Product Description

The breakthrough success of DARK SIDE OF THE MOON made WISHYOU WERE HERE a crucial follow-up in strictly commercial terms. Further pressure came from it being Pink Floyd's first recording for a new label, Columbia. Yet the demands on the band only provided Roger Waters with more fodder for his lyrics, which glanced at the band's roots as well as their new responsibilities.
The mechanised throb of a VCS3 synthesizer, fed through a repeat-echo unit, signals the opening bars of "Welcome To The Machine", a diatribe against an industry more concerned with money than creative music-making. "Have A Cigar" further establishes Waters' contempt by bringing in singer Roy Harper to play the role of a "faceless suit", who none-too-innocently asks, "Which one's Pink?" The remaining songs indirectly look back to the first casualty of PinkFloyd's growing fame, the group's founder, Syd Barrett.
The 20-minute-plus "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" has its roots in earlier pieces like "Atom Heart Mother Suite" and "Echoes". But rather than just another Floydian soundscape, its lyrics make it a paean to Barrett's genius and a requiem for his subsequent breakdown. The first five of the song's nine movements open the album with sax player Dick Parry wailing as effectively as he did on DARK SIDE. The final four sections, which close the album, form a reprise that starts with the sound of wind and David Gilmour's guitar screaming and crying. The band then settles into a laid-back jam that ends with Richard Wright's billowing synth delicately fading out.
The title track deals also with Barrett, as well as the tension the idealist Waters was feeling in battling the greedthat surrounded the band's success. The themes of disillusionment planted throughout WISH YOU WERE HERE would eventually sprout full-blown on THE WALL.

Track Listing

1. Shine On You Crazy Diamond
2. Welcome To The Machine
3. Have A Cigar
4. Wish You Were Here
5. Shine on you crazy diamond pt.2

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #588 in Music
• Released on: 1994-08-01
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered

Amazon.co.uk Review
Wish You Were Here is a song cycle dedicated to Pink Floyd's original frontman, Syd Barrett, who'd flamed out years before: two grimly funny songs about the evils of the music business ("By the way, which one's Pink?"), and two long, touching ones about the band's vanished friend. The real star of the show, though, is the production: sparkling, convoluted, designed to sound deeply oh-wow under the influence--and pretty great sober too, with David Gilmour getting lots of space for his most lyrical guitar playing ever. And, though the album is big and ambitious, even bombastic, it somehow dodges being pretentious--the Barrett tributes are honest and heartfelt, beneath all the grand gestures and stereophonic trickery. --Douglas Wolk

Customer Reviews

ALBUM 2 IN THE SERIES OF GREAT ALBUMS FROM FLOYD
This album is without doubt my favourite Floyd album. It has everything you need in a concept/prog rock/Floyd album. Some say its the last of the great Floyd albums, before waters took over, and it was more of waters solo work. Although Mason is never credited, his classic drumming is always there to help the flow the immense music. Again, we have a short number of tracks, but we still get a blistering 44 odd mins. With the epic that is Shine On You Crazy Diamond, the first five parts are 5 brilliant pieces of music, I think we've all heard Shine On part II (if not, look it up) with the combination of Ricks excellent Piano and Synth work, and Gilmours quite frankly perfect guitar, the first few pieces all fit together, and then we get waters lyrics, reminiscent of their old front man Syd, and how cool is the wording, Shine on You crazy Diamond, waters was really on fire that day. The first 5 parts flow seamlessly into Welcome To The Machine. This monster of a track just shows waters at his best, attacking government with some fab guitar, and synths, the drums in this are really cool too. Then we come to side 2 and the opening song which became a single, Have A Cigar. This bass driven, funky vocals and again perfect guitar from Gilmour, show what Floyd are made of. With the voice of Roy Harper, because waters had strained his voice doing Shine On, we get a sort of folk rock version of vocals, and it works so well. And alas we come to the title track, and indeed possibly floyds most famous song. Wish You Were Here, is the writing partnership of Gilmour/Waters at work. That beautiful riff that just gets better every time you here it, and those immortal words. Again its an album where waters wrote all lyrics, but you would ask for any better ones on this song. Its an anthem that will see Floyd remembered well after their gone. To end the album, Floyd then return the the Shine On suite, to add 4 more parts to end the album. Albeit, in my opinion not as good as the first 5, but parts VI-IX really show what Floyd are made of. They had wanted all of Shine On to be one long track, but it was too long for a side of vinyl they had to split it. All in all, this is the only Floyd album I can listen to for pleasure. I love Floyd and they have some brill albums, but I have to say that this is my favourite to listen to, dark side is more of a rocky hey lets get up and play air guitar to Money, whereas WYWH is an album for listening to, its immortal and will never die, even after 30 years people still buy it, and for very good reason.

Wonderful From Start To Finish.
Following 'Dark Side Of The Moon' must have been difficult. So kudos to the Floyd for creating 'Wish You Were Here', for many their finest work. By their usual standards, this is remarkably gentle and can be easily appreciated by fans of all genres.

One of Pink Floyd's most famous songs, 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond' is a loving tribute to the late, great Syd Barrett. A nine part composition split into two, It's a thing of beauty from start to finish made all the more poignant by the fact that Barrett himself, suddenly showed up at the studio whilst Floyd were recording that very song, prompting Richard Wright to proclaim it as "Karma, Fate, who knows?".

Things take a darker tone with 'Welcome To The Machine' and 'Have A Cigar', attacks on the hypocricy and greed of the music industry. With David Gilmour's blistering guitar work and tinny synthesizer beats, these tracks are more Rock orientated than the rest of the album.

But it's the title track 'Wish You Were Here' that seals the album's greatness. A simple, haunting, acoustic ballad that also, is based on Barrett. Rolling Stone voted it one of the top 500 songs ever made, and rightly so. This is affecting stuff from one of Rock Musics greats, and a fitting tribute to Syd Barrett, one of Rock music's great visionary minds.

Not as good as dark side..... BUT AMAZING!
A brill album. Shine on you crazy diamond is the best song ever made; it's musical feelings reach out to you and calm you down, while Welcome To The Machine fills you with energy. Brill.