Pink Floyd: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 00:49, 20 March 2005

Revision as of 00:58, 20 March 2005

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By [[1977]], and the release of ''[[Animals (album)|Animals]]'', the band's music came under increasing criticism from some quarters in the new [[punk rock]] sphere as being too flabby and pretentious, having lost its way from the simplicity of early [[rock and roll]]. ''Animals'' contained more lengthy songs tied to a theme, taken in part from [[George Orwell]]'s ''[[Animal Farm]]'', using pigs, dogs and sheep as metaphors for members of contemporary society. ''Animals'' was a lot more guitar-driven than the previous albums and marked the start of tensions between Waters and Wright.

[[Image:Pink Floyd The Wall.png|thumb|[[The Wall]]]][[1979]]'s epic rock opera, ''[[The Wall]]'', conceived mainly by Waters, gave Pink Floyd renewed acclaim and another hit single with their foray into [[critical pedagogy]] - "[[Another Brick in the Wall]], Part II." (which took the coveted Christmas Number One slot in the UK singles chart). It also included "Comfortably Numb," which, though never released as a single, became a cornerstone of AOR and classic-rock radio playlists and is today one of the group's best-known songs. It is also one of a very small number of songs on Pink Floyd's first four [[concept album]]s not to [[segue]] at either the beginning or end. The album also became a vastly expensive and money-losing tour/stage show, although the album's sales got the band out of the financial hole they were in. During this time, Waters increased his artistic influence and leadership over the band, prompting frequent conflicts with the other members and even leading to the firing of Wright from the band. Wright returned, on a fixed wage, for the album's few live concerts. Ironically, he was the only member of Pink Floyd to make any money from the "Wall" shows, the rest having to cover the excessive costs. The album was co-produced by [[Bob Ezrin]], a friend of Waters who shared songwriting credits on "The Trial" and whom Waters then kicked out of the Floyd camp after Ezrin inadvertently talked about the album to a journalist relative.

''The Wall'' remained on best-selling-album lists for 14 years. A film entitled ''[[Pink Floyd The Wall (film)|Pink Floyd The Wall]]'' starring [[Boomtown Rats]] founder [[Bob Geldof]] was adapted from it in [[1982]], written by Waters and directed by [[Alan Parker]], and featuring striking animation by noted British cartoonist [[Gerald Scarfe]]. The creation of the film saw a further deterioration of the Waters/Gilmour relationship, as Waters came to completely dominate the band.

[[1983]] saw the release of ''[[The Final Cut (album)|The Final Cut]]''. Even darker in tone than ''The Wall'', this album re-examined many of the themes of that album while also addressing then-current events, including Waters' anger at Britain's participation in the [[Falklands War]] ("The Fletcher Memorial Home") and his cynicism toward, and fear of, [[nuclear war]] ("Two Suns in the Sunset"). Wright's absence meant this album lacked the keyboard effects seen in previous Floyd works, although guests Michael Kamen and Andy Bown both contributed keyboard work. Also featuring on the album is [[Raphael Ravenscroft]] on saxaphone who is perhaps better known for the sax solo on [[Gerry Rafferty]]'s "Baker's Street". Though released as a Pink Floyd album, the project was clearly dominated by Waters and became a prototype in sound and form for later Waters solo projects. Only moderately successful by Floyd standards, the album yielded only one rock radio hit, "Not Now John". The arguing between Waters and Gilmour by this stage was rumoured to be so bad that they were never seen in the recording studio simultaneously. There was no tour, and the band unofficially disbanded in 1983.

[[Image:Pink Floyd The Division Bell.jpg|thumb|[[The Division Bell]]]]After ''The Final Cut,'' the band members went their separate ways, each releasing solo albums, until [[1987]], when Gilmour and Mason began to revive the band. A bitter legal dispute with Roger Waters (who left the band in 1985) ensued, but Gilmour and Mason were upheld in their contention that they had the legal right to continue as Pink Floyd (Waters, however, gained the rights to some traditional Pink Floyd imagery, including almost all of the ''Wall'' props and characters and all of the rights to "The Final Cut"). The band under Gilmour returned to the studio with producer [[Bob Ezrin]]. Richard Wright re-joined during the recording sessions of ''[[A Momentary Lapse of Reason]]'' first as a session musician, paid a weekly salary, and later reinstated as a full-fledged member of the band for the [[1994]] release of ''[[The Division Bell]]'' and its subsequent tour, which was promoted by legendary Canadian concert impressario [[Michael Cohl]] and became the highest-grossing tour in rock history to that date.