‘The Division Bell’: the most honest album David Gilmour ever made
Humanity is not inherently self-centred, despite what certain snake oil salesmen might have you believe. Back in the 1960s, ideas of togetherness were blossoming throughout the world, and those attitudes inevitably bled over into the world of music, with spaced-out psychedelic groups like Pink Floyd joining in on the cultural revolution. Inevitably, though, after decades spent within the clutches of the music industry, songwriters often become much more self-centred in their approach, and Pink Floyd was certainly no different.
It is tough to think of any other group that has gone through as much turmoil and sonic diversity as Pink Floyd. During their early years, under the leadership of artistic visionary Syd Barrett, the group were at the forefront of Britain’s psychedelic age, offering an alternative to stuffy conservative attitudes and helping to pave the way for a more loved-up future. Tragically, though, this attitude did not last for long. In 1968, Barrett was cruelly booted out of his own band owing to a deteriorating mental state and increased reliance on psychedelic drugs.
In the years that followed, Roger Waters took the mantle of the group. After a few years of misguided efforts and failed projects, Pink Floyd reestablished themselves in the mainstream with the inventive genius of The Dark Side Of The Moon in 1973. This was the record that set the tone for the band’s experimentation and artistry over the next few decades. Behind the scenes, however, the inter-band-member relationships were less than harmonious.
The pages of music history are chock full of bands whose members hated each other’s guts, but Pink Floyd takes some beating. Waters was famously difficult to get along with at the best of times, but the success of records like Dark Side Of The Moon only increased divisions between himself and David Gilmour. With both members vying for leadership of the band, something had to give eventually. So, when Waters left the band in 1985, citing creative differences, it was hardly a shock.
Nevertheless, Waters’ departure left Gilmour with an opportunity to fully express his own ideas, emotions, and songwriting themes. Although, admittedly, his first effort without Waters was a little disappointing, overshadowed by the legal battle between the former bandmates, Gilmour really came into his own with 1994’s The Division Bell. Topping the UK album charts upon its release and marking a stunning return to form for the prog-rock pioneers, the album is a deeply introspective and honest effort from the songwriter.
Thematically, the album deals a lot with the departure of Roger Waters, and the heavy toll that the conflict took on Gilmour as a songwriter. Many of the songs centre around issues in communication, which seem to have been at the heart of Pink Floyd’s problems since the band’s very beginning.
Elsewhere, the album also harks back to the early days of Pink Floyd, with the song ‘What Do You Want From Me’ arguably evoking the dismissal of Syd Barrett all those years ago. During one interview, Gilmour cryptically claimed the song was simply about “personal relationships”, but the elements of alienation at the heart of the song are almost inseparable from the band’s harsh treatment of their one-time leader, which virtually all band members have since expressed regret over.
Pink Floyd explored countless different avenues of songwriting inspiration over the course of their illustrious discography, from dystopian futures to psychedelic fever dreams, but The Division Bell was perhaps the first time the band had offered something so personal and honest. Arguments over Gilmour’s songwriting quality have raged on ever since Waters left the group, but it is difficult to dispute the idea that he managed to make the 1994 album a triumph for the ageing counterculture outfit.
