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Any Pink Floyd Historians?

In my days as a young audiophile, I spent a lot of time listening to various DSOTM recordings. I also enjoyed the Wall, but never really delved more deeply into Wish You Were Here, Animals or Pink Floyd's earlier albums. Now, however, I have been studying some of the chords on the piano and would love to learn more:

Could someone please comment on the evolution of their music? Which CDs would you recommend for further study?

My other questions concerns the members and "spirit" of the band -- I have read that Roger Waters was one of the founders and that everything BEFORE DSOTM was the "best" but also heard someone say "I disagree -- I preferred everything they did BEFORE WATERS" ?!?!??!

And is it just me, or are the lyrics anti business, anti capitalism, does "Money" comments on the evils of greed, were "Pigs" and "Dogs" (Animals) metaphors for greedy businessmen? Was The Wall anti establishment regarding the English school system, or could Waters really have written it as a rant against "stadium rock" as I read in one interview?

If so, how would you reconcile all of this with the fact that the band was (is?) wildly successful and presumably very rich?

Any and all comments on Pink Floyd greatly appreciated as I try to learn more and further explore their music.

Thanks and best wishes.
cwlondon

Showing 2 responses by rockvirgo

rockvirgo
587 posts
 
Before DSOTM, Pink Floyd offered listening heads a kind of music that required no foot tapping. Piper at the Gates and Saucerful of Secrets feature some awesome cuts. They do however lack that consistent, cut from the same cloth, feel. Atom Heart Mother and Umma Gumma are terrific concept albums. Parts of Umma Gumma are so heavy your neighbors today will wonder what the heck is going on over there. More and Obscured by Clouds are good listens but lack coherence. For me, Meddle was the last genuine PF album. One side is a conglomeration of cuts but the Echoes side is concept thru and thru. The whole album makes a nice ending to their experimental career.

DSOTM marks PF's sellout into commercialism and the abandonment of humor. The grooving in a cave, psychedelic breakfast, and ridiculous howling dog give way to a polished smugness and the sarcasm trap. It's still head music all the way and much more accessible to the average black clad goth, closet nihilist or workaday joe wannabe. Something for everyone! Enjoy your discoveries.
rockvirgo
587 posts
 
CWL, early PF had an avant garde cachet. They were far-out compared to their blues based rock contemporaries; holy cow Martha, a synthesizer! Innocent beginnings sometimes spun into shrieking cacophony and resolved into something simple and pretty. This was a novelty to me. Endure the beast to appreciate the beauty; the lesson came in handy later wrestling with Sun Ra.

By comparison, DSOTM was one HUGE piece of candy. What was it, 187 straight weeks on the Billboard top 300? Heck, it might still be on there. So it felt like goodbye hip snob cognoscenti and welcome to the machine. The cat was out of the bag forever. Like a complete tool I sprung for WYWH and Animals but wound up disappointed: more candy.

As far as their message in the post-Meddle lyrics goes I'd say it boils down to join the meaninglessness of existence club for only $14.99 and up.

If you could have only one album get Umma Gumma, an original special price double album deal.
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