“The weight was getting a bit much”: The album that made David Gilmour retire Pink Floyd
Any band’s decision to call it a day shouldn’t be taken lightly. Making music is everyone’s livelihood whenever they walk into that studio, and the idea of them suddenly fracturing and not wanting to work together any more is usually a sad day for everyone involved. But despite David Gilmour’s willingness to carry on the Pink Floyd name without Roger Waters, it’s not like he was ready to become the group’s sole leader immediately after his bandmate left the fold.
Then again, there was no way they could have carried on with Waters at the helm, either. He was slowly starting to become a dictator behind the scenes, and as much as they loved the idea of working on his concepts, no one was willing to put up with him telling everyone what to play, especially when that meant giving him the power to fire anyone because he felt they weren’t playing up to his standards.
As soon as Gilmour got the rights to use the Pink Floyd name, though, it’s not like he put his best foot forward. He was admittedly never the greatest songwriter in the group, and listening back to A Momentary Lapse of Reason, a lot of it sounds like the makings of a great Pink Floyd project, but with none of the soul that Waters put into everything. The songs did sound a lot better when they played them live, but if Gilmour wanted to keep things going, he would need the right idea.
While Waters was in charge of all the band’s grand concepts whenever they made a record, The Division Bell had a decent throughline on every track. They weren’t exactly close to reconciling with their old bandmate, so the entire album takes on the theme of miscommunication, whether that’s talking about the loss of Syd Barrett on ‘What Do You Want From Me’, taking a few shots at Waters on ‘Lost For Words’, or finding someone to talk to on ‘Coming Back to Life’.
The record also gave Gilmour the opportunity to write a few wrongs when Richard Wright came back. He was always an integral part of Pink Floyd’s sound, and since records like The Final Cut sounded off without him, hearing him and Gilmour harmonise on tracks like ‘Wearing the Inside Out’ is a return to the classic sound that most people had missed since the days of Dark Side of the Moon.
“Division Bell’s got a lot to be said for it. After that the weight of carrying that burden was getting a bit much. And I thought I might sort of retire or look into solo things.”
David Gilmour
And since the band were on a high, Gilmour knew that The Division Bell was as good a time as any to close things off, saying, “I was launched into being pretty much the sole leader by Roger leaving. And I was having to bear that hurdle, that burden, all by myself. It was difficult, it was a learning curve, that first album. But you know, Division Bell’s got a lot to be said for it. After that the weight of carrying that burden was getting a bit much. And I thought I might sort of retire or look into solo things.”
If this had stayed the true Pink Floyd swan song without The Endless River coming out, ‘High Hopes’ would have been a great way of bringing everything full circle. After years of going through inter-band turmoil and singing about the pressures of the world, hearing Gilmour reminiscing about times when the grass was greener as bells toll in the song’s finale is a good way of putting a nice bow on everything.
So, when looking at Pink Floyd’s discography, it’s important to see The Endless River as a side project in their development rather than a mainline album. It has its fair share of highlights, and the thought of working on old Richard Wright demos was a fun idea, but anyone looking to see the true version of Pink Floyd deliver their swan song, this is the perfect stamp on their glory years.
