MEDDLE

Another step in PINK FLOYD's evolution towards "Dark Side Of The Moon". If you like the latter album you'll probably like much of the music on "Meddle", as four of the six tracks are in a similar vein, albeit not as polished as the music on "Dark Side Of The Moon". "Meddle" saves the best for last: the atmospheric 'Echoes', a superb 23-minute track demonstrating PINK FLOYD's well-known early 1970s style. The album is probably worth having for 'Echoes' alone.

The instrumental 'One Of These Days' has a hard edge to it that I like. The bass riff at the start introduces the track's head-banging beat, with the FLOYD's characteristic keyboards and guitar over the top. 'A Pillow Of Winds' is mellow - it's a pleasant song but nothing special in my opinion. 'Fearless' is a sedate song, again pleasant, and I like the soft vocals. In true FLOYD fashion, 'Fearless' has unusual backing: the supporters of Liverpool Football Club chanting and singing their anthem 'You'll Never Walk Alone' (from the Rogers & Hammerstein musical Carousel). Strange as this may sound, it does not spoil the song. The song 'San Tropez' bobs along in an English tea dance sort of way, and in my opinion is mediocre. 'Seamus' is a short, laid-back blues number, presumably done just for a bit of fun, with a dog barking and howling on top of the singing, acoustic guitar, bass and piano. As with 'San Tropez' this is a throwaway track, but I quite like it as it brings back memories of my teens when I and a guitar-playing friend used to perform it for a laugh. And then comes 'Echoes', the pièce de résistance, which manages to push this album from a 3-star effort to 4 stars in my opinion. However, if I had to choose between "Meddle" and "Obscured By Clouds", it would be the latter.