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Sunday, August 1, 2021
KV - Brief Look at Pink Floyd.
And Syd Barrett
Syd Barrett was originally the main song writer in Pink Floyd, but sadly he became very ill after taking too many drugs and had to leave the band. Syd Barrett's close friend, David Gilmour, then took over on guitar and some of the singing, but he was he wasn't really a songwriter, like the rest of Pink Floyd at the time. They were excellent composers, though, and made some great music, which tended to be experimental.
After a while Roger Waters started to became a good lyricist and would to add the words to Pink Floyd’s compositions, but eventually he started writing the music too, and he went on to pen some of Pink Floyd’s most successful albums.
Dark Side of the Moon was their first massive success, but their manager invested the profits from the album badly leading to losses, and so they needed another hit album, and as Roger Waters was their chief songwriter, the responsibility fell on him.
Roger Waters lost his father in WW2 which had greatly upset him, so his lyrics were often troubled, gloomy, and mixed with dark politics. Roger Waters did say he may have been doing therapy on himself when writing his songs. But the rest of the band started to want to do more uplifting songs as well after a while, and so a rift began to open up between them and Roger Waters. But Waters was very strong minded and so would get his way, and so he went on to pen many of the best songs on Wish You Was Here, which the band did like, but they had reservations about some of the later albums, especially Another Brick in the Wall, and then the Final Cut, which followed after. In fact, on the sleeve of the Final Cut, it said, written my Roger Waters and performed by Pink Floyd, as now massive divisions had occurred within the band. It was their last album together.
As Roger Waters was the main song writer, I considered him to be the genius behind the band, but his solo output never matched that of the Pink Floyd. And it turns out that the rest of the band would often tell Roger Waters to rewrite bits of his songs, plus they would add their own interpretation to his music, and it was this that really drove Pink Floyd’s characteristic epic sound.
Although I had under estimated how much the rest of Pink Floyd had driven their sound, I also had no idea how much the producers had helped to craft their sound too. I thought it was Roger Waters' idea to put the disco beat into the songs on Another Brick in the Wall, after all, he had written them, but it was actually Bob Ezrin's idea, the producer.
It's fascinating to hear how Another Brick in the Wall Part 2 was made. Bob Ezrin had also produced Alice Cooper's, Schools Out, and had put the children's choir in that too.
As an aside, David Gilmour said he did not get on with Roger Waters politics, but at the last British election he voted for Jeremy Corbyn. I think he just didn't get on with Roger Waters gloomy themes on so many albums, and the rest of the band wanted to do something different too.
Story Of Pink Floyd’s Most CONTROVERSIAL/MISUNDERSTOOD Hit as 70s turned to 80s | Professor of Rock
The story of Pink Floyd’s controversial #1 song Another Brick in the Wall part 2 from their 1979 masterpiece The Wall. How producer Bob Ezrin talked Roger Waters and David Gilmour into mixing Disco with Prog Rock and how they incorporated children’s voices into the landmark recording.
After making Animals, an album where Roger Waters started introducing politics, because he was so angry about the Falklands war, the band decided to make solo albums. Nick Mason made, Fictitious Sports, an album where Carla Bley, a jazz musician, wrote all the songs and did all the singing. When the press asked him, how can he call it a Nick Mason album, he said, it's his album, so he can do what he wants with it. A good answer.
Richard Wright and David Gilmour went off and made their solo albums too, and Roger Waters wrote The Wall, but he realised he had an epic album on his hands, and felt it was too good to do outside of Pink Floyd, so he organised for the band to record his album. But when the band went into the studio to record it, they realised all the songs were already finished and all they had to do was play on it. They were very talented musicians so it must have been very dispiriting to feel they had become little more than session musicians, as the fun comes from being creative. It was at this point that deep chasms began to emerge between Roger Waters and the rest of the band
Anyway, David Gilmour contributed so much to Comfortably Numb that it was credited as a Waters /Gilmour song. It was a stand out track on The Wall, but it was only when Pink Floyd performed it live that the fans realised what a true masterpiece it was. Pink Floyd had carefully juxtaposed between their other superb songs, and with the light show, the song truly shone. Listen to how David Gilmour adds a lighter touch, a reprieve from Roger Waters' darkness. It works extremely well.
Just after releasing animals Pink Floyd went on tour, and at one concert a fan was going mad at the front of the stage, making a terrible racket. Roger Waters got increasingly stressed, and eventually he went over to the fan and spat in his face. The press went berzerk, even though punk bands and their fans were spitting all over each other at concerts at this time. Roger got very upset, but then went on to pen The Wall. When Pink Floyd performed The Wall live, they slowly constructed a wall on stage between the band and the audience.
The Wall was turned into a film and Alan Parker was the producer. Roger Waters is well known for being very strong willed, perhaps even infamously so, but Alan Parsons locked him out of the studio when making the film. When Roger Waters finally saw the finished film, he said it was too gloomy for him even.
Roger Waters explains the arguments over 'Comfortably Numb'
David Gilmour seemed to feel a bit guilty about taking over from his friend, Syd Barrett, when he became seriously ill, but I don't think anyone else would not have taken the same opportunity if they were in same position. Syd was too ill to perform now anyway. It was David Gilmour that worked so hard to get Syd Barrett back into the recoding studio to record his solo albums, and he put lot of effort into the arrangements too. When Pink Floyd released a best of album, David Gilmour fought really hard to get four of Barrett's songs on the album, where the record company wanted only three. This was because they were great songs, but also to get Syd the royalties as he was too ill to ever work again. Syd never spent his money, though, and just became a recluse. He reverted back to using his real name, Roger Barrett, gave up music, and got back into art, some DIY, and gardening.
Pink Floyd started out as a rhythm and blues band, but their lead guitarist and singer at the time wasn't doing well at college so his father dragged him out of the band. Syd then took over lead guitar and vocals, but by the time of Pink Floyd's first album, Piper at the Gates of Dawn, Syd had dropped the American accent and the blues beats, and adopted a prestine English accent. It sounded fabulous! Apparently, this was a first as most British bands up until that point sang in either American accents, like the Stones did, or in Mid Atlantic accents, like the Beatles. The album shook everyone as it sounded so different, especially with its stunning psychedelic pop songs. Personally, for me, Syd Barrett's Pink Floyd was my favourite. And it certainly influenced David Bowie who sung in an English accent too.
If you listen to Anold Layne you can hear Pink Floyd’s characteristic epic sound. I don't think Richard Wright, Pink Floyd's keyboard player, got the credit he deserved for his contribution to Pink Floyd's epic sound, although it's being recognised now.
This song was only released years after it was recorded, and it doesn’t immediately hit you as a pop song when you first hear it, but it's considered to be one of Syd's finest songs. It full of really lovely chord changes and Syd's voice beautifully, delicate too. It makes you sad when you hear it because if the horrible thing that happened to Syd.
Syd would often talk about taking LSD with one of his schoolfriends. His friend took LSD first and then at 16 years old they both tried it, which was Syd's first trip. His schoolfriend said that Syd was already showing signs of mental instability before he took acid.
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