The Pink Floyd album with “only really one real song” on it
More so than most, Pink Floyd knew how to recognise the power of the album format. After all, releases like The Dark Side of the Moon completely revolutionised perceptions of how albums could be constructed, leading hundreds of artists to follow in their footsteps. As the group progressed, however, the intense level of conflict within its line-up seemed to dominate proceedings rather than the music itself. So, by the time Floyd came to record their final album, 2014’s The Endless River, the band was a shell of its former self.
If you look back on their time together, the existence of Pink Floyd could largely be reduced to three acts: the Syd Barrett era, the Roger Waters era, and the David Gilmour era. While this might be a little reductive, given that some of those eras incorporated a vast array of different sounds and seminal releases, the oversimplification is necessary given that the relationships within the group have been so historically complex.
This conflict at the heart of the band saw multiple key members leave the group, most notably Syd Barrett and Roger Waters. Barrett had been the mastermind behind Floyd’s early work, crafting some of the most profound, inventive, and timeless psychedelic rock of the 1960s. However, his fragile mental state and health issues led Barrett to be ousted from the group before the decade had drawn to a close, leaving Waters to pick up the slack left by his departure.
Arguably, the Waters era of Pink Floyd was the most successful, producing the vast majority of the band’s most popular and respected works, including The Dark Side of the Moon. Once again, though, this time of harmony and musical success was not destined to last forever, with rising tensions between Waters and David Gilmour causing the former to eventually abandon the band in 1985. Thus, the band entered the much-maligned Gilmour era, which lasted until the group finally disbanded in 2014.
While the Gilmour era certainly has its admirers, it is difficult to suggest that Pink Floyd’s later records were anywhere near as compelling as their earlier work. Their final album, for instance, marks one of the most disappointing album releases of recent history, with The Endless River failing to live up to the hype that had been built around the Pink Floyd name. Part of that disappointment came with the fact that the vast majority of material on the record was instrumental.
In fact, the only song on the record to feature lyrics was ‘Louder Than Words’, the final track on the album. That song, penned by Gilmour alongside his wife, Polly Samson, is a definite highlight within the tracklisting but, ultimately, it was not enough to carry the album on its own.
Apparently, though, The Endless River was not always intended to be a mostly instrumental effort. Speaking to Rolling Stone, drummer Nick Mason revealed, “Initially, we hadn’t made a decision about that at all. If some of the material had been more suited to vocals, that might have been the way forward. Once we worked out there was really only one real song on it, I quite liked the idea.”
Even the most primitive of musicians should be aware that you cannot construct an entire album on the foundations of “one real song,” which might provide some insight into why The Endless River did not exactly go to plan. The record was indicative of just how far Floyd had fallen since their golden age, and the undeniable impact that the departure of both Waters and Barrett had on the output of the band.
