BROKEN CHINA

After 'the Division Bell', Rick Wright was a little bit sad because this album was not a real concept album. So he decided to return to the studio and write a full concept album about depression. And the result is one of the best things Pink Floyd & Co have ever made.

The composition is complex and not instinctive. Especially the musical pieces which go in very different directions. Some titles are very calm and it can even be distressing at some times (Hidden Fear, Unfair Ground) whereas some others are very rhythmic (Runaway, Satellite). The combination of these different atmospheres describes in a talented way the feelings of depression. The work on rhythms is particularly interesting: Manu Katché and Pino Palladino on bass do a great job all along the album.

Rick's voice brings emotion to his compositions and the songs are very powerful. 'Night of a thousand furry toys' and 'Far from the Harbour Hall' are very oppressive and, again, it seems to be very in adequacy with the subject of this album. The work on Keyboard is remarkable and Rick Wright use a lot of different sounds of synthesizers to describe the feelings he wants to describe and it works incredibly well (Interlude, Black cloud, Drowning, Sweet July...). No useless demonstration (Rick Wright would not be able to do so as he is not Rick Wakeman!!) but some very inspired and clever use of textures and arrangements.

The two best songs are at the end of the CD. The first one 'Reaching for the Rail' is a duet between Rick and Sinèad O'Connor full of emotion. This song has a perfect melody and remembers us that the author of this album is the man who wrote 'Us and Them' and 'The Great Gig in the Sky'. Sinèad O'Connor is the best choice Rick could have done for his female voice. Here again, different synths, organ and piano are used in a perfect way. The second one is 'Along the Shoreline', a surprising rock song, with an incredible bass line and a very nice synth solo at the end.

Rick wanted to give a happy ending to his album and it happens at the very last song. Breakthrough gives a ray of hope and finishes the album in a good way.

While listening to this album, it's impossible not to think about some stuff of Pink Floyd as 'Dark Side of the Moon' or 'Division Bell', and I believe that Rick succeeded in making as well as these two classics.

I also think of 'Amused to Death' of Roger Waters. These 2 albums are rather similar... except the fact that Roger decided to end his album in a more pessimistic way (surprising, isn't it?).