The best “balance” Pink Floyd ever achieved, according to David Gilmour
When Pink Floyd were at their best, they operated in perfect harmony. At their peak, every element of the band worked seamlessly together, creating some of the most influential and emotionally resonant music of their time—and arguably, of all time. Though it took them some time to fully harness the strength of their collective talent, once they did, they produced albums that continue to delve deep into the psychological and emotional landscapes of both their listeners and themselves.
Although Floyd were undoubtedly incredible when original frontman Syd Barrett led them in their early years, their raw and out-there take on psychedelia lacked the refinement and emotional depth that would make them such a global force years later. While compelling and imaginative, their 1967 debut, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, contains an explicitly youthful character that would eventually make way for the mature examinations of human nature during their most significant period.
After Barrett left in 1968, Pink Floyd spent time refining their approach and figuring out how to push forward amid evolving inner-band relationships and changing listener tastes. While this period would produce both moments of sheer genius, understated points of artistic foresight, and its fair share of sonics that the group would rather forget, each experience was vital in steering them on their way to the promised land.
It became clear by 1971’s Meddle that the quartet’s long-sought-after destination was on the horizon. It was the first record where each component started to fully understand their role in Pink Floyd and willingly take up their respective corner for the good of the band as they pushed on. Then came the admitted stop-gap, Obscured by Clouds, which demonstrated their newfangled musical nouse as they quickly moved on to bringing its follow-up, the masterpiece, The Dark Side of the Moon, to life.
For many fans, the 1973 concept album is their masterwork. In several ways, it represents them at their most balanced, musically and thematically, with each member producing absolute artistic accomplishment throughout, as they sonically mirrored the profound themes of ageing, the mental health issues of Barrett, and other resonant aspects of human nature. It was such an artistic and commercial triumph that ex-band executive Roger Waters maintained that it “finished” Pink Floyd, as it saw them achieve everything they wanted and could not be topped afterwards. In other words, it was all downhill from there.
However, in the expected form, Waters’ former songwriting partner and longtime nemesis, Pink Floyd vocalist and guitarist David Gilmour disagreed with the point about The Dark Side of the Moon. For him, the best balance the group ever achieved was on its follow-up, 1975’s Wish You Were Here, a record which delved even further into psychological issues and alienation, typified by the nine-part tribute to Barrett, ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond’. To be fair to him, it’s a close call, and it’s certain that after that record, the quality of the band’s output gradually declined as the balance was relinquished in light of expanding egos and world-beating success.
Fittingly, Gilmour explained how Wish You Were Here is the “best-balanced” Pink Floyd album in the 2001 documentary, The Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett Story. He said: “I think for me, that album, the Wish You Were Here album, is probably the best-balanced album, in terms of the music having the emotional strength on its own to match the brilliant words that go with it and them all gelling together to make something that has a real, sort of, emotional impact. To me, that works better than Dark Side of the Moon does.”
For those outside the band, it’s difficult to determine which of the two albums stands superior, as a delicate balance holds both together. Many of Pink Floyd’s most dedicated fans have long considered them as two sides of the same coin, chapters in a single narrative, united by their thematic depth and musical brilliance. Undoubtedly, they are enhanced when experienced together in this way.
