Best Pink Floyd Album (really again)

Atom Heart Mother, as ever.

Interesting to see that even after 68 votes, The Wall has yet to receive any votes at all.

If included, I would have voted for Cre/Ation, which is mostly unreleased material.

Mortte wrote: Dellinger wrote:   As far as I understand it, it was not until Dark Side that Waters became the band's greatest creative force, and then it was mostly for the development of concepts, for the music was still more evenly created between the band. But Waters indeed appears in all the credits because of the lyrics, even if he didn't really contribute that much to the writing of the music. It was not until The Wall (and The Final Cut, of course) that he really took control of the music and concept... and that's how I can compare how much I think he wasn't enough to make the band so great... and then his solo albums confirm it.   Once again, as far as Momentary Lapse and Division Bell are concerned, at least I like DB more than The Wall, and I guess MLoR takes the edge over TFC (at least slightly, though I think both are somewhat tied). Still, those two (or 3?) Gilmour led albums did loose something with the loss of Waters... but at the same time they gained a new sound that I am fond of indeed... they seem to have taken the blueprint of Comfortably Numb, actually, the greatest song on The Wall, and many of the songs on those two albums are, for me, at least as great as CN, so that is enough to make them a great addition to Floyd's discography. I just read Pink Floyd book, there is said that after Barrett Waters took the lead of Pink Floyd (also I have read that same thing before somewhere else). I don´t believe Pink Floyd would have continued after Barrett without Waters. It took a while when Gilmour started composing. In Saucerful Of Secrets there are three Waters-songs, two Wright´s (I really liked all Wright songs), one Barrett and one whole band composition. In More there are five Waters compositions, 6 whole group compositions, one Mason/Wright composition and one Gilmour piece, which really shows his compositions talents of that time. After those albums band started equally compose, although I think Mason´s part has never been big. I think if Waters hadn´t take the lead in Animals, Floyd albums would have sounded like Wish You Were Here. To me Momentary Lapse & Division Bell are continuation of Wish You Were Here, I don´t think there are much of new (well they modernize their sound, but still those albums are Wish You Were Here of eighties and nineties). They´re ok albums to me, but nothing more.

I guess it's safe to believe Waters was mostly the leader since Barrett "left" the band, perhaps the one that pushed on. But as you say, even in Saucerful Wright was still writing songs, and it's only 3 against 2. More is indeed dominated by Waters, though. And after that it's pretty even indeed. Still, I guess it does show more input from Waters since Dark Side in the concept part, and I still don't buy that Waters had the lead on Animals, at least not in the writing department. Yeah, it's only one song co-written with Gilmour, but once again, credits to Waters are because of the lyrics, but as far as I understand, it is mostly a Gilmour song, and that one takes almost half the album, and it is for me the best song on the album (though of course I do love it all). I don't think the Gilmour led albums are so similar to Wish you were Here, for the format of that album is very different... much more atmospheric and less song-oriented (mostly because of Shine On), but I guess great part of what I do love from them is indeed whatever similarities they might have had with Wish you were Here indeed. Though I insist they are more of a continuation of Comfrotably Numb.

Well, I think there are quite much of atmospheric and less song oriented stuff in the Momentary and Division just like Wish You Were. Signs Of Life, Round and Around, New Machine´s and Terminal Frost in Momentary and Cluster One and Marooned in Division. Less in the Division, but then again Endless is full of it and it´s made same time as Division.

Mortte wrote: Dellinger wrote: Mortte wrote: Dellinger wrote:   As far as I understand it, it was not until Dark Side that Waters became the band's greatest creative force, and then it was mostly for the development of concepts, for the music was still more evenly created between the band. But Waters indeed appears in all the credits because of the lyrics, even if he didn't really contribute that much to the writing of the music. It was not until The Wall (and The Final Cut, of course) that he really took control of the music and concept... and that's how I can compare how much I think he wasn't enough to make the band so great... and then his solo albums confirm it.   Once again, as far as Momentary Lapse and Division Bell are concerned, at least I like DB more than The Wall, and I guess MLoR takes the edge over TFC (at least slightly, though I think both are somewhat tied). Still, those two (or 3?) Gilmour led albums did loose something with the loss of Waters... but at the same time they gained a new sound that I am fond of indeed... they seem to have taken the blueprint of Comfortably Numb, actually, the greatest song on The Wall, and many of the songs on those two albums are, for me, at least as great as CN, so that is enough to make them a great addition to Floyd's discography. I just read Pink Floyd book, there is said that after Barrett Waters took the lead of Pink Floyd (also I have read that same thing before somewhere else). I don´t believe Pink Floyd would have continued after Barrett without Waters. It took a while when Gilmour started composing. In Saucerful Of Secrets there are three Waters-songs, two Wright´s (I really liked all Wright songs), one Barrett and one whole band composition. In More there are five Waters compositions, 6 whole group compositions, one Mason/Wright composition and one Gilmour piece, which really shows his compositions talents of that time. After those albums band started equally compose, although I think Mason´s part has never been big. I think if Waters hadn´t take the lead in Animals, Floyd albums would have sounded like Wish You Were Here. To me Momentary Lapse & Division Bell are continuation of Wish You Were Here, I don´t think there are much of new (well they modernize their sound, but still those albums are Wish You Were Here of eighties and nineties). They´re ok albums to me, but nothing more. I guess it's safe to believe Waters was mostly the leader since Barrett "left" the band, perhaps the one that pushed on. But as you say, even in Saucerful Wright was still writing songs, and it's only 3 against 2. More is indeed dominated by Waters, though. And after that it's pretty even indeed. Still, I guess it does show more input from Waters since Dark Side in the concept part, and I still don't buy that Waters had the lead on Animals, at least not in the writing department. Yeah, it's only one song co-written with Gilmour, but once again, credits to Waters are because of the lyrics, but as far as I understand, it is mostly a Gilmour song, and that one takes almost half the album, and it is for me the best song on the album (though of course I do love it all). I don't think the Gilmour led albums are so similar to Wish you were Here, for the format of that album is very different... much more atmospheric and less song-oriented (mostly because of Shine On), but I guess great part of what I do love from them is indeed whatever similarities they might have had with Wish you were Here indeed. Though I insist they are more of a continuation of Comfrotably Numb. Well, it´s not belief, it´s something that I read from the Pink Floyd book . Of course it´s hard to know what truly happend those days when Barrett got sick, but I understood Mason & Wright were quite hopeless for the future of Pink Floyd, Gilmour has just become to the band, so Waters decided to take a lead. Although he didn´t wrote all the songs, he was a kind of mentally leader who made others to believe they could make it without Syd. And they did. I think you´re right about Dogs, I think also it´s the greatest piece in Animals and I believe too it´s mostly made by Gilmour. Anyway that time Wright was mostly out of the game. I think there are lots of people, who claim Waters about that what he did to Wright. But it was true Wright had that time really big drug problem and he truly wasn´t interested to do anything in Pink Floyd. Of course Roger could have handle the situation better way, but in the book it was said he regreted the those things afterwards.

I still might wonder how well informed was the writer, specially on those internal affairs. Better than us, at least. However, I would expect Nick Mason's book to be the best to get a good idea about the inner workings of the band through it's different eras.

This trio are as close to perfection as Pink Floyd ever came to my ears. As I even like Seamus I'll give my vote to the one on top:

I just voted for The Wall (I am finally able to vote in these polls! yay). 

Umma Gumma > Meddle > Wish You Were Here > Saucerful of Secrets > Animals > Dark Side of the Moon > Atom Heart Mother > Momentary Lapse of Reason > Piper at the Gates of Dawn > The Wall

WYWH > Animals > Meddle > Dark Side >

Edited by Frenetic Zetetic - February 04 2018 at 02:20

I was torn between "Meddle" and "Ummagumma" (and perhaps "Atom Heart Mother"), and I chose "Meddle". and I like side one of "Meddle" just a much as side two, including the much hated "Seamus"