Pink Floyd by Martin Popoff

Author:Martin Popoff
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Voyageur Press
Published: 2018-08-11T16:00:00+00:00

The band performs in France under the watchful gaze of the Chairman, 1974.

I like the little touches that you wouldn’t normally notice, like how the edge of the photograph that’s on fire is bleeding out of the frame instead of going into it. On the back of the record, you can’t see the person inside the suit. That’s a really cool image; it’s a guy holding a record, but the record is not gold, it’s clear, and the person isn’t even in the clothing. And they’re in a desert, devoid of any life, and if you look below it, the white border is slashed and some of the sand from the desert’s pouring out. It’s a really depressing but honest depiction of what it’s like being in a successful band that has to tour constantly. You’re constantly drained and you just feel like you’re on fire. Sometimes you feel trapped and there’s nothing you can do to get out of it.

POPOFF: Looking at the album itself, I suppose the anchor is “Shine On You Crazy Diamond.” How would you characterize the way the guys look at Syd in that song or song suite?

FINDLAY: It shows a lot of compassion for him. They obviously missed him and they obviously thought he was a genius. They were all childhood friends with Syd, and the fact that he wasn’t around anymore was something that saddened them all greatly. And along with any fans of Syd’s music at the time, everybody lamented the fact that he wasn’t able to be there, and they wanted him to be able to shine as he once did.

Unfortunately, substances and mental health issues got the best of him, and that reflects well in the lyrics. What better tribute than a twelve-and-a-half-minute tune? It says a lot about how much they cared for him, and missed him being around. When Syd was placed aside, the new dynamic became Waters versus Gilmour. Those two then had to battle things out between themselves, and sometimes that disrupts the creative flow. But I quite enjoyed the contrast between Gilmour and Waters. They’re kind of like the fire and the ice, aren’t they? But when a band member is removed, the structure has to be rebuilt and this is what we got, and arguably this is the very last album on which it would ever work without dysfunction.

SHUTT: Yes, and it’s weird, but the pressure of being so big was getting to them and beginning to tear them apart. The Dark Side of the Moon was such a massively successful album and they were basically on tour for two years supporting it. And the thing was on the charts for fifteen years. But as far as the interpersonal relationships in the band, success had started to drive them apart, and Nick Mason was going through a divorce, which kind of made him withdraw from giving a crap about the day-to-day operations. Essentially, the record just fell on Gilmour and Waters.

POPOFF: Back to “Shine

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.