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Pink Floyd - More (OST) CD (album) cover

MORE (OST)

Pink Floyd

Psychedelic/Space Rock


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Sean Trane
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Prog Folk
4 stars More or less???

With the commercial pop side now eluding Floyd's attempts, French cineaste Shroeder's proposition to create the soundtrack for his first film must've fallen from the skies, a bit as Zeus' gift. This project is instrumental in Floyd's middle career, definitely turning its back from the pop single market. Some progheads have problems considering this album a real Floyd album (some even pointing the group did as well), mostly due to the OSF letters printed on the intriguing psychedelic artwork. But there are a lot of real gems on More, some are even classic Floyd songs. If some people are put off by this, the shorter song format and the word Soundtrack are the culprits. Do indulge as this is a real Floyd album, because it is quite instrumental and experimental and very representative of Floyd's then-actual soundscapes.

Most of the songwriting is handled by Waters (especially on the first side) and Wright and Gilmour only handle one "song" each, and if the flipside is more collegially credited to the whole band, there is little doubt that Roger was the main architect. However Gilmour is the sole singer on all tracks. Two of their heaviest Floyd songs ever, Nile Song and its alter-ego on the flipside Ibiza Bar, can even be considered as proto-heavy-metal. There are some delicious quiet and smooth gliding tracks like the introductory Cirrus Minor and the Main Theme; like there are other musical passages to illustrate story scenes and sequences (I'm thinking of The Party Sequence or Up The Khyber). Few of these tracks will find a spot in their live sets, apart from the superb Cymbaline (generally extended) and to a lesser extent Green Is The Colour (who will be fused with Eugene's Axe), but it is a bit of a shame, because most have the typical Floyd stamp in them, beit Mason's tape and noises or Wright's splendid dreamy Farsifa organ layers.

Actually it is a bit of a wonder how the film does not take a better advantage of those Floyd tracks, as they are mixed in way too low in the movie. The movie's plot is about the downfall of a German student falling for an American woman in Paris and a sordid plunge into the world of hard drugs in Ibiza, some soft-nudity scenes (but quite risqué at the time) and a sordid ending - as accurate a statement the movie is, it does not fit the beautiful music of the soundtrack. Most tracks are unfortunately cut before their end or interrupted by dialogue. Better stick to the album as the movie does not bring much new elements for enjoyment, even if it definitely worth a screening or two. Three stars for the movie and four stars for the "soundtrack", More or less.

Report this review (#8244)
Posted Tuesday, February 3, 2004 | Review Permalink
freak_71_@hot
5 stars I am a big fan of floyd's music and MORE is one of my favorite album.I view the movie today and i love it it's just too perfect. A miracoulus mix of acoustic(green is the color) and electric(Ibiza bar) make this album a very good album.
Report this review (#8238)
Posted Sunday, May 2, 2004 | Review Permalink
daveconn
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars Some artists are a natural for soundtracks: TANGERINE DREAM, VANGELIS and, so it would seem, PINK FLOYD. The band recorded this collection of songs and instrumentals for the Barbet Schroeder film, More (they would go on to score another of his films, released as "Obscured By Clouds"). Soundtracks are often a dicey deal, producing on command a pale imitation of an artist's original hue or indulging delusions of grandeur by dressing their sometimes humble muse in orchestral robes. Not so More, which sticks close to the plan established for their studio albums: soporific ballads, psychedelic sandstorms, and eerie instrumental noodling. It's not up to the level of A Saucerful of Secrets -- the band wasn't going to waste their best ideas on a film no one was going to see -- but it is closer to the genuine article than you would expect. The sleepy "Cirrus Minor" and its explosive followup, "The Nile Song", set the tone for the album's calculated desire to lull listeners to sleep only to rouse them with sonic overload. It's these songs and a handful of others ("Crying Song", "Green Is The Colour", "Cymbaline", "Ibiza Bar") that represent More's real achievement. Despite some interesting moments like the avant jazz duet of WRIGHT and MASON on "Up The Khyber" or the eerie journey of "Quicksilver", the instrumentals generally represent filler. Unfortunately, nothing on here aspires to an "Interstellar Overdrive" or "Careful With That Axe, Eugene." Seen as a hybrid of a studio album and a soundtrack, you'll get a better picture of what More has to offer. It's no substitute for the studio albums, but it is a nice supplement to them.
Report this review (#8239)
Posted Monday, May 3, 2004 | Review Permalink
frenchie
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars and once again, the floyd never cease to amaze. pink floyd had been moving on from the loss of syd and had started to let gilmour prove himself. the band took a step in a new direction by producing a soundtrack to drug film "more" but this album is a clear stepping stone between saucerful where the band were progressing from the immature sound into psychadelic prog rock.

more also paves the way for ummagumma. there are similarities to the ummagumma studio album here. cirrus minor and grantchester meadows are rogers acoustic pieces which are quite dark and ordinary and quite similar to each other. more also experiments with guitar effects and has the biggest range of musical genres on any floyd album, including blues, tribal music, spanish acoustic pieces, trippy and psychadelic songs, and the "heavy" "nile song". very experimental and there will be parts of the album you dont like but these will be made up as there are lots of songs that will please you. this album isnt for everyone but because it is so experimental then it will suit anyones taste as there each floyd fan will get something different out of this album. shine on...

Report this review (#8240)
Posted Tuesday, May 18, 2004 | Review Permalink
James Lee
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator
3 stars It's surprising there aren't more film soundtracks by prog bands, with their penchant for ambient instrumentals and extended narratives. I'm sure the FLOYD boys learned a thing or two in the process of scoring (at the very least, how to fill up an album). "More" could very well be thought of as the third side of "Ummagumma", as the two albums were recorded at the same time, in the same studio. Perhaps the band needed a release from the more abstract experimentations; many of the songs here are more straightforward, if no less diverse. The main beneficiary from this album is the songwriting- these lyrics and structures are already an improvement over the occasionally clumsy moments of "Saucerful". "Ibiza Bar" is a transitional piece somewhere between Barrett-era psychedelia and the heavy, aggresive "Nile Song", which itself sounds like nothing else in the band's discography- although it does remarkably forsee MUDHONEY/ SCREAMING TREES- style grunge. Cirrus Minor", "Crying Song", "Green is the Colour", and "Cymbaline" are lovely acoustic pieces, marred slightly by strange mixing techniques. The vocals especially seem buried, although this might just be due to a little lingering insecurity from the singers.

The instrumental tracks lack some of the vision which kept much of "Ummagumma" from sounding aimless, but it's still enjoyable just to hear how good PINK FLOYD sounded even when they were just jamming. There's fun to be had even in the throwaways; fans of Gilmour's guitarwork are required to hear his unadulterated blues soloing on (of course) "More Blues" and flemenco attempt on the goofy "Spanish Piece".

Definitely not to be passed over; this is the connection between "Saucerful of Secrets" and "Meddle". The songs confirm that Syd's departure was not a crippling blow, and the instrumentals have plenty of the band's characteristic flavour. If there had been one or two more memorable songs, it would have been a classic; as it stands, it's a great snapshot of FLOYD history with many enjoyable moments.

Report this review (#8249)
Posted Thursday, August 5, 2004 | Review Permalink
Chris S
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator
4 stars What an excellent soundtrack! I love More in it's entirety and even looking at the film a few years back although dated it still managed to capture the free spirit of the late 60's in Europe ( ibiza of all places) and the experimentation of drugs. Times have changed but Ibiza is still renowned for drugs more in the shape of ectasy not LSD though. This soundtrack was way ahead of it's time and speaks volumes as to why PF managed to make such giant leaps musically within small periods of time. The album starts with ' Cirrus Minor', a beautifully soft lazy track full of nostalgia and a cacophony of blackbirds chirping in the background.' Nile song' is a real rocker of a number. The most poignant song on the album ' Cymbaline' has great paranoid lyrics like ' ...apprehension creeping like a tube train up your spine...'.' Green is the colour' is also a great track. Side two is more instrumental bringing together more spanish type themes but ' Quicksilver' really standouts the most. All in all a very accomplished sound and I wonder why sales were never that big for this. Perhaps the soundtrack tag had a negative impact.Highly recommended!
Report this review (#8250)
Posted Thursday, September 2, 2004 | Review Permalink
rconstant@cli
2 stars ok ok, ill will not talk about syd barret, or if he could have a long a and brilliant career, some time ago, i had almost all the pink floyd records, nowadays, its not necessary (More, Ummagumma), about this record, i would the first six songs are at least originals, the first one is very relaxing with birds and ducks (the old formula), the nile song i believe is the only hard rock done by pink floyd,... green is the colour and cynbaline are far the best songs on this album very beautifull songs and of course done by waters, then the record becomes without inspiration, repetitiv, and pointless. Fans only or only fans?
Report this review (#8252)
Posted Monday, December 20, 2004 | Review Permalink
TRoTZ
PROG REVIEWER
2 stars This is a record entirely made to a movie soundtrack so don't expect great originality from Pink Floyd's third album. The characteristic psychedelic sound have had almost vanished in prior of calm instrumental ambiences and calm melodies (what to expect from a soundtrack anyway?) that fit very well on the film. In fact, Pink Floyd's soundtrack is the best the movie has to offer.

We can listen some of their previous records clichés. The title track from "A Saucerful Of Secrets" appears in the sad church organ in Cirrus Minor but also in the crescendo drumming overture and subsequent psycho sounding of Up The Khyber. The album also offers the hard rocking tracks The Nile Song and Ibiza Bar; the country Green Is The Colour; and some spacey passages in Main Theme and specially QuickSilver (more again sounding like a track taken from the previous record).

The story of the film (and album) I transcribed it from IMDB: "The making of a heroin addict. Stefan, fresh from college, hitches from Germany to Paris, where he does a little breaking and entering to get some money and soon meets Estelle, a young American. Even through a friend warns him off Estelle, Stefan falls for her (she's quixotic). Although he's quickly petulant and possessive, she invites him to follow her to Ibiza for romance in the sun and sand. There Stefan meets another German, Wolf, whose connection with Estelle Stefan can't fathom. He also meets Kathy, whose relationship with Estelle is also unclear at first. What explains her disappearances and furtive behavior? And once Stefan understands, what will he do about it?"

Not an essential album of progressive rock, the more progressive sounding derivates from their previous releases. Nevertheless, it shows the idea of globalization of the psychedelic movement. Basically, for Pink Floyd's fans or great collectors.

My rate: 6/10

Report this review (#8253)
Posted Wednesday, December 29, 2004 | Review Permalink
FloydWright
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars After the departure of SYD BARRETT, but before the ascendency of lyrical giant ROGER WATERS and guitar giant DAVID GILMOUR, More shows the true talents of PINK FLOYD's most underrated musicians: RICK WRIGHT and NICK MASON (keyboards and drums respectively). In my opinion, it was these two who helped to maintain the continuity of the PINK FLOYD style during this transitional period, and it's a real shame they were overshadowed later on in the band's career. The chaotic, jazzlike piece "Up the Khyber" says it all...although there is a little bass in it as well, both WRIGHT and MASON truly shine.

RICK WRIGHT fans will appreciate the prominence of his Farfisa organ in songs such as "Cirrus Minor", "Main Theme", and "Quicksilver"; this will also give you somewhat of an idea what he was like in concert during this time period.

NICK MASON fans should enjoy the more elaborate, improvisational, sometimes Eastern drumming style he shows in songs like "Party Sequence" (foreshadowing of the intro of "Time", perhaps?), "Main Theme", and "Up the Khyber", very much in contrast to his more laid-back style in later albums.

Another interesting feature of this album is the strangely "hard" songs for PINK FLOYD, "The Nile Song" and "Ibiza Bar". Although completely different from anything else in the Pink Floyd catalogue (except maybe a vocal resemblance to Momentary Lapse's "Dogs of War"), they are very enjoyable. Another style you rarely hear, but is important to the PINK FLOYD sound, is the blues: "More Blues" is an interesting piece, although I wish the drums wouldn't start and stop the way they do.

In general, I would characterise More as a fascinating picture of the band's late 60's style. Although a soundtrack, it stands alone very well, and you will not be disappointed. All in all, I give this album three stars...maybe it isn't one of the PINK FLOYD masterpieces, but give More its fair chance--especially those of you who would like a "Rick and Nick" album.

Report this review (#8255)
Posted Tuesday, January 4, 2005 | Review Permalink
3 stars The first album without Barret presence is More Soundtrack. It isn´t a bad album, in fact it has beautiful psychdelic songs, but we are far from Progressive Rock yet. Cirrus minor is beautiful but sounds a bit like Saucerful of secrets" end. Nile song is a good rock song. Cymbaline, Crying song and Green is the colour are excellent ballads but it can be a kind of acoustic and repetitive.. I am only mentioning reasons because i dont give it 4 stars. As an early work, more is great
Report this review (#8256)
Posted Tuesday, January 18, 2005 | Review Permalink
Cluster One
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars A highly under-rated and neglected PINK FLOYD album. This is good experimental stuff. If you are a FLOYD fan, this album belongs in your collection. Although musically experimental, Floyd is starting to settle down and one can see how Waters' leadership is beginning to coalesce after the highly ambitious, yet disjointed "A Saucerful of Secrets".

"More" can be divided into its two parts: 1) Original songs with vocals; and 2) Instrumental, soundtrack pieces. Surprisingly enough, especially for a soundtrack album, it's in the 'original song compositions' and not the instrumentals that FLOYD acheive new heights.

PINK FLOYD are masters at starting their albums off with a signature track/sound. 'Astronomy Domine', 'Speak To Me', 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond', 'Pigs on the Wing', 'Signs of Life' and 'Cluster One' are all classic FLOYD intros that set the mood for the album in their own way. 'Cirrus Minor' exemplifies that tradition with its atmospheric-setting tropical bird sounds, acoustic guitar intro and haunting Gilmour vocals. Don't miss Rick Wright's wonderful keyboard outro here.

'Cirrus Minor', 'The Nile Song', 'Green Is The Colour' and 'Cymbaline' are all FLOYD classics. These are the reasons you should own this album. 'Green' and 'Cymbaline' became band staples whilst they toured in the early 70's prior to their "DSOTM" success, and were often stretched into long 10+ minute improvisational pieces. FLOYD showcased the 'Azimuth Coordinator' technology during 'Cymbaline' as they manipulated and projected quad sound effects (usually footsteps) towards speakers located in the four corners of the arena.

'Green Is The Colour' shows what Gilmour could do when allowed to write his own music. Rick Wright's work on the keyboards compliment Gilmour's voice and guitar really nicely on this little tune. It is here that 'The softer side of the Pink Floyd Sound' is born. (For more info see Wright/Gilmour's later collaboration and vocal harmonies on 'Echoes' and 'Us & Them'.)

'Ibiza Bar' is a little known song that along with 'The Nile Song' show some of the earliest elements of an almost 'proto-heavy metal' sound similar to that found in GENESIS' 'The Knife'. Amazing that these FLOYD songs were written in 1969!

As for the instrumental work, some are good, and some are quite inadequate. 'More Blues', 'Main Theme' and 'Dramatic Theme' are all typical instrumental FLOYD. However, 'Up the Khyber', 'Party Sequence' and especially 'Quicksilver' are forgettable at best, and are easily seen as the soundtrack filler that they really are. 'Quicksilver' is quite possibly the worst piece of FLOYD music in existence. Yes, even worse than 'Dogs of War' (haha)

Overall, an experimental album, and the first of their big three 'soundtrack' albums. If you only own "Dark Side" and "The Wall", then skip this offering. If you are more adventurous, and enjoy more risky FLOYD, give this one a try. 3/5 stars

Report this review (#8260)
Posted Wednesday, February 23, 2005 | Review Permalink
bbigio@hotmai
3 stars I bought this album expecting to find an experimental and initial work, as the one reflected in "Ummagumma". I can say it is more listenable than "Ummagumma", because it's more accurate for those who aren't used to this band, but it lacks the deepness of "Ummagumma's Live Album" and the psychaedelic stuff put out at Gilmour's revealing performance in "The Narrow Way", at "Ummagumma's Studio Album".

I think the comparison between both albums isn't absurd, since both creations were released at the same time (1969). I'm not saying either that "More" is an "out of the line" Floyd album. There are some very pretty and mellow, yet not so elaborated, lyric- songs:

1.-Cirrus Minor. -You can hear the singing of several birds (echoing "Grantchester Meadows", of Ummagumma), afterwards the voice of Waters reaching a very strange tone when saying: "saw a crater in the sun", and Rick Wright's organ that concludes softly this piece (there's nothing in common with his gratness in "A Saucerful of Secrets"). 2.-Nile Song. -Probably the only "hard rock" you can find on Floyd's records. 3.-Crying Song. -A very "high" song, although it's repetitive. 4.-Green is the colour. -A nice romantic song, but pretty "western". 5.-Cymbaline. -Maybe in this song you can appreciate Water's talent as a "music poet". The best lyrics at all. This is a great metaphor of those (artists or not) that are being destroyed by critics, managers, fans or even drugs. Probably Waters is remembering to the fans what happened to Syd Barret and it can be easily compared to "The Wall" (DVD), when the main character is sitting in a chair, with the doors shut and people outside yelling and screaming. "The ravens all are closing in there's nowhere you can hide". 6.-Ibiza Bar. -Follows the same path of "Nile Song", but no so "hard", because of the slighter and better performance of Mason with the cymbals.

Among these themes are settled some instrumental songs that disappointed me. Nevertheless, there are some exceptions: 1.-Up the Khyber. -It's a good combination of two genious: Wright and Mason. Wright here is amazing with the piano sounds, which made me remember his great "Sisyphus Part II" at "Ummagumma". Highly recommended. 2.-"Party Sequence". -A waist of record. 3.-"Main Theme". -Lacks the psychaedelic higness of "Up the Khyber", but it's more spatial and sounds a little bit like Alan Parsons. 4.-"More Blues". -It seems like if this song had not been completed. 5.-"Quicksilver". -A [%*!#]ing mess, without the amusement and planification of the masterpiece "Echoes". All shadow is an incomplete and imperfect realization of the "idea" that imitates. Not even a shadow. That's the relationship between these two pieces. (Moreover, at some time (2:18) you can notice that the recording sounds terrible). 6.-"Spanish Piece". -The most stupid thing done by Gilmour. 7.-"Dramatic Theme". -I can "save" this piece from drowning with the other, because it's a great way to finish an album.

So, in main lines, a very shallow perfection with the lyric-songs and a crazy maze of the instrumental ones, although the exceptions I mentioned in each one of them. If you don't own yet albums such as "DSOM", "Meddle", "Animals", "Piper at the Gates...", don't even dare to buy it.

Report this review (#8261)
Posted Wednesday, March 2, 2005 | Review Permalink
soundsweird
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars Although I haven't seen the movie, I'm sure this music works quite well as a soundtrack for a film that's basically about drug use among young hippies in Europe. Several tracks have a gauzy, out-of-the-body atmosphere that almost seems to slow the passage of time. So, this album often gets played when I'm in the mood for that kind of music late at night. Of course, this means that the loud pieces get programmed out, but that's no big deal. I'm not a big fan of "The Nile Song", which pre-dates punk by almost a decade. I remember liking this album the first time I listened to it, which was sometime in the early 70's before DSOTM came out. I think it fits in rather well with their other albums from the same period, and would recommend it to anyone who likes the period between "Saucerful..." and "Meddle". And don't forget the recently issued and expanded "Zabriskie Point" soundtrack, which features several Floyd tracks that appear nowhere else (including a song that's got a distinct country influence!). It comes from the same period as the music from "More".
Report this review (#8263)
Posted Tuesday, March 15, 2005 | Review Permalink
loserboy
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars Written and recorded as a soundtrack to director Barbet Schroeder's dystopian hippie road flick "More" (1969). On top of the various short number of movie tracks there are also a number of great classic FLOYD songs which actually made their way into the live sets in the late 60's and early 70's (Cymbaline, Green In The Colour and Cirrus Minor). This heavily psychedelic-laced album explores some pretty trippy zones and mixes both soft blues rock and psychedelic genres. In many ways this album is reminiscent of "Atom Hearted Mother". Overall a classic album and although I suppose is considered by most to be a soundtrack, really represents a full fledged PINK FLOYD album for me. 100% Essential
Report this review (#8264)
Posted Friday, March 25, 2005 | Review Permalink
robbierobbo@y
4 stars I'd actually give this a high rating as I reckon 1969 was a good Floyd year. If anyone else has got the BBC studio recordings of the Narrow Way and Green is the Colour I think you'll know what I mean. And more does give us the definitive studio version of Cymbeline with some lovely keyboard work from Rick Wright as well as Green is the Colour and the Main Theme which was so typical Floyd at that time. I am one of those who do see 1968-1972 as the heyday of progressive music - i reckon it lost a bit of steam before punk (pub-rock music didn't help either), and for me More is a much under-rated Floyd album.
Report this review (#38504)
Posted Monday, July 4, 2005 | Review Permalink
Certif1ed
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator
3 stars More of the good stuff can be found on other albums...

Ambient birdsong, panned manically around the stereo "picture" creates an odd environment, and a perfect one from which to kick off a prog album. Combined with the cuckoo, and acoustic guitar/mellotron entry, we have flavours from "Saucerful..." and what would become "Ummagumma" - particularly "Grantchester Meadows", and Waters' vocals evoke a similar English pastoral theme with a dose of melancholy.

"Cirrus Minor" builds gently and texturally with a retrospective air, and is a beautiful start to an inconsistent and somewhat patchy, but hugely enjoyable proto-prog album. The jarring counter-melodies and insistent birdsong give the absorbing other-worldly ambience that the Floyd are famous for.

This is kind of spoilt by "The Nile Song", which robs the album of consistency in a single stroke. It's an enjoyable rockout - a kind of simplified "Careful With That Axe Eugene", but the stereo mix (on the original vinyl) prevents it from being as heavy as it deserves, and it's positioning is a little intrusive. In itself, however, it rocks, and Gilmour takes the opportunity for some real Spinal Tap style noodling in a rare moment of exuberance.

"Crying Song" begins with some beautiful ambience - please excuse my overuse of the word here, but it is, after all, what Floyd do best. As a song it seems remarkably unremarkable - but if you listen to the lyrics, this is a song of hope which considers more the postive outcomes rather than dwelling on the sad aspects.

"Up The Khyber" kicks off with a "Saucerful" style drum pattern, but builds nicely into a freeform jazz like medley, with fabulous, scrunchy dischords and mad panning, overlaid with some dark effects. Mysteriously, this avoids sounding completely random, and sadly, Floyd end it before it develops.

"Green Is The Colour" is a pleasant enough song - very mellow, with enjoyable guitar and piano, but the recorder is somewhat intrusive and not well played.

Likewise, "Cymbelline" is musically unremarkable, but has a nice ethnic feel thanks to the bongos, and it's worth hanging in there for the pads and keyboard lines in the closing minute or so, which are nicely engaging.

The bongos in "Party Sequence" provide a great ethnic party feel, slightly reminiscent of Comus - but it's over much too quickly, and seems irrelevant.

"Main Theme" is more like it. Enthusiastic panning on the opening Gong gives way to dischordant and haunting keyboards anticipating "Ummagumma", and the gong provides a background wash to a psychedelic bass/drum entry. Top that lot off with electronic effects and a Jarre-like melody, with flavours of Hillage (more than half a decade later!) and you're onto a psychedelic/prog winner with a mysteriously timeless feel. A wonderful piece of exploration.

"Ibiza Bar" appears to be an attempt to mirror side 1 of the original vinyl, as it is in a similar vein to "The Nile Song" - indeed, there are many similarities in the music. The mixing is better, though, and I prefer this to the latter. Fans of Kula Shaker will hear much that is familiar in the treatment of the structure here.

Continuing the mirroring of side 1, "More Blues" is a wonderfully "dubby" approach to a blues standard that I absolutely love. The only thing wrong with it is that it is MUCH too short!

"Quicksilver" is a journey into electronica par excellence, developing the "gong wash" motif in "Main Theme" and hinting at "Dark Side Of The Moon" in the atmospherics - which are haunting and even spine-chilling in places, with more nods to the studio sessions on "Ummagumma".

"Spanish Piece" is very enjoyable - check out the manic voices, and Gilmour's great Flamenco interpretation.

"Dramatic Theme" ends the album well enough, although it gives the impression of a Floyd on tickover and not at their creative height, as, for Floyd, it is remarkably uninventive and simply seems to re-use old material, without providing a sense of coherence or even ending to this album.

Possibly that's the way it's meant to be - this album providing a collage of ideas that would be worked or rejected on "Ummagumma" to the more sophisticated prog rock band that would go on to create "Animals".

In summary, some utterly superb - even masterful - moments, and far better than simply a collection filler - but by no means essential, unless you're a Floyd fan who really appreciates their early work.

Report this review (#38627)
Posted Wednesday, July 6, 2005 | Review Permalink
Eclipse
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars Experimental albums like this and Ummagumma always suffer from the bad of being strongly underrated by the public. But one has to try to see the nuances of these special gems, and once they are showed, the listener will sure be more pleased and may have her/his opinion about the album changed to a more positive one.

This is the first soundtrack album recorded by PINK FLOYD, it was recorded in just one week at the same year their other experimental work Ummagumma was being made. It's very different from their other OST Obscured by Clouds, which is far more rock directioned and easily enjoyable by the mainstream audience. This, on the other hand, is a much tougher listen even for floydian fans since it is more based on instrumentation variety and various musical styles are combined altogether making this the more eccletic FLOYD album. We have here mellow songs like "Cirrus Minor", "Green in the Colour" and "Cymbaline" - all classics - which are very opposite to tracks like "Ibiza Bar" and "Nile Song", the two heavy metal sisters found here and looking awfully out of place. There's also the shorts "Spanish Piece" and "Party Sequence", a light joke by Dave that works much better than "Seamus" and a drum based track with somewhat of a jungle theme respectively. Both are fine songs that don't ruin the album but on their own are quite mediocre ones. We also have blues on the obviously named "More Blues", which it's quite a nice short piece with a nice guitar flow by Dave and some jazz on "Up the Khyber" that shows Rick and Nick in the spotlight and it is based on the second part of the "Saucerful of Secrets" mini-epic. "Crying Song" is very dreamy ballad and would be an excellent follower for "Cirrus Minor", were not the incovenient appearance of "Nile Song" on the way. The other three lasting instrumentals "Main Theme", "Quicksilver" and "Dramatic Theme" are all very grossly underrated. The first one is an amazing trip through Rick's synths and my favorite song from the album. The second is a new-agey track that perhaps goes too long but can still be a nice trip as well if you listen to it with an open mind. And the third is the album's closer, which is nothing special but not bad either.

By the way, on the movie version of "Cymbaline", we have some different lyrics:

Instead of...

"Will the tightrope reach the end? Will the final couplet rhyme?" -album's lyrics

...we have...

"Standing by with a book in his hand, It's an easy word to rhyme." -movie's lyrics

And in the movie version the vocals are done by Roger Wates instead of David Gilmour.

This album has its great moments. It's a soundtrack, yes, but it deserves some attention too. Sadly this is often overlooked and not appreciated as it should be (like Atom Heart Mother). On the other hand, it is not that special and it's much inferior to its predecessor, but we have to understand that PINK FLOYD was just borning and discovering their sound, mainly because they lost Syd Barrett who was the mastermind of the band on the debut. "Saucerful of Secrets" already proved that they could make a great job on the tracks without Syd, and "More" is already quite a huge accomplishment for a soundtrack album.

Report this review (#40964)
Posted Saturday, July 30, 2005 | Review Permalink
Seyo
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator
3 stars Interesting soundtrack worth checking out!

Although this is far from being essential FLOYD stuff, still there are few very good moments on this album. Waters is already taking a prominent role as composer, so mellow psyche ballad "Cirrus Minor", heavy metal riff "The Nile Song", or "Cymbaline" are among his best. The first half of the album up to the "Main Theme" is actually pretty good if not yet musically structured. The last several titles are wasting time and are typical boring background music for film. There are several folky acoustic songs, some experimental jazzy improvisations and heavy guitar-driven hard rockers, almost precursors of grunge! Overall, the good album worthy for inclusion into a collection especially for FLOYD fans, but perhaps not the one to begin investigating the PINK FLOYD phenomenon with.

Report this review (#46054)
Posted Friday, September 9, 2005 | Review Permalink
4 stars One of The Floyds most overlooked albums in their back catalogue. It is far from their best album but is often put down too easily by critics and by the band themselves. There are soome real gems on this album such as the cyring song,the nile song,green is the colour and cymbaline. This sis also one of the first albums in which i can see Waters lyric writing talent coming through overall a good album and definitely worth the listen.
Report this review (#51668)
Posted Thursday, October 13, 2005 | Review Permalink
2 stars Probably the most boring an irrelevant album in the Pink Floyd catalogue, More is the soundtrack to the film of the same name. It was hstily written and hastily recorded, and it shows. Most tracks are bland, most tracks are boring, most tracks have nothing to say.

Probably the only true saving grace for this album are Roger Waters' lyrics, brilliant as always. His lyrics always had a ephemeral quality to them, and this album is no exception.

There is no studio tickery, so extended keyboard/synthesizer solos, no spaceyness to it at all. This frame of musicianship would work beautifully 8 years later on their most brilliant album, Animals, but falls flat here.

The first track is Cirrus Minor, a slow, soundless song, and it's probably the worst opening to a Floyd album. The hard- rocking Nile Song comes too far into the album to make up for the slow start, and shows that David Gilmour should NOT scream when singing. The album slows once again with Crying Song, another uninspired and boring track courtesy of Mr. Waters.

The only redeeming quality of the album is the one two punch of Green is the Colour and Cymbaline, the former being a simultanously cheery and mellow tune with excellent guitar strumming from Gilmour and superb piano/keyboard work from Rick Wright. Cymbaline is simply the best track on the album,with the best lyrics on the album, and David Gilmour's great vocals, is truly the high point of the album.

But wherever there's a highpoint, a slide must start, and this slide is steep. This is probably one of the few forgettable albums by the Floyd, so unless you're a fan, save your money and get Animals instead.

Report this review (#54999)
Posted Sunday, November 6, 2005 | Review Permalink
Carl floyd fan
PROG REVIEWER
2 stars I am a huge floyd fan so I own this and have listened to it a lot. However there is no way I would recommend buying this or even borrowing it unless you are a completist. To be fair, a few of the middle tracks are worth some listens. But its easy to lose interest by the second half of the cd as its a few uninspired instrumentals.
Report this review (#55006)
Posted Monday, November 7, 2005 | Review Permalink
4 stars The first thing you have to remember is that this is a film soundtrack and not a normal album release for the Pink Floyd. Nick Mason was in his prime at this stage in the band's career. On this album he uses pounding bass and snare, tom-toms, bongos, jazz rhythms and hypnotic tribal beats. Dave is obviously gelling with the rest of the band and Roger is writing uncannily effective folk songs and poetic lyrics.Rick adds colour with jazzy piano improvisations and spacey organ throughout. The whole band write some amazing atmospheric instrumentals and experiment like there's no tomorrow.

1. Cirrus Minor - brings Gilmour's easy murmuring to the forefront of a very relaxed tune, complete with the chirping of exotic birds, and ending with an overly modulated Rick Wright keyboard solo. Superb! 5/5

2. Nile Song - is Pink Floyd at their all time heaviest, and could possibly be seen as proto-stoner rock (a direction Pink Floyd would not take, but other bands would). 5/5

3. Crying Song - light and breezy! 5/5

4. Up the Khyber - A strange instrumental piece. 2/5

5. Green Is the Colour - perhaps their strongest ballad ever; its stunning simplicity.Beautiful! 5/5

6. Cymbaline - is a haunting, wonderful,a song that will be revisiting you later on due to its catchiness. Perfect!5/5

7. Party Sequence - is a brief, but effective little psychedelic coda to the original release's first side. 3.5/5

8. Main Theme - the dark and trippy "Main Theme" featuring a spine tingling keyboard melody by Wright, unlike anything else really in PF's catalogue.4.5/5

9. Ibiza Bar - is little more than a re-write of "The Nile Song".4/5

10. More Blues - 3.5/5

11. Quicksilver - is mainly Rick's Farfisa Organ solo and some Gong from Roger. Good! 3/5

12. Spanish Piece - 2/5

13. Dramatic Theme - 3.5/5

Final Note : To those obscure music lovers trying to shed a little of their pretention- curious if anything with real feeling lies in the nooks and crannies of those mega groups they've loathed for so long, this album is a safe bet as far as post-Barrett Pink Floyd is concerned. It has moments of real sweetness and it does a remarkable job of creating a distinct middle eastern, adventurous mood to match the movie's theme-- it is easy to get lost in this movie soundtrack.

5+5+5+2+5+5+3.5+4.5+4+3.5+3+2+3.5 = 51

51: 13 = 3,9

Excellent addition to any prog music collection

Curiosity: The first work of the Pink Floyd without nothing of Syd Barrett was recorded in only one week. The director Barbet Schoroeder needed with urgency of a soundtrack for its against-cultural film that almost nobody was to see.

Report this review (#55661)
Posted Wednesday, November 9, 2005 | Review Permalink
2 stars This is about as un-floyd as the band gets. By this I mean this sounds nothing like any of the floyd periods ( Barret, "REAL FLOYD", Post-Waters). Considering they had one weeks time they did OK, for such a rushed schedule. But the songs are mostly bad. It sounds a bit like Saucerful of Secrets, and my feelings on that album were mixed, so once again I don't really enjoy this album. The film itself was apparently boring and badly acted, though the director is sometimes seen as quite a good one. This is sort of like the music- not as good as Floyd usually is, not as good as Schroeder could be.

Cirrus Minor: Birds quietly chirping changes to somber acoustic guitar and Barret- ish vocals, and then dissipates into plain-sounding organ. "Cirrus Minor" is apparently a term Roger used to describe a drug occurrence- and at one point the organ has a weird sound effect overlapping it, which may be there to give the song a dreamlike/ drug-induced feel. This song is fairly pointless and boring.

The Nile Song: The guitar sounds a bit like Neil Young, though not as good as Young, who is one of my favourite guitarists. The yelling vocals and crunchy guitar are annoying. This is about as hard as Floyd ever got, and also about as bad as they got too! The only decent thing about it is the drumming.

The Crying Song: Picking up the solemn feel of the first song, this song is also pretty useless. At least Gilmour's voice sounds normal. The lyrics are rather odd (We smile, we smile/ we cry, we cry/ we roll, we roll ?!?!) It's basically acoustic guitar, decent vocals and very soft, unvarying drumming.

Up the Khyber: This one is great! Rather Saucerful-ish (the track, not the whole album), but better. Cool drum beat and random piano, sort of jazzy. It's short, but that suits it. At the end there is a cool reverse effect.

Green is the Color: This one is a good track. Acoustic guitar, some bass in there, and piano come together for a good jam. The Gilmour vocals are very soft (sort of like in the Fat Old Sun). One fellow already said the recorder doesn't really fit in well, I agree with him there.

Cymbaline: Similar to the last one, but with bongos and stronger vocals. I like this one even better than the last one. In fact it sounds like REAL FLOYD! Yay! Why they have Dr. Strange in the lyrics I don't know. sort of corny. Then Dave does some Harmonium-ish singing (no lyrics, just badda-bap-ing, the singer Harmonium does that often). The piano and organ finish it off.

Party Sequence: Ok what the hell is this! The bongos are Ok, but in that flute comes... damn that flute. This song holds the record for shortest Floyd track ever!

Main Theme: Why not pick a better track for the main theme. this is boring.Starts out with wind, atmospheric sound effects, and some form of keyboards.Then the bass line is exactly like "Let there be more Light" only slower. It's just bass, drumming and those sound effects for a while, and finally some quiet electric guitar in there too. This goes on way too long and is [&*!#]ty.

Ibiza Bar: Practically a copy of the Nile Song, that's all you need to know.

More Blues: Bluesy guitar and cool drumming that drifts in and out. Great jamming.

Quick Silver: Freaky sound effects start it off. and they go on and on and on.some faint keyboards in there too. Even worse than A Saucerful of Secrets (again, the track). Goes on far too long!!! 7 minutes of atmospheric sound effects. SHIT!

A Spanish Piece: You guessed it, Spanish sounding guitar, Spanish sounding bass. And a really funny little voice saying God Knows What.

Dramatic Theme: Again with the "Let there be more Light" bass. Get over it Roger! And whining guitar in there too. decent drumming. A short guitar solo to finish it.

Let's face it this is a bad album.4-5 good tracks in there, but they are overshadowed by SHIT. Not woth your time or money, certainly not worth mine. And I'm a hardcore Floyd fan! What does that tell you? To stay away from this one.

Report this review (#56781)
Posted Thursday, November 17, 2005 | Review Permalink
Eetu Pellonpaa
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator
4 stars I have very warm personal memories from this album, though I agree it is slightly unbalanced. From the post-Barrett releases, I think this album though carries yet the trippy innovation's flame, and the diversity on compositions dramatic orientation allowing the risks with album's integrity seems like double-edged blade, granting profits with a danger of losing focus. The A-side of the album is to me most dearest; The opening natural soundscape echoing from experimentations of "Ummagumma" on this album was a wonderful realization, which we rejoiced with my friends and the nocturnal summer pastures, where the record seemed to keep playing though we had left the parties already. Sadly this starting solution grew as really annoying cliché heard from over thousand other psychedelic groups. I don't doubt the aesthetic beautifulness or universality of the simple but striking intro, but hearing some things too many times causes inflation. I have also thought psych bands using this method possibly try to strengthen their relations to this band and movement they iconize? The guitar chord progressions of "Cirrus Minor" descend to hazy depths of dreams borne from this intro is still very delicately. From the striking Pink Floyd idioms conclude on its coda to Richard Wright's celestial organ revelations. "Nile song" pours out from this vision with vigorous guitar fuzz tones and cries, smashing striking contrasts to the album's stylistic palette with tones resembling Jimi Hendrix and Cream. "Crying Song" returns to the acoustic calmness, soothing the aural travelling before chaotic abstractions of "Up The Khyber", blasted with freeform style as their earlier "Interstellar Overdrive". Two followers "Green is The Colour" and "Cymbaline" are then more structured compositions. The latter was a classic song they used to keep long in their concert repertoire, and even Hawkwind recorded it during their early career. After this I think the album suffers a small inflation when the vinyl side is turned, as the following numbers weren't that interesting as the other. But they are not terrible or such, being a trademark of this band's unclear releasing quality, and also possibly fillers from a too hasty recording schedules. I did not like so much the "More" movie, but would recommend another Schroeder film "La Vallée" with Floyd's soundtrack as a film instead.
Report this review (#61456)
Posted Friday, December 23, 2005 | Review Permalink
Atkingani
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin
3 stars Just like "Obscured By Clouds" which I had already reviewed I'll stick only to the songs since I didn't see the sakename movie that I guess was never released comercially in Brazil.

The album itself was released here in 1973 - the same year I purchased it, and being amidst great PF works made me not to be so much impressed initially. It was tough to compare "More" with "Atom Heart Mother" or "Meddle" and tougher to be concerned about the musicianship that seemed one step behind; even the production was naturally weaker. Only years later I could appreciate better this work (and I liked it).

This album contains three great songs: 'Cymbaline', now a classic piece; 'The Nile song', a heavy and dirty song which reminds me Beatles' 'Helter Skelter' (also a classic); 'Green is the colour', a beautiful ballad. The other songs are not that powerful and they are much more amusing for real PF fans.

Final rating is good but non-essential (unless you're a Floyd fan). Total: 3.

Report this review (#61532)
Posted Saturday, December 24, 2005 | Review Permalink
ofurglassi@ho
4 stars If someone decided to listen to all the Floyd albums in a row I would recommend blasting 'The Nile Song' on full volume between albums just to make sure you are still alive. Of course most people that will listen to More won't like 'The Nile Song' since it's too energetic for the average stoner and Floyd fan. This album is also unique in the post Barrett Floyd catalogue because they make every attempt to put the listener to sleep like usual but fail miserably, their sleep enducing techniques had after all not been perfected yet, they would become masters of that artform during the 70s, here they make the typical beginner's mistake of including 'The Nile Song' and even manage to be quite entertaining on some of the mellower tracks. The album does contain some filler though, but at least it's not 100% filler like several later Floyd albums. This album can easily be recommended to anyone that isn't a fanatical Pink Floyd fan and seldom indulges in drug use.
Report this review (#62539)
Posted Saturday, December 31, 2005 | Review Permalink
5 stars I own all of PF's albums as does most muscis enthusiasts and I can't believe there are reviewers out there giving this album any less than 4 stars. From the first song to the last it is an amazing album. It may not be as ground breaking or apocalyptic as Dark Side, Wish You Were Here, or Meddle but not all of their releases can be or should be. I truly thing it is one their best albums soundtrack or not. And the debate about its progressive tones is siily. Does it belong on a prog rock site? Probably not, but who cares. It is a gem. The vocals are superb, Mason does a great job with being subtle while driving songs. It reminds me of another of their great UNDERRATED albums, Obscured By Clouds. I can safely say that they are my two "favorite" Floyd discs. The Nile song and Ibiza Blues are essentiaaly the same great song. More Blues is beautiful. Green is the color and Cymbaline are vocal high points. The album moves in and out up and down. With serene songs like Cirus Minor and off the hook percussive rants with Up the Khyber. Definitly a 5 star album and an essential part of anyones collection.
Report this review (#77958)
Posted Friday, May 12, 2006 | Review Permalink
3 stars a sadly disjointed album. But that can be tolerated, as I said in the "Momentary Lapse of Reason" review, you can't expect the music to stay the same if you lose the leading band member. For that, the album can't be taken to harshly.

Reviewing this album 35 years and many albums later, this work can be seen as the turning point in thier career that would lead to "Dark Side of the Moon". While strikingly different from "A Saucerful of Secrets". Following this album thier is a neat transition (More- Ummagumma-Atom Heart Mother-Meddle-DSOTM) that would lead to thier masterpiece.

Still, this alvum has too many problems to give it a good rating. Essential for the early PF fans or to those who want to see where their music turned away from the sound of "piper at the Gates of Dawn". This album marks the beginning of thier expiremental phase and is worth at least one listen

The highlights: the concert staples between 1969 and 1971 "Cymbaline" and "Green is the Colour" . "The Nile Song" and "Ibiza Bar" are both nice rockers, though containg cheesy lyrics. And some enjoy "Cirrus Minor" but I don't care much for it

The dull parts are "Up the Khyber", a pointless instrumental, and "Dramatic Theme"

Alone, it desrves only two stars, but it earns another since it shows the direction this band would soon take and the masterpieces that would come soon after

Report this review (#79121)
Posted Tuesday, May 23, 2006 | Review Permalink
4 stars I want more More!

4.5 stars- Favorite of the first three albums.

More is Pink Floyd's first album since Syd has left and we see a new band full of ideas and indiviuality. With plenty of expectations from fans of both the remaining members as well as Syd, Pink Floyd set out to do what they do best, experiment around and make money while doing so. No other album says "Simple, but effective." quite as much as this one does. Most of the simplicity is probably due to the fact that this is "just" a soundtrack album, but don't let that fool you, like it has so many others unfortunetly. This is a very entertaining album full of innovated experimentation, progressive writing and improved musicianship.

More is an improvement from the past two album for several reasons. First of all, this album has a completeness that the past albums did not have. This completeness is a result of the perfect blend of instrumentation and singing, and also because the song arrangement is absolutely perfect. The instrumentation is very effective due to the catchy rythm's and massive amounts of experimentation. The singing is really a step up from A Saucerful of Secrets because Dave finally gets his chance to show us his real voice. His voice can be quite haunting as heard in Cirrus Minor, beautiful like in The Crying Song and Green is the Colour, heavy in The Nile Song, or even a drunk spanish conquistador like in A Spanish Piece.

The song arrangement has never been better, you really never know what is going to happen next, the album is so bipolar. Don't worry, even though every song is completely opposite of the one before it the album still flows without trouble and every song moves into the next as if it were an epic. After the dreamy organ chord solo by Rick we get the very heavy and first of its kind, The Nile Song, and also its brother Ibiza Bar, both songs being really one but split up with an added key change. The Floyd can either groove in Dramatic Theme, play two bongo's that go left and right through both ears in Party Sequence, experiment with various instruments including synthesizers and gongs in Quicksilver, jazz in Up the Khyber, or create headbanging rock in The Nile Song it doesn't matter, the Floyd do it with progressive style that will make you smile.

A lot of the music features the new and improved acoustic side of Floyd never seen before. Roger acompanies these lovely acoustic tunes with poetic lyrics that firmly establish him as the main lyric writer. "Willow weeping in the water, Waving to the river daughters, Swaying in the ripples and the reeds." - Cirrus Minor As you can see, the lyrics are miles ahead of Roger's work in the previous two albums. He even uses poetic devices such as alliteration and imagery and features some of his orriginal voice in his writings. Many of these songs have been part of Pink Floyd's live set, some are even orrignal versions of "The Man and the Journey" live songs. Others that were written in the studio have become fan favorites, including the best song on the album,Cirrus Minor. I bet you didn't know it was about getting high!

Although it is obvious that the album was quickly produced, it still sounds better than any of their other OST's. It is a very minor complaint and can really only be noticed in a few songs. The only other very minor complaint is that some of the really good songs just arn't long enough, like Cymbaline, the jammy More Blues, and the groovy Dramatic Theme. All in all we get two rockers, a jazz peice, two space rock songs, four acoustic ballads, a dance peice resembling The Doors, a blues number, and two short songs about nothing, one having a brilliant spanish melody, the other having a tribal melody. I'd say this album is well equiped, and no matter what anyone says, none of these great songs are filler. Everyone after the next is great, many even perfect. More is my favorite of the first three Floyd albums, which I think alltogether define Pink Floyd, each of the three in their own way. 4.5 stars for a damn good album that is highly underestimated. Try it for yourself, it is well worth the time.

Report this review (#80729)
Posted Thursday, June 8, 2006 | Review Permalink
Guillermo
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars As a soundtrack album, it is a good album, but there are not very interesting songs in this album. They are more like "background music" which it seems that they composed and recorded in few days. I read in an interview that they said that it was that way and they also said that they "earned good money for doing it". So, maybe they were not very much interested. They simply recorded "background music". But there are some interesting songs, like "The Nile Song", a heavy song which is the best song from this album, IMO (despite having not very well played drums by Nick Mason, because, IMO, they lack a bit of more power and precision) and "Cymbaline", a song they even played in some concerts in the early `70s.
Report this review (#81782)
Posted Thursday, June 22, 2006 | Review Permalink
ZowieZiggy
PROG REVIEWER
2 stars Their first album without Syd and a full lenght soundtrack. It was the first album to be produced by the band as well (exit Norman Smith). They already did three partial soundtracks during their young career : "'Tonight! Let's All Make Love in London", "San Francisco", as well as "The Committee" (featuring The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown). This one included an early version of "Careful with That Axe, Eugene".

Roger would have like the Floyd to make the "Space Odyssey" soundtrack, but they were not selected. They will still create several pieces of music for some European televisions (BBC, etc.) for the coverage of the man landing on the moon (not yet its dark side though...).

I guess that if you have seen the movie (which is not my case) you could relate the music to the movie and appreciate a bit more. The influence of Waters is obvious on this record : there are only two numbers in which he was not involved "Up the Khyber" from Mason & Wright and "A Spanish Piece" from Gilmour (his first Floyd composition on his own).

The opener "Cirrus Minor" is a very spacey track and I guess a great background music for a movie (although I haven't seen it). The first part has very childish and naïve vocals but the second is almost a clone for ASOS ("Celestial Voices" part). It is one of the highlights.

"The Nile Song" is a psychedelic track that could have fit on "Piper" although the shouting vocals are a bit "too much". It was also released as a single (in continental Europe, Japan and ... New Zealand). "Crying Song" and "Green is the Colour" are accoustic ballads of no interest. "Up the Khyber" is a jazzy impro (again Mason's drumming is very similar to the one of "Set The controls..."). That will not be regarded as their greatest tune. Forget this one as well.

"Cymbaline" is the second highlight and will be one of their fave live tracks of the era. Good melody, "trip" oriented, quiet & mellow but nice song with a spacey feeling in the last third part.

"Party Sequence" last for seventy seconds, which is good news.

With "Main Theme", we have a more elaborated song. Quite remininscent of ASOS (the track) in its intro. A bit of Oriental influence (but this is not the first time in early Floyd's work) and good psyche moments make this song one of the best of this album.

"Ibiza Bar" is in the same vein as (actually almost similar) "Nile Song". As all the Floyd members have said, the influence of Syd is obvious on some of their later work. This is the kind of track which confirms this. "More Blues" is as you could have imagined a instrumental bluesy one. Press forward if you have the CD version.

"Quicksilver" could have been a part of the track "A Saucerful". Another good psychedelic moment although it sounds like a "studio improv" with little emotion or feeling. "A Spanish Piece" (sixty five seconds) is a flamenco sort of song from Gilmour. He should have waited a bit more before composing for the Floyd. We would have avoided this one. Skip it by all means. "Dramatic Theme" is a short combined effort of the band (except Mason) but is to be forgotten as soon as you've heard it. Some good tunes (but no memorable ones) and some real weak numbers. Two stars.

Report this review (#107741)
Posted Wednesday, January 17, 2007 | Review Permalink
Joolz
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator
2 stars The first of two official soundtrack albums from the band [not counting Zabriskie Point] recorded in just eight 8-hour sessions. Songs are a mixture of very good like the pastoral Cirrus Minor or Cymbaline, the boring like the jazzed up psych instrumental Up The Khyber, the proto Heavy Metal thrash like The Nile Song, and ethereal psych instrumentals. Often hailed as the best of the band's film music, but in reality More doesn't hold a candle to Obscured By Clouds, unless you are more deeply moved by the purely psych soundscapes.
Report this review (#107968)
Posted Friday, January 19, 2007 | Review Permalink
Chris H
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars First off, I think I am the only here who has actually seen the movie as well, and let's just say I was thoroughly disappointed with that piece of rubbish caught on film. However the soundtrack was an amazing musical work and it absolutely demands a listen. Here's the review:

"Cirrus Minor" kick off the album, and the chirping birds here in the parent of the chirping bird effects on "Close To The Edge". This is an excellent psychedelic, vocally captivating song. This song is the first glimpse of the Roger Waters song-writing dictatorship that will come later in the career of the Floyd. "The Nile Song" follows, and everything completely changes. "The Nile Song" is most likely the heaviest song that Pink Floyd ever released, and it surely doesn't disappoint. The lyrics tie right in with the movie, as d the ones from "Ibiza Bar" which is the sister song to this piece. One of Floyd's best ever. Worth buying the album for this song. "Crying Song" is next and it has a very tough act to follow. It's not a bad song, but the way it is placed on the album makes it seem like the original Yes line-up opening up for Dweezil Zappa. They are both great but the second pales in comparison to the first. "Crying Song" does have some very nice vocals, but not much else as there is a severe lack of substance. "Up The Khyber" is viewed by me as an intense drumming piece, which means that unless you want to hear Mason at his finest of the early days there is nothing here for you. "Green Is The Colour" is another song that could easily be considered one of my favorites. Completely on the opposite side of the spectrum from "The Nile Song" and "Ibiza Bar", this is a nice and soft acoustic ballad that is very relaxing and beautiful at the core. "Cymbaline" is the high point of the album, without a doubt. It surpasses "The Nile Song" in terms of creativity and complexity, and it will always have a warm spot in my heart as it was one of the first songs I ever learned how to play on guitar. Excellent piece of music with some of the finest vocals of the Floyd's career. The album starts to slip off of its 5-star perch after this, as "Party Sequence" and "Main Theme" breeze by shortly and unnoticed, as they contain virtually no musical aspects. "Ibiza Bar" is the sister song to "The Nile Song" and is again, some of the heaviest work released. A wonderful song, it is sadly the only listenable piece on this half of the album. "More Blues" is exactly that. More blues. Another song to skip, in my opinion. "Quicksilver" is regarded highly by everyone here and I must say although I don't like it, I really do appreciate the musicianship with all of the percussion work and it is true that it could fit in "Saucerful of Secrets". "A Spanish Piece" and "Dramatic Theme" end the album in a poor manner, with the two worst songs on the album, in my opinion.

So, what began as a perfect 5 star album became a mess of average work in the end because of a lazy second side. However, as I have already said, this is worth being bought so you can hear Floyd at their heaviest, as well as for the beautiful "Green Is The Colour" and "Cymbaline". 4 stars, an excellent diverse album.

Report this review (#108255)
Posted Sunday, January 21, 2007 | Review Permalink
3 stars Did you watch the film? It's not very good. But the soundtrack is listenable. Strange thing. Floyd recorded only two studio albums, and some dude wants them on a film soundtrack. There are very good songs here like Cymbaline, good songs like Nile Song, funny songs like A Spaish Piece, and film moments like Ibiza Bar. Overall, if you're a Floyd fan you should listen to this album ( for Cymbaline, Green Is The Colour and Nile Song). Not their best work, but thats how the story goes.
Report this review (#109161)
Posted Saturday, January 27, 2007 | Review Permalink
3 stars Many people consider to a this disc that has a lack and that only is for collectors, but I consider that it is an excellent piece of work of the band, the first disc in where no longer appears the today legend Syd BARRETT, the clear influence of the same one in this disc notices and at moments complete the new face of the band begins to appear in where it is made me notice clearly that the future leader opens like composer doing letters that are deliciously beautiful and creating things that we know well, is also the first passage of the band towards the true creation of the mixed talents of the members, clear this that this is the Sountrack of the film of the same name, thus does not see a free will from the band since they had to respect the order and the coherence of the film for that reason the sound very different from are previously done, but if I agree that he is not something basic whoever to listen PINK FLOYD, but well if it is option, a good option that can be done. The clear film and the disc speaks of the aim of an era 60's that so many shades within the cultures have and the ideologies of appeared at that time with as much fulgor, the limitless vision of free love, drugs and the Eastern, western forms of mental exploration, ideologies and English floods of pudores and found liberties, a full amalgam of thousands of facets that they have to pass the personages of the film, in where in the end it becomes towards the primary elements and a very great love.
Report this review (#111575)
Posted Saturday, February 10, 2007 | Review Permalink
fuxi
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars When MORE came out, apparently Rolling Stone (the American music rag) ravaged it completely. Oh dear! When did Rolling Stone ever sympathize with prog? Seriously, though, MORE may not be prime Pink Floyd, but it's far from forgettable. Its ghostly instrumentals (such as "Main Theme" and "Dramatic Theme") are certainly more atmospheric than Mason and Wright's dire contributions to the studio half of UMMAGUMMA. "The Nile Song" is notable as the only Floyd song that foreshadowed Nirvana. And this album's sleepy, ballad-like tunes have quite a lot of charm. You just shouldn't expect to be bowled over straightaway. Play MORE a dozen times or so, and I bet you'll admit that "Crying Song" and "Green is the colour" are rather beautiful. The treacherously pastoral "Cirrus Minor", with its insistent organ accompaniment, may even be one of my favourite Floyd pieces! Now be a darling and pass that bottle of Chianti...
Report this review (#130937)
Posted Tuesday, July 31, 2007 | Review Permalink
progaardvark
COLLABORATOR
Crossover/Symphonic/RPI Teams
2 stars More was Pink Floyd's first venture into scoring music for films, this one by Barbet Schroeder. Like most soundtracks, a good deal of the music was especially designed to back visual elements and thus by themselves are not a very entertaining audio experience without the video. This holds very true for More with songs having titles like Main Theme, Spanish Piece, and Dramatic Theme. However, the soundtrack isn't entirely made of tracks like this. Some of them stand out on their own, including Nile Song (the only noteworthy song that would appear on later compilations) and Cymbaline (my favorite piece on the album).

There isn't anything particularly worthwhile to cause one to need this album. Many of the songs are simply ordinary to just plain boring, although this material was quite a departure from Piper at the Gates of Dawn and A Saucerful of Secrets. I'm guessing since this was a soundtrack, many have considered this not to be an "official" studio album, even though the soundtrack was exclusively Pink Floyd. Regardless of how it is classified in the grand scheme of things, it pales in comparison to the rest of the band's catalogue. Recommended for Pink Floyd fans, not worthwhile for anyone else. Two stars.

Report this review (#132076)
Posted Monday, August 6, 2007 | Review Permalink
Easy Livin
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin
2 stars Bore

This is an early soundtrack album by "The Pink Floyd", as they were then better known. It was the first of two films by director Barbet Schroeder they would provide music for. While their reimbursement for their efforts may seem meagre even by 1969 standards (£600), they had the good sense to retain full ownership of the rights to the music. The film was not exactly a blockbuster, and even fell foul of the censors in the UK where the sex scenes had to be cleaned up prior to gaining an 18 certificate. The album is significant in the Pink Floyd time line, as it was the first of the post Barrett releases.

The first two tracks will be familiar to most fans, as they were included in the "Relics" collection. We open with "Cirrus minor", a lovely soft song, with Waters favoured descending melody. Suddenly as the track fades, we are blown away by Pink Floyd's heaviest and loudest song ever. "The Nile song" is a superb cacophony of wailing guitars, screams and rough vocals set to a backdrop of a wall of sound.

In truth, these two songs represent the best of what of on offer here, the remaining tracks generally sounding like they were written specifically for a soundtrack. That said, this is a very diverse album, and as such does not really feel like a Pink Floyd release. There are some pretty tunes and nice sounds, but they are generally dull and uninspiring.

The song writing credits show that all but one of the seven tracks on side one are Roger Waters compositions (one, "Up the Khyber", with Nick Mason). The final track on side one "Party sequence" and all but one on the second side are band compositions, the sole exception being David Gilmour's (or Gilmore as he was credited in the film titles) "A Spanish piece". Roughly half of the tracks are instrumentals, some of which are jazzy link pieces of little substance. "Main theme" is interesting for the keyboard sounds Rick adds, as they sound very synthesiser like, but predate the commercial availability of that instrument.

In all, not a Pink Floyd album to get excited about. If you have "Relics", you have the best of what's on offer here anyway.

Report this review (#133219)
Posted Wednesday, August 15, 2007 | Review Permalink
russellk
PROG REVIEWER
2 stars PINK FLOYD's first OST album, 'More' is inconsequential, typical of the immediate post-BARRETT period in indulging in soundscapes bereft of musical merit.

'More' is a very slight album, a quickly-generated filler between 'proper' PINK FLOYD studio album releases, with little of merit to recommend it. In the first two tracks, however, there is more substance than either the previous studio album or the one to follow. 'Cirrus Minor' is a gentle opener, comprising an interesting and sadly under-exploited chord progression, leading in to an enormously heavy GILMOUR-guitar-driven 'Nile Song'. The contrast could not be greater. This raises interest, only for the album to drift away into a sequence of largely indistinguishable soundtrack noodling.

Again, an album for completionists, with the first two tracks and the 'Crying Song' lifting it to two stars.

Report this review (#149619)
Posted Thursday, November 8, 2007 | Review Permalink
2 stars The first band I had completed an official discography for (back in the days when I did that kind of thing) was Pink Floyd. The reason for this is that this is really the first band that so intrigued me that I needed to scoop up everything they had produced. I must admit, it has been a number of years since I've listened to "More". The reasons for this are many. To sum it up, here are a few of the reasons: As a soundtrack, unless there is a continuous stream of music in the background (a rarity in movies of that era), the musical pieces serve as incidental embellishments. The result, then, of listening to musical works of this nature out of context to the movie is that the listener is left with a sense of disjointedness, and the pieces present themselves as nonsequitur musical Swiss cheese. Secondly, with few exceptions, the creation of the soundtrack need not involve the composer's visual stimulus to evoke a musical response (accompaniment). Frequently, the process goes something like this: "I have such and such kind of a scene in the movie that lasts for such and such amount of time. Give me something musically that lends an atmosphere or a mood consistent with this." Sometimes that process works and sometimes it doesn't. Because of the frequent use of this process, the results are often literally "uninspired" by the work which they were intended to compliment. I frankly don't know historically if Pink Floyd had the opportunity to see the movie scenes as they were composing this work, and, to be completely honest, I have never seen this movie myself. Despite this, over the years, and after dozens of listenings to this recording that still register quite well in my memory, I have formulated a number of opinions on this work. Here goes:

1. Cirrus Minor- a slow, uninspired minor chord piece with lethargic vocals, plodding, repetitive undeveloped descending chromatic vocal line, shapeless and personality-devoid one chord strumming by Gilmour and equally bland organ play by Wright- it is as if the entire band decided to see the local neurosurgeon for frontal lobotomies and then took a couple of barbiturates for good measure so as to stifle any creative impulse or life in this recording.

2. Nile Song: if you can forgive the really asinine lyrics, this is interestingly the closest Pink Floyd ever got to creating a heavy metal song. Replete with power chords, a howling vocal entry and raucous singing, my only regret is that the song fades at the end right as Gilmour sounds as if a terrific guitar solo is about to start. For all of his character, Nick Mason's percussion talents have always been modest, but they are about as good or better on this song as they are on anything he ever did for Pink Floyd, with the exception of Time on Dark Side of the Moon, or on some of the tracks on Meddle.

3. Crying Song- again, a rather undeveloped, repetitive melody line but Waters' voice on this tune is probably the sweetest I've ever heard it this side of Grantchester Meadows. Gilmour's guitar on the track really does sound like it's crying; not bawling crying, but sobbing. It is a neat effect. Wright's play on this piece is rather subdued and rudimentary but adds fine texture.

4. Up the Khyber- for this interviewer, probably the most musically interesting piece on the record, it features fine percussive but somewhat repetitive jazz piano figures (remotely reminiscent of Thelonius Monk or Horace Silver) and some eery organ (both) by Richard Wright and some dynamic drum work by Mason. This piece is probably the closest the band ever got to a jazz cut.

5. Green is the Colour- a sweet little melodious ballad though the singing is a bit thin, and Wright's restrained but tasteful piano is distinctive and a decided plus on this piece. The song hard qualifies as rock, much less progressive rock and I am not really sure how to classify it stylistically, but it is lovely.

6. Cymbaline- atmospheric and mellow melody which is pleasant enough, but again with uninspired musical play by the band as a whole. The most interesting aspects of the piece are some of Wright's rudimentary textural embellishments and the poorly done 'scat' at the end of the cut.

7. Party Sequence- filler garbage. Nothing else to say about it.

8. Main Theme- intriguing synthesizer/keyboard-driven piece with an unusual rhythm that unfortunately becomes repetitive. Gilmour adds some colorful albeit brief guitar embeliishments during the piece that lend a helpful support role.

9. Ibiza Bar- structurally, this piece is the opening of the Nile Song on LSD. Despite the fact that it is (yet again) a repetitive theme, Gilmour's guitar play is psychedelic splendor and Waters' bass and Mason's drum work on this cut create a rhythmic framework on which Gilmour's floating guitar can rest.

10. More Blues-quirky, little blues piece featuring Gilmour and some studio effects worth a couple of listens, but hardly a significant contribution to one's musical library.

11. Quicksilver- can I please get the 7 minutes and 13 seconds of my life back?

12. Spanish Piece-lackluster and flat Spanish-inspired acoustic guitar and not much else.

13. Dramatic Theme- more atmospheric filler.

Summary: A uneven recording with a number of good musical moments, More is also disjointed and is frequently uninspired. Quite a number of tracks are memorable for both good and bad reasons, which, for this long time Pink Floyd fan, makes this recording of interest primarily to collectors and to folks already familiar with the band. It rates only two stars because of its multiple flaws.

Report this review (#150991)
Posted Thursday, November 15, 2007 | Review Permalink
Mellotron Storm
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars I really liked their other soundtrack record "Obscured By Clouds" but I like this one even "more". Haha. I think one of the problems a lot of people have with this is the variety of musical styles employed. Personally I really like the diversity. This is the first PINK FLOYD album without Syd participating in, although technically they were working on "Ummagumma" when film director Barbet Schroeder contacted the band about doing the soundtrack for his film "More". David Gilmour says "We would have done almost anything in terms of films...we wanted to break into big-time movie scores so we said "ok" and he gave us 600 quid each or something and off we trotted and we did it". This gave the band the chance to break from the awkward democracy that "Ummagumma" was turning into. Since EMI didn't consider the "More" recording as a proper album producer Norman Smith wasn't involved and they recorded at Pye studios instead of the usual Abbey Road studios. Yes the band were on their own and what better way to see who would lead The FLOYD now that Syd was gone. Some thought that Richard Wright would take a prominant role like on "A Saucerful Of Secrets" but Richard was the one band member who wasn't "into" doing this soundtrack and thought they should continue with "Ummagumma". So this became Roger Waters baby and they recorded it all in one week. Though the band are jointly credited for the instrumental tracks, Waters receives sole credit for the five songs on the albums first side. Gilmour would also step up to the plate as his vocals and guitar playing are all over this album hence you can say that the emergence of that Waters / Gilmour leadership of FLOYD began here. A significant album then all around. By the way this film and album became very popular in France and the album reached number 9 on the UK charts just as "A Saucerful Of Secrets" did.

"Cirrus Minor" features mono toned vocals as the sounds of birds chirping can be heard throughout. Acoustic guitar and synth-like sounds wash in and out before some excellent organ replaces the vocals 3 minutes in. "The Nile Song" is a real rocker, and the complete opposite of the first song. It's loud with yelling vocals. Gilmour fires off some blistering melodies. "Crying Song" is a mellow track that i'm not too fond of. "Up The Khyber" opens with drums that build as piano joins in.The organ comes in before 1 1/2 minutes. I love this track because it has such a jazz flavour to it. "Green Is The Colour" features strummed acoustic guitar and fragile vocals. Flute- like melodies come and go. Piano after 2 minutes. Nice song. "Cymbaline" is another mellow song with light drums, piano and guitar leading the instrumentally. I really like the vocals on the chorus as they soar. Some cool vocal melodies before some fantastic sounding organ comes in late.

"Party Sequence" has an Middle Eastern flavour with the relentless percussion and flute-like sounds. "Main Theme" is great, with the waves of spacey sounds and the dark sounding organ. Drums arrive after a minute, followed by keys a minute after that. Excellent track. "Ibiza Bar" is similar to "The Nile Song" but not quite as aggressive. I really like the "not so loud" parts a lot. Gilmour rips it up with some raw sounding melodies. "More Blues" has some Blues styled guitar throughout. The drums come and go. "Quicksilver" is an experimental song not unlike their "A Saucerful Of Secrets" song from the previous album of the same name. It opens with strange sounds as a dark and haunting atmosphere takes over. Organ 3 minutes in. This could have been on "Heresie" it's so dark and slow moving. "Spanish Piece" is exactly that, Spanish guitar with someone speaking. "Dramatic Theme" is all about the percussion and crying guitar sounds. Love it !

I can understand why a lot of people feel this is one of FLOYD's worst records.There are arguments to be made for that, but I can also see why some feel this is one of their best albums.This record excites me because of some of the styles of music they play that i really like. It actually took me a while to get used to "The Nile Song" because it comes off as being so loud compared to the rest, but I really appreciate it now. If variety is the spice of life, then this is one spicy record. Enjoy.

Report this review (#152159)
Posted Wednesday, November 21, 2007 | Review Permalink
Tom Ozric
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars I have always held this 'Official Sound-Track' in high regard. It's definately not one of Floyd's best, though aptly displays the band's willingness to experiment (as most early Floyd albums do) and offers some great contrasts - being music to a film, the songs cover many different styles and moods. Film soundtracks seem to allow certain freedoms to the musicians recording them, of course, that's within the confines of what is featured in the film and its script - infinite possibilities through creative brainstorming can yield some fairly original work, as opposed to a band's, perhaps, more focused approach to an album proper (not to say that proper albums aren't as experimental), it's just that the inspiration is totally different and can present the composer(s) with something of a challenge, one that connects the audio with the visual successfully. Now (after that rather (wishful) philosophical observation) onto the songs.

Opening with twittering bird-song, 'Cirrus Minor' takes us on a tranquil journey through softly sung verses backed with acoustic guitars and subtle organ washes, only to finish with an almost hymn-like passage where keyboardist Rick Wright immerses himself in a day-dream on his Farfisa organ. A very beautiful song for sure. 'The Nile Song' is quite a heavy song, heavy for Floyd, and heavy for the time, too. It's built on a repeating riff, which constantly ascends after each verse, searing acid-guitar from David Gilmour being the highlight, his harsh vocal delivery not. 'The Crying Song' is again a soft, acoustic song with some tinkling vibes and a brief electric guitar solo at the end. Pleasantly mysterious. 'Up The Khyber' is an avant-garde, psychedelic track with a great drum rhythm from Nick Mason which carries Wright's angular piano notes into the very trippy organ solo which ends the piece. Great stuff !! 'Green Is The Colour' is a live classic (always segued into Careful With that Axe, Eugene), but here remains a largely acoustic song with soft, falsetto vocals from Gilmour, some playful piccolo and more piano and organ work. 'Cymbaline' is another classic, especially live, sung by Dave and really has a great groove to it, with quite hypnotic Farfisa work - a trait that dominates this album, and a sound I admire a lot. 'Party Sequence' is a little hand percussion arrangement with piccolo soloing.

Second side features the dynamic, spacey 'Main Theme', a tune which conjures up images of intrigue and mystery, a great bass-line from Roger Waters, some spacious lead guitaring and melodic organ lines. 'Ibiza Bar' is very similar to 'The Nile Song', without the ascending verses. 'More Blues' is a simple 12 bar instrumental tune, but the occasional interjections of Mason's drumming makes it a little more interesting. 'Quicksilver' is the long track (over 7 mins.), its purpose being atmospheric (almost KRAUTROCK) and, although many find this piece meandering and pointless, I believe it reflects PF's unique approach to experimenting - given that it features just shimmering (aah, I didn't want to use that word) organ, cascading guitar glissandos and a good dose of (possibly) Waters hitting his gong, it sounds 'full' and is quality space-music. 'A Spanish Piece' is a brief song with flamenco-styled guitaring, seldom heard in Floyd ('High Hopes' middle section comes to mind), and some Spanish accented mumbling. 'Dramatic Theme' is a variation of 'Main Theme' with a 'brighter' sound. Great drumming from Mason. 4.5 stars.

Report this review (#152778)
Posted Monday, November 26, 2007 | Review Permalink
3 stars Floyd did this album as an unofficial soundtrack for the french movie More, and as a result, the material is a little patchy. This is easily the most inconsistent album in Floyd's discography (even a momentary lapse and Division bell are consistent: consistently bad). There are a few songs worth mentioning, such as Cymbaline, Green is the Colour, and Dramatic Theme. the rest is nothing like Pink Floyd ever did, and it wasnt worth doing again. They seem to be experimenting again, but in a less focused way, and writing some poor folky songs that dont work well.

Overall, they could have done a LOT better, but they decided to suck.

Report this review (#154508)
Posted Thursday, December 6, 2007 | Review Permalink
Queen By-Tor
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator
2 stars No more please...

Seemingly the one hiccup of early Floyd, this album was basically thrown together and it definitely sounds like it. There's even rumor that some of the band members themselves want it omitted from their discography. This one finds the band at a weird stage in life, being that this is the first album done entirely without Mr. Barrett at the helm forcing the other members to step up like their last album (the great Saucerful of Secrets). The album is not entirely without merit, but it does lose the audience's attention after about the first side. There's some repeated material (this is likely due to the fact that it's a soundtrack), some very boring material, but some good material as well. After this album it's a surprise that the next soundtrack that they would do would actually be very very good.

As previously stated, the first side is actually quite good. Cirrus Minor opens the album gracefully in a very Floydian manner while The Nile Song quickly pushes it out of the way and proceeds to rock for a bit, showcasing Gilmour as a good hard rock vocalist, albeit for only a minute. Up The Khyber is fairly forgettable, but that's okay because the A side is about to close on a very high note. Green Is The Color is actually a fairly fantastic song, as is Cymbaline. Both fairly odd for the Floyd being that they are fairly modest in structure and has a fairly basic layout. They're performed quite well, however, and that makes them very good songs able to compete with some of Floyd's classics.

The B side is where it all goes to hell on this one. There's no tracks really worth mentioning since they're all mostly quiet, instrumental and they all run together (in a bad way) to make some kind of song-stew that's not really that great. Ibiza Bar is basically a repeat of The Nile Song, or maybe it's just part II of the song, but either way it's fairly weird to listen to the same song twice. Quicksilver is the longest song on the album (and has, arguably, the coolest title), but once again it's fairly unremarkable and doesn't really go anywhere, unlike Floyd's usual inspired instrumental tunes. Maybe there's some great moments on Side B, but since it's hard to keep the attention span going over these tunes they're likely going to be missed.

Ending statement!

A blip in the Floyd's career. Best avoided, but since side A actually borders on excellent it's still recommend it to fans and collectors. Everyone else should just try and find the better tracks on a compilation. 2 stars. There's so much better stuff under every category of Floyd's music.

Report this review (#159787)
Posted Friday, January 25, 2008 | Review Permalink
4 stars This is an highly underrated album. The first side of Meddle, the second of Atom Heart Mother and the whole of Obscured by Clouds just can't compete. Here you get a good range of styles like the Bucolic (Cirrus Minor), Hard Rock (The Nile Song, Ibiza Bar), Modern Jazz (Up the Khyber), Pop tunes (first of all Cymbeline) and atmospheric keyboard journeys (Main Theme; Quicksilver). There are a few fillers (e.g. Spanish Piece) but don't let that hamper the over all good impression: this is PF at their most volatile and suprising to date (almost 40 years after the release). If people say this is an un-Floyd-ian record I simply don't understand them. It's all here in a nutshell. A very good album indeed - 4 stars
Report this review (#163039)
Posted Sunday, March 2, 2008 | Review Permalink
5 stars Pink Floyd's soundtrack from the Barbet Schroeder movie 'More' (a masterpiece) is one of their best albums ever, and one of their strangest - because it's not a real album, but a soundtrack, of course. Here, you can hear a pre-grunge song (The Nile Song), a hard-rocker (Ibiza Bar, performed by Gilmour, and which appears in the movie when the hero, Stefan, is in a...Paris bar. But the movie takes almost all of its place in Ibiza), a gothic-style song (Cirrus Minor), a flamenco pastiche (A Spanish Piece), 7 minutes of very experimental and silentful music (Quicksilver), a blues (More Blues), a slow (Green Is The Colour), and one of the most psychedelistic Pink Floyd songs ever (Cymbaline).

All is great here. A must-have.

Report this review (#164819)
Posted Monday, March 24, 2008 | Review Permalink
2 stars Pink Floyd - More: 50% This is early Pink Floyd not at their best, but working their way there. On this album Pink Floyd displays more of their psychedelic side as they no longer have Syd Barret. You can hear hints of what is to come in later albums through it. As I listened to it I noticed that some of the music is highly inspired and also quite the opposite. Some songs seem to have hopes for progression, and some do, but others just find themselves in a repeat with subtle changes and redundant endings... A bit of this album are mere fillers with no direction, but within this there are some notable tracks such as Green Is The Colour which I found as the most inspired on the album. The Main Theme being really solid as well. Other decent tracks include Up The Khyber as it is a decent experimental jazzy psychedelic song, and Ibiza Bar as it hints of what is to come in future albums: progression. All in all this is a great listen to any well rounded Pink Floyd fan, but if you are new to them check out Animals or Dark Side of the Moon. This album does the band no justice as they have no where nearly reached their prime yet.
Report this review (#177055)
Posted Thursday, July 17, 2008 | Review Permalink
2 stars This is a period of Pink Floyd when they've lost the psychedelic impulse, and they are not yet progressive enough. They are in between.

And thus, most songs are dull and forgottable, they can only serve as a soundtrack. The better ones are: Cirrus Minor and Crying song show a bit of Waters' later lyrical works, Up The Khyber is a bit avantgarde-like piano-organ jam, and the second half of Cymbaline is interesting, but not that. It only serves for a soundtrack for the film.

Report this review (#179494)
Posted Wednesday, August 13, 2008 | Review Permalink
poslednijat_colobar
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars Effective soundtrack by one of my favourite band - Pink Floyd! The first album without the involvement of the previous leader of the band - Syd Barrett is definitely little different than first two albums before it - The Piper at the Gates of Dawn and A Saucerful of Secrets. These are troubled times for Pink Floyd because of the quit of Syd Barrett related with mental problems, but even though Pink Floyd are better than thousands of bands. Their unique style is again wonderful combined with experimentation. The structure of the album is different, but it's normal for a soundtrack. There are a couple of superb songs and variety of genres from hard rock to blues, and of course psychedelic and progressive rock. 4 stars.
Report this review (#185115)
Posted Thursday, October 9, 2008 | Review Permalink
3 stars I say 3 stars for More. Good, but non-essential.

In fact, the album isn't that progressive. It is in some parts, but it really has a varied sound. It can go from really slow stoner kind've rock, to hard rock, to simple ballads, to funky and experimental instrumentals. It's nowhere near a classic but it does have its moments. Every song is somewhat enjoyable with the exception of Crying song (it's just kinda there, nothing special). Particularly, the best moments on the album are the Percussive tracks Up the Khyber, Party Sequence, and Main Theme, as well as The Nile Song and Ibiza bar, 2 hard rock songs that sound VERY similar to each other, and the most important, Cymbaline. The song has a wonderfully haunting feeling to it. It's lyrics deal with a person caught in a nightmare. Cymbaline was a concert staple for a while, in which they extended it quite a lot, adding more keyboards, a progressive instrumental section, a completely silent pause in which strange sounds like foot steps and doors slamming are played through the speakers, followed by a reprise of the verse. I have several bootleg recordings of this, and they are quite impressive. Green is the Colour is another nice one, and it was played live often, segueing into Careful With That Axe, Eugene. The main and Dramatic themes have a memorable melody, and Quicksilver is an experimental instrumental. More blues is just a bluesy song, and a spanish piece is just a comical filler. There is no real concept behind this album, and each song sounds radically different from the next, so you can never expect anything. Then again, this isn't really an album, it's just a soundtrack to a movie.

I do like this album a lot, but it's not a masterpiece, and it's not that important unless you're a Pink Floyd super OCD completionist like me.

Report this review (#197421)
Posted Monday, January 5, 2009 | Review Permalink
Finnforest
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator
3 stars A short break for some film work

Stylistically, and over-generalizing of course, there are fans who think "the good Pink Floyd" started with the Meddle album. And, in lesser numbers but just as passionate, there are some fans who would say "the good Floyd" ended with the release of Meddle. Ok, so a third group exists, those like myself who pretty much love all of the Floyd albums, in my case I enjoy all of the legitimate albums released through "The Final Cut." Although I sympathize with the fans of the early work particularly, because it is disheartening to read the disrespectful and occasionally ignorant comments of listeners and band members alike regarding the early work. For the albums from the debut Piper through Atom Heart Mother represent a truly amazing body of work-they are the true essence of the experimental, progressive Pink Floyd. The Floyd that still dabbled and searched, the Floyd who were willing to work as a four person unit (with pleasure) and try things very unsafe to their brand name. Beginning with the mediocre Meddle album (their weakest proper album until AMLoR) and throughout the '70s the brand name would take over a bit and the truly avant-garde moments would become rare, even while the music itself became more palatable to the accumulating fans and thus more commercially successful. Ironically, as the fan base was swelling in the 70s, music writers were beginning to mourn the loss of the experimental/progressive Floyd as they became stadium rock-a fact not lost on Waters as he melted down during the Animals tour. As a listener I find the early work as important and enjoyable as the later work but in a different way. It was the Floyd at their most "interstellar" to pick an appropriate adjective and there's nothing wrong with that! The biggest mistake made is by those who don't consider this early work progressive but write it off as psychedelic musings only-it most surely was progressive music. The band members scoffed at the label of "British Psychedelia" by '69 and considered themselves serious musicians, not pop personalities. While common knowledge loves to credit Crimson with everything short of man's creation, the Floyd were right there with them regardless of the label you wish to apply.

In the Spring of '69 the Floyd very quickly recorded the music for the Barbet Schroeder film "More." Schroeder was a fan of the band and wanted their music in his counterculture film about the misadventures of a young couple. He was looking for more than just standard background soundtrack and wanted songs that integrated into and out of the actual scenes, music the characters would be listening to or encountering. The band were shown the film which was already completed and agreed to the rather high-pressure project, which they later knocked but admitted the experience was useful in building their working skills. Schroeder was stunned with the speed at which the Floyd were able to generate the ideas and get them recorded-the band members themselves were not interested in abandoning rock and roll but saw the practice of making film music as a potential gig to fall back on if they failed in their main quest. Remember, at this point the full potential of the group was far from certain, many thought they would collapse without Barrett's songwriting talents. The film came out in May of '69 and did not do well but the Floyd's soundtrack actually did crack the top 10 shortly thereafter. Even in this early period between Saucerful and Ummagumma it was Roger who was beginning to morph into the leader of the group. "I took responsibility in the Floyd because nobody else seemed to want to do it" he stated. "They'd no f___ing idea what the band was for." As '69 moved on they would now begin a period of live activity that would see them reach their experimental height attempting some fairly crazy live sound histrionics.

Like much of their early catalog, "More" has become far more interesting to me now that I've grown as a listener beyond the more easier-listening 70s albums. Once your brain has every note of WYWH and DSotM committed to memory you almost don't need to play them any more. The prog portion of your brain still likes Floyd of course but sends you cravings to start listening to their more challenging material. It is in this phase of life where the beauty of a daydream like "More" can be appreciated in the way that today's predictable corporate prog cannot. Subtle ideas casually played with and dropped, atmosphere, and a general disenchantment for the ways of the world?.the last no doubt an element of the film itself. It all uncoils to draw the listener into a hazy state where the band's still-developing talents take full advantage. Not every idea had to be this all-inclusive song which followed a formula to satisfy the fan?rather the band could simply indulge themselves and drop an idea as quickly as they picked it up. Some reviewers call this approach "fragmented" and perhaps that is valid, but it could also be thrilling-the idea that not every album of music had to be this quantifiable product. The 60s and early 70s provide many examples of what rock music lost as expectations changed among fans, labels, and musicians. Beginning with bird sounds "Cirrus Minor" sounds a bit like "Granchester Meadows" and Roger confirms the track is based on little bits of Cambridge memory. A truly haunting piece of music with the stark vocals and thin acoustic guitar draped in Wright's ceremonious, beautiful background. Rick and Nick were every bit the full contributors at this time which lends the sound extra intimacy. Along with Cirrus the album features early stellar highlights "Crying Song," "Green is the Colour," and "Cymbaline." (I have read a claim or two that Barrett's recorded playing was used in Crying Song but I've never seen anything confirming that and believe it to be false.) Crying Song features a pleasant if cheeky vocal by Roger and a nice guitar lead by Dave, both of which have that certain Floyd familiarity to them?if you listen close I believe you hear the earliest typical sounding Floydisms throughout More. Roger's lyrical growth process was slow but there are a few lines that hint at things to come. (Years later he would bristle at Rick's interview comments from this period playing down the importance of lyrics, another example of diverging views quite early in the game.) Green and Cymbaline were often performed live in much greater length, both songs here are sadly brief but have the most joyous, intoxicating effect to them. Many fans have commented that More is one of the best stoner albums around but among the Floyd's many talents were the ability to simulate a drug experience by the nature of their sound-with no chemicals needed. Often throughout More there is a catatonic, hazy feeling that envelops the listening, perfectly coaxed along by those laid back vocals, Wright's loose piano tinkling here and there, and Mason's drumming which can sound like the flailing of a drowning man. This same feeling permeates their second "daydream" album of soundtrack music, the lovely and equally overlooked "Obscured by Clouds" from a few years later. The duds here in my view are the heavier throwaways "Nile Song" and "Ibiza Bar" which find the band out of their element and unconvincing. Much of the rest of the album consist of occasionally interesting, occasionally quite patchy instrumental work that sounds more like typical soundtrack work while hinting at where they would go on the next project "Ummagumma." Not perfect, but interesting and enjoyable in the context.

"More" is certainly no masterpiece but at least half of the album is truly beautiful stuff and for an album made in just over a week, it is nothing to be ashamed of. Be sure to get the '95 remaster here for improved sound, as well as a booklet full of gorgeous stills from the film, including some provocative shots of the lovely actress Mimsy Farmer. Not an essential album but recommended for all Floyd fans who wish to experience the bridge albums that connected their best pre-Dark Side works Piper and Atom Heart Mother.

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Posted Sunday, May 31, 2009 | Review Permalink
3 stars SIMPLICITY is the key word to this album. It has nothing of the ambitious sound Floyd is famous for. This distinction is certainly due to the fact that this is a soundtrack, and not a regular studio album. Therefore, More has a different, particular feel, yet with an immediately recognizable, floydian sound.

Most of the songs in the album are short, climatic, instrumental pieces intended to suit a movie soundtrack. Yet, Floyd, from the beginning, always had a special talent for instrumental tracks. Therefore, the ones contained in this album stand for themselves, mostly because of the always sharp guitar work provided by David Gilmour. The sung tracks also have their glow, with some hidden, mostly forgotten gems: the emotional Crying Song and Green is the Colour (great vocals from GIlmour in this one) and the darker Cymbaline with its reference to drug abuse.

It's noteworthy that in this album, Rick Wright doesn't sing, and the vocals are split between Dave and Roger. It is from this album on that Roger becomes to establish himself as the main songwriter of the band.

I give this album 3 stars, because even though it is enjoyable for the most part, it has not many memorable moments. It probably will not appeal that much to prog fans or, indeed, for those who are not that much into Pink Floyd. Those who are open minded, still, will certainly find it worth to listen, for it is filled with well-crafted, yet simple, tracks. In short, this is a good, but non-essential album to a prog collection.

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Posted Saturday, July 11, 2009 | Review Permalink
UMUR
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator
3 stars "More" is the 3rd full-length studio album by UK progressive/psychadelic rock act Pink Floyd. The album was released through EMI/Columbia in June 1969. "More" is a soundtrack album for the motion picture "More" by Barbet Schroeder. "More" was recorded at Pye Studios in London during March of 1969 and was produced by the band.

The material on the album is a combination of mellow folky pop/rock tracks, hard rock tracks and some experimental psychadelic tracks, with an emphasis on the former. The two hard rock tracks "Nile Song" and "Ibiza Bar" provide the album with variation on the otherwise predominantly mellow and atmospheric sounding album, but the repetitive psychadelic tracks "Main Theme" and "Quicksilver" also stand out a bit from the rest. Mostly though we´re treated to David Gilmour´s sedated pleasant vocals, acoustic arrangements, and simple folky pop/rock tracks.

The sound production is a bit murky but still suits the music well with it´s organic sound. "More" is overall another quality release by Pink Floyd, but it is ultimately one of their least interesting albums from their early years. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is still deserved though.

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Posted Tuesday, July 14, 2009 | Review Permalink
4 stars Ater 140 reviews everything was said about More and its low status in the Pink Floyd body of work, right?

Well, I believe I can add another perspective to this judgement.

To evaluate "More" in its own terms you must listen to the boolegs from the 1969-1971 period, specially 1969 when the infamous "The Man & The Journey", the two pieces that compound the "More furious madness from the Massed Gadget of Auximenes" work were played on stage night after night (more or less the way they would do with DSOTM in 1972). With the exception of a rework of "celestial voices" (the last part of "A saucerful of secrets", the one with that sublime organ from the late Richard Wright) and Pow.R. Toc.H. (from their debut) this long-and-brand-new piece never was officialy released, although almost all of its sections were released separated in the 1969 Floyd studio albums. Some of them made it on the studio side from Umagumma (The narrow way pt. 3, The Grand vizier's garden party) , others in the Relics compilation (Biding my time & Careful with that axe Eugene). And two of the best ones were released in a somehow "straight" form in "Music from More", Green is the colour and Cymbaline.

For your own good: do a quick google search looking for Pink Floyd's The man & the Journey in Amsterdam's Concertgebow 1969 and listen carefully to this piece. Then you maybe will apreciate more this album as a collection of incidental music with a lot of masterworks in the cocoon. The "More" versions of the songs quoted above are pale in comparison to the live ones, boh of them getting weight dramatically in the live set.

But there are other not-so-evident gems in this awkward colection of pieces: Cirrus Minor is a delicate and somber ballad that quotes a variaton of Celestial Voices' organ. The Nile Song is a play, a kind of joke like Medle's Saint Tropez (although far better than the last). The Crying song is another sad and melancolic ballad. Then came the first surprise: Up the Khyber, an instrumental interplay between Wright & Mason that we rarely hear in Pink Floyd. A sort of jazzy jam that reminds me the Soft Machine a little, very peculiar and interesting.

After that came the center of the album as you can judge by the reviewer's common sense: Green is the colour & Cymbaline. Although they are beautiful I prefer the live versions as said above. And side one closes with a senseless little percussion and flute theme.

Side two is the weirdest one. The opening "Main theme from More" is one of the most obscure gems in Pink Floyd's catalogue. I just love the interplay of the instruments. Richard Wrigh shines a lot here. This piece was played alive in a couple of shows and its worth looking for the boots with it.

Ibiza bar is another take on The Nile Song. More Blues is just a... bluesy number that sometimes closed their set in the early 70's. "Quicksilver" is a experiment on electronics and effects, interesting but not great. "A spanish piece" is a fake spanish guitar melody with some words in spanish. And the last piece is a revision of the Main theme with more guitar.

Well, very irregular album, don't you think? But I believe its Ups are far high then its downs. I understand that the not-passionate about Pink Floyd can't stand to More, but anyone with interest in the shaping of their sound have here and in Ummagumma's studio side a lot of things to discover.

For me, a Floyd fan that has his main interest in the 68-73 period of the group's music this is a must have, easy 4 stars. But for the regular prog lover it can seem just Good. So 3,5 stars (I mean 4).

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Posted Monday, August 10, 2009 | Review Permalink
Bonnek
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator
4 stars I've always liked More very much. Of course it's true that a lot of the tracks are rather plain rock songs and ballads (but so is Wish you were and everybody seems to like that one).

The tracks on More actually fit together very well and create a consistently dreamy and captivating mood throughout the album. Next to that general vibe there are some really strong cuts here as well: the dazzling Cirrus Minor and the entrancing instrumentals Main Theme and Dramatic Theme which are vintage Pink Floyd and rate among their best output from the 60's. Even the hard rocking blues of Nile Song is very enjoyable and a welcome change to the seriousness of regular Pink Floyd songs.

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Posted Thursday, September 3, 2009 | Review Permalink
snobb
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator
3 stars I am not a big fan of earlier PF works. This soundtrack isn't something special as well. In fact, you can feel, that it is soundrack all the time: it's a collection of songs, very different in style, often with strange ending, with some heavy psyhedelic ( and not very musical) pieces in between. You can find there even hard-rock, played by Pink Floyd ("The Nile Song"). "A Spanish Piece"sounds as a joke ( and very unusual joke for PF). Bigger part of songs is characteristic psyhedelic british folk, usual for PF of that time. There is no connection between separate pieces at all, so all the album sounds chaotic.

Whenever there is no strong separate song at all, all album is more object for PF heavy fans and collectors. Could be interesting only as demonstration of the musical roots of future excellent band.

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Posted Thursday, November 5, 2009 | Review Permalink
Guldbamsen
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Retired Admin
4 stars More is one of my alltime favourites. It is by no means their best effort, but it still resonates as a well crafted movie soundtrack that is 10 times better than the picture itself, which fits the hippie stereotype like a well oiled thermometer up your bum. Stick with the music, if you want an advice from a guy who hasn´t spent all day sucking juices out of grandma´s Mexican cacti.

If I ever heard a piece of music that compliments the early beauty of mourning, it would be Cirrus Minor. It sounds as sunrise breaking through white mist clouds ever so gently. The organ ending by Rick Wright is sheer brilliance, and should stand as a clear cut example of what you can do instrumentally without having to play 9 zillion notes a minute. Instead we have acoustic guitars and an organ that sounds like it´s flying around sluggishly in the wind - or like it´s imitating the waves of the ocean slowly hitting the face of the beach. BANG! You´re slammed in the head with a mace as the Nile Song thunders it´s heavy pre-punk sound out through the speakers, and I´m instantly reminded why I love this band so much. Everything goes... So we have an album that is soaked in hippie ideals and sheep herd sounds on one hand, but we are also in the presence of something quite different: The Nile Song and Ibiza bar are extremely heavy (- especially when you count in the fact that this record´s from 69), while Green is the Colour alongside Cymbaline should fit perfectly on a Beatles album from the same era.

During the summertime is when this record gets airtime from me. It´s music for a quiet day in the garden with humming bees and a hot female. It´s music that soothes your hangover - just skip the second and 9th song ;-) It´s also a bringer of endless imagination to this listener, who can picture himself swooping through the orange desert sands of the Sahara whenever the main theme sets of.

If I were to be categorized as a fanboy of any sorts, I would probably end up in the enormous Floyd armies. Pink Floyd taught me how to listen to music from a very young age - with my ears. -There´s really no sense in borrowing your mom´s, even if it only is for a short while ... What I am trying to say is that the experience of listening, will always be something inadvertently personal. That´s why I am finding it seriously difficult to give this album less than 4 stars.

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Posted Monday, November 16, 2009 | Review Permalink
4 stars The fact that this is one of the worst rated among the floyd albums in this site is something I really can't understand. "More", despite being a soundtrack and therefore slightly ignored (and that's not fair at all!!!), is clearly not inferior to any of the other early floydian outputs. And that of course means it's a great album!

I think this is the first album in which pink floyd almost drops almost completely their psychedelic influences (although those will partially return in a couple more albums). And on the other side, it's not really prog yet. So what we have here is the band trying different things, but as always preserving their identity. And the result is an album that flows really well, having such variety as a proto-metal song ("The Nile Song") or even a very little hispanic theme ("A Spanish Piece")!

An excellent musical experience, definetely deserving 4 stars.

Report this review (#256855)
Posted Saturday, December 19, 2009 | Review Permalink
4 stars With an opener like "Cirrus Minor" nothing really could go wrong... Well, some tracks are not thàt brilliant but they are very few... Songs like "Crying song", "Green is the colour", "Cymbaline" are just wonderful. Instrumentals like "Up the Khyber", "Main theme", "Dramatic theme" had me hooked immediately when I first heard them as a 14 yo in 1975. I think it shows that Richard Wright and Nick Mason had much more influece on the Floyd sound than some may think; "Up the Khyber" is an excellent example! A pitty that after "Wish you were here" everything was concentrating on guitar and Waters' gloomy views... I'd rather have had a chat with Syd than with Roger. More and Ummagumma, both from 1969 are as far as I am concerned the best albums Pink Floyd ever made... with Meddle, The dark side and Wish you were here in a close pursuit...
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Posted Monday, March 29, 2010 | Review Permalink
5 stars Of course for all those who turned to PINK FLOYD throught albums like DARK SIDE or WISH YOU WERE HERE this one may appear very different ,even the band members seem not to bee attached to it, but ,to me, it's a FLOYD masterpiece ,in fact the first i listened to and i played it hundreds times.there are greats songs like CIRRUS MINOR,CYMBELINE,GREEN IS THE COLOUR,THE CRYING SONG and unusual rock tracks like THE NILE SONG,IBISA BAR or avant garde stuff like MAIN THEME or QUICKSILVER.This album should bee a must have LP for any FLOYD fan or music lover.I give 5 STARS no less.
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Posted Sunday, August 1, 2010 | Review Permalink
3 stars Soundtrack from the Film More, Pink Floyd's 3rd album. It was also the most folky album released by them. You can hear some major Simon & Garfunkel influences in Roger's songs here. And of course, some good old hard-rock, Pink Floyd proved that they could rock harder than The Who here. The music was written of course to the film More, which was an independance movie and was directed by Barbet Schroeder. You can see Roger taking the main songwriting duty in this album and going for a different direction than the last two albums. He also finally finds his true call, progressive singer/songwriter songs.

Pink Floyd had not given up the psychedelic and experimental just yet, they where still a fresh band that were trying to find their sound, however, they finally found the courage to get out of the safety sound and try something new. They did a bit of everything on this album, from the folk ballads to the hard rocking songs to the psychedelic intrumentals. A great blend of songs.

The album starts of by showcasing all the three styles they were mainly focusing on, and in my opinion these are the weakest songs on the album together with Ibiza Bar. The first song: Cirrus Minor was their take on folk rock, it has a slow intro and then it comes into the guitar part, actually this is propably the worst song Pink Floyd has ever put on an album, it was the sole reason why it took such a long time for me to try this album,

Afterwards, we get the rock song: Nile Song, which I loved when I first heard this album, because I've never heard Pink Floyd playing songs like this, however, after a few listens it got a bit boring. But, if you want to hear Mason at his best, then you really need to hear this song, because his drumming is excellent, he might not be the best progressive rock drummer (he has a hard competition, not everyone can match up to Bruford or Palmer) but he would've without any doubt been legendary if he was a member of Sabbath or Zeppelin. Now he is mostly viewed as that guy from Pink Floyd.

And now to the best of the three introductionary songs, just like the first song, this is somewhat of an mix between their Folk and Psychedelic approach. It reminds alot of their work on Meddle, however, by that time they would've refined that style and made it alot more interesting. There is not much I can say about this song. Listen to this song and then listen to Fearless on Meddle, pretty similiar, huh?

Now the real album starts in my opinion. Up The Khyber is the first fully intrumental song on the album, and was a very experimental piece. It only consists of a drum, an organ and a piano. It's very fun and somewhat soothing to listen to, this is one of the coolest solos that Wright has, and by now, I've slowly realized that he is the one that knows how to write the best songs in the band (in my opinion of course).

Green is the colour is the next song, which is propably the song that most people has heard from More, it's another folk ballad by Waters. I can't think of anything I can say about this song, it's just one of the most chill songs Pink Floyd has written. Also, it's one of the few times you hear Roger singing about something wonderful instead of just singing about how pissed off he is at losing his father.

Cymbaline is the best song on this album, there is nothing wrong with song. It's pretty much the perfect singer/songwriter song, the way Dave sings it, shifting between whispering, singing and just humming to the song makes it so perfect. He is the real star of this song, he has never been singing better, I wonder if Dave and Roger could give Paul and Art a run for their money if they would've become a folk rock duo, propably. we will never now. If you aren't sure if you shoud buy this album, this song is all the reason you need to buy it. Oh, I almost forgot, Buy More!

A short percussion solo from Mason afterwards, okay, heard it? Now we can move on.

The Main Theme is the ancestor to Pink Floyd's next Soundtrack, this is what Obscured by Clouds would've sounded like if they recorded it 3 years earlier. This is also one of the earliest Space Rock songs (or at least, that's what I think). It's a less subtle version of Careful with that axe, Eugene. You can also hear Dave mastering his special Slide style, which he would later use on Atom Heart Mother.

Ibiza bar, the sister to Nile Song, however, alot slower and more boring. I don't understand why PF decided to play Nile Song twice, and by doing this completely ruin the little enjoyment I could find in the original. Bad choice. I guess it made sense in the movie.

Did someone way Shine on you crazy diamond? If you ever wondered what it would've sounded without the synths, you got it here. Great song, but no match for the epic Shine on You.

Quicksilver is the longest song on the album, that is pretty much a good predictment on the ambient music movement, it sounds alot like Tangerine Dream without the loopy effects.

Next up is the only song where Roger hasn't been credited with the songwriting, a spanish guitar solo by Dave, here he really shows how good he is at playing guitar, if you ever have doubted him, this is the song to listen to, I know it made me change my mind.

The last song, is another song that reminds you alot of Careful with that axe, Eugene. I can't really think of anything to write, a pretty weak way to end the album... I guess.

I would've loved to end the review there, just because of the irony, but I can't leave without my final statement. A good album, where Pink Floyd finally manages to leave their safety zone, and they start exploring other ways of writing songs, than just following Syd's footsteps.

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Posted Thursday, November 11, 2010 | Review Permalink
octopus-4
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
RIO/Avant/Zeuhl,Neo & Post/Math Teams
4 stars It's not unusual that a band is able to record an album in one week. Mostly Autumn took more or less a week to record their Lord of the Rings, Senmuth releases an album every two weeks since 2004, and studio recording sessions in one shot are a natural thing in the jazz world.

in 1969 Pink Floyd were in France. Somebody says because of "fiscal" reasons, however it's where they met the freak film director Barbet Schroeder. He has seen them years before at the UFO club and proposed them to make the soundtrack for his debut movie. In his intentions the soundtrack wasn't to be meant as background music to comment the scenes. He wanted Pink Floyd to create the music that the two main characters, addicted to heavy drugs, were used to listen to.

The result is incredible. The movie didn't have a huge success. I have never seen it but some reviews that I've read say that it's everything but a masterpiece. On the musical side, instead, we have a collection of songs that consist in an anticipation of what the Pink Floyd were about to become. The following Ummagumma will be closer to their previous efforts, in particular to Saucerful of Secrets. More gave them the possibility to be more creative, without having to sound like Syd Barrett. The songs are less experimental but this is also the first album on which all the lyrics are written by Roger Waters.

"Cirrus Minor" is a great opener. The sad acoustic guitar is counterbalanced by the ethereal keyboards while the lyrics move between quiet and stoned contemplation to a sense of death. A contrast that will be better exploited in Free Four and on the whole Dark Side of the Moon. The high reverb and the keyboard coda are remarkable.

"The Nile Song" is the heaviest track ever composed by Pink Floyd. It's a piece of hard rock, with distorted guitar and Gilmour's voice that's very raw. Growling shoudn't sound too bad here. From a structural point of view this is an ascending canon. At each turn the pitch increases of one tone, and this could potentially continue forever. Fadeout is the only possible end.

"The Crying Song" is more similar to Cirrus Minor, as it's quiet and relaxing. The bass line leads this short song.

"Up The Khyber" is made of drums and piano. A short chaotic track with a jazzy flavour. The Khyber connects Afghanistan and Pakistan. It makes sense in a movie about drugs.

Then it comes one of my favourite Pink Floyd's songs. "Green Is The Colour" is a predecessor of "Fat Old Sun". It has acoustic guitar and Gilmour's voice. It's melodic with a touch of country-rock with a very nice coda. It's followed by the album's masterpiece: "Cymbaline". Mimsy Farmer spins up a record and the first love scene starts (somebody told me so). It's a song about a nightmare (It's high time, Cymbaline, please wake me...). There's a number of live versions of this song which include longers solos by Wright. On the album Gilmour sings speachless on the coda, like he will do later on Wish You Were Here. This is the song which makes the difference between a 3-stars and a 4-stars album.

If I remember well, "Party Sequence was the closer of the A side. Just one minute of percussions and flute. Very flower power.

The B side is opened by the first psychedelic track of the album. It's an instrumental which borrows something from Saucerful of Secrets until bass and keyboards open the "Main Theme", that's also the track's title. I think the keyboard's sound reminds a bit to JM Jarre.

"Ibiza Bar" is a bit less hard than The Nile Song. It's not a Canon but it's very similar to it. The musical theme is similar to what the Pink Floyd will propose to Antonioni for Zabriskie Point. Something of this song can be found on Point me At The Sky and Crumbling Land.

"More Blues" is what its title says. A slow blues most of which played by guitar only.

"Quicksilver" is the longest track, even if just about 7 minutes long. A good psychedelic instrumental very athmospheric and very floydian. A great work from Rick Wright.

"A Spanish Piece" is a sort of joke. In addition the Tequila mentioned by the speaking drunk voice of Waters over a flamenco guitar is not Spanish.

The album is closed by "Dramatic Theme" Not very different from Main Theme.More or less the same bass line but with a different guitaristic approach. Enjoy

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Posted Monday, December 6, 2010 | Review Permalink
tarkus1980
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars Given the Pinksters' reputation for creating "synchronicities" between their albums and various films, it is somewhat ironic that their first full studio album in the post-Barrett era would be a soundtrack. Because it's a soundtrack, this album is often forgotten and dismissed, but it really shouldn't be. Honestly, there are only three tracks on here I could do without: "Nile Song" and "Izba Bar" show the band attempting to do balls-out hard rock and completely failing, and the seven-minute instrumental "Quicksilver" is the boring negative of all of the far more interesting instrumentals that are found throughout the rest of the album (though since the film is about heroin, it might be in the context of a really long trip in the movie).

The rest is really good, honestly. Waters has already begun to assume control of the group; 5 of the tracks are solely his, and he has a credit on 11 of the 13. "Cymbaline" is the standout, with one of the creepiest atmospheres I have ever come across in any song. And it's cleverly self-referential; there's a line in the middle of it that goes "will the final couplet rhyme?" which is cool because the final couplet of the song is the only one that doesn't rhyme. I'm pretty sure that it's about the fear side-effects of heavy drug use, since it talks about all sorts of animals closing in on you from all sides and has an air of somber paranoia throughout. I love the song, and the fact that seemingly no radio station ever plays it just makes me very sad inside.

And the other songs are great. "Crying Song" and "Green is the Color" are terrific folk (yup) songs, and the latter has to be one of the prettiest songs Waters ever wrote for the group (Dave gives a very nice vocal to this as well). The opening "Cirrus Minor" is a perfect mood setter for the rest of the album, with its very effective vocal melody and the way it turns from a mellow, somber acoustic ballad into one of the most perfect slow chord sequences Wright would ever play for the band (this sequence, by the way, is very similar to what he'd use in the coda of live versions of A Saucerful of Secrets). Elsewhere, we have lots of instrumental tracks, and except for "Quicksilver," all have something going for them. The best of the lot is "Main Theme," a neat avant-garde track, but "Dramatic Theme," "Spanish Piece" (a funny minute of generic Spanish guitar and some vocals from the movie), "More Blues," and "Up the Khyber" all have positive things to be said for them (even if its hard for me to articulate what those are).

I will admit that this album doesn't jump out as being big and important like so much of Pink Floyd's other stuff does, and I suppose that's the reason that it gets relatively ignored. Is self-importance really the best way to measure an album's quality, though? I don't think so, and while this album is far from perfect, I enjoy it enough to happily give it a high ***. Every Pink Floyd fan should have this eventually ... even with "Nile Song."

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Posted Friday, December 24, 2010 | Review Permalink
friso
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars Pink Floyd - More (1969)

This album has served as a soundtrack, but what is more important; it represents the missing link between the crazy psychedelic Saucerful of Secrets and the more mature and refined style of Atom Heart Mother. Besides that Pink Floyd shows it is capable of some simple, but adequate song-writing. There are a lot of different kinds of songs/compositions on this album but there's this atmospheric factor that binds the music; a delicate light psychedelic, slow mood.

The Nile Song (and in a way it's little brother Ibiza Bar) stand out as very early heavy metal tracks. Cirrus Minor is a song that reminds me a bit of the symphonic passages of the title track of Saucerful. Main Theme is great dark eastern atmospheric track that reminds me a bit of Set the Controls to the Heart of the Sun. Green is the Colour and Quicksilver are also psychedelic experimental tracks. More Blues and A Spanish Piece are both guitar tracks by Gilmour of which the titles fully explain what is to be expected. Cyring Song, Up the Khyber and Cymbaline are nice & simple, peaceful songs.

Now, many may ask themselves: is this album really worth buying? I myself think it doesn't represent the best of the band (though I'd prefer More over most post '72 material), but is still is a complete Pink Floyd album with many likable songs and some good atmospheric parts. The album has a pleasant sound and style. The cover art-work is my favorite of the band.

Conclusion. This album can serve as a relaxing record that slows you down from your oh-so important busy life. It's atmosphere can carry you away. Furthermore it gives a lot of insight in the sudden change of style Pink Floyd had in the beginning of the seventies. Not an essential Pink Floyd record, and nowhere near a good place to stars for newcomers of the band (do they even exist..?), but fine slow psychedelic rock record that has a function in my collection. Three stars. Perhaps the quality is as good as that of the Obscured by Clouds soundtrack.

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Posted Friday, January 14, 2011 | Review Permalink
4 stars An excellent soundtrack with a great variety of sounds. It opens with the acoustic folk of "Cirrus Minor" which is laced with dreamy organ work. The lyrics describe "a churchyard by a river, lazing in the haze of midday...." There are chirping birds in the background to add the effect and you really can imagine yourself in such a place on a gorgeous summers day. The organ part that ends the song is really beautiful.

The mood is soon muffled by the hard rock of "The Nile Song" which tells a story of a special lady. Other great songs include "Green Is The Colour", which is a lovely, delicate ballad. "Cymbaline" is also a highlight and contains some excellent lyrics. There are also several instrumental tracks showing the group's avant-garde approach.

The second half of the record includes a bit of blues and spanish music with Flamenco guitar. You may also notice that there are bongos in many songs too giving the album an exotic feel. This is one of my favourite Pink Floyd albums and the best of theirs from the sixties. 4. 5 stars.

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Posted Friday, February 4, 2011 | Review Permalink
Warthur
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars A pragmatic move after the departure of Barrett, Pink Floyd took the invitation to provide soundtrack material for More (an otherwise forgettable film about the perils of drug addiction) as an opportunity to hone their studio craft, producing the material entirely by themselves.

The problem with the album is that it's a little bit forgettable. If it weren't Floyd playing this, it would be an enjoyable but not especially essential psychedelic rock oddity with a few throwaway acoustic songs, a couple of uninspired rockers, and a lot of aimless noodling, plus the likes of Spanish Piece, which is a stupid joke track. Because it's from Pink Floyd, it's easy to be hard on it - goodness knows I have been in the past - but it's not unlikable, just a touch underwhelming compared to their best.

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Posted Monday, May 23, 2011 | Review Permalink
Conor Fynes
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars 'Soundtrack From The Film More' - Pink Floyd (5/10)

From progressive rock's most well-known export, there are still albums that are regarded as lesser than the others. 'More' is sometimes not even regarded as a legitimate album by Pink Floyd, and while the music here is certainly indicative of the band's early work, I might tend to agree. Commissioned for a film that only a fraction of this album's listeners have ever seen, the soundtrack for a cult film about drug addiction can probably best be looked at as a product of its own. Make no mistake though, do not expect a Pink Floyd album out of this; 'More' may have some pleasant tracks from the band, but as it stands, the record's scattered approach does not lend well for a coherent album listening experience.

The most noteworthy thing about the 'More' soundtrack is the fact that it took Pink Floyd from their market as singles-centric hitmakers to more album-based artists. When one thinks of albums like 'Dark Side Of The Moon' that revolved entirely around the science of an album, 'More' does take a nice context. It is ironic therefore, that this album is incredibly incoherent, lacking much- if any- sense of cohesion to it. This is brought about partially by the album's significant ambition when it comes to variety. Due to the fact that most serious films go through at least a few different moods, Pink Floyd's work has gone from warm folky numbers, to hard rock, to psychedelic soundscapes, to style gimmicks such as blues or flamenco. None of these are done particularly well however, and while it is exciting to be able to hear the band doing such a variety of things at first, the jarred compilation of these tracks is all too apparent by the second or third listen.

The most notable song here is 'The Nile Song', although it is far from the best. It is a fairly basic hard rock number that the band used as their single, although it is only minutely successful when compared to Floyd's earlier singles. Floyd's power here instead lies in their dabblings with psychedelia and disparate styles. 'Spanish Piece' is a quickly flung together rendition of the flamenco style, featuring everything you would expect from Spanish classical guitar in just over a minute. 'More Blues' is another intentionally generic piece, leaving no impression save for the fact that the songs are so exhausted with their ideas. There are some nice pieces here, most notably in the acoustic sound. 'Cirrus Minor', and 'Cymballine' are two great pieces that make excellent additions to Pink Floyd's early catalogue.

Not an impressive album by much regard, but 'More' is an intermittent slice of the band's music that features a few great tracks, and witnesses the band's development as a progressive act.

Report this review (#480873)
Posted Tuesday, July 12, 2011 | Review Permalink
4 stars MORE - the soundtrack album is a hidden Floyd gem. I haven't seen the movie so I won't review it as a soundtrack but merely as a genuine Floyd album. This is the major step away from the typical sixties psychedelia pop as heard on 'Piper' and the mediocre 'Saucerful'. With 'More' we hear the sounds and different styles that will be the typical Floyd sound until 'Dark Side': There is still a lot of psychedelia but now in a spacey and laid-back style, like 'Cirrus Minor','Main Theme' and especially 'Cymbaline' (my favorite). Also the Waters pastoral sound, is initiated here with 'Crying' and 'Green is the color'. The experimantal sound is continued with 'Quicksilver' and 'up the Khyber', and we hear rare examples of the Floyd playing hard-rock and blues. Overall the album has a very good atmosphere and continues in my rotation of records. Not a masterpiece but essential, at least for Floyd fans.
Report this review (#487780)
Posted Thursday, July 21, 2011 | Review Permalink
2 stars Not everything from Pink Floyd was good.

This is a soundtrack from an obscure film. It contains a couple of proper songs and a lot of sound collages. This was the first recording without Syd Barrett on it. Not that anyone would know that. The proper songs here has Syd Barrett written all over it. The rest is much more in line with the rest of Pink Floyd.

There are some good stuff here. Some of the sound collages is good. A song like Nile Song is dreadful weak. But Crying Song is good. The rest is pretty OK though.

Frankly, this is an album just for the Pink Floyd fans. Even they will not give this album much time and affection. Neither do I.

2 stars

Report this review (#524623)
Posted Friday, September 16, 2011 | Review Permalink
AtomicCrimsonRush
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator
2 stars Strictly for Pink Floyd collectors.

There is no doubt that Pink Floyd were rediscovering life without Mr. Barrett and it was a difficult period in the late 60s. They must have jumped at the chance to provide the soundtrack to a film. A film that nobody has heard of, and if it was not for Pink Floyd's involvement nobody would care about it as it is such a shocker. However, unlike 'Zabriskie Point', equally as abysmal as a film, this soundtrack does have some merit.

Side one kicks along really well with some outstanding tracks such as the birds whistling effects and peaceful ambience of 'Cirrus Minor', and the raucous 'Nile Song'.

'Green is the Colour' is an instrumental feast of psychedelia, and perhaps portents 'Any Colour You Like' to come later. 'Cymbaline' is a pleasant ballad that is well sung by Gilmour with nice piano and weird reverb.

Side 2 feels like a soundtrack and is really psychedelic rubbish, perhaps working well with the imagery of the movie better than as a headphone experience. Speaking of which a lot of the music passes from left to right ear in parts which is kind of weird and quite unsettling at times, especially Party Sequence, Main Theme, and some earlier material. The side is dominantly instrumental and quite dull, like a lengthy version of 'Set The Controls For the Heart of the Sun'.

There is a good song with 'Ibiza Bar'. 'More Blues' is improvised blues and never really takes off. 'Quicksilver' is a lengthy trippy piece, with bizarre sound effects and psychedelic nonsense that will cause many to push skip, and like 'Atom Heart Mother''s experimental sections, it just grates on the nerves after a while. If you survive a full listen you know you are a Pink Floyd fan. Perhaps the 60s acid generation got into this as they turned on, tuned in and dropped out on certain substances.

In conclusion, this is one for the extreme fans. Even some members of the Floyd want this erased from their discography, absolutely ignoring it in live performances. It may be over doing it to state that 'More' is a bore, it is not unlistenable, but like a lot of early material of Pink Floyd has passed its use by date.

Report this review (#532996)
Posted Monday, September 26, 2011 | Review Permalink
stefro
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars A few years before Pink Floyd smashed-open the big time with their hit 1972 album 'Dark Side Of The Moon', the British four-piece could be found writing and composing intriguingly free-form psychedelic pop tunes for a number of edgy European films such as this clumsy-yet-stylish taboo-baiting euro-drama about a couple of aimless junkies lording it up on the beautiful Spanish isle of Ibiza. Directed by Franco-Swiss film-maker Barbet Schroeder(who would go on to enjoy Hollywood success with the 1991 Bridget Fonda thriller 'Single White Female'), 'More' seems quaintly outmoded when compared with today's salacious drug drama's, it's 1960s outlook a relic from a bygone era. It by no means a bad film, but there is no denying that it's main point of interest these days is the original Pink Floyd score that accompanies many of the more indulgent scenes of sex and drug-taking. As an album, 'More' is surprisingly good. It's also very unlike the rest of Pink Floyd's discography, with a rambling, psychedelic and gently- acoustic vibe sprinkled with washes of ethereal keyboards and sitar-style guitars. Of the group's three soundtrack albums it is far and away the strongest, with Gilmour no longer the Barrett-replacing imposter but one of the main creative forces driving the group along. Fans of the groups classic 1970s output('Meddle', 'Dark Side', 'Wish You Were Here', 'Animals' and 'The Wall') may find it all a bit soft, but there is no denying the quiet, almost mystical power tracks such as 'Cymbaline', 'Cirrus Song' and 'Quicksilver' lend to the film's beautiful scenery. This is Pink Floyd in mellow, relaxed mood, still wrapped up in the musical sounds of the 1960s but just as relevant as their later incarnation. Unless you like you rock 'Vanilla Fudge'-hard, 'More's psychedelic vibe should satisfy all those curious enough to discover the many joys on offer. STEFAN TURNER, LONDON, 2011
Report this review (#537999)
Posted Friday, September 30, 2011 | Review Permalink
3 stars This feels like a solid four.

The first half of the album is such a treat. 'Cirrus Minor' and 'Cymbaline' are almost equal in power, crafted with the Floyd's classic brand of ambient pop and ambient folk. I really dislike terms like "psychedelic rock" and "space rock". This kind of stuff just doesn't feel like it needs a trip on drugs or a vague connotation of cosmos. This is simply top-of-the-line dreamy folk.

'The Nile Song' and 'Ibiza Bar' are songs that sound alike in character ? both of them are imitative Hendrix-like rock songs with the same rhythm and the same riff. Surprisingly, I like the latter better than the former. I guess it's the key, the guitar tone, and the presence of melodies that made all the difference for me, even though 'The Nile Song' shows Roger Waters showing little interest in modulation.

I know that the Floyd had spent some time in '68 or '69 in France, and the influences of French pop start to show in the instrumentation and the melody of the sweet and melancholic 'Crying Song'. I am usually skeptical of the potential of French pop of 60's and 70's, but the Floydsters turned it around for me. Ditto for 'Up the Khyber', which would make a good staircase chase scene soundtrack; instead Barbet Schroder used it as just some instrumental track Stefan, the protagonist of the film "More", was listening to on a cassette. Also, if you can't get enough of that British folk with jazzy-poppy piano, here is 'Green is the Colour', featuring some flute (with an awesome timbre) and organ parts. If you say the Floyd were in the business of making psychedelia, I say they were in the business of making formative prog-rock.

The silly soundtrack stuff on the second half of the album just doesn't work for me, although most of it worked for George Starostin, so you can take that guy's word for it.

Ratings/comments (if you have to ask):

1. 'Cirrus Minor' - *****

2. 'The Nile Song' - **

3. 'Crying Song' - ****

4. 'Up the Khyber' - ****

5. 'Green is the Colour' - ****

6. 'Cymbaline' - *****

7. 'Party Sequence' - ***

8. 'Main Theme' - **

9. 'Ibiza Bar' - ****

10. 'More Blues' - *

11. 'Quicksilver' - **

12. 'A Spanish Piece' - **

13. 'Dramatic Theme' - *

Stamp: "I like it."

Report this review (#613975)
Posted Friday, January 20, 2012 | Review Permalink
5 stars Their first soundtrack may seem like a lightweight soundtrack at first, but it's actually a very serious and heavy album, containing many of Pink Floyd's best early songs, including the super-mellow and melancholy "Cirrus Minor", the beautiful and plaintive "Green Is the Colour", "The Nile Song", decidedly their heaviest rocker, and "Cymbaline" pointed the way towards the writing and playing style they would later perfect on Dark Side of the Moon. There are also some great psychedelic gems here like the groovy "Main Theme", the very avant- garde Wright-heavy "Quicksilver" (complete with piano string glissandos drenched in reverb), and the closing "Dramatic Theme", where Gilmour takes his guitar sound to new heights, and very much finding his sound in the solo at the end. You can also hear Wright and Mason playing considerably faster and jazzier than usual on the track, "Up the Khyber." There may be a few relatively weak moments, but they are very brief, and the strongest tracks are actually above the standard they'd been recording at around the time, making More an essential psychedelic rock album. Enjoy on vinyl with something green.
Report this review (#681258)
Posted Saturday, March 24, 2012 | Review Permalink
2 stars This album marks both the acquisition of Gilmour and the departure of Syd Barrett, and it shows. The annoying psychedelic noodling of Barrett is no longer here, and the band is beginning to find the sound typical of their later albums.

The album begins with 'Cirus Minor,' which is a peaceful and atmospheric acoustic song laced with Gilmour's vocals. I do find Wright's organ playing tasteful in the second half. 'The Nile song' is one of the Floyd's heaviest songs. But I don't think the heavy riffing really suits them, and the shoddy production doesn't help things along either.

'Crying Song' is overly simple and repetitive, but Gilmour's vocal melody and guitar solo at the end is nice.

'Up the Khyber' is nothing special except maybe Nick Mason's drumming which is decent. Green Is the Colour' is an acoustically driven song with Gilmour's soft and relaxing vocals throughout. I think this is the first real hint for things to come, as it sounds similar to some moments on Atom Heart Mother and Meddle. While this is not an "essential" Pink Floyd song, it is simply beautiful.

'Cymbaline' is pretty uninteresting except for some decent keyboard parts near the end. Party Sequence is just a mass of percussion sounds but is just filler out of the context of the soundtrack.

'Main Theme' sounds similar to some stuff off of Saucerful of Secrets, but is a little better. Wright adds some synthesizer-sounding keyboard melodies throughout, which is nice.

Of the two rocking songs on the album, I prefer 'Ibiza Bar.' Still, there's nothing terribly interesting about it.

'More Blues' is exactly what the title implies; it's a blues song mostly with guitar. 'Quicksilver' is very atmospheric, but special goes on here.

'Spanish Piece' is just filler, while 'A Dramatic Theme' is just an uninteresting close to the album

Overall, More is, in my opinion, the "true" first Pink Floyd album. While the compositions on this album are mostly forgettable, being that this is a movie score, I can't really fault them. But this is still a much better change from the Barrett-dominated Floyd.

3/10

Report this review (#771360)
Posted Friday, June 15, 2012 | Review Permalink
3 stars "More", had many intresting titles, but on the other side, it have some burried themes too. the soundtrack of a french movie (yeah, i think it's french), with a total of 13 songs, the grooviest themes (i think) are: "Cirrus minor", "Nile song", and "Green is the colour". "Green is the colour" it's one of my favourite songs ever (and i'm not talking only of songs by PF). other themes like "Ibiza bar" or "Dramatic theme" are very burried. it's very complex full of up and downs, animated songs, other more sad and burried. this is the first album of PF without Syd Barrett, i think they took time to acoplate to the ausence of the genious of the lyrics. maybe "More" is not one of the better works of PF, but it's an importatn piece in the puzzle. anyway, does no harm to listen it once in a while.
Report this review (#992993)
Posted Sunday, July 7, 2013 | Review Permalink
siLLy puPPy
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
PSIKE, JRF/Canterbury, P Metal, Eclectic
4 stars The soundtrack to the film MORE is a strange little album in the discography of PINK FLOYD. After Syd Barrett was asked to leave during the process of recording 'A Saucerful Of Secrets' the band was left in an awkward position of losing one of its key members of their psychedelic phase in the early years. They opted to carry on without him but had a bit of a transitional process along the way before they would get to the new era that blossomed in the 70s. This soundtrack is one of those quirky outings on their way to super-stardom. This album has always been a mystery as to why I like it so much. When you take any single track on here and isolate it the impression is lessened than when the album is played in full. There are plenty of psychedelic references to the previous album's title track, some simple rockers, blues and even a short Spanish guitar piece. For me the magic lies in the flow from one track to another and the mood the whole thing strings together as it progresses.

I have never seen the movie but there are two songs that can be heard in the film that were not included on the album: "Seabirds" and "Hollywood.' For this reason alone I might have to take the plunge and check this flick out no matter how bad it is. I've seen some pretty horrific films in my days and haven't been scarred for life by any (well.... Bride Of Chucky might be the exception). One of the strangest things about this album is that you will hear the FLOYD rock out like they never had and never would again on tracks like 'Nile Song.' Overall I find myself enjoying this every time I drop in and press play. I guess I like the avant feel to the whole thing and the transitional uncertainties that come out in it. However despite liking this album I don't listen to it often. I really should listen to it MORE.

Report this review (#1197080)
Posted Sunday, June 22, 2014 | Review Permalink
3 stars The first of two soundtracks released by Pink Floyd, this film-score was made for a movie called, well, More. The film (which is highly unlikely that anyone has ever seen), tells a story of heroin addiction. The whole movie takes place on the island of Ibiza (which the name for the track 'Ibiza Bar' came from). Although I've never seen the movie, I have heard the soundtrack for it. This album is the most recent purchase to my PF discography.

The reason behind this being one of my last to add to my collection is due to my hesitation behind the reception of it overall. So I admit I saved it for last. I'm sure that many others have to, maybe even for very last, but I thought that getting this underrated gem before I got all the others would benefit me more in the long run. Therefore I picked up the album for eleven dollars and brought it home. I was quick to do a full listen-through, and I came out with an opinion equally as fast. Now here I am, presenting my thoughts to you.

I have stated before that Obscured by Clouds (1972) is my favorite Pink Floyd album, and I make it very clear in my review of it. But Obscured by Clouds was only a half of the puzzle. More, which came out three years before and predated OBC by two albums, is most definitely my least favorite of the two. But after listening, this album is probably the most evolved of the 60's Pink Floyd albums. Although maybe not as SUCCESSFULLY influential, like OBC (which influenced PF's Dark Side heyday), but More most definitely reinforced and solidified their sound after A Saucerful of Secrets (1968). I must say that both albums (OBC and More) have large similarities. This might be due to both films that they scored being directed by Barbet Schroeder, and them both being sort of art flicks. This would lead to high amounts of similar-ness due to the certain sounds these films have. But anyway, enough comparison, onto the album.

The album starts out with the dark and floaty 'Cirrus Minor', with sounds of birds and some light guitar. The riffs from this song sounds sort of like something you'd see from ASFOS, reminiscent to maybe 'Remember a Day'. This overall affect is actually quite nice, a high pick from the album and one of the best album openings by the band. But that quietness doesn't last for long until 'The Nile Song' comes in to blow all of that away. Crunching riffs and a yelling Gilmour, coming in with the heaviest Pink Floyd song in history. It is actually a cool and interesting listen, and features some awesome heavy metal guitar and excellent drumming on the part of Mason. 'Crying Song' slows the album back down with an ominous lullaby type song. It features some key changes that I'd hear on maybe Dark Side, and is actually a neat casual listen. 'Green is the Colour' and 'Cymbaline' are two slow acoustic songs that I really enjoy, especially the latter. 'Green is the Colour' actually has a more lighthearted feel that is taken almost straight from Atom Heart Mother, except this time the lyrics really make me feel warm on the inside. Also, I give great kudos to Wright for the keyboarding; mighty fine. 'Cymbaline' is the second of them, and this time has some good steady drumming from Mason and a much darker tone. If I were to compare the two, think of 'Green is the Colour' as a walk in the fields, and 'Cymbaline' as sitting in a rocker inside by the window during a rainy day. Both are quite exquisite, and are a mighty fine listen for both. 'Ibiza Bar' is sort of like a 'The Nile Song' reprise in a way, using very similar rhythm guitar riffs except it doesn't variate as much. Also, it is not nearly as heavy as the latter, but the recording sounds a lot better. A really cool listen, especially if you wanted to hear a clearer version of that iconic 'The Nile Song' riff. Unfortunately, that is the last of my real highlights. The rest of the album is songs that you'd probably only enjoy if you were actually watching the film, and aren't really that good upon listening to them plainly. So that has given it the rating from me at a 3.5/5. A nice little album full of really neat ditties, and are really nice to listen to. But if you were thinking of getting this as an early or maybe even introductory purchase, you could very well regret it. I would say listen to the rest of their albums first (especially the necessary ones), and you will come to greatly appreciate this.

Go give it a listen.

Report this review (#1327407)
Posted Monday, December 22, 2014 | Review Permalink
4 stars Sometimes less is more, goes the saying.

After the zeitgeist of the nineties unplugged crazed died off, music listeners started to pay attention to more basic or stripped down offerings from their heroes. And nothing fits that description better than Floyd's third LP and first OST of the 1969 movie titled More.

Putting their psychedelic space rock on hold, the Floyd, now with David Gilmour fully integrated and Syd Barrett and his lyrical influences completely jettisoned, we have the new mark II version of Pink Floyd that has produced an album that is mysteriously enchanting as it lacks almost all of the pretentious that we have come to expect and appreciate from this band. And that's why More is a minor gem. Good without the gimmicks.

The lead off track Cirrus Minor is a slice of dark melancholia that only the Floyd seemed able to get away with in 1969, and shows off Pink Floyd's most secret weapon of that era, Rick Wright's farfisa organ and understated piano. Following immediately is the sonic assault of The Nile Song, which to this day remains one of Floyd's heaviest workouts, and, like most of the songs on this album, does not sound dated by production tricks of the era.

Only the 7 minute long atmospheric keyboard altered and recording tape vary speeded sound of the song Quicksilver reminds you that you are still in the domain of the Floyd, while the gentle ballads of Green Is The Color and Cymbaline draw one temporary to other views. Gilmour's sweet vocals on these two magnificent songs could not have been more dissimilar than those just heard on the hard rocking Nile Song, along with close sound alike cousin, the rocking Ibiza Bar, which quickly follows. Perhaps there is something more going on here that meets the eye, or ear, if you like. Pun not intended.

And that's part of the secret charm that More holds over a listener that will give it half a chance against better known and more experimental albums like Ummagumma. Sometimes less is really more. Pun intended. 4 stars for this unheralded jewel.

Report this review (#1451135)
Posted Monday, August 10, 2015 | Review Permalink
3 stars Experimental.

Floyd were, in my opinion, among the best at experimenting with new sounds during these early years, because I think had a keen musical sense and selected those bits that were most musical to their ears, rather than trying to get a radio hit. This album, a soundtrack to the film "More", contains a number of short pieces, often more snippets than well-developed songs, although some songs (like "Cirrus Minor" and "Cymbaline") are well-developed songs in their own right. Other tracks, like "the Crying Song" and "Green is the Colour" are songs but still feel unfinished, while still others here are simply "sequences" or "themes", experiments meant to act as background music for the film. Yet they are virtually all still musical, and while not meant to establish any new kind of musical structure, I think they do well on their own. Indeed, I could see this album partly as a precursor to certain strands of post-rock. But the key thing about Floyd is the music. "The Crying Song" is a beautiful song, while both "Cymbaline", and "Green is the Colour" became staples of their live set at the time. "Cirrus Minor", "Main Theme" and "Dramatic Theme" are also all very musical. They are not at all pretentious - there is no pretense of them fitting into any concept or scheme, or being anything other than the snippets of sound they are. But for snippets, they are quality snippets, and a missing piece of the Floyd puzzle for aspiring Floyd fans. I give this album 6.9 out of 10 on my 10-point scale, which translates to 3 PA stars.

Report this review (#1695843)
Posted Wednesday, February 22, 2017 | Review Permalink
3 stars 3 The first album by pink floyd for a soundtrack, the first one without any involvement of Syd Barret and the first where David Gilmour was the lead vocalist. I considered it a average album, however far of the standard of a Pink Floyd records. It contains mostly acoustic songs and a few avant-garde passages. In general, two or three song stands out (Nile Song, Green is the Colour and other instrumental parts), Lyrically it has its moments, but nothing special. I recommend it only for Pink Floyd Fans, to prog listener I don't think is going to fulfill their expectations, but it has its moments.
Report this review (#2116150)
Posted Monday, January 7, 2019 | Review Permalink
VianaProghead
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars Review Nº 354

'More' is the third studio album of Pink Floyd and was released in 1969. It's a psychedelic rock album that contains some acoustic folk ballads, a genre that appeared sparsely on Pink Floyd's later works. It also contains several instrumental tracks, featuring their experimental and avant garde approach. It was composed as a soundtrack for a film with the same name, directed by the Franco-Swiss film director and producer Barbet Schroeder. 'More' was the first full length soundtrack album of Pink Floyd, also released in the same year, and it was also the first time that they worked with this film director. Three years later, in 1972, Pink Floyd were once again invited by Barbet Schroeder to compose another soundtrack for a new film called 'La Vallee', that would result in a new Pink Floyd's album, their seventh studio album 'Obscured By Clouds'. This is Pink Floyd's first full album without founding member Syd Barrett.

'More' has thirteen tracks. The first track 'Cirrus Minor' written by Roger Waters is a very nice song to open the album and one of my favourites too. It's a slow song very beautiful and relaxing that begins with Roger Waters' acoustic guitar and that ends with a superb keyboard solo performed by Richard Wright. The second track 'The Nile Song' written by Roger Waters is a very heavy song, one of the heaviest songs written by them. It's a very enjoyable hard rock song with nice guitar solos and where David Gilmour screams instead of singing, which isn't very nice to hear, really. The third track 'Crying Song' written by Roger Waters is a nice and soft ballad where we can hear the voice of David Gilmour, which on this song sounds normal. It's basically an acoustic guitar song, very nice and pleasant to hear. The fourth track 'Up The Khyber' written by Richard Wright and Nick Mason is an instrumental track very short with a very cool drum beat and where Richard Wright plays his piano in a jazzy style. It's a very strange but a nice piece of music, really. The fifth track 'Green Is The Colour' written by Roger Waters is another soft and pleasant song. It's a very mellow acoustic ballad with very enjoyable guitar and piano works. This is a very soft song full of simplicity and beauty. The sixth track 'Cymbaline' written by Roger Waters is, in fact, a song that really sounds to Pink Floyd. It's a very nice song with good vocals that ends beautifully with a magnificent keyboard work that provides a nice closing to the song. The seventh track 'Party Sequence' written by Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Richard Wright and Nick Mason is one of the shortest tracks on the album. It's a brief and psychedelic song performed basically with bongos and a flute in the background. In my opinion, this is an irrelevant song to the album. The eighth track 'Main Theme' written by Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Richard Wright and Nick Mason is another instrumental track with some nice and interesting musical moments. It's a psychedelic song with the musical exploration of some electronic effects. This is a wonderful piece of music with good psychedelic explorative moments, making of it one of the best songs on the album. The ninth track 'Ibiza Bar' written by Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Richard Wright and Nick Mason is a rock song in the same vein of 'The Nile Song'. It's another hard rock song that shows us some of the earliest sounds of the future heavy metal sound. Here, again, David Gilmour screams instead of singing. These are two very similar songs. The tenth track 'More Blues' written by Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Richard Wright and Nick Mason is, as its name indicates, a blues song. It's a very short song with nice bluesy guitar and cool drumming but with nothing more interesting to add to the album. The eleventh track 'Quicksilver' written by Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Richard Wright and Nick Mason is clearly a journey and an incursion into the electronic music and experimentation. It's the lengthiest track on the album and I think this is a good psychedelic atmospheric instrumental song, very Floydian, and with a magnificent keyboard work by Richard Wright. It sounds a bit like to Tangerine Dream. The twelfth track 'A Spanish Piece' written by David Gilmour is a kind of a joke of David Gilmour. I don't like of this track and I sincerely think that it's completely useless on the album. It's probably the worst thing ever made by David Gilmour. The thirteenth and last track 'Dramatic Theme' written by Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Richard Wright and Nick Mason is an instrumental track very atmospheric, which fortunately ends the album well enough and very decently. It's an enjoyable track very close to 'Main Theme'.

Conclusion: As I wrote before when I reviewed 'Obscured By Clouds', I never was a big fan of film soundtracks made by progressive rock bands. Unlike 'La Vallee', a film that I saw once in the cinema when I was a teenager, as far as I can remember I never had the opportubity to see the film 'More'. However, the fact that I haven't seen the film, it isn't reallt an obstacle to review this album. After all, we are reviewing an album and not the soundtrack or the film itself. 'More' has some interesting musical moments but it isn't very well balanced. In reality, it isn't a bad album, but it seems to me more a bunch of experimental and psychedelic tracks than a real cohesive musical work. Like 'Obscured By Clouds', and 'Ummagumma', 'More' isn't, for sure, one of the best and most representative albums of Pink Floyd.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

Report this review (#2418870)
Posted Saturday, July 11, 2020 | Review Permalink
3 stars Review #5

The third Pink Floyd release was a soundtrack from a late sixties film called "More", a film that is kind of boring if you're not into LSD and active drug use. To be honest, I watched that film several years ago and I barely remember much of it, but I considered that the Pink Floyd music was the best thing about the movie.

The songs on the A-side of the album have the lyrics, while the B-side is mainly instrumental; it goes from very harmonic songs to some dark pieces that sound like leftovers from "A saucerful of secrets". As we're talking about a soundtrack, most of the songs are quite short because they were planned to appear in specific scenes of the film.

The album itself has very nice songs (I must admit that "Cirrus Minor" is one of my all-time favorite Pink Floyd songs) but to be absolutely honest, the whole album is not as good as the first two albums of the band, this is an album that I wouldn't buy and I only own because it was on my dad's CD collection.

I really like it, but not as much to consider it a must-have album, so, three stars for this record.

SONG RATING: Cirrus Minor, 5 The Nile Song, 4 Crying song, 3 Up the khyber, 3 Green is the color, 4 Cymbaline, 4 Party sequence, 3 Main theme, 2 Ibiza bar, 3 More blues, 3 Quicksilver, 3 A Spanish piece, 3 Dramatic theme, 3

AVERAGE: 3.31

PERCENTAGE: 66.15

ALBUM RATING: 3 stars

Report this review (#2461896)
Posted Saturday, October 31, 2020 | Review Permalink
3 stars "More"

This one may be considered an example of the problems I have when rating an album. It could be three stars, IF the "good parts" got to be overextended to justify it. On the other hand, these "good" parts are good enough to deserve attention from non fans of this band.

What is more in "More"´s contend (pun intended...) ? Lets search inside it :

The first song, "Cirrus Minor", is the best one here, sufficient for justifying the purchasing of this album. Once more the keys of Mr. Wright makes a GREAT difference ! Soft, dreamy, oh what a song !

Second one is "The Nile Song", maybe the heaviest Pink Floyd has ever recorded. It is good to appreciate the shock between the softness in "Cirrus Minor" and the heaviness in "The Nile Song". I really enjoy this pair of songs !

After them, the album presents some very good ballads (Cymbaline, a high point), anda "Green Is The Colour". Between these two I prefer Roger Waters´s "Cymbalyne", but it is clear how David is more able to transmit emotion and softness by his voice and way of singing.

What else ? Experimental songs, Spanish oriented songs. Not more than just interesting. The rating ? 2,5 stars, rounded to 3 because I rounded down WYWH?

Report this review (#2594280)
Posted Monday, September 13, 2021 | Review Permalink
2 stars More is an unfocused album that caught Pink Floyd deep in the throes of a transitional period. They had fired their bandleader and lacked clear direction. It doesn't help that More is a soundtrack, which by their very nature tend to be relatively scattered.

In the creative vacuum left by Barrett, Roger Waters contributed the most to this record. Five of the thirteen songs list him as the sole composer, and another six have him as a cowriter.

"Cirrus Minor" opens the album with a bit of a dirge. Richard Wright's distinctive Farfisa organ is the central focus, with acoustic guitar embellishments, and the vocals are delivered in a sleepy manner. In an immense and jarring tonal shift, though, the second song is "The Nile Song". This track, as if compensating for the first, contains no keyboards whatsoever. It's Pink Floyd's most metallic offering; the guitars bludgeon the listener with far less finesse than Gilmour normally used, and the vocals are delivered in the form of hoarse screaming. Though uncharacteristic of Pink Floyd's overall sound, this is a favorite of mine, and I consider myself fortunate that I got to hear it live when Nick Mason and his band came through Seattle in 2019.

"Crying Song" dials the intensity from a 10 back down to about a 2. It's a slow-moving acoustic blues piece and not one of this band's more memorable recordings. Following this is "Up the Khyber" a Wright and Mason improvisation. This two-minute track has a nervous, chaotic feel to it, which is augmented by the rapid audio panning.

"Green Is the Color" is a sweet acoustic ballad and one of the strongest tracks on More. It would go on to become a staple of Pink Floyd live sets prior to their massive success in the mid-'70s. "Cymbaline" similarly saw heavy rotation in Pink Floyd's live shows. Its studio version utilizes jazz and folk touches, and it closes on a two-minute organ improvisation.

Side 2 of More is mostly skippable. "Main Theme" has some interesting ideas and Eastern scales, but it ultimately doesn't amount to much. This song is recommended for those of you who (like me) love the live disc of Ummagumma. "More Blues" is a dull blues jam that probably worked fine as background music for the film, but it's not interesting enough to stand on its own. "Quicksilver" meanders in a torpor of aimless organ noodling and tape effects, and "A Spanish Piece" is a jokey piss-take. The album closes on "Dramatic Theme", a rather undramatic revisitation of "Main Theme".

Buried in all that aimless slog, though, is one more good song. "Ibiza Bar" shares the heavy atmosphere of "The Nile Song", though Richard Wright does contribute piano and organ this time around. These two songs are similar, and I prefer "The Nile Song", but this song is worth a listen too.

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2021/03/01/deep-dive-pink-floyd/

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Posted Monday, April 3, 2023 | Review Permalink

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