MEDDLE

After years of floundering creatively due to the loss of frontman and mastermind Syd Barrett, you would be forgiven for thinking Pink Floyd was over by 1971. At best, you'd expect them to improve slowly and steadily, moving away from experimental tracks and towards more clear- cut songwriting. But what happens on Meddle is the least thing you'd suspect: The new Pink Floyd has arrived practically over night, finally applying their soundscapes and experimental working methods to a solid set of memorable songs. The transformation to the band you know from The Dark Side of the Moon is not entirely complete, as Roger Waters' morose lyrics are nowhere to be found and the band still dabbles in subdued folk and experimental psychedelia, but whatever elements remain from their old style are seamlessly integrated into Meddle's aesthetic.

Meddle inhabits a strange middle ground in Pink Floyd's discography, sitting between the psychedelic excesses of their early years and the focused songwriting that was about to come. But it's also the band's most pleasant and expansive album, one that leaves you deeply relaxed, if a bit exhausted (which is why I can't give it a higher grade), after listening to it, which is a nice change of pace from the band's usual misanthropic attack. It might not have as many big songs as the following two records, but for what it's worth.