“The most complete albums we ever made”: The two albums Roger Waters call the peak of Pink Floyd
Every great Pink Floyd is normally based on some sort of overarching theme. Although they started out as a band that would throw any old thing into a song if it were zany enough to work, Roger Waters always had a vision for what an album would be well before any of the music was ever recorded. While it’s difficult for any band that get the concept first and then build pieces of their sound around it, Waters still felt that they hit perfection at least twice during their tenure.
Granted, any perfection doesn’t get there without woodshedding, and there are more than a few times when the band got to show people their experiments. As much as they needed to move on from the realm of psychedelic space rock, it didn’t take more than two listens to Ummagumma to realise that the group wasn’t perfect, especially when they dove into musique concrete pieces and ended up sounding like a bunch of kids mucking about in the studio.
Every move they made was still a step forward, though, and when they hit upon Meddle, they at least had a version of their sound that resonated a lot more than the standard exercises that they were practising on their other albums. It was only a matter of combining their ideas now, and Dark Side of the Moon became the moment where everything gelled under one roof.
Although the idea of someone talking about the nature of life could have come off as pretentious at best, keeping everything incredibly simple is the reason why the album is so pristine even today. While that had the building blocks of a great project, Waters had a better vision for what he wanted his legacy to be, and The Wall was practically the autobiographical tale that he had kept repressed for so many years.
Regardless of how much Waters claims that this is inspired by Syd Barrett, no one writes a song about the perils of being a rock star while still touring behind a wall if it wasn’t coming from a genuine place. Though the group still had much more to give, Waters considered Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall as the most unbeatable projects they ever made.
Despite the others having merit to them, the concept combined with the music on both were pretty much bulletproof in his mind, saying, “I think Floyd hit two real peaks in terms of creativity. Dark Side Of The Moon and The Wall were the most complete albums we ever made. Wish You Were Here came close without being a complete classic.”
Granted, Waters was still leaving a lot of good music and concepts on the table. Regardless of how many people flock to their massive rock opera, Wish You Were Here is one of the most cathartic listening experiences the rock world has to offer, especially considering how both movements of ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond’ bookend the project.
But that’s probably not how Waters is looking at his past work. For him, it was all about making something that would hold together as a full story, and both Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall tend to have stories that anyone can relate whether they are first picking up a guitar or a seasoned veteran of the scene.
