The artist David Gilmour thought had terrible taste in music
When discussing the most extraordinary acts in rock and roll history, Pink Floyd deserves to be in a class alone. Throughout their various iterations, the progressive rock giants were known for expanding the palette of rock and roll unlike any other band, taking the building blocks of rock and roll and sprinkling in everything from jazz to avant-garde. Although David Gilmour could make his guitar fit into any piece of music, he insisted that one musician was looking at his music from the wrong angle.
In the beginning, though, Gilmour was not known as the primary force behind Pink Floyd. Being brought in as a replacement for Syd Barrett, Gilmour was just another member brought in so that the guitar sound wouldn’t falter, only to become one of the group’s driving forces once Barrett began losing his battle with mental health.
As the next few years progressed, though, Gilmour would be paramount in helping the band find their unique sound. Although the guitarist has been open about his distaste for albums like Atom Heart Mother, tracks like ‘Echoes’ gave the band a focus on where they would be going next, spanning over 20 minutes and taking the listener on a musical journey.
On the other side of the rock spectrum, though, Noel Gallagher also found inspiration from every facet of classic rock. First coming onto the scene in the 1990s as the foundation of Oasis, Noel considered Pink Floyd one of the musical greats, deserving a spot in music history alongside acts like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.
When Gallagher had the opportunity to meet Gilmour, though, they had significant disagreements about where Floyd’s strong suits were. Discussing the different facets of the band’s career, Gallagher went on to say that The Wall was one of the defining moments for him as a teenager, in particular resonating with the song ‘Nobody Home’.
Written around the character Pink, the rock opera was the brainchild of Roger Waters, crafting a sorrowful tale of a man who slowly loses touch with reality after becoming a rock star. As Gallagher waxed poetic about The Wall, he explained that Gilmour was not as taken with his musical taste.
Recalling the awkward encounter, Gallagher explained, “I said to him, ‘Dave, I think The Wall is your best album, but my wife won’t have it, she prefers listening to Meddle.’ And he said, ‘Well, clearly, your wife has impeccable taste where you have little. I suggest you listen to her”.
Given where Pink Floyd were in their development, though, it makes sense why Gilmour would feel as strongly about The Wall, becoming Waters’s singular vision by the end of the project and not being as great a collaborative effort as their early years. Pink Floyd may have still been in their golden age towards the end of the 1970s, but by the time The Wall was finally released, the democratic spirit of the band’s early days had been firmly stomped out.
