WISH YOU WERE HERE

I am a definite level 4 here! This is my favorite Pink Floyd album, but it's only just barely above DSOTM, which is still to come. As I am certain that anyone who'd be reading this knows, the album is inspired as a tribute to original bandleader/founder Syd Barrett, as well as the band's criticisms of the music industry. Let's begin!

Track 1 - Shine on You Crazy Diamond (Parts 1-5)

The band chose to split this epic track into 2 segments to bookend the album. The opening portion comprises parts 1-5, while the closing portion has parts 6-9. The song fades in with ominous synth drones with synth melodies over the top, courtesy of the late great Rick Wright. This song is the very definition of a "Slow Burn." At 2:10, David Gilmour joins the soundscape with tasty, bluesy guitar licks. The song's first chord change happens at 2:25, with Wright following Gilmour's lead lines. A few more chord changes occur as Gilmour keeps up the licks. The synths begin to fade until 3:54 when Gilmour plays the spine-tingling 4 note sequence that will become one of the major motifs of the song. Simply beautiful. At 4:25 Nick Mason begins a tom tom buildup to bring in Roger Waters' bass and start playing a signature Floyd slow groove along with the 4 note pattern and some "turnaround chords here and there. At 5:12, Gilmour begins playing another bluesy solo. Wright adds some tasty Hammond underneath. At 6:04, Gilmour switches to the bridge pickup on his trusty Strat, and gets a more biting tone. Following behind, Wright takes a keyboard solo, using a warm, brassy tone. Gilmour & the rhythm keep the smooth groove going on. At 7:33, Gilmour returns with more soloing. At 8:42, the first vocals of the entire song/album appear. With Gilmour singing "Remember when you were young?" Followed with the harmonized line "You shone like the sun," (Waters perhaps on the harmony?). Then the huge line "Shine on, you crazy diamond!" sung with the help of a group of female backup singers. Gilmour has lovely guitar fills throughout the verses. The vocals are expertly arranged between the lead, harmony, and backing vocal lines. At 9:45 Gilmour's guitar takes over once again with a melancholy tune. Another verse follows. I love the line at 10:47 "You wore out your welcome with random precision." At 11:09, saxophonist Dick Parry plays a solo on a baritone sax. At around 11:25, Gilmour begins playing a clean arpeggiated riff under the solo. At 12:00 on the dot, Parry switches to alto sax, and the tempo increases. I love watching him have 2 saxes on his neck in live videos and making the switch, it is one of the most badass sax moves ever! At 12:42, the rhythm section drops out white Parry ad-libs some wild lines on the sax, and Gilmour continues with the arpeggiated riff as the song fades out. This is my all time favorite PF track.

Track 2 - Welcome to the Machine

A door opens, then a low. pulsating tone and sound effects fade in. At the 45 second mark, Gilmour begins playing reverse-strummed chords on a 12-string acoustic, that sustain and change every few seconds, with each in sequence panned to one side or the other of the stereo image. Wright also plays synth swells to add to the atmosphere. There seems to be some confusion as to who the primary lead vocalist is on this when they come in shortly after the one minute mark. My ears tell me that Waters is on the higher part, and Gilmour sings the lower notes. If anyone has any insight on this, please feel free to clarify. There are all sorts of cool synth tones on this, especially between vocal parts. The 12 string acoustic re-appears as the verse comes to a close, adding brightness to the somber tones. Starting around 2:45, there is an ascending guitar & synth part that slides back down with synths between phrases. I love the cymbal swells and I believe I hear some occasional tympani notes. Another verse follows the instrumental segment. A synth solo takes over at 5:07. This song is all about the atmosphere. The music begins fading out gradually after 6 minutes, before the door shuts and sound effects take over at around 6:30. At 6:55 there is a crowd laughing and talking. This closes out side 1 of the original LP.

Track 3 - Have a Cigar

This song features guest vocalist Roy Harper, as Waters just couldn't get the right tone he wanted on the track, and Gilmour declined to sing it. Harper was recording his own album at the time in the studio down the hall and was visiting with the band when the invitation came to sing the part. Gilmour had apparently already played some guitar parts on Harper's album, so he was returning the favor, in essence. The bass and guitar start off playing a funky rhythm, to be joined by Mason & Wright. A synth-led melody goes over the top. The lyrics are a scathing satire of the recording industry. I love the famous line "Oh, by the way, which one's Pink?" I think it works well having a non-band member singing the part, as he can play the role of the record executive more effectively. Starting at about 3:15, Gilmour takes over with a funky, bluesy guitar solo. At 4:50, there is a "swoosh" sound and then the music drops way down. This leads to?

Track 4 - Wish You Were Here

This one begins with someone tuning a radio dial from the Have a Cigar riff, through spoken words and classical bits before landing on a strummed acoustic 12-string riff. The sound stays 'tinny" as though it is still on a small radio. At just before 1 minute into the track, a strong, clear sounding 6 string acoustic joins in playing lead lines. Gilmour has stated that the idea was to sound like a student guitarist was improvising lines along with the radio. At 1:30 the six string begins strumming and Gilmour begins singing the beautiful lyrics. At just after 2 minutes the rest of the band joins in with nice rhythms and country-style piano fills. Gilmour often describes this song as being a country song. At around 2:45 Gilmour plays an acoustic solo while matching the notes in his voice (a la George Benson on "On Broadway"). Mellow synth-tones join in to help accompany the solo, which is followed by the chorus:

"How I wish, how I wish you were here.

We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year.

Running over the same old ground, what have we found?

The same old fears?

Wish you were here."

I especially love the second phrase. Following the chorus, the guitar riff takes back over, and the song begins to slowly fade. As the song fades, Gilmour once again does the voice and guitar in unison again. Once it has faded out, wind-like sound effects take over, leading to?

Track 5 - Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts 6-9)

As the wind continues a rhythm begins to emerge on guitar and bass. There are some syncopated guitar fills then synth takes over. Gradually guitar lines merge in with the synth. Then at 2:25, a bluesy shuffle rhythm takes over with Gilmour playing slide guitar over the top. At 3:55, Gilmour is playing stratospheric level high notes. Then at 4:35 Gilmour returns to standard electric guitar and plays a lick that brilliantly transitions us back into the groove from the opening sections of the song. This is perfectly done. It is one of my favorite PF "gear-shifts" along with the transition between "Brain Damage" and "Eclipse" on Dark Side of the Moon. This is how pro level arranging is done. The vocals return at just before 5 minutes into the track. This song has such a warm tone.We have false ending #1 here, then at 6 minutes in, the arpeggiated riff from earlier returns and brings us into a groovy, electric-piano-led, instrumental section. At around the 7 minute mark, what sounds to me like a Clavinet plays some cool low pitched riffs. (What a cool 70s instrument that is!) Floyd could get downright FUNKY when they chose to! Synth lines float over top of the funky groove the band is laying down and the music begins to fade as though it was ending but NO! Sustained synth sounds transition us into a melancholy synth solo with the mellow brass tone, while Mason & Waters keep a slow PF signature groove. (This song has more endings than Lord of the Rings, BTW). At around 11:25 there is a sustained synth chord and Wright ad-libs as the song actually DOES reach a conclusion. Absolutely brilliant.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS:

It's a perfect album. Nothing would benefit from changing any of it. To me, this (along with DSOTM) is PF at the peak of their powers. Good things would follow (except that we don't talk about The Final Cut), but never quite as good as this. My reviews of Animals & the Wall are out there (follow the hashtag). I like them both, but I LOVE this one & DSOTM. I actually think they got better again on the two "Dehydrated" Floyd albums. But this, IMHO, is the last time that the classic line up really worked as a team, and the results speak for themselves. 5 out of 5 stars easily.

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