Pink
Floyd rose from the ashes of an otherwise forgotten London band, Sigma
6, in 1965. Syd Barrett, Rick Wright, Roger Waters, and Nick Mason toyed
with various names, including The Meggadeaths, before settling on Pink
Floyd, inspired by American blues artists Pink Anderson and Floyd Council.
Evolving
quickly from R&B covers and the like, Pink Floyd blossomed under Barrett’s
inspired, madcap leadership into the preeminent psychedelic pop band. Indeed,
fueled by Barrett’s frequent adventures with then-legal LSD, the music
soared into entirely uncharted sonic territory, combining the new pallet
of distortion guitar with classically influenced organ and driving percussion.
Lyrically the songs painted a bemused and whimsical landscape of interstellar
travel and childhood daydreams, a terrain perfectly suited as a soundtrack
for countless thousands of neophyte acid trippers.
But
Barrett’s fading sanity, eroded by his passion for LSD, soon began to take
its toll, and after the release of their first LP Piper At the Gates Of
Dawn, Barrett’s friend, David Gilmore was hired as second guitar and by
the second LP Saucerful Of Secrets, Barrett was out of the band. Following
the trajectory of Barrett’s vision, the sophomore effort was darker and
more formal than it’s predecessor, while managing reasonable chart action
in the UK. Stateside, Pink Floyd became a staple of the new unformatted
FM stations that sprang up in the late sixties looking for popular music
that took good advantage of the stereo format and increased fidelity of
FM. With stations in over 150 markets, “free-format” FM broke away from
three minute singles and Pink Floyd was in the forefront, creating extended
compositions incorporating pop song structures (often with blues influences),
grand orchestrations, and sonic-sculpture guitar improvisations.
Each
successive album, supported by regular concert tours built Pink Floyd’s
stature and broadened their epic ambition. The release of Dark Side of
the Moon is 1973 was a thunderclap across all of pop music. A tour-de-force
of production, arrangement, song-writing and timing, Dark Side rose to
#1 on the Billboard chart and stayed there, each successive week opening
new markets, new radio adds, and legions of new fans (“Which one’s Pink?”).
The album was to remain on the chart for the next 12 years, carving Pink
Floyd a legend that remains untouched to date and will likely remain indefinitely.
But
what do you do after you conquer the world? Wish You Were Here and Animals,
to be sure, sold millions of records and were supported by record-breaking,
over-the-top tours. But it wasn’t until The Wall, Roger Waters dismal vision
of modern life and alienation, that Pink Floyd would again break new ground.
Waters’ influence though darker and more earth-bound, also yielded material
better suited to the singles format; Another Brick In The Wall became a
#1 hit single in both the US and UK. The touring production for The Wall
involved the construction of a huge wall between the band and the audience
during the show and remains to this day one of the most ambitious road
shows ever toured.
Pink
Floyd wobbled into the 1980’s under Water’s brooding leadership. A massive
and loyal fan-base notwithstanding, the creative output began to falter
and by 1986, the band had split, with Wright out of the picture and Waters
in a suit against Gilmore and Mason to dissolve the partnership. Waters
lost the suit and was out of the band. Gilmore and Mason, and later Wright,
forged ahead and again regained the charts with A Momentary Lapse of Reason
in 1987. It was followed (after a seven year lapse) by The Division Bell
in 1994 again to top the charts, this time in the company of Metallica
and Pearl Jam - a long road from the days of the Walker Brothers and Cat
Stevens in 1967.
As
of this writing (late 1997) a year of reunion rumors appear to be based
in truth. Apparently Roger Waters will rejoin Wright, Mason and Gilmore
in a new album project and subsequent tour, a prospect which threatens
to bring together once again, one of the most successful and important
rock bands of all time.
Milo
Westminister, 12/97
