

I mean...shit, of course not!

[xybert]

I'm not up with the play as to the extent of the bad blood (they sued each other from what i gather? Gross) but they have at least appeared live together recently:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUYzQaCCt2o

[Scott Dolan]

Just...fucking...awesome.

Thanks, Xybert!

I had not seen that before.

[Chuck Nessa]

Maybe y'all should just go see Jersey Boys.

[Guy Berger]

In the days of LPs I liked The Final Cut

I've never listened to a minute of post Roger Waters Pink Floyd (sic)

The Final Cut is a good album, though not unflawed. (I mean, "Not Now John"... yikes.) Less played-to-death than The Wall, and less of the glitzy bombast.

On the other hand, The Pros & Cons of Hitchhiking is one of the absolute worst albums I have ever heard - be glad you avoided it. I never had any interest in investigating any of RW's other solo work after subjecting myself to it.

Edited July 8, 2014 by Guy

[Head Man]

Rick Wright's last solo album, Broken China (1996) is quite lovely too.

BTW, for some reason I forgot to address this earlier, but count me in as another fan of the brilliant Broken China. "Quite lovely" may even be an understatement. Wright may not have been a top shelf musician, but he knew what to play, how to play it, and when.

This has got to be the quintessential "forgotten" or "overlooked" album.

......YAWN.......

You keep posting the same thing. Yawn.

Sorry, but I have to agree with this. C'mon, Head Man. You're better than this. If you don't wish to add anything to the conversation, then why keep clicking on the thread?

I can appreciate your apathy, but is there really a need to restate it?

You're right...sorry. I'll go back to sleep.

It's just that I have a blind spot regarding the Pink Floyd, even though they were everywhere when I was watching live music in the 1960s. In fact Roger Waters lived just round the corner from where I worked in North London. His house was the only one in the street with an E-Type Jaguar outside.

I just think they've had their time and should retire gracefully.....like a few other groups of the same vintage I might add.

[RogerF]

Rick Wright's last solo album, Broken China (1996) is quite lovely too.

BTW, for some reason I forgot to address this earlier, but count me in as another fan of the brilliant Broken China. "Quite lovely" may even be an understatement. Wright may not have been a top shelf musician, but he knew what to play, how to play it, and when.

This has got to be the quintessential "forgotten" or "overlooked" album.

......YAWN.......

You keep posting the same thing. Yawn.

Sorry, but I have to agree with this. C'mon, Head Man. You're better than this. If you don't wish to add anything to the conversation, then why keep clicking on the thread?

I can appreciate your apathy, but is there really a need to restate it?

You're right...sorry. I'll go back to sleep.

It's just that I have a blind spot regarding the Pink Floyd, even though they were everywhere when I was watching live music in the 1960s. In fact Roger Waters lived just round the corner from where I worked in North London. His house was the only one in the street with an E-Type Jaguar outside.

I just think they've had their time and should retire gracefully.....like a few other groups of the same vintage I might add.

In defence of Head Man's proposition that bands should retire gracefully, and speaking as a very early Floyd fan (I saw them play at a college gig before they were famous, albeit just after Syd had departed, and yes they were amazing) I went off them at the time of The Wall and although I bought the album virtually never played it and then sold it. I now only ever listen - very occasionally - to pre-Wall Floyd. I just don't find any of these superannuated rock stars very interesting any more (this is down to my taste not their respective abilities). The possible exception to this might be King Crimson but only because I find Fripp (and yes Fripp IS King Crimson - read Sid Smith's OOP book In the Court of King Crimson if you can find a copy) endlessly fascinating. But then I tend to listen to mainly jazz now.

Edited July 8, 2014 by RogerF

[Scott Dolan]

Well, when The Division Bell was released in 1994 it sold a half million units just in the U.S. alone. And well over 5 million people attended their concerts on that tour. So there is a ton of folks out there that disagree whole-heartedly with you both.

And Guy, you're doing yourself a serious disservice refusing to listen to Amused To Death.

[7/4]

In the days of LPs I liked The Final Cut

I've never listened to a minute of post Roger Waters Pink Floyd (sic)

The Final Cut is a good album, though not unflawed. (I mean, "Not Now John"... yikes.) Less played-to-death than The Wall, and less of the glitzy bombast.

On the other hand, The Pros & Cons of Hitchhiking is one of the absolute worst albums I have ever heard - be glad you avoided it. I never had any interest in investigating any of RW's other solo work after subjecting myself to it.

Didn't think too much of the Wall (although there's a couple of catchy tunes there, I expect a great album) or The Division Bell.

Edited July 8, 2014 by 7/4

[Scott Dolan]

I've tried to do Pros & Cons, but I just don't find it a compelling listen. I feel the same about Radio KAOS.

[Teasing the Korean]

Just because one whole member leaves, for whatever reason, that doesn't mean the band no longer exists. That just silly.

No, it depends on the group dynamics, the roles of the members, and who leaves. Some groups can maintain a thread of consistency and identity as members come and go. Others cannot; the Byrds come to mind.

[Scott Dolan]

Just because one whole member leaves, for whatever reason, that doesn't mean the band no longer exists. That just silly.

No, it depends on the group dynamics, the roles of the members, and who leaves. Some groups can maintain a thread of consistency and identity as members come and go. Others cannot; the Byrds come to mind.

Fair enough.

But Pink Floyd doesn't qualify even using those parameters.

Pink Floyd was best know for the psychedelic polyphonic synthesizer sound that underscored much of their music, brought to you by Rick Wright. They were also know for some of their most popular singles like Time, Money, Wish You Were Here, and Comfortably Numb. Three of them strictly David Gilmour vocals, and the other still had him singing half of them. Not to mention a song containing two of his most popular and memorable guitar solos.

Aside from Another Brick In The Wall Pt. 2, and songwriting credits, Waters was never a focal point. Nor all that memorable.

Hell, even the courts came to that conclusion when they awarded Gilmour/Wright/Mason the right to continue using the name Pink Floyd.

Edited July 8, 2014 by Scott Dolan

[Rooster_Ties]

I've tried to do Pros & Cons, but I just don't find it a compelling listen. I feel the same about Radio KAOS.

I used to like The Wall, The Final Cut, and some of Roger's solo output better (20 years ago), but personally have little use for any of it any more. I know plenty of others see value in it (and I respect that), but I can't abide all the speak-singing, and the musical content (i.e. musicality) just isn't there for me either -- like it is with most of what Dave's been involved with since the mid-80's.

That isn't to say everything Floyd 2.0 did is equally fulfilling for me (and some of it is a mixed bag), but almost nothing Roger's been involved with since 1979(!) connects with me any more (not even in the slightest). Nothing he (Waters) does sounds even remotely like the Pink Floyd (and Floyd-related) projects before or since.

[Scott Dolan]

I've tried to do Pros & Cons, but I just don't find it a compelling listen. I feel the same about Radio KAOS.

I used to like The Wall, The Final Cut, and some of Roger's solo output better (20 years ago), but personally have little use for any of it any more. I know plenty of others see value in it (and I respect that), but I can't abide all the speak-singing, and the musical content (i.e. musicality) just isn't there for me either -- like it is with most of what Dave's been involved with since the mid-80's.

That isn't to say everything Floyd 2.0 did is equally fulfilling for me (and some of it is a mixed bag), but almost nothing Roger's been involved with since 1979(!) connects with me any more (not even in the slightest). Nothing he (Waters) does sounds even remotely like the Pink Floyd (and Floyd-related) projects before or since.

The Wall was my very first Pink Floyd album, so it still holds a special place in my ear. As I said before, The Final Cut is actually quite brilliant, but has to be taken sparingly, and in very small doses. I probably haven't heard it in at least a decade.

As for post-'79 Waters, Amused To Death most certainly sounds VERY Floydian. And unlike everything he had done starting with The Wall, ATD is actually more a biting modern sociopolitical commentary, rather than a dark and depressing WWII remembrance. I think that's why it connected far better with its audience.

Not to mention one of the greatest headphone albums of all time.

Edited July 8, 2014 by Scott Dolan

[A Lark Ascending]

This 'new' album does sound a bit like warmed-up left-overs; but Bubble and Squeak can be quite tasty.

Pink Floyd are one of those bands that illustrate perfectly how impossible it is to make catch-all judgements on music - the context of your listening is everything.

My 'classic' PF runs over 'Atom Heart Mother' and 'Meddle' (with 'Relics' and 'Umma Gumma' bought around the same time); I went back to the earlier records and came to really like them but more as run-ins. DSotM I enjoyed when it came out but I missed the more 'stretched', less song-centred music of the period I favoured. As a result I never heard the subsequent records till much later. I didn't get 'WYWH' until the 90s - have to admit that is as good as anything they did. Didn't hear 'Animals' until a year or so back (nice enough record). I've never heard 'The Wall' in its entirely or the last record. The things from the 90s pass the time but don't grab me by the throat.

Yet someone who came up with them in their earlier days or someone who clued in with 'The Wall' (or the 90s things) is bound to hear it all very differently.

I'd like to think Gilmour will come up with a compelling album; but, for my ears, I suspect rock musical practices have moved on too far to recapture that spacey pastoralism that hooked me in in the early 70s.

[Scott Dolan]

Last two minutes of this one are about as classic Floyd as it gets.

This 'new' album does sound a bit like warmed-up left-overs; but Bubble and Squeak can be quite tasty.

Pink Floyd are one of those bands that illustrate perfectly how impossible it is to make catch-all judgements on music - the context of your listening is everything.

My 'classic' PF runs over 'Atom Heart Mother' and 'Meddle' (with 'Relics' and 'Umma Gumma' bought around the same time); I went back to the earlier records and came to really like them but more as run-ins. DSotM I enjoyed when it came out but I missed the more 'stretched', less song-centred music of the period I favoured. As a result I never heard the subsequent records till much later. I didn't get 'WYWH' until the 90s - have to admit that is as good as anything they did. Didn't hear 'Animals' until a year or so back (nice enough record). I've never heard 'The Wall' in its entirely or the last record. The things from the 90s pass the time but don't grab me by the throat.

Yet someone who came up with them in their earlier days or someone who clued in with 'The Wall' (or the 90s things) is bound to hear it all very differently.

I'd like to think Gilmour will come up with a compelling album; but, for my ears, I suspect rock musical practices have moved on too far to recapture that spacey pastoralism that hooked me in in the early 70s.

Not only is Wish You Were Here my favorite Floyd album, but it is my favorite Rock album of all time. And has been for about three decades now.

[Scott Dolan]

And just to underscore how all over the map I am when it comes to Floyd, here are my top five albums, in order:

1. Wish You Were Here (by a mile. Maybe two)

2. The Wall

3. Momentary Lapse Of Reason

4. Animals

5. Dark Side Of The Moon

I wanted to squeeze Meddle in there, but couldn't. And 3 and 4 could switch positions depending on the day and my mood.

And my top five "post-Floyd" (solo, or actual) albums, in order:

1. Momentary Lapse Of Reason

2. Amused To Death (Waters)

3. Broken China (Wright)

4. About Face (Gilmour)

5. The Division Bell

[RogerF]

Yet someone who came up with them in their earlier days or someone who clued in with 'The Wall' (or the 90s things) is bound to hear it all very differently.

This is so true! I was an early Floyd fan so for me the quintessential PF album is A Saucerful of Secrets. However, yes I can appreciate that for anyone discovering them say around Wish You Were Here or The Wall might hear them quite differently. I can see this because I discovered Miles late on in his career, so for me it was In a Silent Way or Bitches Brew but for anyone who heard him much earlier it would be Kind of Blue or Birth of the Cool.

[Shawn]

I first "discovered" Pink Floyd in 1978 or 79, a local radio station that I listened to played the entire Dark Side of the Moon album and I had a musical epiphany. I then took the usual approach of bugging my Mother incessantly until she got tired of hearing about it and bought the album for me.

My second purchase was The Wall several months later. The Wall was the first "concept album" I had come across and I must admit at the time I considered it an untouchable masterpiece (I was 9). As the years have passed my opinion of The Wall has changed many times, currently I think it's an interesting experiment and about 1/2 of the album is great.

My favorites currently:

1. Meddle

2. Wish You Were Here

3. Animals

4. Dark Side of the Moon

5. Obscured By Clouds

Basically all the albums they released between 1971 & 1977. (The Wall would come in at #6)

For the record, I like most of their albums.

Edited July 8, 2014 by Shawn

[Scott Dolan]

Wow!

Meddle over Wish You Were Here!

Well, OK.

I guess everything they did back then was too good to truly mount any kind of argument for one over the other.

Nice list. And if I could only have five Pink Floyd albums, I surely wouldn't bitch if those were the five.

[Rooster_Ties]

My top five...

1) Animals

2) Wish You Were Here

3) Dark Side (reluctantly, it's overplayed)

4) Obscured By Clouds (most underrated PF)

5) The Early Singles (CD from Shine On box)

[Shawn]

Obscured By Clouds is great. The song "Childhood's End" (written by David Gilmour) basically points the way toward Dark Side and all the albums that followed it.

[Scott Dolan]

My top five...

1) Animals

2) Wish You Were Here

3) Dark Side (reluctantly, it's overplayed)

4) Obscured By Clouds (most underrated PF)

5) The Early Singles (CD from Shine On box)

With all due respect to Shawn, who is obviously a huge PF fan, I would likely accept Animals over Wish You Were Here more than I would Meddle.

But, as I said before, pretty much everything they did during that era was so good it would be hard to argue.

Meddle WAS a phenomenal album. Seamus kinda killed it, though. Would you not agree, Shawn?

There was no Seamus on either Animals or Wish You Were Here. Even Pigs On A Wing made for great bookends even though they weren't all that impressive musically.

Edited July 9, 2014 by Scott Dolan