#209 on Rolling Stone's Top 500 Albums Of All Time List
Pink Floyd (during this album):
Roger Waters - Vocals, Bass
David Gilmour - Lead Guitar, Vocals
Richard Wright - Keyboards
Nick Mason - Drums
After
The Dark Side Of The Moon, Pink Floyd had reached mainstream success, attaining fame, money, and a large fan base. While this would make most anyone happy, it was extremely troubling for the band. When they went back into the studio to record a follow-up album, their songs were rigid and difficult to put together due to the pressure of following up a huge breakthrough album. Some songs lashed out at the music industry, while others were melancholic tributes to Syd Barret, the band's mentally deteriorating former frontman. Ironically, as they were laying the vocal dubs for one of these tracks, "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", Barret had came in the studio; the dissolving of his state of mind in front of the band may have made the album itself even more emotional.
1. Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Part 1) - It's long and worth every minute. And this is just the first part! Beginning with atmospheric noise and some light guitar, it paves its way into a undeniably melancholy mood; the four guitar notes that bring in the faster part feel amazingly emotional for such a simple melody. The guitar continues into huge crescendoes and climaxes until it falls away and we hear Water's haunting vocals: "
Remember when you were young/ You shined like the sun/ Shine on, you crazy diamond". Possibly the most beautiful part of the song... a slight laughing noise precedes "You shined like the sun", and the entire band comes together for the climax. The great vocal and instrumental melodies continue, making for a fantastic song.
5/5
2. Welcome To The Machine - This track makes exceptional use of stereo and keyboard effects to instill the feeling of a machine, and the vocals are still excellent throughout. Probably the creepiest song here, "Welcome To The Machine" is the first attack on the music business, with a more derisive feel to it then the others. Technically amazing and still rather emotionally disturbing, it stands out most of all for Roger's vocals and lyrics. It can be a bit offputting from time to time, though.
4/5
3. Have A Cigar - Another attack on the music industry, but a little less harsh... this is faced more torwards the press. One of the lines, "
By the way/ Which one's Pink?", is a joke about the time an uninformed interviewer thought Pink Floyd was the name of an actual member. The music is more upbeat, the chorus is amazingly uplifting, and the guitar is great throughout. A decent solo as well. The end section is a little boring, and the end leads directly into the next track by turning into radio noise. Nothing really wrong with this track, either.
4.5/5
4. Wish You Were Here - Phenomonal. This homage to Barret is earnest, heartfelt, and downright heart-wrenching. The most simplistic song here, and still the most beautiful. Roger writes fantastic lyrics,a nd this song is no exception. The section of, "
How I wish/ How I wish you were here/ We're just two lost souls simming in a fish bowl/ Year after year," is so evocative and beautiful, it makes an awesome climax to the song. Perfect.
5/5
5. Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Part 2) - Though this is slightly more upbeat than the first, the same formula remains, but the melodies and lyrics are different. Still, combining this and the first part as a collective makes for a beautiful listening experience.
5/5
Wish You Were Here is often overlooked for many reasons: the five track playlist, comparisons to
Dark Side Of The Moon and
The Wall, and other factors.
Wish You Were Here is far too often left behind when put up against Pink Floyd's classic albums, in my opinion, and I think that when taken as an independent project, it can be seen as near flawless. I'd say this is one of the best Floyd albums, and quintessential to their catalog, though it really depends on whether you can fathom thirteen minutes for each part of "Crazy Diamond". Since I absolutely love it, I'd give
Wish You Were Here a
5/5.
