You know, when Richard Wright passed away last September, I don't think I reacted particularly strongly; I think I felt "Oh, Pink Floyd's disappearing on us" (as we lost Syd a few years ago... though some would argue that we lost Syd 40 years ago), and "Oh, I wonder what Roger Waters thinks about this" - referring of course to Roger's longtime dislike of Rick.
As time has passed, I've come to realize that what I've heard people say is true - Richard Wright really was the soul of Pink Floyd. He wasn't just the "silent keyboardist" that I took him to be; the more I examine their music, the more I realize that Richard's contributions are incredibly valuable.
Just some of Richard's greatest hits...
* "A Saucerful Of Secrets" (Ummagumma version) - It may just be that this was one of the albums I owned in grade school, but I feel this particular live version of "Saucerful" to be the definite rendition. The second section ('Syncopated Pandemonium') still drops my jaw to this day, with Nick's rigid drum loop matched by the unearthly roars of Dave's guitar. My true attraction to this track, however, is when Rick's Farfisa organ takes over for the final two sections ('Storm Signal' and 'Celestial Voices'). The latter in particular chills me to this day.
* "Summer '68" - One of the most overlooked songs in Floyd's catalog, this song rests in the middle of the 'Atom Heart Mother' LP. The piano part is pleasant enough but damn, when those horns kick in, you need to crank your speakers up.
* "Breathe" - Richard's contribution to this track seems to be quite ignored, but in fact gave the song a distinctive flavor. Try to play the chords in this song. Notice how strange and jazzy some of them are? Rick came up with those. In the "Making of Dark Side..." DVD, he plays the chords as they were before originally written before he suggested replacements, and the song just doesn't have that same class to it.
* "Us and Them" - While the wartime lyrics are definitely Roger's, the melody is a Rick creation. This song began as an instrumental titled "The Violent Sequence," and was intended for the score of the Italian film 'Zabriskie Point.' However, director Michelangelo Antonioni disliked the track (his same feeling towards most of Floyd's score), so it drifted into obscurity as part of a long instrumental that Floyd slipped into their live shows. Until, of course, the group started putting together their new suite, temporarily titled "Eclipse," which saw Richard dusting off his unloved instrumental for use as the basis of a mood-shifting topical tune.
* "The Great Gig In The Sky" - Obviously, discussion of Rick's contributions to 'Dark Side of the Moon' aren't complete without a mention of this one. A late addition to the suite formerly known as "Eclipse," this song's slot was previously filled by discordant instrumentals and religiously themed sound collages. However, perfection was not achieved until Richard reworked the "Breathe"/"Any Colour You Like" melody into this ultimate musical expression of death, perfectly complimented by the improvised wails of Clare Torry. Love it or hate it (and believe me, I know people that *hate* this song), you'll never forget it.
* "Sysyphus" - Yes, I do realize that the second disc of 'Ummagumma' isn't the most pleasant Pink Floyd product in the world, being a disconnected collection of experimental tracks. However, Richard's "Sysyphus" suite is worth a listen, as its cool mixed-bag nature overcomes its flaws. A fantastic, thundering riff; a pleasant little piano section; interesting synthesizer work; and even a really weird avant-garde bit with weird chipmunk voices. (Not quite as bizarre as Roger's "Several Species of Small Furry Animals..." however!) The live version was even more interesting, as much of it consisted of that thundering riff, starting out weakly, played solo by Rick, and steadily growing to colossal strength.
* "Love Scene No. 4" - A pleasant counterpart to "The Violent Sequence," this is another track from the Zabriskie Point sessions, recorded as musical accompaniment to a scene about, if I'm not mistaken, hippies having sex in the desert. Yeah, it's one of those weird Sixties movies. Anyways, the track was unused, but appeared on the expanded edition of the soundtrack CD. This is mood music at its best - a seven minute slow jazz piece performed solo by Richard on piano. (An unreleased mix adds vibes on top of his performance, spoiling it quite a bit.)
* "See Saw" - Most of the attention paid to side 2 of 'A Saucerful of Secrets' goes to the title track and Syd's insane musical farewell, "Jugband Blues." However, I feel that more attention should be paid to Richard's track, sandwiched between those two. Originally titled "The Most Boring Song I've Ever Heard Bar Two" (no, Richard doesn't seem to have revealed the other two), this simple song of two childhood playmates is rendered just plain creepy by the musical arrangement, especially Rick's wispy organ notes.
I know, somebody was probably expecting me to gush over the musical merits of "It Would Be So Nice"... but, to be honest, no. Just absolutely, positively no. Give me the b-side (Roger's incredibly creepy "Julia Dream" - SSSYYYYYDDD!), and allow me to pass on the a-side with the explanation that even geniuses can make horrible, horrible mistakes. :-P
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
I totally agree with you. "Summer '68" is one of my favorite Pink Floyd tracks, and "The Great Gig in the Sky" is absolutely magnificent. One of my favorites that you didn't mention is "Paint Box." To me, most of his songs have a beautiful wistful quality to them, I don't know if that was the way he wrote, or the way his voice sounds. Maybe a combination of both.
Post a Comment