THE DIVISION BELL

Whenever I want to explain what Pink Floyd were all about; the four albums from the classic-era tend to be brought up. I also like to spice things up with a few hidden gems like A Saucerful Of Secrets, the underrated Meddle and, my personal favorite, The Final Cut. There has never been a moment when I started playing A Momentary Lapse Of Reason or Division Bell just to show one or two great gems that the band still were capable of towards the end of their career. Why is it so exactly? When listening to these albums I do experience those same rich landscapes with excellent playing from both Gilmour and Wright, but something is always missing in that experience. It was only recently that I realized that these two final Pink Floyd albums were completely hollow experiences that offered nothing that we, the fans, haven't heard done better before.

I'm sure that my discovery isn't all that controversial and most of the fans who listen to these final albums can agree that they aren't listening to them in order hear anything new from the band, but that's also when the music stops being progressive and just turns stale. Let's be open minded about this issue and accept thing the way they are. I agree that The Final Cut was more or less a Roger Waters solo album than a Pink Floyd such, but what followed after that should, just as much, be considered as David Gilmour solo albums. Just listen to On An Island and you'll see exactly what I mean.

The late great Richard Wright had only that much time in the spotlight on Division Bell while Nick Mason's contribution hadn't had a spark to it since Meddle. I hope that most of you agree that A Momentary Lapse Of Reason was a disaster and although Division Bell was a definitive step up from that flop the album lacks anything that would make me want to revisit it for any particular reason. I'm certain that this album plays on the nostalgia that most people associate with Pink Floyd's heydays. It would never have been half as popular if it was merely labeled as a David Gilmour album and I don't understand why so many people have trouble acknowledging this.

There's no real point of discussing the individual moments of Division Bell because it will only end with me rambling about all of its flaws. Let me just acknowledge that this record would have never gotten this much attention have it been released by any lesser know artist and you're actually loosing an opportunity to discover new exciting music by listening to it! This is a definite collectors/fans only album since the fans have already spoken on this issue, but if you're new to Pink Floyd then I simply say-- Don't bother!

**** star songs: What Do You Want From Me (4:21) Marooned (5:28) Wearing The Inside Out (6:48) Keep Talking (6:11) High Hopes (8:31)

*** star songs: Cluster One (5:58) Poles Apart (7:04) A Great Day For Freedom (4:18) Take It Back (6:12) Coming Back To Life (6:19) Lost For Words (5:14)

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