WISH YOU WERE HERE

Wish You Were Here was dedicated to SYD BARRETT, PINK's leader in absentia. Arguably, so was "The Dark Side of the Moon". Not surprisingly, both albums build aural dreamscapes that present themes of alienation, paranoia, controlling forces and eventual escape. The notable difference is the loss of engineer Alan Parsons; without him, the gauzy sound becomes a bit more crystallized, while the "voices in your head" subside. The album is wrapped within parts 1 through 9 of "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", a direct address to SYD's mental state at the time that features musical commentary from Gilmour's blues-based guitar, Wright's swirling keyboards and guest DICK PARRY's saxophone. The songs in between are some of the band's best: "Welcome to the Machine" and "Have a Cigar" (sung by guest eccentric ROY HARPER) reveal that rock stars are processed product, and "Wish You Were Here" is the poignant sigh that comes with this realization. Again, Waters is able to communicate a full story (of sorts) in a single album, remarkably without loading the songs down with narrative.

While it's not the landmark effort of "Dark Side" (and what followup could be?), "Wish You Were Here" is classic PINK FLOYD from beginning to end.