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Obscured by Clouds (1972)
The second soundtrack for Schroeder, this much over-looked, but splendid album was cooked up in about two weeks (break-neck speed for the Floyd), and contains some lovely songs & instrumentals, the highlight of which is the excellent jaunty rocker 'Free Four' - another song which points towards albums such as Dark Side and The Wall.
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The Dark Side Of The Moon (1973)
What more can be said about one of the 10 best selling albums of all time? The ideas came from a band meeting in Nick Mason's kitchen. Everything came together just right, lovely melodies, superb playing, Roger's finest lyrics, inventive use of sound effects, and most notably, excellent production and engineering. So many highlights are here - 'Time', 'Money', 'Great Gig in the Sky' (the best hymn to death ever), and most of all 'Brain Damage' which sums up the album's theme of madness. |
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Wish You Were Here (1975)
Maybe the finest Floyd album, this is dominated by another massive composition 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond', a moving tribute to Syd Barrett, whilst having an overall theme of absence. Old mate Roy Harper provided the guest vocal on the tongue-in-cheek 'Have a Cigar'. The other highlight has to be the best ever Waters-Gilmour collaboration, the simple but beautiful title track. |
Animals (1977)
Loosely based on George Orwell's Animal Farm, this album contains 3 long tracks about the different types of people we have to endure, which are book-ended by 'Pigs On the Wing', Roger's love ode to his then wife Carolyne. The best song is 'Sheep', beautifully held together by Roger's finest chug-a-chug bass playing. A longer version of 'Pigs on the Wing' (from the 8-track release) can be found on guest guitarist Snowy White's collection 'Gold Top'.
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The Wall (1979)
Made in the fine tradition of 'Rock Operas' (most notably The Who's 'Tommy'), this double album is about the breakdown of a rock performer. The story is a bit rambling, but makes more sense when you watch the movie, essentially the video of the album. Again, several highlights - 'Comfortably Numb', 'Run Like Hell', 'Another Brick In The Wall', 'Hey You', and my favourite, 'Nobody Home' - pure Roger!
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The Final Cut (1983)
In many ways, this anti-war album was a Roger solo effort. It contains material which was dropped from 'The Wall' with some new songs, the highlights being the title track, and the tongue-in-cheek 'Not Now John'. |
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A Momentary Lapse Of Reason (1987)
With Roger now gone, it was left to Dave to lead the band. This album features an army of guest musicians & singers, with minor contributions from Nick Mason & Rick Wright. The highlights are 'One Slip' and 'Sorrow'. |
The Division Bell (1994)
Made more in the old tradition of jamming in the studio, the feel of this final album (to date) is very much like 'Wish You Were Here'. There is a loose theme of commmunication gone wrong, and the highlights are 'Keep Talking' and 'High Hopes'. |
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