WISH YOU WERE HERE

With this album, Pink Floyd was faced with the challenge of attempting to exceed this albums predecessor, which was a masterpiece. Well I'd say they did just that. When Dark Side Of The Moon was made, it was thought that that'd be the bands peak, but with this album they managed to climb even higher.

A description of the music: Wish You Were Here is bookended by two different tracks that are technically the same song. This song is the magnificent "Shine On You Crazy Diamond." This song is good old Pink Floyd and contains great solos from Gilmour and nice, groovy beats. "Welcome To The Machine" is a spacey song with unique sounding vocals. "Have A Cigar" features Roy Harper on vocals and a pretty odd sounding guitar riff. It also has a great guitar solo. The title track is legendary. It is one the first songs many learn on their acoustic guitars. It is a bit more pop-influenced than the rest, but that's no problem here as it's still an amazing track.

PROS:

The intro: The intro to "Shine On You Crazy Diamond Part One" I found was an incredibly effective way to open the album. From the moment that ambient, spacey keyboard flows through your ears, you know you're in for a wonderful musical adventure. The keyboard is soon joined by a gentle saxophone that just increases the ambient feeling. David Gilmour joins in after the sax and plays with the feeling and soul that he is famous for. After the keyboard dies out, an echoing riff is played, and after thats repeated a few times, we're thrown into the song.

The solos: Gilmour is at his best in this album. His solos range from the incredible feeling and emotion from the "Shine On You Crazy Diamond Part One" intro to the groovy, catchy one in "Have A Cigar" to the whining acoustic one in the title track. No weak solos for him on this album.

The lyrics: The lyrics in "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" and the title track are tribute to Syd Barret. And the incredible use of metaphors, such as "Did you exchange a walk-on part in a way / For a lead role in a cage?" in the title track really makes it effective. "Welcome To The Machine" and "Have A Cigar" are stabs at the music industry. "Welcome to the Machine" was creative as it had machine effects to make it sound as a literal machine, yet the machine is the music industry the character is entering.

CONS:

The length: The only con I could really think of is the albums short length. This means you may not be getting that much time for your money, but it's still very worth it.

Song ratings: Shine On You Crazy Diamond Part One: 10/10 Welcome To The Machine: 10/10 Have A Cigar: 8.5/10 Wish You Were Here: 9/10 Shine On You Crazy Diamond Part Two: 9.5/10

Recommended for: Anyone who is a prog fan.

My rating: 5 stars. Get it now. This is one of the greatest prog albums you will find so if you don't have it, do not pass up any chance to get it. Your collection will never be complete without it.

Share this PINK FLOYD review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to DisgruntledPorcupine
• Report this review (#283295)
• Buy PINK FLOYD music online with PA partners
• Show all PINK FLOYD MP3/Stream
• Go to PINK FLOYD page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Wish You Were Here page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for PINK FLOYD related discussions