Track Listing

1. Cirrus Minor
2. Nile Song
3. Crying Song
4. Up The Khyber
5. Green Is The Colour
6. Cymbaline
7. Party Sequence
8. Main Theme
9. Ibiza Bar
10. More Blues
11. Quicksilver
12. Spanish Piece
13. Dramatic Theme

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3259 in Music
• Released on: 1996-02-26
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Soundtrack, Original recording remastered, Import

CD Description
In 1969, Pink Floyd was invited to compose a soundtrack forFrench filmmaker Barbet Schroeder. The result was MORE, a collection that doubled as Floyd's first full-length record following the departure of founding member Syd Barrett. Unlike most soundtracks where composers are content to write one continuous score, Floyd instead focused on creating actual songs to go along with a handful of instrumentals.
Roger Waters' compositions "Cirrus Minor" and "The Nile Song" are dominated by Richard Wright's funereal keyboards and David Gilmour's slashing guitar, respectively, whereas other Waters vehicles are more acoustic ballads ("Crying Song", "Green IsThe Colour"). The other Floyd members' contributions include Wright and Nick Mason's collaboration on the improvisatory"Up The Khyber" and Gilmour's brief, flamenco-flavoured cut, "A Spanish Piece". Pink Floyd's strength as a space-rock band adept at dabbling in textures and atmosphere comes to the fore during the four songs that the quartet composed as a unit. The success of this film in the French market also allowed Floyd a huge step towards gaining popularity in a region where Anglo-American rock groups traditionally fared poorly.

Customer Reviews

Low budget surprise
Until "Meddle", the Floyd didn't really have an identifiable sound and this deceptively cheap-sounding release is proof of that. Sparse acoustic songs mixed with basic hard rock and the usual experiments add up to a distinct and unpredictable soundtrack. "The Crying Song" is a personal favourite and shows that the band could do the simple stuff beautifully. The two loud rock numbers are based on the same music and performed with cheerful abandon. It's as if they're saying, "We can do metal, but we're not really interested."

"Cirrus Minor" is more like the Floyd you'd expect from this period. At first, I found the stately organ drone a shade dull, but the more I listen to it the more I seem to hear within it. Meanwhile, "More Blues" and "Quicksilver" sound as if they belong to the experimentation of "Ummagumma". In short, there's a lot packed into this album and it's one of the band's more interesting yet obscure releases. If you're interested in early post-Barrett Floyd, this is essential.

Pink folk and other styles
If you asked Pink Floyd to come up with an album comprising mostly of 3-4 minute songs and covering all the musical styles of the era, this is what you would get. Consequently, it has a genuine 60s feel to it.

Richard Wright's organ work is hypnotic on Cirrus Minor and Cymbaline, and Pink Floyd rock out as never before (or since) on The Nile Song. This is much heavier than anything Led Zeppelin have done; Nick Mason bashes his drum-skins for all he's worth and Dave Gilmour all but lascerates his throat. Ibiza Bar sounds like The Nile Song Part II and consequently loses some of its impact.

There are three very etheral tracks, of which the 7 minute Quicksilver is the most demanding. Main Theme begins very similarly (crashing cymbals and swirling organ) but a quirky melody seems to rise out of this.

Then there's More Blues which has a peculiar stop/start drum pattern, and A Spanish Piece which provides a rare example of Pink Floyd messing about - the years of angst-ridden lyrics were still a little way off. There is even a hint of world music about Party Sequence and a jazzy feel to Up the Khyber. The surprise though, is the use of folk music styles on Crying Song, Green is the Colour and Cymbaline.

This is Pink Floyd at their most eclectic, and it only the fact that it sounds a little tentative compared to the truly bizarre Ummagumma that I hold back from giving it five stars. The album's high point is the transition from the birdsong and general relaxed feel of Cirrus Minor into the crashing intro of The Nile Song.

Full of Wright's Turkish Delight!
This album is a collection of great chill out tracks and then some.

Recorded after Saucerful of Secrets but before Ummagumma it heralds the likes of Cirrus Minor and The Nile Song (both also on "Relics") but also some rather quaint yet beautiful numbers: Cymbaline, Crying Song, Green is the Colour. The best tracks are those that make use of the classic early floyd sound - Rick Wright's Turkish Delight keyboards. Check this out for the haunting "Main Theme" and Gilmour's strange comedy number "A Spanish Piece". I personally think Ibiza Bar (also on this album) is far more interesting that "The Nile Song" as it uses better effects on the guitar and seems to be better produced.

A classic.