Following the hugely successful album Dark Side of the Moon, two years later, Pink Floyd released "Wish You Were Here". This is my favourite Floyd album, chiefly owing to the many happy times I have played it since receiving it as a birthday present from my elder brother.
Tracks
- Shine On You Crazy Diamond
- Welcome To The Machine
- Have A Cigar
- Wish You Were Here
- Shine On You Crazy Diamond
Artists
1975, Harvest
This album was dedicated to Syd, the original founding member who created the band, but who was kicked out in 1967 because of extreme behavioural problems. Apparently he would appear on stage in a total trance, or be fixed strumming the same chord on his guitar. This was probably due to the amount and frequency of LSD he was taking. At the end of 1967, he suffered a nervous breakdown, and his career as a musician never recovered, though he did make two solo albums in the early 70s.
The tracks Shine On You Crazy Diamond are clearly and obviously about Syd, The original recounting the history of Syd's being with the band, and the reprise giving an update on the situation at the time this album was being made. Ironically, there is a story that Syd turned up in the studio while Wish You Were Here was being recorded, but he was unrecognisable, being bald, and having put on weight.
The tracks Welcome To The Machine and Have A Cigar are both about the record industry, and how easily a young star like Syd can be corrupted. It is thought that the pressures of recording The Piper At The Gates of Dawn brought on Syd's problems. Many punters wondered whether in releasing Wish You Were Here, Floyd were biting the hand that feeds them. The artwork also contains material that is related: the album cover is a picture of two business men, or possibly gangsters, shaking hands, one of whom is on fire. Is the man on fire meant to be Syd, or perhaps a stressed out producer? The reverse cover has a picture of faceless man in a suit, holding a record in one hand, and having a briefcase plastered with Pink Floyd's promotional stickers. Is this meant to be a record company executive?
The title track is actually expressing the sentiment of Roger Waters and David Gilmour missing Syd's presence in the band - they actually are wishing that he is there. In the early years, Syd was the band's lyricist and composer, and his influence strongly shaped the material that Floyd had been writing after he left the band. "We're like two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl" is a statement about missing Syd's creative input into the repertoire.
In many ways, this album was looking to get closure on the Syd Barrett story, so that the band could move on creatively and spiritually. Note that the following albums, Animals, The Wall and The Final Cut before the band split, were all Roger Waters' concepts and creations.
The Music
Shine On You Crazy Diamond stands out as a
master piece. The
formula here was adopted by other bands later, notably
Dire Straits. The fairly simple
guitar intro is developed, much along the lines of
variations on a theme. This leads into a
static pause, then broken by a sequence of four incongruent
guitar notes, which don't seem to fit the key of the underlying background
keyboard chord. This results in a
key change that starts the tune moving again, more variations on a theme, and then queueing the first verse.
The reprise contains yet more variations, going in the direction of jazzy impromptu.
There is a criticism of both Welcome To The Machine and Have A Cigar, that they are boring to listen to and uninspiring musically. But, that is the point! This is irony adding to the lyrics, demonstrating how uninspiring the act of pleasing record companies can be for the musicians.
Wish You Were Here is a simple track with easy guitar chords to pick up, strum and sing along to (see erikbjo's writeup).
Source: Pink Floyd Interviews DVD on Wish You Were Here.