So I just reviewed it also...  But here, I'll add what Dave Gilmour says about it...

Musically, this album is Floyd at its best.  “Cluster One”, the solo starting “Coming Back To Life”… “Marooned”, this is the David Gilmour we all love to hear.   I found this album musically to be a breath of fresh air and after a few years without anything new from Floyd… this was heaven.  Having Rick Wright back replaced the missing foundation of the sound and lyrically I got more from this than the angst of “The Wall” or “The Final Cut”.

TDB was for Floyd a return to their original way of working.. as a team instead of a dictatorship.  The concept of TDB is one of coming out of a hard time into a better life. I think the whole world can relate to that.  Its about the 3 of them dealing with marriage breakups, the loss of Roger, the loss of Syd, the great expectations on them from their fans, and their coming back to life as a threesome.

And the reason its genius is because you can weave your way thru Pink Floyd's career just from listening to the lyrics on this album. The depth on this album is so thick, its staggering!  Its actually about them going thru every obstacle that life has thrown at them... and coming out the other side....

Forgetting the past... and coming back to Life...

Having High Hopes... for a brighter future...

Regarding the Communication concept, the making of this album basically started off as a way for them to exercise their demons... give their history... but they realized that the communication thing did show up in many of the songs... so I guess it was on their minds...

 

From an interview with David Gilmour:

GF: The title "The Division Bell," the graphics on the album sleeve, and the lyrics seem to address the division between Roger and the rest of Pink Floyd. To any Floyd aficionado, the lyric "On the day the wall came down / The ship of fools had finally run aground" in "A Great Day for Freedom" is patently not about the Berlin Wall, but about that other wall.

DG: Oh, is it?

GF: The album could easily be interpreted as an allegory about the split with Roger.

DG: I don't think that it is. There are a couple of hinted mentions that could or could not have something to do with him. But all that I read from people working out what they think it's about has been either fairly or wildly inaccurate. I enjoy that. I'm quite happy for people to interpret it any way they like. But maybe a note of caution should be sounded because you can read too much into it. "A Great Day for Freedom," for example, has got nothing to do with Roger or his "wall." It just doesn't. What else can I say?

GF: In "High Hopes," the lyric suggests that the seeds of division were planted in Floyd's early days.

DG: I think it's more about my early days and leaving my hometown behind. There is an enormous amount of stuff about communication or lack of communication on the whole album. But that's accidental. We started finding there were one or two songs like that, and other songs emerged that had it within them. It seemed to take over the album at some point and dominate the thinking.

GF: In "What Do You Want from Me," you return to the theme of alienation from your audience that you'd explored in "The Wall." Is that something that you genuinely feel?

DG: It didn't start out from there at all. It actually had more to do with personal relationships but drifted into wider territory.

No, I don't really feel a great sense of alienation from the audience. I never agreed with Roger on his dramatic treatise in the lyrics of "The Wall," but it was a very good idea. Obviously there's a gulf in some ways because we're up there performing. I've been doing it for a long time, I've become wealthy from it and sort of revered - all the things that create a gulf between you and your audience. Given that, I feel we have great communication with people who come to see us and I enjoy performing for them.

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THIS IS ELP

i'll listen to marooned and high hopes untill i become deaf

this album is made for neo prog and ambient/new age fans! otherwise, just stay with your VDGG!

threefates wrote: From an interview with David Gilmour: GF: The title "The Division Bell," the graphics on the album sleeve, and the lyrics seem to address the division between Roger and the rest of Pink Floyd. To any Floyd aficionado, the lyric "On the day the wall came down / The ship of fools had finally run aground" in "A Great Day for Freedom" is patently not about the Berlin Wall, but about that other wall. DG: Oh, is it? GF: The album could easily be interpreted as an allegory about the split with Roger. DG: I don't think that it is. There are a couple of hinted mentions that could or could not have something to do with him. But all that I read from people working out what they think it's about has been either fairly or wildly inaccurate. I enjoy that. I'm quite happy for people to interpret it any way they like. But maybe a note of caution should be sounded because you can read too much into it. "A Great Day for Freedom," for example, has got nothing to do with Roger or his "wall." It just doesn't. What else can I say? GF: In "High Hopes," the lyric suggests that the seeds of division were planted in Floyd's early days. DG: I think it's more about my early days and leaving my hometown behind. There is an enormous amount of stuff about communication or lack of communication on the whole album. But that's accidental. We started finding there were one or two songs like that, and other songs emerged that had it within them. It seemed to take over the album at some point and dominate the thinking. GF: In "What Do You Want from Me," you return to the theme of alienation from your audience that you'd explored in "The Wall." Is that something that you genuinely feel? DG: It didn't start out from there at all. It actually had more to do with personal relationships but drifted into wider territory. No, I don't really feel a great sense of alienation from the audience. I never agreed with Roger on his dramatic treatise in the lyrics of "The Wall," but it was a very good idea. Obviously there's a gulf in some ways because we're up there performing. I've been doing it for a long time, I've become wealthy from it and sort of revered - all the things that create a gulf between you and your audience. Given that, I feel we have great communication with people who come to see us and I enjoy performing for them.

I love the way the interviewer gets it wrong every single time, I mean c'mon, Division Bell came 10 years after the Final Cut,why would he be still writing lyrics directly referring to the split with Waters and themes from earlier albums which were basically Water's own?

Cluster:

How you can give Division Bell a "5 star masterpiece of progressive rock" rating is beyond me!
It is a great album,very enjoyable but I think we all agree that it is not strictly a progressive rock album.It is a rock album by a progressive rock group. 4 stars would be fair.
I could live with five stars if the guide did not say otherwise: "5 stars=masterpiece of progressive rock" that is what it says and you should stick to that.

threefates wrote: It sounds progressive to me...

but not the reviewer, who has asked for comments:

The Division Bell" a masterpiece of progressive music? No. Musically it is not really that progressive at all

Cluster's words at the start of the review.

Reed Lover wrote: How you can give Division Bell a "5 star masterpiece of progressive rock" rating is beyond me! <>It is a great album,very enjoyable but I think we all agree that it is not strictly a progressive rock album.It is a rock album by a progressive rock group. 4 stars would be fair. I could live with five stars if the guide did not say otherwise: "5 stars=masterpiece of progressive rock" that is what it says and you should stick to that.

But the sheer excellence, intelligent concept and musical tour de force that is found on this record more than makes up for any 'is it or is it not prog?' questions. Just because I don't think it the most progressive FLOYD album, doesn't mean others will as well! I feel the record is very 'progressive' conceptually if that makes any sense. People who understand the concept on this album will agree. I'm talking about THE PUBLIUS ENIGMA and the Communication themes found throughout the lyrics and liner notes.

FLOYD have always been masters with their mulitmedia approach to their music. For example The Wall: It's a movie, it's a touring rock show, it's about to become a broadway play, and oh yeah, it's also one of the top 5 selling albums of all time. And also their live shows throughout the years, besides the music, what most people come away from is their use of Mr. Screen's images to convey even more than what their music has to say. Not to mention the lasers, and the flying pig etc

But back to the review, if an album is on this site, then it's fair game. I am not the only one who has given this overlooked gem 5 stars. As I said in the review, as the biggest proponent of this album if I don't give it 5 stars...who will?

I've always liked it. Its well produced thoughtful rock music.

There are no surprises and I think you can tell that its by a band that been around for a long time and that its been a long time since their 'best' work.

To be honest I'd rather listern to TDB than 'The final cut', or some earlier efforts like 'Atom Heart Mother' or 'UmmaGumma'

Blacksword wrote: I've always liked it. Its well produced thoughtful rock music. There are no surprises and I think you can tell that its by a band that been around for a long time and that its been a long time since their 'best' work. To be honest I'd rather listern to TDB than 'The final cut', or some earlier efforts like 'Atom Heart Mother' or 'UmmaGumma'

We differ in opinion then, I would prefer to listen to any other PF album .

Cluster,

I agree with Reed. How can one rate this 5 stars? That Floyd is 100% prog : 100% agreed without a shadow of a doubt. Masterpiece should concern roughly 5% of albums in a genre. And I am sure even in your book Division Bell is not in your top 5%.

Musically apt , yes and thanks to the return of Wright because Gilmour alone does not make enough excellent music to fill an album worth of material (both solo anf Floyd). Div Bell is much better Lapse of Reason and Final Cut for sure but no masterpiece.

Concept wise , if we can say that this collection of songs is a concept, the link being so-called relations between humans. How vague (and  bit lame> Mariah's love songs are also about human relationships, OUCH, Thanks for slapping me before I did it myself, Cluster). That interviewer was probably from the Daily Sun tabloid trying to dig the dirt.

For the once in lifetime thread: I would want to see those four forget their difference (wishful thinking of course) and do another great album , because Floyd were great as a unit not as individuals!

Snow Dog wrote: Blacksword wrote: I've always liked it. Its well produced thoughtful rock music. There are no surprises and I think you can tell that its by a band that been around for a long time and that its been a long time since their 'best' work. To be honest I'd rather listern to TDB than 'The final cut', or some earlier efforts like 'Atom Heart Mother' or 'UmmaGumma' We differ in opinion then, I would prefer to listen to any other PF album .

Including 'Momentary Lapse..'? I thought that was slightly better than TDB.

Floyd did lose something signifcant when Waters went, but listerning to the 'Final Cut' it sounds like Roger had lost the plot, and had past his best anyway. All the big prog bands have their heyday and then fall into decline. When you considered what happened to Genesis in the 80's I think Floyd carried on with a lot of dignity, and still produced thoughtful music, and avoided selling out.

As long as you dont consider the agressive Volkswagon sponsorship deal they had for TDB tour, as selling out??!!

Like most PF albums, this one is also very uneven, but a great listen in places and it was good to see another confirmation of the fact that Waters' departure did nothing to reduce the quality of the lyrics.

Hardly prog, though.  

Personally I find Division Bell and Momentary Lapse of Reason to be really sterile affairs and very laboured in terms of songwriting. They're both padded out with vapid instrumental noodlings which, to me, lack any kind of impetus other than to say 'this is what we sound like so let's be atmospheric'.

I've long felt that Gilmour is a very limited songwriter and continue to believe that. His solo work is marked by a lack of strong compositions. He's a wonderful guitar player and a fine enough singer but he doesn't exactly leap out of the crowd when you say 'amazing writer'.

As usual in these situation there's a sum of the parts thing going on. It's that strange alchemy of disparate elements transmuting chords and notes into gold.  Remove an element and what have you got - for fans of Blackadder I think you get the musical equiavlent of Percy's 'purest green'. Gold it ain't.

The best of Floyd exists in the push and pull between Gilmour and Waters. The Waters vitriol that creates Dogs with the sublime playing that articulates that anger.

Waters is a rotten musician. He'll probably tell you that himself. But he was often a great writer. Gilmour is a superb musician and a gifted arranger but a lousy writer. Sum of the parts.

Post Waters Floyd was a triumph of style over content. Post Floyd Waters was full of fury but sounds insignificant.

While, in recent years I've more and more come to the conclusion that Floyd really only produced four 'great' albums Meddle, DSOTM, WYWH and Animals, I still think the Wall and Final Cut contained aspects of what made Floyd great - a fiery little synergy that made even their most laid back meanderings bite a little.

Everything after that was just an incomplete echo of what went before, a facsimile that in every repeition gets blurred at the edges until it's not recognisable anymore.

To me then, Division Bell simply represents some nice easy listening background music. To quote BB King: the thrill is gone.

I fell in love with flying pigs, confused sheep, staring cows, albatrosses hanging overhead...

And the Division Bell is nothing of those.

It may be good, but compared to the albums before it, compared to the Floyd before it...

That's not my favorite band anymore.

There are 3 types of Pin Floyd fans...

-the Syd Barrets

-The Roger Waters

-The David Gilmours

I' m a  David Gilmour-type

And Division Bell is Pink Floyd at their best to me...

Deathinition wrote: There are 3 types of Pin Floyd fans... -the Syd Barrets -The Roger Waters -The David Gilmours I' m a  David Gilmour-type And Division Bell is Pink Floyd at their best to me...

I agree... I prefer the Gilmour stuff myself.  Love Division Bell and AMLOR.. can't stand TFC.

I don't see anything wrong with the songwriting on TDB or AMLOR.  I think TDB has so many ideas tied up in the songwriting, that that Floyd album more than any other has caused discussion and debate on its meaning.  Thats the mark of real songwriting... everyone gets something different from it...

"The division bell" is actually a masterpiece of prog in my book. There are so many things I love about the album, but in essence I don't feel there's a weak track on it.

The concept is there alright, and whether Gilmour choses to admit it, Waters lurks in many of the lyrics.

"So I open the door to my enemies, and I ask can we wipe the slate clean, but they tell me to please go and f**k myself, sometimes you just can't win." Hmm, wonder who he's taking about there then?

Obviously opinion is very divided on this the last of PF's studio albums. I love TDB and have so from the day of it's release. As Threefates said it was "like a breath of fresh air" musically after some years of nothing new or recovery from the Roger Waters era. It is an easy album to listen to musically and if one was to really take in the lyrics there would be many a challenge lurking there.

I would definitely give it a 5 star rating as I feel it is progressive enough to be challenging without creating angst in the listener, as did (well for me personally) TFC which I have never liked and The Wall which I have proclaimed elsewhere in the forums to be the most depressing of PF's albums and really not that musically exciting. All kudos to the remaining 3 for producing a great album in the face of much criticsm. A great review Cluster One - I am with you on this!

I actually love AMLOR... I don't know why every one has such a problem with it.  I think that Learning to Fly and On the Turning Away are just marvelous... but Sorrow and Yet Another Movie.. give David another rise to shine... and shine he does.  The only one of the songs I have a problem with on the studio album is Dogs of War... but on the live "DSOT"... Dave just blows that song out of the water... and even that song sounds just wonderful!!!

Below is my "Division Bell" review, although you may normally find it in the reviews section ... I would only add to it that to me anything that PINK FLOYD writes (or Gilmour, or Waters) is not to be judged, but accepted. PINK FLOYD is the ultimate standard of prog music -- its works are always worth six stars. Other bands may just be excellent bands, but PINK FLOYD is the genius.

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I've always found something to love in every PF album since AHM. My problem with DB is the static quality of the tunes, it bores me and I can't listen to it in one sitting. Individually, it's got some great tunes.

Deathinition wrote: There are 3 types of Pin Floyd fans... -the Syd Barrets -The Roger Waters -The David Gilmours I' m a  David Gilmour-type And Division Bell is Pink Floyd at their best to me...

As trite as this definition may sound, Deathinition ... I do get what you mean ... and I realise that I fall into the category of being both a Syd Barrett and Roger Waters fan (although I love Gilmour's guitar-playing) ... which makes sense when I tell you that I think the worst three PF albums are More, A Momentary Lapse Of Reason and The Division Bell ...

yet that sounds harsh because I enjoyed The Division Bell for what it was ... the best post split (ie The Final Cut) album made by either party ... I must say though that my enjoyment of this album has gone downhill over time ...

There are 3 types of Pin Floyd fans...

-the Syd Barrets

-The Roger Waters

-The David Gilmours

I' m a  David Gilmour-type

And Division Bell is Pink Floyd at their best to me...

 
i'm a DAvid gilmour one but without roger wouldn't be ANIMALS, WYWH;DSOTM,WALL,MEDDLE etc...

Not sooooo good for me. The dark side of pink floyd.  

If thats the dark side of Floyd... then they don't need a light side.

I got into Floyd because of The Division Bell.  Its still my favorite Floyd album, although 3fates has somewhat swayed me to appreciate Animals just as much.  And coming into Floyd backwards and in the last 6 years, has allowed me to look at things a bit less biased than those of you who are more fans of one member against the other.

I'm a guitarist, so I'm going to appreciate Dave more.  And I've never been all that into Roger's dark lyrics, especially the ones from the Wall and after.  I can't even listen to his solo albums.  I like a lot of the earlier stuff, don't mind Barrett, but don't think he was genius. And I do like AMLOR.  And after finally having all their material studio and live, and even a few boots here and there, I think TDB and AMLOR sounds a lot more like Floyd than The Final Cut does. 

So I understand those of you who don't want to like AMLOR and TDB because Roger is missing. But I don't think you've given the music a fair shake, and thats just my opinion!

Personally this is my fave Pink Floyd Album I love it , I don't think theres one bad song on it..its a strong album..very good

Litl wrote: Here's a different take on the album.  I like it fine even if it doesn't jangle my socks.  But my wife, who doesn't like prog at all, loves The Division Bell.  The reason is because of its passion and emotional depth.  She also loves DG's voice.  What it all adds up to for her is she thinks it's incredibly sensuous and sexy!    What do you think of that??

I agree with that totally!!

And evidently they had plenty to say after WYWH... Animals came after that.. and thats their best IMO.

threefates wrote: And evidently they had plenty to say after WYWH... Animals came after that.. and thats their best IMO.

Indeed, and did you know that Gilmour fixed The Wall when Waters came with a lot of demo-tapes that sounded awefull. Gilmour organised it all.

Cluster One wrote: flowerchild wrote: threefates wrote: And evidently they had plenty to say after WYWH... Animals came after that.. and thats their best IMO. Indeed, and did you know that Gilmour fixed The Wall when Waters came with a lot of demo-tapes that sounded awefull. Gilmour organised it all. Hmm Flowerchild, I don't follow you there... and what does this have to do with The Division Bell?

It doesnt! It is a reply to the statement I quoted! In some way it has to do with Division bell, as it proves thast Gilmour was a driving force in the later days of "the Waters era Floyd", but that wasn't my intention in my post. Why do you ask? Any problem?

Sean Trane wrote: Cluster, I agree with Reed. How can one rate this 5 stars? That Floyd is 100% prog : 100% agreed without a shadow of a doubt. Masterpiece should concern roughly 5% of albums in a genre. And I am sure even in your book Division Bell is not in your top 5%.

Respectfully, I must disagree with this point about how a masterpiece should be only 5%.

I understand what you are saying HOWEVER you must realise that if an album IS a masterpiece than it's a masterpiece. Simple as that. Also, the ratings are always in the opinion of the reviewer.

My point is not in reference to "The Division Bell" album (which, I actually have never heard) but to the 5% quota. For the sake of argument, let's say that we agree that Close to the Edge, Foxtrot, Wish You Were Here, Thick as a Brick, Moving Pictures, In the Court of the Crimson King, Script for a Jester's Tear, Mirage, Brain Salad Surgery, Pawn Hearts, Images and Words and In the Land of Grey and Pink are all Masterpieces. What if I only owned those albums? Could I only rate ONE of them as a masterpiece because I have to stick to the 5% rule? I may prefer prog metal and feel that none of these albums are masterpieces.

In the end it comes down to taste. What can be argued for sure though is if The Division Bell is Pink Floyd's best album, second best, etc. I don't know, but no matter what I think, some WILL think different than me!

And they would be wrong!

threefates wrote: Litl wrote: Here's a different take on the album.  I like it fine even if it doesn't jangle my socks.  But my wife, who doesn't like prog at all, loves The Division Bell.  The reason is because of its passion and emotional depth.  She also loves DG's voice.  What it all adds up to for her is she thinks it's incredibly sensuous and sexy!    What do you think of that?? I agree with that totally!! And evidently they had plenty to say after WYWH... Animals came after that.. and thats their best IMO.

My bad on Animals...dischronology is setting in

threefates wrote: I actually love AMLOR... I don't know why every one has such a problem with it.  I think that Learning to Fly and On the Turning Away are just marvelous... but Sorrow and Yet Another Movie.. give David another rise to shine... and shine he does.  The only one of the songs I have a problem with on the studio album is Dogs of War... but on the live "DSOT"... Dave just blows that song out of the water... and even that song sounds just wonderful!!!

I also really like AMLOR, On the Turning away is great, and learning to fly is a classic.

I love this album and pretty much everything released by pink floyd. There is without a doubt some of the floyds best music on DB but I think it slides quite low as well. Wearing the inside out is not exactly brillient even if you do like it. A great day for freedom I believe is mediocre Take it back and poles apart are also only ok. In my opinion the rest of the album is awesome top notch stuff.

Given that this album should only be 4 stars.

If the album was cut back to 40 minutes, it would be one of the best of all time!