MORE (OST)

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.