MEDDLE

First off, let me make it clear that I add a fifth star purely for sentimental reasons. If this album had not had such a huge impact on my musical life (and the rest of my life at the time, really) I would give it 4 stars. When I first heard this album, I was unaware of a style called "prog" or progressive. I had heard the "classics" of the genre on the radio growing up through the 70's, but had always thought of Yes, Pink Floyd, Kansas and Rush as "classic rock". In 1989 - 90, my second year of college, one of my roommates had this on LP. I wore out the gooves listening to, and learning note for note, the entire Echoes suite. Quite simply the best song Floyd ever wrote and preformed IMO,and one of my favorite pieces of music of all times. The first side is nearly irrelevant because of the greatness of Echoes. But thankfully, it contained another Pink Floyd jem, One Of These Days (I'm Going To Cut You Into Little Pieces), a fantastic way to start an album. That song was good enough for Gilmore to include it in the post-Waters touring band sets (on all the tours, if memory serves). Personally, I like all the other songs on side one, though San Tropez and Seamus I can't really consider great (and those two are what would make me give it 4 stars if not for the sentimental value this album holds for me). Though they are not bad IMO. Pillow Of Winds was the last we would hear of the pastoral Floyd, and certainly one of, if not the, finest example of this approach. Fearless is a very pleasant song that continues the pastoral vien but ups the tempo slightly and has drums. A song I still play on acoustic from time to time. Very nice. I no longer have all of Floyds albums, only this one, Dark Side, and Umma Gumma (I had most of them on tape anyway, and the tapes died long ago). But I still listen to Meddle from time to time (I can't listen to Dark Side anymore.....heard it WAY too many times).