WISH YOU WERE HERE

Here comes my review of one of the great works of progressive music. Pink floyd were the first progressive band I was hooked on. In fact, they were my first inspiration to start playing guitar. I started with The Division Bell, still one of my favourites. Some time later I heard Shine on You Crazy Diamond for the first time. I was disturbed by the beauty of this song. Pink Floyd will always remain among my top prog bands.

1. Shine On You Crazy Diamond (I-V): The intro of intros. Never have I heard such beautiful subtlety. Extended intros usually feel drawn out and boring. This can't be further from the case here. It takes a full four minutes for the song to kick in, four minutes of perfect songwriting. An atmospheric pad and distant horned instrument pave the way for a beautiful warm guitar solo. The instruments kick in with a crescendo. We hear soulful playing all around. There is no such thing as a filler note here. The song alternates between periods of relaxed almost psychadelic moments and periods of harshly emotional intensity. The vocals start only after 9 minutes. This idea blew my mind away the first time I listened to it. I was used to three minute mainstream songs with vocals starting after a few seconds. The solos throughout the song amazed me, both the guitar and sax solos. The song fades out to the frustrated soloing of the song and the fading in of a machine like sound. The length of this song hooked me onto epic songs, and I have not had enough yet. [9+]

2. Welcome To The Machine: This is one song that stands your hair straight. The introduction is straight out of some dystopian horror. The guitar chords are beautifully sad. The vocals are madly desperate. The lyrics couldn't have been written better. This song weeds out your horrors of society and presents them to you on a plate. You get a beautiful amalgamation of cold synthetic sounds and sad guitar strumming. The perfect atmosphere. This is the epitome of songwriting. I believe that few can excel beyond this level. [9]

3. Have A Cigar: This is quite a relaxed interlude. It tends towards the more narcotic side of Pink Floyd. This is chilled out music at its peak. You almost start imagining yourself in a seedy nightclub smoking some Havana cigars and feeling the beat throughout your body. Even the reverb on the vocals fits the vision. There is not much to be said about this particular song. Though not a bad song, I do not consider it as one of their greatest hits. A great song to chill out with and makes for a great break in the pace of the album. [7+]

4. Wish You Were Here: The title track and a very emotional one, as the name suggests. Gilmour's forlorn vocals are heavenly. You can't help but sing along when the piano starts the accompaniment of the acoustic guitar. The main acoustic riff will forever reside in the hall of fame riffs, the unforgettable ones. Though the songwriting is not very dynamic, the nostalgia in this song is something you can't get enough of. This song is one that I have turned to several times during bad periods, and one that I will turn to in the future too. The song fades out to the sound of rushing air, leaving me motionless and deep in thought. Great song. [8+]

5. Shine On You Crazy Diamond (VI-IX): Though the first part of this epic is much more popular, I like this as much as the first if not more. This is definitely proggier in the traditional sense. The beginning is rife with interesting weird keys, with the structure changing slightly at around 2:30, placing the guitar up front, whining a desperate solo. Beautiful harmony at around 4:20. It all quietens down a little bit around 4:40, letting loose another hall of fame riff. The vocals start up, with the melody being a continuation of that in the first part. Then you get a spaced out transition at 6:06, with clean arpeggios fading into a great jazzy section. This part is amazing. Relaxing jazzy chords sound out, accompanied by lap steel guitar and a bright gritty bass. Another beautiful transition at 9:10 or so, when the last slow section comes up. Piano chords and the horn instrument from the beginning play out to treat us to a very chilled out yet emotional outro. An amazing composition. [9+]

The average here works out to be 8.8. However, seeing as the two great tracks make up more than half of the album, and the rest not being too far below, I will gladly give this a 9. I don't wish to say anything more of this masterpiece. It really is one of the prog openers that most enthusiasts would have already listened to. I wish there were many more like this record. OVERALL, 9.0