Book Review: Reinventing Pink Floyd: From Syd Barrett to The Dark Side of the Moon

For more than half a century Pink Floyd produced some of the most fabled and successful albums in popular music history yet the singular British band has nevertheless remained, at least in some respects, an enigma. 

Much of that enigma surrounds Syd Barrett, the Floyd’s principal songwriter and eccentric visionary behind the band’s earliest efforts. The music he created with Pink Floyd in the mid-to-late sixties—enriched by his distinctly puerile songwriting style and psychedelic eccentricities—contrasts so boldly from the music the Floyd made following his termination from the lineup in 1968 so as to sound like a different band altogether. Even still, Barrett’s legacy loomed over the band (bassist Roger Waters, keyboardist Richard Wright, drummer Nick Mason, and Barrett’s replacement, guitarist David Gilmour) for decades thereafter.

In Reinventing Pink Floyd: From Syd Barrett to The Dark Side of the Moon, author Bill Kopp reframes the band’s legendary oeuvre by surveying those earliest efforts to illustrate how they presaged and ultimately informed the Floyd’s most celebrated subsequent discography beginning with 1973’s The Dark Side of the Moon. He delves deep, for instance, into the band’s nascent recording sessions and performances, including early studio albums like 1967’s The Piper at the Gates of Dawn and 1968’s A Saucerful of Secrets as well as experimental forays into film-soundtrack recordings. 

Kopp exerts a keen perspective throughout, contextualizing each project by dissecting each one’s artistic direction with the knowledge of one who is not only intimately familiar with the band’s expansive output but with rudimentary music principles as well. Such explanations never succumb to sounding too technical or abstract for casual fans to appreciate, thankfully, as Kopp offers just enough expert analysis to enlighten—rather than overwhelm—the reader. Overall, Reinventing Pink Floyd sheds light on a pivotal and all-too-often overlooked era of one of the all-time great bands just as it was evolving into an undisputed commercial hit-making  behemoth of progressive rock. Highly recommended. 

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Myth and Brilliance: Roger Waters Takes On The War, The Wall, and The Dark Side of the Moon

During his storied tenure with Pink Floyd, Roger Waters authored some of rock’s most subversive and socially defiant songs. On Saturday night at the Ford Amphitheatre, Waters drew primarily from that catalog to craft a sonic and visually stunning performance that took emphatic issue with American foreign policy and, in particular, the President of the United States.

Waters started early with his contempt for authority, as evidenced in the first line of the second song of the concert, “Mother,” from Pink Floyd’s magnum opus, The Wall, which asks, “Mother do you think they’ll drop the bomb?” His disdain only grew more defined. During “The Fletcher Memorial Home,” from 1983’s The Final Cut, when Waters sang of “wasters of life and limb,” the targeted inference was not lost on the audience. The most damning and direct admonition, though, came courtesy of “Leaving Beirut,” a song Waters wrote in 2004, which, in part, deplores the policies and practices of George W. Bush while warning free-thinking Americans, “Don’t let the might, the Christian right, fuck it all up/For you and the rest of the world.” To follow, a mesmerizing performance of “Sheep,” from 1977’s Animals, cemented Waters’ condemnation of the current political climate, as a massive inflatable pig (an iconic fixture of Pink Floyd lore), plastered with slogans including “habeas corpus matters” and “impeach Bush now,” floated over the crowd. “No, this is no bad dream,” Waters wailed, at times his face reddening in anguish and palpable anger.

Amid such concerted and serious undertones, the legend of Pink Floyd nonetheless loomed large and consistent throughout the performance. Under a massive spotlight rig illuminated to full psychedelic effect, “Set The Controls To the Heart of the Sun,” off 1968’s A Saucerful of Secrets, seemed and sounded, quite literally, out of this world. With wistful images of the Floyd’s lost leader, Syd Barrett, appearing on the giant screen, the majestic “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” felt especially poignant considering his passing last year. And the title track of Wish You Were Here further emphasized Barrett’s lasting impact and legacy, not only to his devoted fans, but also to an old friend singing his praise.

Of all the legends and fables of Pink Floyd, none resonate so profound as their enduring masterpiece, 1973’s Dark Side of the Moon. Perhaps because of the striking political bent to much of the show, however, Waters’ full-length performance of the album seemed almost obligatory if not, for the most part, unnecessary. Highlights included the radio smash, “Money,” along with the closing sequence of “Brain Damage” and “Eclipse,” but the complete recreation of such a landmark album, done so without the principal band members who helped create it in the first place, ultimately missed the mark. Unless all four surviving members of Pink Floyd come together to attempt this feat, maybe the 43 minutes of sonic bliss on Dark Side of the Moon would be better enjoyed with a decent pair of headphones.

In a climactic closing sequence that featured songs exclusively from The Wall, Waters again mixed music with current political context to brilliant effect. “The Happiest Days Of Our Lives” led into the anti-establishment anthem “Another Brick In The Wall (Part II)”. “Vera” culminated with a rousing version of “Bring The Boys Back Home,” perfected with exploding flash pots and flames amid a visual backdrop of a war zone. The point was suitably made. The implications shone through. “Comfortably Numb” then put that rage to rest while a riveted audience stood in awe.

 

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