David's been busy

Apparently, David Gilmour of Pink Floyd fame has been keeping busy. Here he is performing with Roger Waters at an event for charity.

Hoping Foundation benefit performance from Hoping Foundation on Vimeo.

While the performance isn't great it's just nice to see these two being civil to one another, let alone playing music together.

Mr. Gilmour has also recently snuck out a collaboration with Orb. Hopefully it won't be too hard to track down the two disc version which has a special surround mix for headphones. Where are those Stax headphones when you need them?

Last, but certainly not least he served as Executive Producer on the new Syd Barrett compilation, not so cleverly titled, "An Introduction to Syd Barrett." Which will mix Syd Barrett era Pink Floyd and solo material, some of it remixed. Sadly, "Vegetable Man" nor "Scream Thy Last Scream" will be included, another missed opportunity. Why not put out these songs officially and give the fans the best quality possible and make a couple of quid in the process, instead of forcing us to continue to listen to sub-standard bootlegs? It would be a win-win for all involved. The big draw of the package isn't even on the disc it's a free bonus download of "Rhamadan,"a 20 minute previously unreleased instrumental. Since it's a download the sound quality won't be what it should. As obsessive as David is about sound this is a very odd choice. A bonus disc on the first pressing would have been a better way to get it out there, maybe even including "Vegetable Man" and "Scream Thy Last Scream". Now that would have been a great.

For Sale by heartless corporation: number 3 Abbey Road

According to a number of sources EMI’s parent company, Terra Firma is trying to sell Abbey Road Studios in an attempt to stave off the wolves at Citibank. Sadly the studio is only expected to bring in something like tens of millions of dollars when the amount necessary to stop the $3 billion dollar loan from going into default is over $190 million dollars. If that's the case it's a bit like throwing the deck chairs off of the Titanic thinking that it will stop it from sinking. Also sad is the fact that many feel the “brand” of Abbey Road is worth more than the facility itself.

Abbey Road of course is most famous for having been the studio of choice for the majority of Beatles recording sessions and many early to middle period Pink Floyd recordings, though not “Dark Side of the Moon” as many sources are erroneously claiming. According to some sources EMI doesn't consider a recording studio an essential asset. That's not a joke by the way the music industry has lost it's way so badly it doesn't even see the value in owning a first class facility in which to record music. In this day and age a lot of music can be recorded using a computer and pro tools, many consider anything over and above that to be a luxury.

Christmas Part 1

Thus far my holiday haul related to music and/or audio is as follows:

1. The 33 1/3 book about The Who-"The Who Sell Out" album. I've skimmed it and it looks like it will be a good read. Although I have a lot of Who albums I don't know a lot about the personal dynamics within the band. For those not familiar with the 33 1/3 series they are short, pocket sized books about ground breaking albums. I've already read the ones that cover Pink Floyd's "Piper at the Gates of Dawn" and The Beatles' "Let It Be" which are both excellent. The one about Led Zeppelin IV isn't as good since the author was unable to coax interviews out of the participants.

2. A book titled "The Dark Side of The Moon-The Making of The Pink Floyd Masterpiece" which I've already read 75% of and while most of the information isn't new to me that isn't the authors fault because I've read a ton of stuff about Pink Floyd.

3. The Ryan Adams & The Cardinals album "Cold Roses" which I haven't had a chance to listen to yet but he's pretty reliable when it comes to putting out good to great albums.

4. Eddie Vedder's CD single "All The Way" which is a song about being a Chicago Cubs fan.

5. A David Glimour promo CD with the song "Wot's. . .Uh The Deal?" from his performance at the Gdansk shipyard. It couldn't fit on the album so it was given to those who purchased the two CD version at independent music retailers. Since I bought the 5 disc version (3 CD's 2 DVD's) from Best Buy I initially missed out on it, but I'm glad to be adding it to my collection now.

Wearing the Inside Out

Today it was announced that founding member of Pink Floyd, Richard Wright passed away after a short battle with cancer. While he didn’t have many song writing credits after "Dark Side of the Moon" or many appearances as the lead singer his contributions behind the keyboards defined the Pink Floyd sound. It's absence from their album "The Final Cut" insured that album's failure as a "Pink Floyd Album" and guaranteed that it would forever be seen as a "unofficial Roger Waters solo album." With only a small guest appearance on "A Momentary Laps of Reason" he couldn’t stop that LP from being anything more than a David Gilmour solo album that had Mick Manson doing a bit of drumming. His full return for the "Division Bell" album revitalized the sound for a new phase of the band that was far too short. It is impossible to imagine a singer more perfect for harmonizing with and complimenting David Gilmour's voice so seamlessly. The song Echoes from The Floyd's highly underrated Meddle is a prime example. His 1978 solo album, "Wet Dream" which is unjustly out of print is a wonderful collection of songs well worth the trouble of seeking it out. Mr. Wright's family released only a short statement and asks for privacy.

At the very end of "Time" Richard Wright sings

"Every year is getting shorter, never seem to find the time.
Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines.
Hanging on in quiet desparation is the English way.
The time has gone, the song is over, thought I’d something more to say . . ."

A not so cleverly titled album

David Gilmour’s 1978 solo album entitled “David Gilmour” is the missing link between Pink Floyd’s 1977 minor master piece “Animals” and their 1979 Magnum Opus “The Wall.” Many of the guitar tones are reminiscent of Animals, which was recorded a year previous but the playing foreshadows things yet to come on “The Wall.” All of the lyrics were written by David Gilmour with the exception of “There’s No Way Out of Here.” For someone who has always doubted his own abilities as a lyricist he does an admirable job here.

“Raise My Rent” is a slow burning instrumental rocker the guitar tone of which would resurface a year later on “The Wall” on one of the few songs not written entirely by Roger Waters, “Young Lust.” “No Way Out” sounds like a note written by David to Roger Waters. The beginning lines are. “There’s no way I’m gonna let go. There’s no way, because it’s my show. I’m hanging on for a little wile. I won’t go down easy. That’s not my style.” These passing lines give us a glimpse of the inner workings of The Floyd camp during this troubled era. During the recording of “Animals” Roger had begun the process of co-opting control of the creative process, rejecting any contributions by keyboardist Richard Wright. Half way through the recording of “The Wall” Mr. Wright would get the sack and only three of the albums twenty six tracks would grant Mr. Gilmour co-writing credits, which he shared with Waters. The next Floyd album “The Final Cut” was written solely by Waters with no lyrical input from anyone, including Gilmour.

For anyone who loves Gilmour’s contributions on “The Wall” which include “Young Lust”, “Comfortably Numb” and “Run Like Hell” or the Post-Waters Pink Floyd albums “A Momentary Lapse of Reason” or “The Division Bell” This album is most certainly worth a couple of listens. The albums remastering has given the album a fresh sound. Bass guitar is clear with good pitch definition. The kick drum is also clear with just the appropriate amount of force behind it. Cymbals and tambourines have good shimmer without sounding bright on annoying.

"By the way, which one's Pink?"

Today the death of one of the most important musicians of the 20th century was announced. You may never have heard of him, Syd Barrett. Mr. Barrett was a founding member of Pink Floyd and responsible for writing all of their early singles and most of their first album, “The Piper At the Gates of Dawn.” “Piper” is one of the most if not THE most original debut albums. Not even The Floyd have done anything like it since, even though their second album “A Saucer Full of Secrets” was an attempt to copy that magic. Shortly after the release of their first album Syd’s behavior became increasingly erratic. At first this behavior was written off as being humorous rebellion against the establishment. No one suspected the truth until it was too late. Syd’s family history and his use of LSD proved to be a volatile mixture. Most agree that Syd was susceptible to becoming scizophrenic, the Acid guaranteed his massive break with reality.

After Pink Floyd Syd released some solo albums that contain flashes of brilliance, but it is well hidden under layers of chaos. Early Pink Floyd fans that loved them before they had a record deal believed that the band died with Syd’s departure. That of course is an opinion, but there is little doubt that without Syd Barrett there COULD NOT be a Pink Floyd.

Mr. Barrrett was such a larger than life figure his influence on the band would be felt long after the band decided NOT to pick him up for a gig and let their then rhythm guitarist, David Gilmour take center stage. Syd is the lunitic on the grass in “Dark Side of the Moon.” Syd is the Crazy Diamond and in fact the entire inspiration for the Pink Floyd masterpiece “Wish You Were Here.” Syd is at least half of the Pink character that is the protagonist/anti-hero of “The Wall” album.

Today, WXRT Chicago’s most progressive radio station played “See Emily Play” in tribute to the lost genius. It was great to hear that on the radio, too bad it had to be under such unfortunate circumstances.

"Shine on You Crazy Diamond!"

A major find!

Written: Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Tonight I found myself inextricably drawn to a used CD store that I rarely visit, because they NEVER have anything worth buying. Well today was a major exception they had not one but TWO copies of "Music From The Body." It's the soundtrack to a medical documentary that has been out of print for some time. I can hear most of you now. "Why in the hell would you want a soundtrack to a medical documentary anyway?" Well, it was a collaboration between Ron Geesin and this chap named Roger Waters (the bassist from Pink Floyd). There are a couple of Roger Water songs that can be found nowhere else. The really compelling track is the last song which has guest appearances by David Gilmour, Nick Mason, and Richard Wright. This makes it a Pink Floyd song, and thus I'm compelled to own it.

I now own almost all Pink Floyd albums and most of the solo albums. Many of the solo projects are hard to find or are out of print entirely. The one that I really want that has thus far proved difficult to find is an album by the keyboard player Richard Wright called "Wet Dream." If any of you see it in a CD store, new or used buy it immediately and I will reimburse you. You will also be promoted to my best friend, for whatever that's worth.


Other obscure albums that I'm looking for:

1. Zabriskie Point-Soundtrack to a film that has four Pink Floyd tracks, the two CD version. Used only I could buy it new easily but I'm cheap.
2. Zee-Identity. A short lived band that keyboard player Richard Wright formed. New or used. EXTREMELY RARE.
3. Nick Mason-Profiles. A solo album by a drummer? If it's cheap why the hell not.
4. Nick Mason-Nick Mason's Fictitious Sports. EXTREMELY RARE.
5. When the Wind Blows. A soundtrack containing solo Roger Waters compositions. Looking for a cheap used copy
6. Snowy White-Gold Top. Pink Floyd's backing guitarist was allowed to release a rare version of "Pig on The Wing" recorded by Pink Floyd on his best of album. Out of Print, looking for New or Used copy.
7. The Legend of 1900 Soundtrack-Containing a single original Roger Waters song with none other than Eddie Van Halen as guest guitarist. Looking for a cheap used copy.
8. Richard Wright-Wet Dream great album I WANT IT, I WANT IT, I WANT IT!!! This one I'd go as high as $30 for the CD.
9. Pink Floyd-A Collection of Great Dance Songs. Remastered. The version of Money is a 1981 re-recording. Cheap used as I could buy it new but I'm just being a skin flint.
10. Pink Floyd-Works. Remastered. Again a cheap used copy because it is easy to buy new but not worth it for three tracks. It contains alternate mixes of Brain Damage and Eclipse from "Dark Side of the Moon" as well as a song called Embryo not available on any other release.

Let the scavenger hunt begin. . . NOW!

Raving and Drooling

Originally Written: Saturday, July 30, 2005

Today while driving to work I heard on the radio that Pink Floyd would NOT be touring despite being offered 100 million dollars for a US tour. For the mathematically challenged that's $25 million each. This is artistic integrity bordering on insanity, and everyone thought Syd was nuts! They will never get an offer this high again, what are they thinking! I know that Roger and David hate each other, but come on! They wouldn't even have to write or record an album, just tour. They could do that and never speak to one another the entire time. I would pretty much put up with any situation or person for an entire year for $100 million. Most of us would consider ourselves lucky to see 10% of that in our lifetimes. I'm not sure that I can respect anyone who leaves that much money on the table. In related news they also turned down my offer of a cool $1000 dollars and all of the Guinness they could drink to play my next birthday party. When we are talking about $100 million it is no longer considered selling out, it's called cashing in. There is a difference.

Pigs flew for a short time

Originally Written: Saturday, July 02, 2005

I barely got home in time to see the Pink Floyd portion of Live8. They played brilliantly. They chose songs that Pink Floyd/Roger Waters had both performed on their recent tours. The nice thing is that they didn't make the same mistake that both camps have mad recently, namely over arranging the songs by adding a bunch of backing musicians that aren't necessary. For the most part it was the band and another guitar player. A saxophone player for one song and a backing singer for one song. I watched most of it on MTV. The fuckers talked over the beginning of Breathe and cut to commercial halfway through Comfortably Numb. Fortunately I caught the end of Comfortably Numb on aolmusic.com. So what did they play? Glad you asked.

1. "Breathe"
2. "Money"
3. "Wish You Were Here"
4. "Comfortably Numb"

All in all a very strong performance. It's amazing how much different they sound with Roger Waters back on bass, "Money" was so much better for his presense. They touchingly dedicated "Wish You Were Here" to founding member Syd Barrett. It was extremely emotional to hear David and Roger singing "Comfortably Numb" together for the first time in roughly 25 years.

Too bad Syd Barrett wasn't well enough to be on stage with the band that he helped put on the map. Syd has been suffering with schizophrenia for many, many years. The hallucinogenic drugs that were so much a part of the swinging London of the late 1960's snuffed out the flame of his genius probably for good. There is always the hope that he will wake up from his bad dream like Brian Wilson from The Beach Boys. This is the only picture that I have ever seen with all five members of Pink Floyd together. Syd and David were only in the band together for a couple shows. Syd is the haunting figure in the upper right.

Fuck you Mick!

Top Artists
Totals are derived from cumulative album sales totals (U.S. only)
Artist (Units in Millions)
Originally Written: Wednesday, June 29, 2005

Top Artists
Totals are derived from cumulative album sales totals (U.S. only)
Artist (Units in Millions)

1. THE BEATLES 168.5 (DUH!)
2. ELVIS PRESLEY 116.5(No surprise here!)
3. LED ZEPPELIN 107.5(As it should be)
4. GARTH BROOKS 105.0(I wonder if this includes the 8 copies as Chris Gains)
5. EAGLES 89.0("I hate the fucking Eagles man!")
6. BILLY JOEL 78.5(Great song writer, probably the ugliest guy in rock)
7. PINK FLOYD 73.5 (Just think of that it terms of dime bags smoked?)
8. BARBRA STREISAND 70.5(Does this include the Jewish singer's Christmas album?)
9. ELTON JOHN 69.0(Sixty-nine, now that's funny)
10. AC/DC 66.0(How many outside of trailer parks is my question?)
11. AEROSMITH 65.5(That's a lot of clam chowder)
12. THE ROLLING STONES 64.5(And they have the balls to call themselves the greatest rock n' roll band in the world. Try number 6 Mick. I'd love to sue them for false advertising.

Mono, it's not just for kissing any more

Today Chris lent me the Limited Edition MONO version of Pink Floyd's "Piper at the Gates of Dawn." I can hear the head scratching from here. "Why would you want to listen to the expensive near impossible to find mono version when there is a cheap stereo version easily available?", you ask. Well it's simple the band and the producer were involved in the mixing of the mono version, but NOT in the stereo mix. The stereo mix was done in a rush by an apprentice engineer at Abbey Road/EMI studios. The Floyd never approved the stereo mix! To this day when asked about the album they are quick to point out that the mono mix is the only one approved by the band.

Interestingly the majority of the The Beatles albums are similar. George Martin and The Beatles spent days, sometimes weeks mixing the mono version of most of their albums. The stereo mixes were done usually by an assistant engineer. Sometimes it was even worse, the stereo mix was done by an apprentice engineer. Paul McCartney briefly mentions this in the extra material on The Beatles Anthology DVDs. Saying roughly, "the stereo mixes were done one day while we (George Martin, the producer and The Beatles) were at lunch." With the possible exception of "Abbey Road", the last album they would record the mono mix was the baby. The stereo mix was the bastard redheaded stepchild at best.

At first blush this sounds like a massive oversight. But as Mr. McCartney goes on to point out ". . . ninety-Eight percent of people were listening in mono." Stereo was new, many thought it was a fad and wouldn't last. Many Hi-Fi enthusiasts resisted it at the beginning. It meant a serious amount of money needed to be spent. They were forced to buy another amplifier, another speaker, a new preamplifier, and a new turntable.

This market seems to be getting some attention lately. The Beatles have issued two boxed sets of Early American albums in both mono and stereo. The problem is these are the American versions which I believe are missing between 1 and 3 songs per album, compared to the British versions. The Beatles American record label REMOVED songs from Beatles albums and would then combined them later to make separate EP releases, to squeeze out a couple of extra bucks. These are also remastered from the American masters (read at least second generation, possibly worse.) Of all major artists it still continues to amaze me that The Beatles back catalog has not been remastered. Does Paul McCartney have too much money? I'm sure that Ringo Starr could use a couple of extra bucks, and Yoko is always up for profiting from the memory of her dead husband.

Ten Favorite albums

Originally written: Wednesday, March 16, 2005

In no particular order here goes:

1. Dire Straits-Brothers in Arms Very atmospheric and melancholy. Meticulously arranged and recorded. It's ironic that this album has only one upbeat song and that is probably the most famous cut, "Walk of Life." It is also the least representative of the rest of the album.

2. The Who-Who's Next For my money the ultimate hard rock album, containing the ultimate hard rock song "Won't Get Fooled Again." Great songs and great performances. It's hard to believe that this album was really the cobbled together bits and pieces of a failed masterpiece.

3. The Beatles-Abby Road On this album they were hitting on all cylinders and couldn't make a mistake if they had tried. Great songs, cool vocal harmonies, and they take risks with song structure that no one else had nor has anyone else since. This may be the only time that a band did their best album as their last. Let it Be was released later but it was recorded first.

4. Robert Johnson-The Complete Recordings I discovered Robert Johnson because he was mentioned so many times by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. He only recorded about three sessions over the course of two years in the late 1930's but the impact that this music has had can't be under estimated. Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton of Cream all admire this guy and have covered his songs.

5. Led Zeppelin-Physical graffiti Possibly their most diverse album. I love Led Zeppelin so much it was really hard to choose just one but this album will give you an idea of what they were all about. Also unlike most double albums there is no filler songs and no repeated musical ideas.

6. Pink Floyd-The Wall What can I say about this masterpiece that hasn't already been said? Many will tell you that Dark Side of the Moon is a better album and musically and sonically it probably is. Where this album really comes into it's own is the sheer scale of the story it tries to tell. It is a concept album with a plot and numerous subplots. Briefly it is about: the death of a parent, the oppression of the modern education system, an over protective mother, the fear of nuclear war, the isolation that fame causes, the excesses of stardom, and ultimately madness.

7. The Beach Boys-Pet Sounds An album about the kind of romantic first love that only comes once in a life time and it's inevitable end. No one every comes close to touching these guys when it come to their ability to harmonize with each other. This is almost more of a Brian Wilson solo album with the rest of the band along for the ride. Brian also throws every instrument he could get his hands on into the mix and it all works.

8.Sheryl Crow-Tuesday Night Music Club Probably the strongest first album by any artist ever. All of the songs are smartly written and the arrangements are near flawless. The other musicians that worked with her on this album really contributed whole heartedly. I love everything that Sheryl has ever released but she has yet to top her first album.

9. Theloneous Monk-Straight, No Chaser Believe it or not I had a pet rabbit named Hope that used to love this album. Whenever I would play it she would fly into the room and run around kicking her feet up in the air for about the first five minutes and then settle in at my feet to listen to the rest. She also loved Pink Floyd's Meddle and had the same reaction. Most other music she ignored as noise.

10. Chuck Berry-The Great 28 Elvis may have been the King of Rock and Roll but Chucks was it's father. The amazing thing about this music is that unlike most 1950's Rock it sounds as fresh today as it did when it was first released. It is feel good music that forces you to tap you toe.