Pink Floyd - where do they fit in?

[leftyguitars]

That would most likely be "A Saucerful of Secrets".

Agreed.

[ajish4]

You guys are all killing me.

I didn't get to see Floyd live until 1989, and it was a fluke! Alas, Water's already departed the group, but it was the Momentary Lapse of Reason tour. Janey was just about 9 month's pregnant with our first child. The seats were "limited view" which really meant NO VIEW, but I wouldn't have missed it for the world. The upside to the last row of seats was the contact high you got when all the "smoke" rose to our level!

I tease Janey to this very day, because she FELL ASLEEP during PINK FLOYD concert! She had a difficult pregnancy but she STILL made it to the show, and climbed ALL THOSE STEPS to the very top of the Nassau Coliseum.

I guess I'm an oddball, in that I like their later stuff compared to the MORE, CLOUDS era music. I have almost all, if not all the Pink Floyd collection on vinyl and on CD. Some video's, posters, promo's, and solo stuff as well. I even have a VHS (I can't remember the EXACT title) but something like "As the Wind Blows", a cartoon about nuclear war with Water's doing the soundtrack. I ESPECIALLY like Animals.

I did manage to see Roger Water's in the late 90's at Jones Beach and he gave an A M A Z I N G show.

I can't say how much Floyd influenced my playing, but they were a HUGE part of my childhood.

In order, I guess I'm a YES fan first, MOODY BLUES & FLOYD tied for second, everything else falls quickly off.

Anyway, to get somewhat back on thread, I think they are in a league of their own. They really didn't fit any "SLOT" if you will, I tend to think of them as progressive, but what is TRULY amazing is that son (who is 18 now) is wearing Pink Floyd hoodies, shirts, listens to their music.......but we are SO VERY DIFFERENT! I was a stoner, he is a pre-med student. Like I said, Floyd crosses ALL lines!

[jps]

Thanks for that John, I don't suppose you were there?

[alanz]

Pink Floyd makes G, Em, C and D sound positively symphonic.

I'm not sure if that's a critique or a compliment, either.

I don't think much of these guys' musicianship; Gilmour is good but Waters and Wright play only the most basic parts. I thought one of the pre-requisites for being a prog rock band was being able to way overplay on every song? I do like the songs, though, at least for the most part.

I saw The Wall in LA in '79 (it was '79, right?) and I saw Gilmour's solo tour in '06 twice, once in LA and once in Munich, but only because a pal was in the band...

[sloop_john_b]

Pink Floyd makes G, Em, C and D sound positively symphonic.

I'm not sure if that's a critique or a compliment, either.

I don't think much of these guys' musicianship; Gilmour is good but Waters and Wright play only the most basic parts. I thought one of the pre-requisites for being a prog rock band was being able to way overplay on every song? I do like the songs, though, at least for the most part.

I saw The Wall in LA in '79 (it was '79, right?) and I saw Gilmour's solo tour in '06 twice, once in LA and once in Munich, but only because a pal was in the band...

Pink Floyd is the exception to the prog "rule", and maybe that's why i've always liked them so much. There is a certain folk aesthetic to Roger's writing - musically simple at the core, lyrically complex, beautiful all around.

The Wall came out in December '79, any live should would have had to have been early '80. I think the LA shows were the first.

[alanz]

Okey dokey. 1980 it is. I remember who I went with, which is more important than when it was, I suppose...

[shamustwin]

DSM still racks up enviable sales each week.

[alanz]

Roger Waters is playing the entire DSOTM show at Coachella this year.

[clearblue]

Thread resurrection. Always was and always will be a fan. Contemplating the DG strat.

[leftyguitars]

I love all the Gilmour and Wright stuff, Mason stuff I can take or leave, but I hate the Waters stuff with a passion, especially the later political, death, doom and gloom stuff (is it just me?).

[antipodean]

I love all the Gilmour and Wright stuff, Mason stuff I can take or leave, but I hate the Waters stuff with a passion, especially the later political, death, doom and gloom stuff (is it just me?).

All the lyrics on DSM and Wish You Were Here, my two favourite Floyd albums, are by Waters, so it's kind of interesting to loathe his input and like anything from these albums. Of course, DSM is, a very heavy album thematically, dealing with madness, the relentless passage of time, the alienating grind of commercialism and mortality. It is also one of the few albums that deserves to be called great from an artistic point of view. Wish You Were Here is almost as dark, given the focus on Syd Barrett's descent into mental illness and the associated sense of loss felt by Waters. Water's searing hatred for the music industry, the other main theme, is dealt with lightly by comparison.

I find both albums compelling. I'm much more ambivalent about Animals and The Wall, though I admire the ambition behind the concept of the latter. The later material is turgid dross, but that's just my worthless opinion!

[leftyguitars]

A good point made Evan, and as WYWH is my favorite album of all time I seem to have shot myself in the foot. . What I meant to say was from 'The Wall' onwards where Waters seemed obsessed with politics (both in and out of the band) and war. I'm a firm believer that politics don't belong in entertainment, and judging by the great bands and individuals whose careers have nosedived after going in that direction (Barclay James Harvest for example) I may not be the only one.

[beatlefreak]

These days Waters writes music to slash your wrists by.

[ajish4]

I too enjoy WYWH & DSOTM, but LOVE ANIMALS. Don't know why, just something about that album.

[sloop_john_b]

"The Final Cut" is my favorite Floyd album. Seems to get overlooked all the time, unfortunately.