MORE (OST)

More is an unfocused album that caught Pink Floyd deep in the throes of a transitional period. They had fired their bandleader and lacked clear direction. It doesn't help that More is a soundtrack, which by their very nature tend to be relatively scattered.

In the creative vacuum left by Barrett, Roger Waters contributed the most to this record. Five of the thirteen songs list him as the sole composer, and another six have him as a cowriter.

"Cirrus Minor" opens the album with a bit of a dirge. Richard Wright's distinctive Farfisa organ is the central focus, with acoustic guitar embellishments, and the vocals are delivered in a sleepy manner. In an immense and jarring tonal shift, though, the second song is "The Nile Song". This track, as if compensating for the first, contains no keyboards whatsoever. It's Pink Floyd's most metallic offering; the guitars bludgeon the listener with far less finesse than Gilmour normally used, and the vocals are delivered in the form of hoarse screaming. Though uncharacteristic of Pink Floyd's overall sound, this is a favorite of mine, and I consider myself fortunate that I got to hear it live when Nick Mason and his band came through Seattle in 2019.

"Crying Song" dials the intensity from a 10 back down to about a 2. It's a slow-moving acoustic blues piece and not one of this band's more memorable recordings. Following this is "Up the Khyber" a Wright and Mason improvisation. This two-minute track has a nervous, chaotic feel to it, which is augmented by the rapid audio panning.

"Green Is the Color" is a sweet acoustic ballad and one of the strongest tracks on More. It would go on to become a staple of Pink Floyd live sets prior to their massive success in the mid-'70s. "Cymbaline" similarly saw heavy rotation in Pink Floyd's live shows. Its studio version utilizes jazz and folk touches, and it closes on a two-minute organ improvisation.

Side 2 of More is mostly skippable. "Main Theme" has some interesting ideas and Eastern scales, but it ultimately doesn't amount to much. This song is recommended for those of you who (like me) love the live disc of Ummagumma. "More Blues" is a dull blues jam that probably worked fine as background music for the film, but it's not interesting enough to stand on its own. "Quicksilver" meanders in a torpor of aimless organ noodling and tape effects, and "A Spanish Piece" is a jokey piss-take. The album closes on "Dramatic Theme", a rather undramatic revisitation of "Main Theme".

Buried in all that aimless slog, though, is one more good song. "Ibiza Bar" shares the heavy atmosphere of "The Nile Song", though Richard Wright does contribute piano and organ this time around. These two songs are similar, and I prefer "The Nile Song", but this song is worth a listen too.

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2021/03/01/deep-dive-pink-floyd/