MEDDLE

Meddle is the sixth full-length studio album by UK progressive rock act Pink Floyd. Pink Floyd´s transition from a psychadelic rock act to one of the most influential progressive rock acts began with the previous album Atom Heart Mother (1970) and while there are still psychadelic rock elements on Meddle, the transition is almost complete with this album. I had a long streak getting into Pink Floyd when I first got acquainted with their music in secondary school. I had a couple of friends who were very much into psychadelic sixties and seventies rock and even at a very young age they had collected houndreds of albums ( especially LPs) with obscure and less obscure psychadelic rock acts. Pink Floyd were of course one of the bands that they both adored. They introduced me to Dark Side Of The Moon (1973), The Wall (1979), Wish You Were Here (1975) and even The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn (1967). But it was not until I heard the song Echoes, which I later learned came from the album Meddle, that I was truly captured by Pink Floyd´s unique sound. So my appreciation for Pink Floyd started with Meddle and as a consequence I have a very special place for this album in my collection. As with most albums I feel are something unique and special from that time I own both the LP and the CD version of Meddle. Other than the audio quality which always differs slightly between LP and CD versions there are no differences between the two. No special CD editions with bonus tracks have yet been released of Meddle.

The album features six songs. Side 1 of the original LP release contains five shorter songs while Side 2 of the original LP release holds the 23:27 minute long Echoes. While the biggest attraction on Meddle for me is undoubtedly Echoes, the five shorter songs on Side 1 are almost equally as intriguing and beautiful.

The album starts with the excellent, dark and powerful instrumental One of These Days ( well... almost instrumental) which in addition to Echoes, is probably my favorite here. The soft, mellow and acoustic A Pillow of Winds is a great contrast to the harder edged One of These Days. It´s the kind of song that soothes my ears every time I listen to it. Simply beautiful. Fearless is a great song too with lots of sliding acoustic guitars and soft vocals. It´s not a soft song like A Pillow of Winds but it still has that relaxed and mellow feeling that Pink Floyd are so succesful in creating. Fearless ends with a field recording of the Liverpool F.C. Kop choir singing You'll Never Walk Alone, their anthem. I love it. Being a passionate football fan myself I understand the strong feeling of unity when singing your club anthem ( I guess it´s a bit like singing the Lords praise in church for Christians). The two last songs on Side 1 of the original LP are often scolded and called weak but I greatly enjoy the variation they bring to the album. The lounge jazzy San Tropez with its relaxed atmosphere and the bluesy acoustic Seamus with the barking dog sounds in the background might not be the strongest tracks on Meddle but both are a part of the great whole and without them the album just wouldn´t be what it is for me. So shoot me! I enjoy those songs.

Echoes fills the whole of Side 2 of the original LP and what a side long track that is. From the opening echo pings created by Richard Wright to the fantastic guitar solo by David Gilmour to the brilliantly arranged vocal section to David Gilmour imitating whale sounds this is simply a fantastic composition. A true masterpiece of progressive rock.

The production is warm and pleasant. Very well sounding and organic.

Meddle is an outstanding album by Pink Floyd which has remained a favorite of mine since I listened to it for the first time about 20 years ago. It´s the kind of album that even though it explores and experiments with various musical territories comes off incredibly consistent. These six songs weren´t put together at random. There´s a feeling of purpose behind the decision to place the songs as they are on the album. A consideration of the whole which is something I greatly appreciate. This is truly a masterpiece of progressive rock and if an album ever deserved a 5 star rating it would be Meddle.