WISH YOU WERE HERE

After the surprisingly enormous success of "Dark Side of the Moon", Pink Floyd had the courage and music sensibility to embrace new horizons, yet building another sophisticated, intense piece of music. Their great achievement was to build, from relatively simple orchestrated music, compositions which could intriguingly irradiate so much passion, so much dose of sensibility, this time in the boundaries of the metaphysical, the introspective, in a way rarely seen in music - a secret which hides in its elegant sequence of textures, and in the deepness of a tribute to a beloved friend, Syd Barrett.

The album is guided and, should I say, almost worth it only by the main song "Shine on You Crazy Diamond" - a long and compelling suite, divided in two movements, relying in dense textured atmospheres, majestic organs, heartbreaking guitars and saxophones. The spacey, thrilling and dramatic "Welcome to the Machine" presents a imaginary perfect world for him, while the hit "Wish You Were Here" shows a anguish and final goodbye, after the traces of joyfulness hidden in the memories revived in "Have a Cigar".

"Wish You Were Here" shines Pink Floyd's art at their peak. It is perhaps their most intense and dramatic work, an imposing memorable album which would touch generations, from decade to decade. Masterpiece.