MEDDLE

This was the second Floyd album I bought, after buying "Dark Side Of The Moon". I have always liked this one and would put it in the top five Floyd albums, probably at number three, behind "Dark Side" & "The Wall". It is a tribute to their talent that it sounds very different to "Dark Side", which was the next release after this. This is very laid back, in typical Floyd fashion, and is excellent to sit and relax to. The opener, "One Of These Days", is the most aggressive track on the album, starting off with the sound of the wind, and then building up nicely. An instrumental, the pedal steel played by Dave Gilmour is used very effectively and in a totally different way to the usual insipid and predictable doodlings it is forced to produce for the standard, bland country music scene. Here it is a powerful tool! Second track, "A Pillow Of Winds" is a very laid back track, with good singing, interesting lyrics, and effective guitar. One notes here, and throughout most of the album, the subtle and effective use of acoustic guitar, sometimes to the fore, other times filling out the background to the songs. Nice slide work here too. Then comes "Fearless", probably my least favourite on the album, but nevertheless a good track. The way the - again acoustic - guitar is played, brings to mind a person, ascending a hill, or stairs. This ties in nicely with the lyrics. Well thought out this one. "San Tropez" is the fourth track, and instantly brings to mind sipping cocktails around the pool when on holiday in some exotic clime. Again, this is the effect it is meant to produce. Nice - yes, you guessed it! - acoustic guitar again! Ending what was the first side of the old vinyl record is the shortest track, a bluesy little number about a dog called Seamus, basic and funny this one, bringing to mind an old farmyard, in which sits an old man in dungarees, musing on an incident from his past. Finally comes the well known high point of the album, the much celebrated, "Echoes". Not much I can say that hasn't been said before. Nice lyrics, almost Coleridge like in their poetic form. Beautiful, distant, electric - yes, electric! - guitar filling out the background, whilst Richard Wright's keyboards have full reign here, dominating the song with interesting soundscapes. Indeed, to my mind, there instantly comes a vision of shorelines and solitary, soaring birds; a seascape of barren beauty, complimenting the aural splendour of the piece. A classic track from one of the three 'classic' bands of the 70's. The three most influencial prog bands of the decade - Floyd, Yes and, of course, my personal faves, Genesis! Any fans of Floyd, and ambient, partly acoustic music, will love this, but then again, they will probably have it. For those who haven't heard this yet, trust me and buy it! You won't be disappointed.