MEDDLE

When one of my class mates introduced me to MEDDLE, back in 1975, we were fascinated by the 'funny sounds' as well as the music. Pink Floyd were well-known for being a real 'underground band' specialising as much in weird noises as in anything else. The mysterious opening of 'Echoes' took our breath away, the spooky middle section gave us the creeps, and the spoken bit in 'One of these days' had us in stitches. In the course of time, of course, I also started enjoying 'Echoes' for its beautifully sung main melody, its guitar solos and its exciting organ-led climax. Compared to other 1970s epics it's flawed, of course (those creepy sounds in the middle should really have been curtailed), but it's no exaggeration to state that 'Echoes' was the Floyd's very first symphonic prog classic.

Most of MEDDLE's shorter tunes are eminently forgettable, but I happen to like 'San Tropez', with its cool, jazzy piano solo splendidly performed by Rick Wright.