FBG'S TOP 100 PINK FLOYD SONGS - #01 - Comfortably Numb from The Wall (1979) (5 Viewers)

[Pip's Invitation]

#82-T - Two Suns In The Sunset from The Final Cut (1983)

Appeared On: 1 ballot (out of 32 . . . 3.1%)
Total Points: 6 points (out of 800 possible points . . . 0.63%)
Top Ranker: @BrutalPenguin
Highest Ranking: 20

Live Performances:
PF: None
DG's PF: None
DG: None
RW: Brazil - 2018-10-17 (First Performance), Denver - 2002-06-06
NM: None

Covers: Nicotine Electrolytes, Kill Everyone, Rob Falgiano, Brian Jipson, Time On The Moon

Two Suns in the Sunset is the closing track to the concept album The Final Cut and was Roger Waters' final chronological contribution to the band before leaving in 1985. The album ends portraying a nuclear holocaust, the final result of a world obsessed with war and control.

In the song, it says the sun is in the East, even though the day is done (the sun sets in the West). Roger Waters reflected: "It describes a nuclear war – the remnants of all that paranoia about nuclear war from the '60's – and it's that idea that it may be at the end of life, one may have that kind of realization that you could have when you're alive and living, and you go, "Hold on a minute, maybe this is what I should do." He added that the song is meant to encourage us to live in the moment. "Don't be scared to live it," he says. "Don't be scared to take risks.

Session musician Andy Newmark played drums on the track in place of Pink Floyd's regular drummer Nick Mason. Roger Waters explained: "Rhythmically, there are some five/four timings thrown in so the downbeat changes from bar to bar and it's confusing for Nick. His brain doesn't work that way. That's why he didn't play on Mother from The Wall." For geeky drumming types, the song begins and ends in 9/8 time, while the majority of the song is in 4/4 (common time and is punctuated with added measures of 7/8 and 3/8. Adding to the complexity, the main theme of the rhythm guitar has chords changing emphatically in dotted eighth notes, so three eighth-note beats are divided equally in two.

Critic Justin Gerber described the song as "the album's crowning achievement." Toby Manning was less enthusiastic in his retrospective review, saying that this was the one song off the album where Waters the musician couldn't stay on the same level as Waters the conceptualist.

Two Suns In The Sunset was never performed live by Pink Floyd, as Gilmour essentially ignored The Final Cut after its release. However, Roger Waters, as a solo artist, premiered the song almost 35 years after its release in a concert from the Us + Them Tour in Brazil in 2018 (linked below). He also performed it on his 2022–23 This Is Not A Drill Tour.

2022 Lockdown Sessions Version

Vulture Ranking (out of 165 songs): 164
Ultimate Classic Rock Ranking (out of 167 songs): 164
Louder Ranking (out of 50 songs): NR
WMGK Ranking (out of 40 songs): NR
Ranker Ranking (out of 132 songs): 92
Billboard Ranking (out of 50 songs): NR

Vulture Ranking (164 out of 165 songs): This is the final song on the final album by the band people feel is the “real” Pink Floyd. It was a watershed moment in the group’s career: Bassist Roger Waters, whose expanding vision and growing songwriting talents had given the band The Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals, and The Wall, had become (by all accounts including his own) a hellacious a-hole . . . he’d even insisted that the band fire its original keyboardist, Richard Wright, during the recording of The Wall. After The Final Cut, Waters himself left the band, and announced that Pink Floyd was over. Right about then, the two remaining members, guitarist David Gilmour and drummer Nick Mason, realized that they controlled the name of one of the biggest entities in rock — and that, with that prick Waters gone, the conditions of actually being in that band had just improved remarkably. As for this song, to end the dreary song cycle of The Final Cut - subtitled “Requiem for the Post-War Dream by Roger Waters” - Waters rolls out a nuclear holocaust, a kablooey ex machina, and sings about it in a pinched little whiny voice that is an aesthetic holocaust just by itself. Speaking of disasters, Rolling Stone gave this overwrought, self-important, and almost unlistenable album five stars.

UCR Ranking (164 out of 167 songs): Roger Waster's tenure in Pink Floyd (give or take a Live 8 appearance) culminates in a nuclear holocaust. It’s a strangely stone-faced protest song spiked with scare tactics – including a line about never again hearing your loved ones’ voices followed by a girl screaming “Daddy, Daddy!” You know, just in case lyrics such “As the windshield melts and my tears evaporate, leaving only charcoal to defend” were too subtle. And, even worse than an atomic fireball, Waters tacks on a cheesy sax solo to deliver us to the apocalypse.

Ugh. Already getting tired of The Final Cut songs. One of my selections is up next . . . another track that won't be found on a regular album.

This is ok until about 2:20. Then comes the whiny vocals and the manipulative lyrics and sound effects. And eventually the ripped-from-Muzak sax.

At least Andy Newmark's drumming is good.

Speaking of which, forgot to mention the sax player on Two Suns was Raphael Ravenscroft, who played the solo on Gerry Rafferty’s Baker Street.

He was SO INTO his Baker Street part that he had no more energy for this.

 

[FatMax]

I was too young at the time o understand the political/economic implications of The Wall and The Final Cut. Only got into PF when I was in college in the mid/late '80s and didn't really think of these implications. Just thought the music from Meddle through Animals was the peak and everything else was at least one notch below.

While politics of the times and of the albums are in play and a big part of it, I'm more referring to the general mood of the masses that were starting embrace stuff like [the A Team which leads to] Rambo.

I think there's a simpler explanation: The songs aren't very good. Tons of people bought the record because Floyd was arguably the biggest band on the planet after The Wall, and it didn't matter what the follow-up was, it was gonna move in huge numbers. But it's been mostly ignored by radio since then, nor is it an album that anyone I know (and I know a lot of Floyd fans) goes to bat for or revisits often. I think that would have been the case regardless of what decade it was released in. It's a dour listening experience and many of its songs are duds. Put another way, it's all reform-school meat and no pudding.

I mostly agree, though for some strange reason, I've always like the album. But it's very easy to see why many don't. It's a downer that beats you about the head with Roger's thoughts. The high points for me are good, but I'll admit there are not a lot of them. But it's not 'no pudding', just maybe a smaller helping than they used to give you.

 

[BassNBrew]

@Anarchy99 or anyone else. Can you explain the chalk rankings.

 

[Anarchy99]

@Anarchy99 or anyone else. Can you explain the chalk rankings.

That’s the average number of songs that individual poster shared with every other list that was submitted.

 

[BassNBrew]

CHALK RANKINGS (Average songs per list)
Yo Mama - 16.16
Yambag - 15.10
PIK95 - 14.90
Dwayne Hoover - 14.29
FatMax - 14.16
Pip's Invitation - 12.23

CHALK RANKINGS (Average songs per list)
Yo Mama - 16.16
Yambag - 15.10
PIK95 - 14.90
Galileo - 14.71
Dwayne Hoover - 14.29
FatMax - 14.16
Pip's Invitation - 12.23

CHALK RANKINGS (Average songs per list)
Yo Mama - 16.16
Yambag - 15.10
PIK95 - 14.90
Galileo - 14.71
Dwayne Hoover - 14.29
FatMax - 14.16
ericttspikes - 13.19
Pip's Invitation - 12.23

OK, now I'm following. You're adding the new Tinder person to the chalk list expanding that list by one each time.

 

[Anarchy99]

#82-T - Embryo from Picnic - A Breath Of Fresh Air (1970)

Appeared On: 1 ballot (out of 32 . . . 3.1%)
Total Points: 6 points (out of 800 possible points . . . 0.75%)
Top Ranker: @Anarchy99
Highest Ranking: 20
Live Performances:
PF: 113 (London - 1968-12-02, Croydon - 1970-01-18 (First Concert Performance), London - 1970-07-16, St. Tropez - 1970-08-08, London - 1971-09-30)
DG's PF: None
DG: None
RW: None
NM: 85

Covers: Meddle, RPWL, Fantasyy Factoryy, A Violet Pine, La Cage, Kanoi

Another Anarchy blue light special and a track only the more fervent of fans will be familiar with. I linked a live version of Embryo, but the first studio appearance of the song came on Picnic - A Breath Of Fresh Air, a sampler of artists on the Harvest Records label. It also showed up on the 1983 compilation Works (and on the Early Years box set). The studio version is folky, fluty, mostly acoustic, and low key. Even though the song never really got a full album release, the band played the song regularly in their live shows in 1970 and 1971. The song evolved and was transformed in concert, often times lasting 12+ minutes with crunching Gilmour solos and improvised jams in the middle section.

The song was initially recorded in the studio in 1968. The label's decision to release the track on the Picnic compilation was not authorized by the band, and the album was withdrawn from circulation. PF considered the song an unfinished work-in-progress, not in any condition to be released. Gilmour sang lead vocals on the initial studio version, but he and Wright shared vocals on the live versions.

After a couple of trial performances similar to the studio version, the song was played more in a rock style the rest of its existence. Wright moved from the vibraphone back to the Hammond organ, Gilmour played a distinct lead part (making the arrangement less soft and more like a rock song), and as well as a reprise added a new section of music in the middle of the song. After the second verse Roger Waters opened up the jam section on bass playing a blues scale. In lieu of Roger Waters' chirping on the studio version, a tape machine from the soundboard played a recording of children playing as the band continued to jam. Near the end of the section, David Gilmour created the famous whalesong effect (by reversing the cables on his wah pedal). This effect would appear much more prominently and famously in Echoes the following year..

On a couple of occasions, the song was performed with an unnamed song that since has been called Corrosion or Corrosion In The Pink Room.

The final performance of the song occurred on 1971-11-20 in Cincinnati. During the performance, power to Rick Wright's keyboards went out, so the other 3 band members jammed until the power was restored. That version clocked in at over 27 minutes long. After that performance, the song fell off the set list in favor of Echoes.

Vulture Ranking (out of 165 songs): NR
Ultimate Classic Rock Ranking (out of 167 songs): 98
Louder Ranking (out of 50 songs): NR
WMGK Ranking (out of 40 songs): NR
Ranker Ranking (out of 132 songs): 125
Billboard Ranking (out of 50 songs): NR

UCR Ranking (98 out of 167 songs): Recorded in 1968 and offered on a multi-artist compilation in 1970, “Embryo” didn’t see release on an official Pink Floyd album until the 1983 collection Works. It’s simple to understand why. This is the kind of psych-folk that the band could turn out without thinking. As such, it became the foundation for a harder-edged jam at 1970-71 concerts, which expanded the dour tune past 12 minutes.

Up next, a song that gets its title from the 1953 science-fiction novel of the same name by Arthur C. Clarke.

 

[zamboni]

#82-T - Embryo from Picnic - A Breath Of Fresh Air (1970)

Great call - totally overlooked this one.

You can sort of hear the foundation of part of the Atom Heart Mother suite in this.

 

[Anarchy99]

#82-T - Childhood's End from Obscured By Clouds (1972)

Appeared On: 2 ballots (out of 32 . . . 6.33%)
Total Points: 6 points (out of 800 possible points . . . 0.75%)
Top Rankers: @zamboni @worrierking
Highest Ranking: 20

Live Performances:
PF: 15 (Brussels - 1972-12-05, Zurich - 1972-12-09, Cincinnati - 1973-03-08)
DG's PF: None
DG: None
RW: None
NM: 130 (London - 2019-05-03)

Covers: Becca & Pierce, Brain Machine, Z, Mag-Music, Crippled Black Phoenix (<-- I particularly like this one)

Another song from Obscured By Clouds, and another song that got ramped up and extended in live performances. The live versions usually featured a fairly long instrumental section not found on the studio version. It shares a name with a book from nearly 20 years earlier (but the song has nothing at all to do with the story). Although David Gilmour knew of the novel, the lyrics have little to do with the book. It was the last song Gilmour wrote on his own until the songs for AMLOR 15 years later. As mentioned earlier, the band was concurrently working on Dark Side Of The Moon while recording Obscured By Clouds. Around that time, they headlined the second day of the three-day 2nd British Rock Meeting festival in West Germany. Other bands on the bill included The Kinks, The Faces, and Status Quo.

Gilmour met future bandmates Syd Barrett and Roger Waters while attending the Perse School in Cambridge. Gilmour and Barrett went on to attend Cambridgeshire School of Arts and Technology, and the two practiced together regularly. Prior to joining PF, Gilmour played in bands called The Ramblers, Chris Ian & The Newcomers, and Jokers Wild. Jokers Wild recorded a single and half an album of covers . . . with only 50 copies made. Why Do Fools Fall In Love, Walk Like A Man, Big Girls Don't Cry . . . those sound EXACTLY like Pink Floyd! Gilmour left the band . . . and was replaced by his brother Peter.

In 1965, Gilmour busked around Spain and France with Barrett and some other friends. They ended up in Paris, and Gilmour worked in various places, most notably as the driver and assistant for the fashion designer Ossie Clark. In 1967, Barrett ended up with PF while DG reteamed with two members of Jokers Wild. The trio performed under the name Flowers, then Bullitt, but were not commercially successful. At one point, all their equipment was stolen. They were so broke that their tour bus ran out of gas, and they had to push it off of a ferry on their return to the UK. While in France, Gilmour had contributed lead vocals to Do You Want To Marry Me and I Must Tell You Why from the Brigitte Bardot film Two Weeks In September (again, you can envision the greatness and future sound of the future Pink Floyd in those recordings!).

While looking for new equipment, DG stopped in to observe PF recording See Emily Play. Barrett was already having issues, and Gilmour was shocked that Barrett did not recognize him. Shortly after that, Nick Mason invited him to join Pink Floyd to cover for the increasingly erratic Barrett. Gilmour accepted with the initial plan to keep Barrett on as a non-performing songwriter and have Gilmour cover for Barrett's eccentricities. But working with Barrett had become too difficult, and he agreed to leave the band. Mason said later: "After Syd, Dave was the difference between light and dark. He was absolutely into form and shape, and he introduced that into the wilder numbers we'd created. We became far less difficult to enjoy, I think."

2016 Remix

Vulture Ranking (out of 165 songs): 119
Ultimate Classic Rock Ranking (out of 167 songs): 34
Louder Ranking (out of 50 songs): 42
WMGK Ranking (out of 40 songs): NR
Ranker Ranking (out of 132 songs): 67
Billboard Ranking (out of 50 songs): NR

Vulture Ranking (119 out of 165 songs): A Gilmour track some of whose sound would be repurposed for Time on DSOTM. He’s singing in a much-lower register, and his voice loses some of its power. Gilmour’s not at his best when he’s writing his own lyrics: “And then as the sail is hoist / You find your eyes are growing moist.”

UCR Ranking (34 out of 167 songs): Pink Floyd aren’t the Meters, but they can get pretty funky for a bunch of British guys. After a minute-plus of organ drone, Childhood’s End fades in with some swagger. Waters’ perpetual motion bass and Mason’s crisp drumming create a vehicle for Wright to paint with wide swaths of Hammond organ and Gilmour to drive with sharp bursts of tightly wound guitar. With its funk-rock strut and widescreen view of humanity, the song serves as a fantastic dry run for the even better Time.

Louder Ranking (42 out of 50 songs): The young Gilmour never had much confidence with lyrics, but the sci-fi novels of Arthur C. Clarke got his quill scratching, powering the high-water mark of 1972’s Obscured By Clouds and the last song written solely by the guitarist until A Momentary Lapse Of Reason. The flashpoint at 1:30 when the song breaks from synthy swoosh into tough interstellar R&B remains a moment to conjure with – and the guitar solo was often even more momentous live.

Coming up . . . another Syd-era track, followed by another Anarchy non-album selection.

 

[Anarchy99]

@Ghost Rider says Friday night is party night . . .

SWIPE RIGHT / TIME TO SET UP A PLAY DATE
@Yambag (19 similar songs, 8 of the same Top 10)
@lardonastick (19 + 8)
@Todem (18 + 9)
@New Binky the Doormat (18 + 9)
@Joe Schmo (18 + 8)
@Just Win Baby (18 + 8)
3 tied with 17 songs

SWIPE LEFT / THESE GUYS CAN'T EVEN PAY FOR DATES
@Anarchy99 (8 + 5)
@jabarony (9 + 3)
@zamboni (11 + 6)

CHALK RANKINGS (Average songs per list)
Yo Mama - 16.16
Yambag - 15.10
PIK95 - 14.90
Ghost Rider - 14.77
Galileo - 14.71
BroncoFreak_2K3 - 15.58
Dwayne Hoover - 14.29
FatMax - 14.16
ericttspikes - 13.19
Pip's Invitation - 12.23

Since I never really explained any of this, the number of Top 10 songs only reflects that RANKER X voted for that many songs that appeared on the other person's list of Top 10 songs. So it is not a literal match of Top 10 songs for Top 10 songs.

 

[jabarony]

I’m with you on that Crippled Black Phoenix cover. Good stuff.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

I know of the Works version of Embryo because a high school buddy (the same one who participated in the Zeppelin countdown) loved it and would play it often. I never heard an expanded live version before -- that's spectacular. Imagine if they had included a version of Embryo at the end of side 1 of Meddle instead of San Tropez and Seamus.

Childhood's End is another one from OBC that I would have included if our lists could have been a bit longer. It really is the precursor to Time. It both rocks and swings much more than one would expect from a prog band. I remember reading in the Saucerful of Secrets biography that came out in the late '80s that Waters hated the lyrics so much -- particularly ending the song with "and so this song will end" -- that he banned Gilmour from writing any more lyrics for Floyd.

 

[BassNBrew]

Vulture Ranking (119 out of 165 songs): A Gilmour track some of whose sound would be repurposed for Time on DSOTM. He’s singing in a much-lower register, and his voice loses some of its power. Gilmour’s not at his best when he’s writing his own lyrics: “And then as the sail is hoist / You find your eyes are growing moist.”

Whoever wrote these Vulture Rankings could be me. Tune starts and I think this is going to be an awesome song. Then the lyrics written as part of a first grade poem assignment start and I can't wait for things to mend and this ****ing song to end.

 

[BassNBrew]

I know of the Works version of Embryo because a high school buddy (the same one who participated in the Zeppelin countdown) loved it and would play it often. I never heard an expanded live version before -- that's spectacular. Imagine if they had included a version of Embryo at the end of side 1 of Meddle instead of San Tropez and Seamus.

Childhood's End is another one from OBC that I would have included if our lists could have been a bit longer. It really is the precursor to Time. It both rocks and swings much more than one would expect from a prog band. I remember reading in the Saucerful of Secrets biography that came out in the late '80s that Waters hated the lyrics so much -- particularly ending the song with "and so this song will end" -- that he banned Gilmour from writing any more lyrics for Floyd.

Waters was right. Absolutely brutal.

 

[FatMax]

Obscured by Clouds is one of those PF albums that I really need to listen to more. It just hasn't been in my rotation, and I'm not sure why.

 

[Anarchy99]

#80-T - Jugband Blues from A Saucerful Of Secrets (1968)

Appeared On: 1 ballot (out of 32 . . . 3.1%)
Total Points: 7 points (out of 800 possible points . . . 0.75%)
Top Ranker: @turnjose7
Highest Ranking: 19

Live Performances:
PF: 1 (London - 1967-12-20)
DG's PF: None
DG: None
RW: None
NM: None

Covers: Opal, Dani Male & The Dead, Eden, Nous Dianoia, Rick White, John Frusciante, Garrett Hicks, Alexis Shink, Trixter, Wilton, Bunny Hoover

The Sgt. Pepper's album had just recently been released when Floyd recorded Jugband Blues. It's the final track chronologically with Syd (and the only only on the ASOS album). Shortly before it was released, he was kicked out of the band. The song itself is Barrett's self-diagnosis of schizophrenia, explained by the lines "I'm most obliged to you for making it clear that I'm not here" and "I wonder who could be writing this song?"

Producer Norman Smith had the idea to add in the brass section. The middle section of the song was a contribution from a Salvation Army band that Barrett had asked to guest on the song. Smith requested that Barrett outline his musical ideas for the ensemble, but Syd told the group to simply play whatever they wanted. Smith insisted on having scored parts and tried sketching out an arrangement himself. Barrett walked out of the studio shortly afterwards and did not return.

The instrumental passage towards the end features a brass section which would be later explored more in Atom Heart Mother. Forty seconds to the end of the track there is a secret song that Barrett plays guitar on, while asking "What exactly is a dream?" and "What exactly is a joke?"

Barrett, by the beginning of the recording sessions for A Saucerful of Secrets, was already shrinking into a delirious state of mind, exacerbated by his feelings of alienation from the rest of the band. The common interpretation of the lyrics is that they reflect his schizophrenia, and it has been argued that they could also be read as a criticism of the other band members for forcing him out. Barrett and Pink Floyd's management wanted the song to be released as a single, but they were vetoed by the rest of the band. The song was only performed once for a session of the BBC.

Vulture Ranking (out of 165 songs): 44
Ultimate Classic Rock Ranking (out of 167 songs): 29
Louder Ranking (out of 50 songs): NR
WMGK Ranking (out of 40 songs): NR
Ranker Ranking (out of 132 songs): NR
Billboard Ranking (out of 50 songs): NR

Vulture Ranking (44 out of 165 songs): Barrett’s a tough call. There are only two or three of his songs that you can play for a disinterested person that would demonstrate anything other than promise. But it has to be said that there was promise. He was 21 years old, and he created a half-dozen interesting songs, and had what was by most accounts a sparkling personality and a palpable charisma, too. Where could he have gone? Jugband Blues is his one contribution to the band’s second album. Less jaunty, overall, than most of his other works. The Salvation Army band or whatever it is is fine, but the Beatles had already done stuff like that and the recording of course can’t compare. But somewhere in the chorus I find something real, though it’s hard to put your finger on it: I don’t care if the sun don’t shine / And I don’t care if nothing is mine / And I don’t care if I’m nervous with you / I’ll do my loving in the winter. Go back and listen again and you realize there’s a courtly farewell right there in the first lines: “It’s awfully considerate of you to think of me here / And I’m much obliged to you for making it clear / That I’m not here.” Syd Syd Syd, we hardly knew ye.

UCR Ranking (29 out of 167 songs): There’s enough material for a psychiatric symposium in Jugband Blues, Syd Barrett’s swan song in Pink Floyd. With the former frontman quickly losing his grip on reality (thanks to already existing mental issues and heavy drug use), he seems to put his addled perspective down in a song that changes time signatures, includes a Salvation Army band blasting away and features lyrics such as “I’m obliged to you for making it clear that I’m not here.” It’s amusing, but it’s not a joke. It’s confused, perhaps intentionally. It’s a farewell gesture, or is it? Just as the specter of Syd continued to haunt the Floyd, the murky mysteries of Jugband Blues continue to fascinate fans.

Up next, the final Anarchy toss in from left field (at least as an official song on the countdown), a little known number that's one part vaudeville act, one part big band sound, and one part blues . . . featuring Rick Wright on trombone and one of David Gilmour's best (and little known guitar solos).

 

[BassNBrew]

#80-T - Jugband Blues from A Saucerful Of Secrets (1968)

Appeared On: 1 ballot (out of 32 . . . 3.1%)
Total Points: 7 points (out of 800 possible points . . . 0.75%)
Top Ranker: @turnjose7
Highest Ranking: 19

Live Performances:
PF: 1 (London - 1967-12-20)
DG's PF: None
DG: None
RW: None
NM: None

Covers: Opal, Dani Male & The Dead, Eden, Nous Dianoia, Rick White, John Frusciante, Garrett Hicks, Alexis Shink, Trixter, Wilton, Bunny Hoover

The Sgt. Pepper's album had just recently been released when Floyd recorded Jugband Blues. It's the final track chronologically with Syd (and the only only on the ASOS album). Shortly before it was released, he was kicked out of the band. The song itself is Barrett's self-diagnosis of schizophrenia, explained by the lines "I'm most obliged to you for making it clear that I'm not here" and "I wonder who could be writing this song?"

Producer Norman Smith had the idea to add in the brass section. The middle section of the song was a contribution from a Salvation Army band that Barrett had asked to guest on the song. Smith requested that Barrett outline his musical ideas for the ensemble, but Syd told the group to simply play whatever they wanted. Smith insisted on having scored parts and tried sketching out an arrangement himself. Barrett walked out of the studio shortly afterwards and did not return.

The instrumental passage towards the end features a brass section which would be later explored more in Atom Heart Mother. Forty seconds to the end of the track there is a secret song that Barrett plays guitar on, while asking "What exactly is a dream?" and "What exactly is a joke?"

Barrett, by the beginning of the recording sessions for A Saucerful of Secrets, was already shrinking into a delirious state of mind, exacerbated by his feelings of alienation from the rest of the band. The common interpretation of the lyrics is that they reflect his schizophrenia, and it has been argued that they could also be read as a criticism of the other band members for forcing him out. Barrett and Pink Floyd's management wanted the song to be released as a single, but they were vetoed by the rest of the band. The song was only performed once for a session of the BBC.

Vulture Ranking (out of 165 songs): 44
Ultimate Classic Rock Ranking (out of 167 songs): 29
Louder Ranking (out of 50 songs): NR
WMGK Ranking (out of 40 songs): NR
Ranker Ranking (out of 132 songs): NR
Billboard Ranking (out of 50 songs): NR

Vulture Ranking (44 out of 165 songs): Barrett’s a tough call. There are only two or three of his songs that you can play for a disinterested person that would demonstrate anything other than promise. But it has to be said that there was promise. He was 21 years old, and he created a half-dozen interesting songs, and had what was by most accounts a sparkling personality and a palpable charisma, too. Where could he have gone? Jugband Blues is his one contribution to the band’s second album. Less jaunty, overall, than most of his other works. The Salvation Army band or whatever it is is fine, but the Beatles had already done stuff like that and the recording of course can’t compare. But somewhere in the chorus I find something real, though it’s hard to put your finger on it: I don’t care if the sun don’t shine / And I don’t care if nothing is mine / And I don’t care if I’m nervous with you / I’ll do my loving in the winter. Go back and listen again and you realize there’s a courtly farewell right there in the first lines: “It’s awfully considerate of you to think of me here / And I’m much obliged to you for making it clear / That I’m not here.” Syd Syd Syd, we hardly knew ye.

UCR Ranking (29 out of 167 songs): There’s enough material for a psychiatric symposium in Jugband Blues, Syd Barrett’s swan song in Pink Floyd. With the former frontman quickly losing his grip on reality (thanks to already existing mental issues and heavy drug use), he seems to put his addled perspective down in a song that changes time signatures, includes a Salvation Army band blasting away and features lyrics such as “I’m obliged to you for making it clear that I’m not here.” It’s amusing, but it’s not a joke. It’s confused, perhaps intentionally. It’s a farewell gesture, or is it? Just as the specter of Syd continued to haunt the Floyd, the murky mysteries of Jugband Blues continue to fascinate fans.

Up next, the final Anarchy toss in from left field (at least as an official song on the countdown), a little known number that's one part vaudeville act, one part big band sound, and one part blues . . . featuring Rick Wright on trombone and one of David Gilmour's best (and little known guitar solos).

@Anarchy99 Can you check the first link.

 

[Anarchy99]

Can you check the first link.

Fixed.

 

[zamboni]

#80-T - Jugband Blues from A Saucerful Of Secrets (1968)

I’m honestly not a fan of this one, other than for nostalgic purposes given that it was Syd’s last contribution to the band. Just a bit too far out there even for me - he broadened this out with his later Madcap Laughs, which many folks also like more than I do.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

#80-T - Jugband Blues from A Saucerful Of Secrets (1968)

I’m honestly not a fan of this one, other than for nostalgic purposes given that it was Syd’s last contribution to the band. Just a bit too far out there even for me - he broadened this out with his later Madcap Laughs, which many folks also like more than I do.

Yeah, my Syd's are singles and off of the first album.

 

[Anarchy99]

#80-T - Biding My Time from Relics (1971)
Appeared On: 1 ballot (out of 32 . . . 3.1%)
Total Points: 7 points (out of 800) possible points . . . 0.75%)
Top Ranker: @Anarchy99
Highest Ranking: 19

Live Performances:
PF: 24 (Amsterdam - 1969-09-17, Rehearsal - 1971-06-26
DG's PF: None
DG: None
RW: None
NM: None

Covers: Giulio, Maurizio & Andrea, The Embryo <-- This one has some spice to it

Another of the obscure mystery songs that was recorded after David joined the band that never found a home on a traditional album. It was called Afternoon in live performances in 1969 but then appeared out of the blue on the compilation Relics as Biding My Time. Roger wrote and sang on this one. Rick Wright played trombone. Mason goes to town at the end beating on the drum set. While the song starts off on the slow / uninteresting side, things big up tremendously when Gilmour makes his appearance about 2:15 in. Dave figuratively says, "Hold my beer," and proceeds to rip off a three minute scintillating, blistering, scalding hot guitar solo. In a few short years, Dave went from singing on Four Seasons covers to fret master extraordinaire.

There's not a lot floating around on this track, but around that time, Floyd had just released the soundtrack to the film More. There were finishing up work on Ummagumma. They also had just played their final Man and His Journey performance at Royal Albert Hall, billed as The Final Lunacy! The show featured the Ealing Central Amateur Choir conducted by Floyd's producer Norman Smith and performance art pieces that included a roadie dressed as a gorilla and band members sawing planks of wood on stage. The show concluded with the release of a pink smoke bomb, which earned the band a lifetime ban from performing at the venue (which actually only lasted 7 months).

Also in the time around the recording of Biding My Time, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first men to walk on the moon. Pink Floyd performed a live improvised jam (later titled Moonhead) in the BBC TV studios to accompany the moon landing documentary So What If It's Just Green Cheese?, which also featured actors Ian McKellan and Judi Dench.

The following week, the band played the National Jazz Pop Ballads & Blues Festival at Plumpton Race Track, a 3-day event that also featured Roy Harper, The Nice, Soft Machine, Yes, King Crimson, and The Who.

Vulture Ranking (out of 165 songs): 110
Ultimate Classic Rock Ranking (out of 167 songs): 72
Louder Ranking (out of 50 songs): NR
WMGK Ranking (out of 40 songs): NR
Ranker Ranking (out of 132 songs): 103
Billboard Ranking (out of 50 songs): NR

Vulture Ranking (110 out of 165 songs): Relics was put out early in the band’s career (note the mocking title) to collect the Barrett-era singles, the accompanying B-sides and a few album tracks. This was the only unreleased track on it. One of the most distinctive things about Floyd at the time was how haphazard their sound was. This starts out as a sort of lazy blues, which segues into a sort of ’30s jazz feel, and then all the blues get all electrified … and then the thing goes on for another three minutes. In fairness, though, a lot of the experimental bands at the time would put out albums with oddly disparate tracks on them. (Think of Anyone for Tennis, on Cream’s Wheels of Fire.)

UCR Ranking (72 out of 167 songs): OK, so here’s the exception to the whole notion of “Pink Floyd are boring when they play a straight blues tune.” Waters writes ho-hum lyrics to a striptease beat, but that doesn’t matter because he quickly has the spotlight snatched from him by his band mates. Wright blurts like a maniac on the trombone before getting greasy on the organ, Gilmour unleashes his inner Chicago bluesman on a spindly guitar solo, and Mason pounds his drum kit until it’s six feet under.

Up next, the song people practically dared someone to vote for.

 

[zamboni]

80-T - Biding My Time from Relics (1971)

Nice - this was under consideration for my top 25, but had too many above it. Has kind of a lounge act sound to it, but in a good way.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

“Up next, the song people practically dared someone to vote for.”

Animals, but not THOSE animals?

 

[Anarchy99]

“Up next, the song people practically dared someone to vote for.”

Animals, but not THOSE animals?

There are several.

 

[zamboni]

“Up next, the song people practically dared someone to vote for.”

Animals, but not THOSE animals?

There are several.

We’re not really going there, are we?

 

[Anarchy99]

“Up next, the song people practically dared someone to vote for.”

Animals, but not THOSE animals?

There are several.

And they are small.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

“Up next, the song people practically dared someone to vote for.”

Animals, but not THOSE animals?

There are several.

We’re not really going there, are we?

We memed it and someone was inspired.

 

[Anarchy99]

#78-T - Several Species Of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together In A Cave And Grooving With A Pict from Ummagumma (1969)

Appeared On: 1 ballot (out of 32 . . . 3.1%)
Total Points: 9 points (out of 800) possible points . . . 0.75%)
Top Ranker: Friend of @PIK95
Highest Ranking: 17

Live Performances:
PF: 1 (Hanover - 1970-11-27)
DG's PF: None
DG: None
RW: None
NM: None

Covers: D.M.T., JPointA

There's one in every crowd. This "song" (if we can call it that) was written and performed entirely by Roger Waters. It is Roger's to the ambitious album Ummagumma. One disc of the album is live performances of old songs, and the other is a composition from each member of the band. The sounds of the small furry animals were actually created by and mixed in at varying speeds to make them sound somewhat realistic.

The track consists of several minutes of noises resembling rodents and birds simulated by Waters' voice and other techniques, such as tapping the microphone played at different speeds, followed by Waters providing a few stanzas of spoken word in an exaggerated Scottish burr. Waters explained, ""It's not actually anything, it's a bit of concrete poetry. Those were sounds that I made, the voice and the hand slapping were all human generated – no musical instruments" through vocalizations, percussion effects, and tape effects, played at various speeds, both forwards and backwards.

There is a hidden message at about 4:22 into the song. If played at a slower speed, you can hear a voice (most likely either Waters or guitarist David Gilmour) say, "That was pretty avant-garde, wasn't it?" At the very end of the rant, Waters is heard to say, "Thank you."

The Picts were an ancient group of indigenous people of northern Britain, who in the 9th century AD co-founded the kingdom of Scotland with the Scots. Waters does his best Scottish impression on this song.

The album's title, Ummagumma, is British slang for sex. It might also be taken as a synonym for rock and roll music itself, since the phrase "rock and roll" originated as sexual slang. The song holds the distinction of having the longest title of any of the band's tracks. Parts of the song were performed only one time. The song was also on the Works album from 1983.

I did play this on the air as DJ in college once. I think 8 people called in to tell me that a record or a CD was stuck and kept repeating the same section of something over and over again, and that made it sound like gibberish.

Not much else to say . . . other than this Simpson's Mashup is a chuckler. I will pose the following question: Would people rather listen to Several Species three times in a row or the entire The Final Cut straight through once? That's a difficult call.

Vulture Ranking (out of 165 songs): 162
Ultimate Classic Rock Ranking (out of 167 songs): 144
Louder Ranking (out of 50 songs): NR
WMGK Ranking (out of 40 songs): NR
Ranker Ranking (out of 132 songs): 95
Billboard Ranking (out of 50 songs): NR

Vulture Ranking (162 out of 165 songs): Ummagumma, the group’s fourth LP, was the nadir of Pink Floyd Phase 2, from the doltish title on down. It’s a two-disc set; the first disc has extended live versions of the band at its most space-rockin’est. The rest of the album was divided between the four band members, each of whom was given about 15 minutes to play around in his own musical sandbox. This was part of Waters’s contribution. I would like to dock it a dozen notches for the surpassingly stupid title. The thing is, it’s actually a fairly accurate representation of what you get, which is the five minutes of chirrups and squeaks, along with the unidentified ravings of some maniac in a heavy Scottish accent. (The Picts were an early British tribe.)

UCR Ranking (144 out of 167 songs): Pink Floyd meets the Chipmunks. If you were grading songs merely by how many repeat listens you would grant them, Waters’ Ummagumma experiment with vocal effects and tape speeds might land at the very bottom. Yet there’s something impressive lurking amidst the rhythms he creates out of his nattering, pretend woodland creatures. Plus, the track’s “Scottish” farmer presages Waters’ embodiment of The Wall’s fearsome schoolmaster.

Folks, don't leave now, I promise things will get better . . . we head back to The Wall for our next selection.

 

[zamboni]

PIK, PIK, PIK…

And #17 to boot.

 

[PIK95]

SSOSFA×5listens >The Final Cut

 

[PIK95]

PIK, PIK, PIK…

And #17 to boot.

My buddy who is a huge Waters guy used to get high to Furry Animals in college. It was his pick, not mine.

 

[zamboni]

SSOSFA×5listens >The Final Cut

Grooving with a PIK

 

[Anarchy99]

PIK, PIK, PIK…

And #17 to boot.

PIK didn’t vote for it. His hopefully former friend did.

 

[zamboni]

PIK, PIK, PIK…

And #17 to boot.

PIK didn’t vote for it. His hopefully former friend did.

Guilt by association

 

[Yo Mama]

#80-T - Biding My Time from Relics (1971)

I liked this a lot, I’ve never heard it before. Very different sound for them.

 

[PIK95]

PIK, PIK, PIK…

And #17 to boot.

PIK didn’t vote for it. His hopefully former friend did.

Guilt by association

He is a divorced conservative team Waters and huge weed head. I am a married twenty years liberal team David/RW straight edge dude. So yeah, lol.

 

[zamboni]

PIK, PIK, PIK…

And #17 to boot.

PIK didn’t vote for it. His hopefully former friend did.

Guilt by association

He is a divorced conservative team Waters and huge weed head. I am a married twenty years liberal team David/RW straight edge dude. So yeah, lol.

I’m just busting on you/him. It’s all good - except for the song.

 

[PIK95]

PIK, PIK, PIK…

And #17 to boot.

PIK didn’t vote for it. His hopefully former friend did.

Guilt by association

He is a divorced conservative team Waters and huge weed head. I am a married twenty years liberal team David/RW straight edge dude. So yeah, lol.

I’m just busting on you/him. It’s all good - except for the song.

Just playing along...

 

[Anarchy99]

Guilt by association

Crazy. Toys in the attic, he is crazy. Truly gone fishing.
Crazy. Over the rainbow, he is crazy. Bars in the window.

(No, that is not the next song . . . but it would have been a timely option after your post.)

 

[BassNBrew]

PIK, PIK, PIK…

And #17 to boot.

My buddy who is a huge Waters guy used to get high to Furry Animals in college. It was his pick, not mine.

With friends like that who needs.....

 

[Manster]

#82-T - Childhood's End from Obscured By Clouds (1972)

Appeared On: 2 ballots (out of 32 . . . 6.33%)
Total Points: 6 points (out of 800 possible points . . . 0.75%)
Top Rankers: @zamboni @worrierking
Highest Ranking: 20

Live Performances:
PF: 15 (Brussels - 1972-12-05, Zurich - 1972-12-09, Cincinnati - 1973-03-08)
DG's PF: None
DG: None
RW: None
NM: 130 (London - 2019-05-03)

Covers: Becca & Pierce, Brain Machine, Z, Mag-Music, Crippled Black Phoenix (<-- I particularly like this one)

Another song from Obscured By Clouds, and another song that got ramped up and extended in live performances. The live versions usually featured a fairly long instrumental section not found on the studio version. It shares a name with a book from nearly 20 years earlier (but the song has nothing at all to do with the story). Although David Gilmour knew of the novel, the lyrics have little to do with the book. It was the last song Gilmour wrote on his own until the songs for AMLOR 15 years later. As mentioned earlier, the band was concurrently working on Dark Side Of The Moon while recording Obscured By Clouds. Around that time, they headlined the second day of the three-day 2nd British Rock Meeting festival in West Germany. Other bands on the bill included The Kinks, The Faces, and Status Quo.

Gilmour met future bandmates Syd Barrett and Roger Waters while attending the Perse School in Cambridge. Gilmour and Barrett went on to attend Cambridgeshire School of Arts and Technology, and the two practiced together regularly. Prior to joining PF, Gilmour played in bands called The Ramblers, Chris Ian & The Newcomers, and Jokers Wild. Jokers Wild recorded a single and half an album of covers . . . with only 50 copies made. Why Do Fools Fall In Love, Walk Like A Man, Big Girls Don't Cry . . . those sound EXACTLY like Pink Floyd! Gilmour left the band . . . and was replaced by his brother Peter.

In 1965, Gilmour busked around Spain and France with Barrett and some other friends. They ended up in Paris, and Gilmour worked in various places, most notably as the driver and assistant for the fashion designer Ossie Clark. In 1967, Barrett ended up with PF while DG reteamed with two members of Jokers Wild. The trio performed under the name Flowers, then Bullitt, but were not commercially successful. At one point, all their equipment was stolen. They were so broke that their tour bus ran out of gas, and they had to push it off of a ferry on their return to the UK. While in France, Gilmour had contributed lead vocals to Do You Want To Marry Me and I Must Tell You Why from the Brigitte Bardot film Two Weeks In September (again, you can envision the greatness and future sound of the future Pink Floyd in those recordings!).

While looking for new equipment, DG stopped in to observe PF recording See Emily Play. Barrett was already having issues, and Gilmour was shocked that Barrett did not recognize him. Shortly after that, Nick Mason invited him to join Pink Floyd to cover for the increasingly erratic Barrett. Gilmour accepted with the initial plan to keep Barrett on as a non-performing songwriter and have Gilmour cover for Barrett's eccentricities. But working with Barrett had become too difficult, and he agreed to leave the band. Mason said later: "After Syd, Dave was the difference between light and dark. He was absolutely into form and shape, and he introduced that into the wilder numbers we'd created. We became far less difficult to enjoy, I think."

2016 Remix

Vulture Ranking (out of 165 songs): 119
Ultimate Classic Rock Ranking (out of 167 songs): 34
Louder Ranking (out of 50 songs): 42
WMGK Ranking (out of 40 songs): NR
Ranker Ranking (out of 132 songs): 67
Billboard Ranking (out of 50 songs): NR

Vulture Ranking (119 out of 165 songs): A Gilmour track some of whose sound would be repurposed for Time on DSOTM. He’s singing in a much-lower register, and his voice loses some of its power. Gilmour’s not at his best when he’s writing his own lyrics: “And then as the sail is hoist / You find your eyes are growing moist.”

UCR Ranking (34 out of 167 songs): Pink Floyd aren’t the Meters, but they can get pretty funky for a bunch of British guys. After a minute-plus of organ drone, Childhood’s End fades in with some swagger. Waters’ perpetual motion bass and Mason’s crisp drumming create a vehicle for Wright to paint with wide swaths of Hammond organ and Gilmour to drive with sharp bursts of tightly wound guitar. With its funk-rock strut and widescreen view of humanity, the song serves as a fantastic dry run for the even better Time.

Louder Ranking (42 out of 50 songs): The young Gilmour never had much confidence with lyrics, but the sci-fi novels of Arthur C. Clarke got his quill scratching, powering the high-water mark of 1972’s Obscured By Clouds and the last song written solely by the guitarist until A Momentary Lapse Of Reason. The flashpoint at 1:30 when the song breaks from synthy swoosh into tough interstellar R&B remains a moment to conjure with – and the guitar solo was often even more momentous live.

Coming up . . . another Syd-era track, followed by another Anarchy non-album selection.

Im surprised this song is ranked this low.....might be the best track on OBC

 

[Manster]

#78-T - Several Species Of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together In A Cave And Grooving With A Pict from Ummagumma (1969)

Appeared On: 1 ballot (out of 32 . . . 3.1%)
Total Points: 9 points (out of 800) possible points . . . 0.75%)
Top Ranker: Friend of @PIK95
Highest Ranking: 17

Live Performances:
PF: 1 (Hanover - 1970-11-27)
DG's PF: None
DG: None
RW: None
NM: None

Covers: D.M.T., JPointA

There's one in every crowd. This "song" (if we can call it that) was written and performed entirely by Roger Waters. It is Roger's to the ambitious album Ummagumma. One disc of the album is live performances of old songs, and the other is a composition from each member of the band. The sounds of the small furry animals were actually created by and mixed in at varying speeds to make them sound somewhat realistic.

The track consists of several minutes of noises resembling rodents and birds simulated by Waters' voice and other techniques, such as tapping the microphone played at different speeds, followed by Waters providing a few stanzas of spoken word in an exaggerated Scottish burr. Waters explained, ""It's not actually anything, it's a bit of concrete poetry. Those were sounds that I made, the voice and the hand slapping were all human generated – no musical instruments" through vocalizations, percussion effects, and tape effects, played at various speeds, both forwards and backwards.

There is a hidden message at about 4:22 into the song. If played at a slower speed, you can hear a voice (most likely either Waters or guitarist David Gilmour) say, "That was pretty avant-garde, wasn't it?" At the very end of the rant, Waters is heard to say, "Thank you."

The Picts were an ancient group of indigenous people of northern Britain, who in the 9th century AD co-founded the kingdom of Scotland with the Scots. Waters does his best Scottish impression on this song.

The album's title, Ummagumma, is British slang for sex. It might also be taken as a synonym for rock and roll music itself, since the phrase "rock and roll" originated as sexual slang. The song holds the distinction of having the longest title of any of the band's tracks. Parts of the song were performed only one time. The song was also on the Works album from 1983.

I did play this on the air as DJ in college once. I think 8 people called in to tell me that a record or a CD was stuck and kept repeating the same section of something over and over again, and that made it sound like gibberish.

Not much else to say . . . other than this Simpson's Mashup is a chuckler. I will pose the following question: Would people rather listen to Several Species three times in a row or the entire The Final Cut straight through once? That's a difficult call.

Vulture Ranking (out of 165 songs): 162
Ultimate Classic Rock Ranking (out of 167 songs): 144
Louder Ranking (out of 50 songs): NR
WMGK Ranking (out of 40 songs): NR
Ranker Ranking (out of 132 songs): 95
Billboard Ranking (out of 50 songs): NR

Vulture Ranking (162 out of 165 songs): Ummagumma, the group’s fourth LP, was the nadir of Pink Floyd Phase 2, from the doltish title on down. It’s a two-disc set; the first disc has extended live versions of the band at its most space-rockin’est. The rest of the album was divided between the four band members, each of whom was given about 15 minutes to play around in his own musical sandbox. This was part of Waters’s contribution. I would like to dock it a dozen notches for the surpassingly stupid title. The thing is, it’s actually a fairly accurate representation of what you get, which is the five minutes of chirrups and squeaks, along with the unidentified ravings of some maniac in a heavy Scottish accent. (The Picts were an early British tribe.)

UCR Ranking (144 out of 167 songs): Pink Floyd meets the Chipmunks. If you were grading songs merely by how many repeat listens you would grant them, Waters’ Ummagumma experiment with vocal effects and tape speeds might land at the very bottom. Yet there’s something impressive lurking amidst the rhythms he creates out of his nattering, pretend woodland creatures. Plus, the track’s “Scottish” farmer presages Waters’ embodiment of The Wall’s fearsome schoolmaster.

Folks, don't leave now, I promise things will get better . . . we head back to The Wall for our next selection.

I remember buying this double disc when I really got into Floyd......I'm not sure I've ever been more disappointed with an album. This track is total rubbish.

 

[Manster]

PIK, PIK, PIK…

And #17 to boot.

PIK didn’t vote for it. His hopefully former friend did.

Guilt by association

He is a divorced conservative team Waters and huge weed head. I am a married twenty years liberal team David/RW straight edge dude. So yeah, lol.

What does being conservative have to do with it?

 

[PIK95]

PIK, PIK, PIK…

And #17 to boot.

PIK didn’t vote for it. His hopefully former friend did.

Guilt by association

He is a divorced conservative team Waters and huge weed head. I am a married twenty years liberal team David/RW straight edge dude. So yeah, lol.

What does being conservative have to do with it?

It's the opposite of Liberal. All of the points showed how we are opposites. Not super hard to see really.

 

[Anarchy99]

#78-T - Don't Leave Me Now from The Wall (1979)
Appeared On: 3 ballots (out of 32 . . . 9.4%)
Total Points: 9 points (out of 800) possible points . . . 0.75%)
Top Rankers: @Joe Schmo @Rand al Thor @Just Win Baby
Highest Ranking: 22

Live Performances:
PF: 31 (London - 1981)
DG's PF: None
DG: None
RW: 225 (Berlin - 1990, RW - The Wall Live Version)
NM: None

Covers: Tommy Shaw, Three Trapped Tigers, Spaceslug

Our first song with votes from three people (and the first songs from two of them . . . welcome). The song was the B-side of Run Like Hell. It also appeared on a 12" with RLH and ABITW2 . . . and peaked at #57 on Disco Top 100 chart.

At this point in the The Wall's narrative, Pink, an alienated and embittered rock star, has discovered his wife's infidelity. He invites a groupie to his hotel room in L.A., during his American tour and destroys the hotel room in a fit of rage, scaring the groupie away. Pink falls into a depression. Despite the dysfunction of their marriage, he listlessly pleads with his wife not to leave him, stating "I need you, babe / To put through the shredder in front of my friends".

Waters described this song as being about "two people who have treated each other very badly", yet are devastated at the prospect of their relationship ending. He also stated that the lyrics had nothing to do with his personal life, as he had a more cordial relationship with his wife in real life than Pink did.

The song begins with a close-up of the debris in Pink's hotel room, then switches over to the hotel's pool, where Pink is seen floating in a crucifix position. Having cut open his right hand during his violent outburst, his blood stains the pool water. What follows is a fantasy sequence in which Pink watches TV in a much larger, and entirely empty, hotel room. The shadow of Pink's wife emerges on the back wall before materializing into a praying mantis-like monster which then transforms into the vulva-shaped flower from What Shall We Do Now?. The song ends with Pink cowering in the corner of the room, tortured by both the imaginary mantis in front of him, and thoughts of his wife's adultery. Scene from the movie

One thing I was not aware of is that RW teamed with composer Julien Bilodeau to develop Another Brick In The Wall: An Opera. It followed the plot of the film version and debuted in 2017. Waters had been approached by a director of an opera group about the idea, and Roger initially told him to pound sand. However, they had already scored and composed some of the music and demoed it for Waters, who was impressed and encouraged them to continue. The opera was performed in Montreal, Vancouver, and Cincinnati and featured 8 soloists, 48 chorus members, and a standard 70 piece operatic orchestra. Sample video

Disco and opera. The first two genres I think of when listening to The Wall.

Vulture Ranking (out of 165 songs): 93
Ultimate Classic Rock Ranking (out of 167 songs): 162
Louder Ranking (out of 50 songs): NR
WMGK Ranking (out of 40 songs): NR
Ranker Ranking (out of 132 songs): 87
Billboard Ranking (out of 50 songs): NR

Vulture Ranking (93 out of 165 songs): A nicely de-romanticized love plaint from Pink. (“I need you, babe / To put through the shredder / In front of my friends.”) Roger Waters is a talented guy, but he has an awful voice. He did what he could with it for a long time, but at a certain point he just decided to go with its screechy essential nature. Around this point in The Wall, listeners could be forgiven for finding it trying. You can make the case for it — the singer’s psyche cracking up as we listen, the warped interior of the English mind, I get it, I get it — but it doesn’t make any of these tracks an easy listen.

Ultimate Classic Rock Ranking (162 out of 167 songs): No album spans the best, middling and worst Pink Floyd tracks like The Wall. There are less consequential songs from this double LP, but none more unpleasant than this plodding exercise in dissonance and misogyny. In character as the depressive, delusional and violent rock star named Pink, Waters whines “Why are you running away?” (for the second time in two tracks; it’s also the final line of One of My Turns). As Pink, Waters longs to resume his abusive ways, but the real torture is listening to his screechy, alley-cat yelp.

Looking ahead, we say rise and shine to a new album for it's first selection here.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

My high school buddy (the one from the Zep countdown) and I had a running joke about Jugband Blues, where we envisioned Syd singing it on a streetcorner, then all of the sudden being run over by a Salvation Army band, then singing the final words on the ground. That makes as much sense as anything about this song.

Biding My Time starts off as a sleepy blues with trombone but takes off with the guitar solo, one of Gilmour's best before 1971. Excellent performance by Nick Mason as well.

All I'll say about Several Species is -- they found room on a proper album for this but not Embryo or Biding My Time?

Don't Leave Me Now is the teaser on disc 1 of The Wall for the slog that we get for most of disc 2. At least Waters' screeching is mixed lower than it could have been. And at least this track picks up at 3:10 with some Gilmour goodness.

 

[zamboni]

Looking ahead, we say rise and shine to a new album for it's first selection here.

Would be appropriate for today if that album was Atom Heart Mother.

 

[Anarchy99]

Looking ahead, we say rise and shine to a new album for it's first selection here.

Would be appropriate for today if that album was Atom Heart Mother.

I was considering doing the song Mother today. But Atom Heart Mother is the album. Rise and shine was the hint.

 

[zamboni]

Looking ahead, we say rise and shine to a new album for it's first selection here.

Would be appropriate for today if that album was Atom Heart Mother.

I was considering doing the song Mother today. But Atom Heart Mother is the album. Rise and shine was the hint.

I get it - think I had that one pretty high.

 

[Manster]

PIK, PIK, PIK…

And #17 to boot.

PIK didn’t vote for it. His hopefully former friend did.

Guilt by association

He is a divorced conservative team Waters and huge weed head. I am a married twenty years liberal team David/RW straight edge dude. So yeah, lol.

What does being conservative have to do with it?

It's the opposite of Liberal. All of the points showed how we are opposites. Not super hard to see really.

Yes, the opposites are clearly stated......thank you for making sure I saw that.

It just seems odd that you would bring politics into it.....almost as if you're trying to make a connection with conservatives and being pro waters, who is a objectively a nut job.

 

[Anarchy99]

#76-T - Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast from Atom Heart Mother (1970)

Appeared On: 1 ballot (out of 32 . . . 3.1%)
Total Points: 10 points (out of 800) possible points . . . 1.25%)
Top Rankers: @New Binky the Doormat
Highest Ranking: 16

Live Performances:
PF: 5 (Sheffield - 1970-12-22)
DG's PF: None
DG: None
RW: None
NM: None

Covers: Interstellar Factory, MobyDick00001

Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast was an experiment in incorporating actual sounds into music, which even the band didn't think worked out so well. The song was named after roadie Alan Stiles, who often cooked breakfast when the band was on the road. He also is the voice that introduces the various parts. In Rise and Shine, Alan gets up and begins cooking breakfast . . . bacon, eggs and toast . . . all rendered in sumptuous quadraphonic sound. Stiles provides a running commentary that leads into a jaunty, piano-based number that really goes nowhere. Sunny Side Up starts off with the pleasant sounds of Alan eating breakfast and joking about macrobiotic food, which rapidly gives way to an acoustic number in which Dave duets with himself.

Alan Parsons was brought on as a Sound Engineer, fresh off his work for The Beatles Abbey Road. He recalled, “One take went, ‘Egg Frying Take One,’ followed by, ‘Whoops!’ as the egg dropped.” Near the end, the sounds of Alan (Stiles) cooking breakfast fade in again, introducing Morning Glory, a more upbeat and listenable piece using all the instruments (incidentally, morning-glory seeds are a powerful psychedelic). The song ends with Alan washing the dishes, after which he leaves the tap dripping, which on the original LP ran into the run out groove, so that people without automatic changers would have an annoying impetus to change the record.

In addition to the talking, the sounds of Alan making breakfast—such as lighting the stove, cooking bacon, pouring milk and cereal (which makes a popping sound associated with Kellogg's Rice Krispies), loudly gulping and drinking, and vigorously eating cereal—are clearly audible in the background, which adds a conceptual feel to the track. Alan can be heard entering the kitchen and gathering supplies at the start of the track, and washing up and exiting the kitchen at the end; a dripping tap can be heard during both of these instances. On the CD and digital release, the dripping continues for approximately 17 seconds after all other sounds have ceased.

Rick Wright: "...Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast we tried on our English tour and it didn't work at all, so we had to give it up. None of us liked doing it anyway and we didn't like it on the album — it's rather pretentious, it doesn't do anything. Quite honestly, it's a bad number. A similar idea in that idiom we did at Roundhouse another time I thought was much better. Practically on the spot we decided to improvise a number where we fried eggs on stage and Roger threw potatoes about and it was spontaneous and it was really good. Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast was a weak number."

Nick Mason: "Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast is quite interesting, insofar as we've agreed that the piece didn't work, but in some ways the sound effects are the strongest parts."

Roger Waters: "We did that in a fantastic rush, didn't we?"

Nick Mason: "Right, it was a fantastic idea, but because of the rush it didn't work properly."

Dave Gilmour: "Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast never achieved what it was meant to. It was meant to be how it should've been. It was a bit of a throw together. In fact the most throw together thing we've ever done."

However, the band continued to experiment with 'musique concrete,' eventually succeeding brilliantly on such albums as Dark Side of the Moon, until sound effects and spoken words became an inherent part of the Pink Floyd sound.

The title of the album Atom Heart Mother was another spur of the moment decision. One day, musician and composer Ron Geesin, who had worked with Waters on the title track (and received a rare co-writing credit) pointed Roger to the 1970-07-16 edition of the Evening Standard newspaper and told him that he would find the song title in the newspaper. Waters combed the paper and saw an article about a pregnant woman who had been fitted with a plutonium-based heart pacemaker. The headline was "Atom Heart Mother Named".

The AHM album was commercially successful on release. It was the first Floyd album to top the UK albums charts (and rose to #55 in America). The band, particularly Roger and David, have expressed negative opinions of the album. Waters called it, "A really awful and embarrassing record."

The idea for the Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast piece came about by Waters experimenting with the rhythm of a dripping tap, which combined sound effects and dialogue recorded by Mason in his kitchen with musical pieces recorded in the studio. A slightly re-worked version was performed on stage on 1970-12- 22 at Sheffield City Hall, Sheffield, England with the band members pausing between pieces to eat and drink their breakfast.

Vulture Ranking (out of 165 songs): 147
Ultimate Classic Rock Ranking (out of 167 songs): 160
Louder Ranking (out of 50 songs): NR
WMGK Ranking (out of 40 songs): NR
Ranker Ranking (out of 132 songs): 104
Billboard Ranking (out of 50 songs): NR

Vulture Ranking (147 out of 165 songs): Another suite from the band’s dreariest period, on an album that had already given us 20-plus minutes of the title song, in no less than six parts. This one comprises a comparatively restrained three parts, and includes the sounds of an actual breakfast being made, complete with dripping faucet, which turns out to be kinda irritating. Gilmour noodles guitars in the middle, with a poorly recorded bass interfering. The third part is mostly keyboard, mixed horribly. The band actually used to play this nonsense live. The titular Alan, incidentally, was a roadie; the title is another example of the band’s jolly jocularity. The argument for this junk, I suppose, is that the band, despite its space-rock leanings, was much more down to earth and organic, as opposed to the flights of high electronic fantasy offered by your King Crimsons and the other, more energetic progressive-rock outfits of the time. Part of the reason it doesn’t work for me is the anonymity of the players. If this is supposed to be organic, there’s no personality to the music.

UCR Ranking (160 out of 167 songs): This 13-minute slab of musique concrete fulfills a request that (probably) no Floyd fan ever made: “What does roadie Alan Styles like for breakfast, can we hear him making it and could the guys in the band noodle around (in a very non-psychedelic manner) as he fries bacon, muses about marmalade and pours a bowl of Rice Krispies?” Now, who’s hungry?

After three songs with not a lot of music in them, settle in your seats and dim the lights for our next entry from The Division Bell.