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Post by kds on Jan 30, 2020 18:34:32 GMT
Great tracklist including "Remember A Day", "Lucifer Sam", "Arnold Layne", "See Emily Play", "Bike" - and "Vegetable Man". A lot of The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn songs. Cool!
With all of these Pink Floyd members with solo careers (and two deceased members), it is eerily resembling The Beach Boys. It's the exact setlist they played when I saw them in DC last Spring, so I'll be getting this release. I'll touch on it more when it's time to review A Momentary Lapse of Reason, but there's definitely a somewhat similar split in the band. Especially the creative genius vs b(r)and name story.
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Post by kds on Jan 31, 2020 19:38:31 GMT
Just checked the ticket prices to Roger Waters's show in DC in July.
For a guy who hates capitalism and wrote a song about the evils of money, he's charging a lot of it.
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Post by Kapitan on Jan 31, 2020 19:40:36 GMT
For a guy who hates capitalism and wrote a song about the evils of money, he's charging a lot of it. Funny how that works, isn't it?
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Post by kds on Jan 31, 2020 19:46:20 GMT
For a guy who hates capitalism and wrote a song about the evils of money, he's charging a lot of it. Funny how that works, isn't it? I imagine he'd find a convoluted ray to rationalize it, but his ticket prices have gone way up in the years after it became more and more apparent that he would not have Pink Floyd to compete with.
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bellbottoms
Pacific Coast Highway
Posts: 727
Likes: 201
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Post by bellbottoms on Feb 2, 2020 14:22:31 GMT
I already knew several songs off The Wall but I had never listened to the whole album before, so it was really cool to put those songs into context. Great album, I’m really enjoying it, even if the storyline is a bit convoluted. I really like how eclectic it is, pulling influences from other genres and bands. This is the first time I really notice them doing that, apart from the occasional Beatles reference in earlier albums. Asking the Beach Boys to do the backing vocals leads me to think that the eclectic style of the album was intentional rather than accidental. It’s really too bad only Bruce agreed to do it. I think I can pick his voice out in a couple of places. Oh the Beach Boys, turning down opportunities for cool points at every turn, lol.
Anyway, I’m planning on watching The Wall film today. I’ve only seen pieces of it.
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Post by kds on Feb 5, 2020 18:38:25 GMT
The movie Pink Floyd The Wall (1982) is pretty much a 90 minute music video. While there's a narrative, it's not a musical, but there's also little dialogue. Also, the narrative is at times moved along by Gerald Scarfe animation, which is visually stunning at times.
The end credits actually mention a non existant soundtrack. There was a planned album called Spare Bricks, which would have included When the Tigers Broke Free as well as the alternate versions of songs used in the movie, but that never happened either. And contrary to popular belief, the songs on Floyd's next album were not Wall leftovers. More on that soon....
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bellbottoms
Pacific Coast Highway
Posts: 727
Likes: 201
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Post by bellbottoms on Feb 5, 2020 23:39:04 GMT
The movie Pink Floyd The Wall (1982) is pretty much a 90 minute music video. While there's a narrative, it's not a musical, but there's also little dialogue. Also, the narrative is at times moved along by Gerald Scarfe animation, which is visually stunning at times. I liked the film, even if as you say it’s a glorified music video. The animated sections are gorgeous, they're absolutely a highlight. But the main live action scenes are also visually interesting, it’s really well shot. I’m glad they kept the dialogue to a minimum and let the songs and the visuals tell the story. Bob Geldof did a good job as the brooding and unhinged Pink. I even felt sorry for him for a few minutes, there. And to match the music, there were lot of lasting impressions from chilling imagery… I don’t think I’ll be able to look at hammers the same way for a little while.
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Post by kds on Feb 6, 2020 13:45:40 GMT
The movie Pink Floyd The Wall (1982) is pretty much a 90 minute music video. While there's a narrative, it's not a musical, but there's also little dialogue. Also, the narrative is at times moved along by Gerald Scarfe animation, which is visually stunning at times. I liked the film, even if as you say it’s a glorified music video. The animated sections are gorgeous, they're absolutely a highlight. But the main live action scenes are also visually interesting, it’s really well shot. I’m glad they kept the dialogue to a minimum and let the songs and the visuals tell the story. Bob Geldof did a good job as the brooding and unhinged Pink. I even felt sorry for him for a few minutes, there. And to match the music, there were lot of lasting impressions from chilling imagery… I don’t think I’ll be able to look at hammers the same way for a little while. I think the extended video concept worked best. I don't think it would've been as effective had they gone the Quadrophenia route and made it a straight movie. And, thank Christ they didn't go the Tommy route. Apparently, some of the scenes were taken from Syd's story, like the shaving off of the eyebrows. I was actually mildly disappointed when I attended one of Roger's The Wall shows in 2010, and some of the original animated segments were updated, most notably for Goodbye Blue Sky.
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bellbottoms
Pacific Coast Highway
Posts: 727
Likes: 201
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Post by bellbottoms on Feb 6, 2020 18:50:29 GMT
I think the extended video concept worked best. I don't think it would've been as effective had they gone the Quadrophenia route and made it a straight movie. And, thank Christ they didn't go the Tommy route. Apparently, some of the scenes were taken from Syd's story, like the shaving off of the eyebrows. I was actually mildly disappointed when I attended one of Roger's The Wall shows in 2010, and some of the original animated segments were updated, most notably for Goodbye Blue Sky. I like Tommy better than I like Quadrophenia (albums and movies). But I don’t mind musicals. In The Wall, the eyebrow shaving and the In the Flesh “concert” part reminded me an awful lot of David Bowie’s Thin White Duke/Station to Station phase. Actually the vocal performance of In the Flesh/? sounds rather Ziggy-era Bowie-esque to my ears, too. I was aware of it while listening to the album but the visuals in the film actually enhanced that impression. It’s neat… obviously I hear a Beach Boys influence throughout the album too, in a number of places. And once One of My Turns gets going in the second verse, it sounds very Who inspired both musically and with the vocal performance. All of the animated sections were fantastic, and I don’t think I can decide on a favourite. What was changed in Goodbye Blue Sky during the show you went to?
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Post by kds on Feb 6, 2020 19:16:29 GMT
I think the extended video concept worked best. I don't think it would've been as effective had they gone the Quadrophenia route and made it a straight movie. And, thank Christ they didn't go the Tommy route. Apparently, some of the scenes were taken from Syd's story, like the shaving off of the eyebrows. I was actually mildly disappointed when I attended one of Roger's The Wall shows in 2010, and some of the original animated segments were updated, most notably for Goodbye Blue Sky. I like Tommy better than I like Quadrophenia (albums and movies). But I don’t mind musicals. In The Wall, the eyebrow shaving and the In the Flesh “concert” part reminded me an awful lot of David Bowie’s Thin White Duke/Station to Station phase. Actually the vocal performance of In the Flesh/? sounds rather Ziggy-era Bowie-esque to my ears, too. I was aware of it while listening to the album but the visuals in the film actually enhanced that impression. It’s neat… obviously I hear a Beach Boys influence throughout the album too, in a number of places. And once One of My Turns gets going in the second verse, it sounds very Who inspired both musically and with the vocal performance. All of the animated sections were fantastic, and I don’t think I can decide on a favourite. What was changed in Goodbye Blue Sky during the show you went to? Yes, Waters changed used an updated animated background for Goodbye Blue Sky for this 2010-12 Wall Tour, which used an image of airplanes dropping corporate logos as bombs. There were a couple other new ones too, but I can't recall. He did retain the marching hammers from Waiting for the Worms. I feel the opposite in regards to Tommy and Quadrophenia. I love the Quadrophenia album and movie. I love the album Tommy, but I hate the movie.
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Post by kds on Feb 6, 2020 20:24:17 GMT
THE FINAL CUT (1983)
Thanks for bellbottoms for helping me set the stage for the next Floyd album. The Wall tour was done. Richard Wright was no longer in Pink Floyd. Rumor has it that Nick Mason would be next. A companion album to The Wall Film never happened. Instead the 1982 conflict over the Falkland Islands inspired Roger Waters's next idea for a Floyd album.
"The Final Cut - A Requiem of the Post War Dream - By Roger Waters Performed by Pink Floyd." That's how it appears on the back of the album.
In a way, The Final Cut is Pink Floyd's Love You. An album not an easily accessible that has pretty much polarized the fanbase. Some fans love it's stark honesty and emotional songs. Others say it shouldn't even be a Pink Floyd album. I find myself in the former group. But, I think one of the reasons The Final Cut tends to be a "difficult" album is that it lacks the longer instrumental passages that allows the darker lyrics space to breathe. Other than some short interludes, the vocals / lyrics are very much front and center, with just a few short solos from Gilmour, some piano work from Michael Kamen, and saxophone from Raphael Ravenscroft. Also, Roger Waters takes all of the lead vocals, save for two verses from Gilmour, and Waters's vocals are even more shouty than on the previous two albums (but not quite as shouty as his solo debut). Sometimes, this style worked, like on the beautiful title track, which is similar to Comfortably Numb in parts. Othertimes, not as well, like on The Fletcher Memorial Home.
The concept is a bit of a Wall sequel in that the school master reappears as a WWII vet and current teacher (in fact the actor from The Wall reprises his role in The Final Cut video EP), wrestling with memories from the war and feelings of angst at current politics. At times, the story is very powerful, never more than on The Gunner's Dream, a ballad told from the point of view of a tailgunner plummeting to the earth to meet his demise. The following track, a piano ballad, Paranoid Eyes, tells the story of the character trying to blend in at middle age.
Other highlights include the lone rocker on the album, and as a result a square peg, Not Now John. Probably the one song on the album that could've become a popular song if not for the liberal use of the word "fuck." It features Gilmour's vocal cameo and a great solo. As much as Gilmour didn't care for the album, his solos for this, the title track, Fletcher Memorial Home, and Your Possible Pasts are all brief reminders of Floyd's glory years. Sadly, he and Mason are merely sidemen on this album. The title track is an good as anything from the 1970s. The closing Two Suns in the Sunset provides a very bleak ending of a personal and political album with the lyrical reference to a nuclear bomb being dropped. The closing lyrics "We were all equal in the end" must have sounded quite bitterly ironic to Gilmour and Mason (and probably Wright too).
The album was actually well received by critics, but fans gave it the cold shoulder. Perhaps it was too personal, too political, too overwrought. Or, the lack of choruses, and the other Floyd members. Perhaps more shared vocals or a producer like Bob Ezrin could've helped make the album more commercial. But, I'm not sure it would've been as good. Gilmour is the better singer, but I don't think he could've delivered the lyrics on this album the way Roger did.
In the end, I think The Final Cut is a great album even if it's merits as a great Pink Floyd album can be debated.
In 1984, both David Gilmour and Roger Waters released solo albums and toured.
In 1985, Roger Waters announced he was leaving Pink Floyd, assuming this move would close the door on the band he founded 20 years prior. In hindsight, that has proven to be a momentary lapse of reason.
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bellbottoms
Pacific Coast Highway
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Likes: 201
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Post by bellbottoms on Feb 10, 2020 22:54:45 GMT
I seem to have stalled at two full listens of The Final Cut, and I think that might be all I’m willing to give it, at least for now. What a bleak and depressing album. Not that I think it’s terrible or anything, but overall it just isn’t really doing much for me.
That’s not to say it’s devoid of good songs. I like Your Possible Pasts, The Gunner’s Dream, Get Your Filthy Hands Off My Desert, and The Fletcher Memorial Home. I also *kind of* like Not Now John, but I also kind of don’t. I get a kick out of it when it starts – particularly the backup singers singing “Fuck all that!”, which is extremely amusing. But I’m just pretty much done with it after the guitar solo. Odd, considering it has all the makings of a song that I would like, but it just wears out its welcome, at the halfway mark, unfortunately.
Not saying I’d never listen to this album again, but at the moment I’m not feeling it.
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Post by kds on Feb 11, 2020 16:59:18 GMT
A MOMENTARY LAPSE OF REASON (1987)
In 1985, when Roger Waters left Pink Floyd, he assumed that would spell the end of the band. It turns out David Gilmour didn't feel that way. Gilmour started work on what would become A Momentary Lapse of Reason (AMOR) with the intention of making his third solo album. Instead, he and Nick Mason would work on the next Pink Floyd album. Roger Waters didn't think that Pink Floyd should carry on without him, so it became a legal matter. Along the way, Richard Wright was invited back into the fold (some day, this was in an effort to strengthen their case against Waters). In late 1987, the courts decided that David Gilmour, Nick Mason, and Richard Wright were Pink Floyd, though Roger would get a cut from all touring, and the current Floyd could not perform The Wall in its entirety.
The decision was somewhat moot as the public had already spoken, overwhelmly deciding that the new Floyd was valid. AMOR was already on shelves, and shows had been played to huge crowds. Meanwhile, Waters's second solo album struggled and he was playing to half empty arenas.
So, what of the album in question. Just as The Final Cut was basically a Waters solo album, one could say the same about AMOR for Gilmour. Mason plays very little on the album, and it's debatable whether or not Wright plays on the album at all (Wright's photo wasn't included on initial releases). Although the Gilmour lead Floyd, augmented by several session musicians and guest writers with the help of producer Bob Ezrin (who turned Waters down), AMOR managed to sound more like a Floyd album. The album is filled with Gilmour's voice and guitar, so that helps. He sings all of the lead vocals for the first time since More. The end result is a warmer more inviting album than The Final Cut, although I think it's more inconsistent. And while the sound does fall into some 1980s trappings, Waters managed to out 80s the Floyd with his own Radio KAOS album.
So, the good. The opening instrumental Signs of Life sets the stage pretty well. Learning to Fly is the album's most enduring track, and it probably the only post Waters Floyd song that gets regular Classic Rock spins. While the melody is somewhat similar to The Cars' Drive, it's an atmospheric track that recalls Floyd's pastoral past, and the lyrics are the most positive heard on a Floyd album in quite some time. On the Turning Away and Yet Another Movie move along nicely despite somewhat sparse melodies, but each are elevated by Gilmour's soloing. The closing track Sorrow, another Gilmour showcase, with it's hypnotic rhythm is quite powerful.
While AMOR is a far more accessible album than The Final Cut, it's far less consistent. The Dogs of War sounds like a Waters impersonation, and features a sax solo from Scott Page that lacks the warmth that Dick Parry and Raphael Ravenscroft provided on prior albums. One Slip is the most uber 80s track on the album. Dominated by synths, the fast paced track is also the only time Waters is missed musically as the slap bass is truly terrible. Terminal Frost is a decent but forgetable instrumental track. The two part A New Machine is just....there.
So, for the second time in their history, Pink Floyd decided to carry on without their primary songwriter. Although this time, they got a lot of help from outside musicians, writers, and producers. While it doesn't stack up to the 70s albums, there's a lot to like.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Feb 11, 2020 23:38:40 GMT
kds, I'm a little late with this question but why was Rick Wright let go?
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Post by kds on Feb 12, 2020 13:05:48 GMT
It was basically a personality clash. There had always been a bit of a divide in the band, dating back to the early days with Roger and Nick on one side and Syd and Rick on the other. Once David joined, it was Roger and Nick on one side and David and Rick on the other. Roger claimed that Rick wasn't pulling his weight once he stopped contributing song ideas, even though Roger was pretty much writing full albums on his own at that point (ca. 1979).
The divide I mentioned even continued in the post Floyd era. Nick would sometimes guest at Roger's shows. Rick joined Gilmour's solo band from 2006-2008. Rick was also the only bandmember to never guest at one of Roger's solo shows.
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