THE ENDLESS RIVER

I was actually surprised when I saw the amount of five star (perfect) ratings that "The Endless River" achieved upon its addition to this site. I mean, I thought the album was good when my special edition arrived and I took a listen, but I honestly thought the album would be shrugged off as a complete dud of Pink Floyd.

Turns out no, so I suppose this means they did it right even when the entire prog-fan community had their eyes on them all from the announcement to its final release. I guess this sort of shows how good even 2/5 of this band can be. Not to mention they still had to deal with people whining about the lack of Waters, and had to dodge scathing remarks over him not being included. I honestly don't understand how people couldn't assume that Waters wasn't going to be on the release, after all, I thought the lawsuits, insults, and overall meanness towards each other spoke for itself.

But with that aside, is this album really worth it? And the answer is yes. Although the album has alot of swan-song not to mention pieces that feel like they should have been expounded on, it's still a great release, not to mention a great way to go out in style.

The album stars out well enough; 'Things Left Unsaid' is a little mediocre but nothing I would hate anytime soon. The same goes for 'It's What We Do'. The album really starts to get going in my opinion on 'Skins', an highly interesting track. Another highlight is 'Anisina', which combines the regular progressive Pink Floyd with a lot of ambiance. 'On Noodle Street' and 'The Lost Art of Conversation' are great, and I wish that they could have been expounded on in the slightest to make them a little longer. 'Allons-Y (1)' and 'Allons-Y (2)' both are more familiar Pink Floyd songs. Quicker guitar riffing with some light bursts of synth. Both are pretty nice. 'Talkin' Hawkin'' probably has to be my favorite, with a nice flow along with an amazing ambient score. The constant rhythm is quite catchy and nice, and I suppose you could say this is the only other song that has anything along the lines of lyrics on it (Professor Hawking speaks some words about the universe). 'Eyes To Pearls' is a short, dark acoustic song, and is actually pretty cool to listen to, with echoing drums and an ominous guitar playing. 'Surfacing' contains a much brighter mood not un-similar to content of the 1979 release of The Wall. It's pretty basic when it comes for content on this album, but I guess it isn't bad.

'Louder Than Words' has been said to be an amazing farewell song by the band, and I must agree. Of course, it is more like something from The Division Bell more than anything else, and if you were expecting anything different, then you will be disappointed. It contains many cool rhythms, as well as some surprisingly good vocals from Gilmour. Polly Samson, who co-wrote the song, did a quite bang-up job. It's fantastic melodramatic tune, and is a great closer to the song. Definitely a highlight to the song.

Pink Floyd's 2014 release of The Endless River is completely worth its salt. Although maybe not as good as The Dark Side of The Moon or Wish You Were Here, The Endless River is an awe-inspiring finish to this band, and I would suggest getting it. Essential to any true-hearted Pink Floyd fan.

Go give it a listen.