MEDDLE

Meddle sees Floyd continue experimenting with new sounds and instruments, and putting those to good effect in creating very innovative but also very musical pieces. The standout track is "Echoes", yet despite the prosaic title this is a very well-developed epic with some of the most unique and interesting sounds they ever produced. The eerie 'siren' sound that Gilmour makes in the middle section involved him innovating with his wah pedal, producing a totally unique and never-repeated (except by him) sound, while he experimented with the doubling-up of various guitar pedals for part B of the song (the funky part, with the crazy-loud guitar solos). And the part before the end, like on One of these Days, sees them experimenting with the (then-tape-based) echo units to create the first (to my knowledge) repeat-echo guitar line that The Edge (from U2) would use to such good effect on many of U2's hits (and which Gilmour himself would use again for 'Another Brick in the Wall part 1', and 'Run Like Hell' on The Wall). Indeed, Echoes could be seen as the origin of Andrew Lloyd Weber's main theme for Phantom of the Opera, as he seemingly copied (ripped off?) the five-note descending and then ascending line from Echoes for that. (Could this be why Roger Waters, on his album 'Amused to Death', suggests it would be a "miracle" if the piano lid fell down on Lloyd-Weber's hand while playing it?). Anyway, an iconic wonderful innovative epic, which takes up all of side B. Side A, meanwhile, is also beautiful and sees the Floyd in a much more pastoral acoustic mode. After the experimental echo-based One of these Days, with wonderful pedal-steel electric solo by Gilmour, the Floyd follow with four acoustic numbers, "Pillow of Winds", "Fearless", the light-hearted "San Tropez", and then the dog-blues tune "Seamus". Each of these, while likely somewhat meant as filler, are very musical, and the album moves effortlessly from song to song until the climax in Echoes. The whole album is a really rewarding musical experience, and set them up well for the idea of a concept album. I give this album 9.4 out of 10 on my 10-point scale. A wonderful musical album.

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