ZEE: IDENTITY

Richard Wright disappoints with his refusal to take on lyrical and vocal duties, leaving those to the less familiar voice and pen of Dave Harris. The lyrics by Harris are pointless, what happened to Rick's Skill with Summer 68? Beside that the album is middle of the road, with some of the most interesting 80s soundscapes you will hear and a great brooding atmosphere. The music is unmuddled and sparse, which makes it easy to follow. The Fairlight is unique and the percussion is electric but heavy. The album is dark and Floydian and sometimes gets to the creepy heights one would associate with Floyd, like on the track "Cuts Like A Diamond." Other favorites are "Confusion" which you will come back for, and Private Person. The album has some very weak parts, but the worst is the boringness which comes with playing the album through, as the tracks seem variations on some robot's self-same theme. Overall a nice little album that sounds different and a good talisman from the 80s to have, even if it seems unnecessarily purged of Rick's presence.

My theory is that the key tickler was on drugs in the late 70s and early 80s. It messed up his career big time. Gilmour didn't even really want him back at first but learned to love him by the time of Division Bell. He conquered his demons, or so it would seem. Zee may have been an early attempt to do so.