The genius of Pink Floyd in 8 essential tracks
Today, Pink Floyd released a new compilation album called 8-Tracks, compiling eight essential tracks across their peak 1971 to 1979 era, spanning the iconic run from Meddle to The Wall.
The tracklist, therefore, is about what you’d expect, including era-defining songs like ‘Comfortably Numb’, ‘Wish You Were Here’, ‘Time’, ‘Money’, and ‘Another Brick In The Wall, Part 2’.
However, when looking at the impact of one of the greatest-ever prog and psych rock bands in the history of music, it seems impossible to condense such a task to just one era. After all, eight tracks is a nearly impossible ask as it stands, especially given their extensive discography. But to restrict this to one era seems even more impossible.
And despite David Gilmour’s indifference to the progressive label itself, that’s precisely what they were, and also why their legacy is best celebrated with songs from all eras, from extensive art-rock soundscapes like ‘Echoes’ to lesser-appreciated gems in the context of their bigger hits that incorporate all they were ever about, like ‘Interstellar Overdrive’.
So, in celebration of everything the band stood for, and how they essentially paved a new way for rock to enter more conceptual and experimental spaces, let’s take a look at eight essential tracks that define their journey.
8 essential Pink Floyd songs:
‘Wish You Were Here’
Addressing Syd Barrett directly, ‘Wish You Were Here’ is no doubt one of the most heartwrenching songs ever written, and yet a strange source of comfort for anybody who has ever coasted through life, wondering about someone else, or even themselves, feeling withdrawn and in a complete sense of solitude.
A rare instance in which David Gilmour and Roger Waters co-wrote the song, ‘Wish You Were Here’ started with the riff, with Gilmour playing it faster in the studio before Waters encouraged him to hear what it sounded like slowed down. From there, its entire tone shifted, taking on a more melancholic feel that countless people across countless generations still relate to today.
‘Echoes’
A 23-minute-long epic that covers the entire second side of Meddle, ‘Echoes’ is the ultimate ode to Pink Floyd’s progressive excellence, stemming from their iconic live shows before morphing into something entirely revolutionary.
According to Waters, the song was a reflection on the human condition and an attempt to explore “the potential that human beings have for recognising each other’s humanity and responding to it, with empathy rather than antipathy”.
With grand, atmospheric sweeps and a heart-thumping, dramatic crescendo, ‘Echoes’ is quite possibly one of the most accomplished pieces of music ever made, covering almost every emotion you could ever possibly imagine.
‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond’
Another tribute to Syd Barrett, ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond’ is as important to the story of Pink Floyd as it is to music history, especially as, during the sessions, they let Barrett hang out there for a while, despite not being a member of the band anymore.
They were listening to the final mix of this song when he stumbled in looking completely unrecognisable; even Gilmour didn’t recognise him at first. They tried to joke with him to break the ice, but something was off, and it marked the last time any of the members saw him.
As Richard Wright later recalled, “He came in as we were doing the vocals for ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond’, which was basically about Syd. He just, for some incredible reason, picked the very day that we were doing a song which was about him. And we hadn’t seen him, I don’t think, for two years before. That’s what’s so incredibly… weird about this guy.”
‘Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun’
For a brief moment between 1967 and 1968, Pink Floyd were a five-piece, with ‘Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun’ featuring all five members, including guitar contributions from both Gilmour and Barrett. Waters also later said it was the first of his songs he was proud of, inspired by a Chinese poetry book he owned at the time.
For an early Pink Floyd piece, it’s also pretty advanced, offering a hypnotic swirl of intricate arrangements that build wonderfully around some of the best lyrics you’ll ever hear in modern rock. After all, those first two verses themselves are enough to rival even the more well-established wordsmiths in history, like the timeless poetic flair of, “Breaking the darkness waking the grapevine / One inch of love is one inch of shadow / Love is the shadow that ripens the wine…”
‘Interstellar Overdrive’
You need to have a song from Piper at the Gates of Dawn on this list, just because of how innovative that album was at the time of release. Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull has previously spoken about the album and admitted that it was a prog rock record before prog rock was a thing.
Even in the early stages of their career, Pink Floyd were making music which was bending genres and pushing the limits of rock. That’s reflected throughout the entire album, but more so on the track ‘Interstellar Overdrive’.
“I could also include Piper at the Gates of Dawn and The Beatles’ Sgt Pepper’s in 1967,” said Anderson in an exclusive interview with Far Out, “Released only three months apart from each other. Those two were a signpost saying, ‘Progressive rock this way’. They were intriguing because they were a sign of things to come.”
‘Point Me At The Sky’
While Piper at the Gates of Dawn might be remembered as a classic, Roger Waters has previously come out and said he can’t stand the record. The experimentation on it might have been ear candy to some listeners, but Waters thought that it was experimental for the sake of being experimental.
“I don’t want to go back to those times at all,” he said. “There wasn’t anything ‘grand’ about it’. We were laughable. We were useless. We couldn’t play at all, so we had to do something stupid and ‘experimental’.”
Arguably, the song that made Waters realise he wanted to move away from this kind of sound was ‘Point Me At The Sky’. This was one of his first attempts at sole songwriting once Syd Barrett left the band, and it made him realise that he wanted to move away from that experimental sound and move towards something a bit more psychedelic.
It might not be one of the best Pink Floyd songs; in fact, Roger Waters has previously said he hates it, but it is quintessential, as we likely wouldn’t have iconic albums like The Wall were it not for this learning curve.
‘Great Gig In The Sky’
This song is probably one of the greatest examples of how well Pink Floyd can make music that is both abstract and deeply romantic. No lyrics (except for some spoken word segments at the beginning), just banging instrumental and some of the most powerful wordless vocals you will ever hear. Despite there not being any actual words, the emotion which Clare Torry packs into every second is unbelievable.
It’s hard to derive an objective meaning from the track, but you don’t need to. This is the kind of song where you can close your eyes and let the music sweep you towards whatever emotion is most fitting. This is psychedelic music at its very best, packed with emotion but also incredibly cinematic. Nothing encapsulates the complicated sound of Pink Floyd better than this.
‘Comfortably Numb’
Look, when you’re right, you’re right. While we might be making this article to try and contest some of the band’s picks, ‘Comfortably Numb’ is a classic is a classic is a classic. It’s pretty hard to hear this song and not be moved by it, as Roger Waters reached deep into his memories and pulled out this wonderful piece of music. It’s from a time when he was a child and felt sick. How do you recall something like that and then create this? Pick Floyd are truly one of one.
“I remember having the flu or something, an infection with a temperature of 105 and being delirious,” he said, “It wasn’t like the hands looked like balloons, but they looked way too big, frightening. A lot of people think those lines are about masturbation. God knows why.”
