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Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd (CD, Jul-1994, Master Sound/Legacy)
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$100.00
+ US $5.00 shipping
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Great copy
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Wish You Were Here is the second Pink Floyd album to use a conceptual theme written entirely by Waters, and echoes his feeling at the time that the camaraderie that had served the band previously, was largely absent.The album begins with an eight minute thirty seconds instrumental preamble, before segueing into the lyrics for "Shine On You Crazy Diamond". "Shine On" is a tribute to former band member Syd Barrett, whose drug-induced breakdown had forced him to leave the band several years before.Barrett is fondly recalled with lines such as "Remember when you were young, you shone like the sun" and "You reached for the secret too soon, you cried for the moon". The album is also a critique of the music business; "Shine On" fades seamlessly into "Welcome to the Machine", which begins with the opening of a door—described by Waters as a symbol of musical discovery and progress betrayed by a music industry more interested in greed and success. The song ends with sounds from a party, epitomising "the lack of contact and real feelings between people". Similarly, "Have a Cigar" scorns record industry "fatcats", its lyrics containing well-used clichés such as "can hardly count", "they call it riding the gravy train", and "by the way, which one's Pink?"—a question actually asked of the band on at least one occasion. "Wish You Were Here" contains lyrics which relate not only to Barrett's condition, but also to the dichotomy of Waters' character, as an idealist, and a domineering personality. The album closes with a reprise of "Shine On", and further instrumental excursions.Read full review
The expectations for this album after the runaway success of 1973s 'Dark Side of the Moon' must have been huge. It doesn't disappoint. The opening track - 'Shine on you Crazy Diamond' - is acclaimed as being Pink Floyd's finest. Beginning with a lone synthesizer drifting in from the ether, it is joined by David Gilmour's guitar after two minutes, the pair providing one of the most blissfully soporific pieces of music I've ever heard. It is a full four and a half minutes before the main theme and beat of this song introduce themselves. There's no hurry to it, clocking in at a casual 45bpm or thereabouts, and it's not for a full eight and a half minutes that a note is sung. The lyrics are written about Syd Barrett (a co-founding member of Pink Floyd) who's whimsical songwriting, vocals and guitar graced 1967s 'Piper at the Gates of Dawn' and some of 1968s 'A Saucerful of Secrets'. Syd's increasingly erratic behaviour and subsequent disappearance is legendary, and the band had not seen him since. The lyrics have a 'wishing you all the best' feel to them. The story goes that when the band were rehearsing this song, who should walk in but Syd himself. A strange coincidence indeed, should it be true. As 'Shine on...' ends, 'Welcome to the Machine' segues in to provide an oppressive sounding counterpoint, with its opening sound of an elevator ride terminating in the doors opening to an industrial sounding thrum of synth. The lyrics on this (and the following track - 'Have a Cigar') are a critique of record companies and their executives, and the vitriol contained in them is something which was to continue on 1977s 'Animals' album (in line with Roger Waters' increasing disillusionment). There are points where the synth is intrusive and grating, but the mood of the song is perfect. 'Have a Cigar' features a guest vocal performance by Roy Harper which is not too dissimilar to Roger Waters. It's the most uptempo song on the album with an ecclectic rhythm, but isn't as strong as the rest of the album. David Gilmour takes centre stage for the title track, his excellent accoustic guitar playing and vocals being combined for the final fading solo, providing another definitive Pink Floyd song. And seguing in from that we have the finale to 'Shine on you Crazy Diamond', clocking in at a 'mere' 12 minutes this time. An initial instrumental which increases in intensity until falling off to take up where the first part left off. After that it's a long drift into the ether as the album fades to a close. I would rank this album and 'Dark Side of the Moon' as the greatest albums ever written and would thoroughly recommend them to anyone who enjoys cerebral music.Read full review
"Wish You Were Here" gives you four classic Pink Floyd hits, three of which are still often played on the radio today. Besides the title song, which is one of my favorites, you also get "Welcome to the Machine", "Have a Cigar", and "Shine on You Crazy Diamond", parts 1 and 2. "Diamond" is one of those Floyd songs that is mostly instrumental with a couple of verses thrown in there. The overall mood of the album is melancholy, like much of Pink Floyd's music. However, knowing that the band members and the albums turned happier toward the end of the band's history, we see that this album is not simply a mourning for life's trials and losses. Rather, it is a warning of the mistakes and pitfalls that await us, and a call to action to live a meaningful life. Good lyrics, as always Pink Floyd has excellent instrumentation. This album will be enjoyed for a long time.Read full review
Needless to say, the album is a masterpiece, but, I was very dissatified with the quality of the standard CD. In areas where the intensity of the music fades and there is either silence or some soft effect, the original standard CD leaves alot to be desired. Well. this gold disc recording is much, much better. All aspects of the recording are better, the sound is fuller when it needs to be and quiter when appropriate. I am very satified with this recording, it is what a cd should sound like.
One of the best Pink Floyd’s album! “Have A Cigar” and “Wish You Were Here” are my favourites songs on this album. I love the sound of the “Super Bit Mapping” mastering and it's really cool that this CD is made of GOLD. It does honor to Pink Floyd :)
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