WISH YOU WERE HERE

The first Pink Floyd album I would ever come to own is, and will forever be, my personal favorite by the group. Not the first album I'd heard by the group, this was still the most memorable. From the opening note on the first track I was absolutely hooked. Why? It's darkness and sheer rockability makes it easily accessible to someone such as myself who got into prog through groups like Rush and Dream Theater. Five excellent compositions fill this album with never a dull moment, all losely linked by crazy scenes going on in the ''silence'' between tracks and greatly linked through theme. After Dark Side Of The Moon the pressure was on the band to produce something on the same level and the band simply wished that their old mastermind, Syd Barrett, was still there. Hence the tracks 1, 2, 4 and 5 with the middle song being about the impending success.

Like Dark Side of the Moon, I will never forget the first time I listened to this album. After buying it in a record store which would close down two years later I threw it into the cd player in my mother's car (I didn't have my own yet) on my way to drop my brother off where his band was playing a small gig the next town over. It was a dark night, the highway lit only by the ominous orange street lamps as the first notes of SHINE ON began to play. I was mesmerized... and the rest of the 20 minute drive was filled with complete joy as the crappy speakers pumped out this incredible music. On my way home I would let the album start over again (something I rarely did at that time) just to get the most of this fantastic music.

[okay, onto the actual music]

While it would be completely redundant to break down the album song by song I can still make a few comments about each track. SHINE ON YOU CRAZY DIAMOND in it's 25-something minute entirety bookends the album as it's divided into two pieces. Commercially accessible space rock at its best, this winding epic is the stuff of dreams. A bit of lyrics in the middle of fantastic noodling make this track completely indispensable. WELCOME TO THE MACHINE is where the really hard rock sets in. A concept in itself about the life of a successful rocker, this dark and brooding track is always a favorite. Next up is the track that is often seen as the weakest composition on the album. Really it's just less progressive and more strait forward rock, but HAVE A CIGAR is an excellent track none the less. WISH YOU WERE HERE, the title track, is a terribly emotional ballad for the missing Mr. Barrett. Easy to relate to and very well performed, this is one of Floyd's better known tracks... and for a reason.

Other than saying that it's excellent and you should own it there's not much else to say about the album. It's Floyd at their peak, and most proggers would agree that they exceeded expectations laid on them even after an album like Dark Side of the Moon. On the ironic side of things, apparently an overweight and unrecognizable Syd Barrett would actually show up during the recording process... and would never be seen by the band again afterwards.

One of THE essential prog rock albums as proven by this site and other critics abound. 5 stars... why don't you own this album? Recommended for all.

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