MEDDLE

Meddle is one of several floyd transitional albums, and this marks the change from rambling psychedlia to something more. waters is beginning to display some of the lyrical brilliance that make make him so hard to hate despite his general attitude towards others. Gilmour has fully amalgamated himself into the band and together they start the bal rolling for Floyd

The stunning instrumental "One of These Days" opens the album by gradually building until it reaches its zenith, which it sustains for nearly half the song. "A Pillow of Winds" has a dreamy atmosphere that reflects the title, and for whatever reason it never grabbed a hold of me. "Fearless" picks back up with great lyrics and a better riff. "san Tropez" is another laid back tune that is more enjoyable than Pillow, but "Seamus" is by far the low point of the album.

Then, comes "Echoes." A 23 minute culmination of the band up til this point.It is a stunning tour de force with Waters' best lyrics at the time (and one of the best things he's ever pinned), and incredible instrumental work that alternates between traditional sounds and random bits where synths and Gilmour's guitar mimcik animal sounds ranging from prehistoric birds to whales. The lyrics deal with man's empathy, but various meanings have been derived (take a gander at inpraisoffolly's review for his impressive insights). When sifting through Floyd's impressive catalog to pick their greatest song, this should be somewhere at the top of your list.

Meddle has its ups and downs, and in a way it reminds me of ELP's Tarkus and Rush's 2112, where a stunning epic is supplmented by several shorter tracks that cannot hope to compare to it. However, Meddle, like 2112, has shorter songs of a higher quality than that on Tarkus. Every fan of Floyd should pick this up for the first and last tracks, but I'm sure quite a few would love the whole album. Highly recommended.

Grade: B