The 1970s were unequivocally the golden age of rock music; that’s why we call the music from that decade ‘classic’ rock. The seeds were planted for nearly every musical movement to come out of the rest of the 20th century, and there was no shortage of rock bands who were capable of drawing massive crowds and driving millions of record sales.
Few bands dominated that golden age on a grander scale than Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Nick Mason, and Richard Wright, better known as Pink Floyd. Of their 15 albums, nearly half were released in the ’70s. In 1973 came The Dark Side of the Moon, their first to achieve Diamond certification in the US, giving whatever came next some big shoes to fill.
In 1975, Pink Floyd released Wish You Were Here, an album that definitely filled out those rather large shoes left by The Dark Side of the Moon. Exactly 50 years ago, the album with the man on fire on its cover was released, and it completely changed the landscape of rock music, and the discography of the greatest psychedelic rock band to date.
Founding member Syd Barrett left the band after their second album due to his growing mental illness. Wish You Were Here serves as a tribute to Barrett in more ways than one. All five tracks of the album, in some way or another, connect back to the band’s former leader, and how they are coping without him.
Wish You Were Here Is A Timeless Five-Track Reckoning
The album kicks off with parts 1–5 of “Shine On You Crazy Diamond,” and it closes with parts 6–9, sandwiching the remaining three tracks between a gorgeous saxophone and strings-driven musical ensemble, complete with a lyrical tribute to Barrett: “Remember when you were young, you shone like the sun.”
The album then launches into “Welcome to the Machine” and “Have a Cigar,” a synthesizer-heavy psychedelic trip about what it means to be welcomed into the music industry by the hands of corporate greed, and how the temptation can often make one lose sight of their individuality.
In fact, “Have a Cigar” is responsible for one of the hardest-hitting lines in Pink Floyd’s discography, from the perspective of a wealthy music producer: “The band is just fantastic, that is really what I think / Oh, by the way, which one’s pink?”
And of course, who could forget, the album’s title track and one of the most gut-wrenching songs ever written, “Wish You Were Here.” The track opens with a beautiful acoustic guitar introduction, and fills out with two verses of sung poetry in place of lyrics. If the other four tracks on this album didn’t sufficiently convey just how deeply this band cared for Syd Barrett, this song most certainly did.
There is really no shortage of praise that this album deserves on its 50th anniversary; Pink Floyd did more for—and with—psychedelic rock in these five tracks than many bands dream of doing in their entire careers.
0 Comments