# Okay, first time listener. Tell me what's good RE: Pink Floyd albums **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 4, 2017, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-first-time-listener-tell-me-whats-good-re-pink-floyd-albums/800631 "2017-11-04T00:13:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2017, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-first-time-listener-tell-me-whats-good-re-pink-floyd-albums/800631/41 "2017-11-04T19:59:06Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > The main problem with _Obscured By Clouds_ — which has some really nice pounding rockers and some good mellow stuff too — is the [last two and a half minutes of “Absolutely Curtains”](https://youtu.be/o876axae4VE?t=207), which is out there in WTFland somewhere to the north-north-WTF of “Seamus” and just jesus-fucking-christwards from “Several Species of Small Mammals in a Cave Grooving with a Pict”. I find it hard to disagree with that…it is bonkers, but “stay” cushions the blow somewhat and some of the lyrics to “free four” are genius > [@](#): > > Life is a short, warm moment > And death is a long cold rest. > You get your chance to try in the twinkling of an eye: > Eighty years, with luck, or even less. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2017, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-first-time-listener-tell-me-whats-good-re-pink-floyd-albums/800631/42 "2017-11-04T21:45:27Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > The catfish is correct. What he said! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2017, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-first-time-listener-tell-me-whats-good-re-pink-floyd-albums/800631/43 "2017-11-04T22:16:42Z")
For new listeners, or those going back after not hearing Floyd for awhile, take note of what a great team Dave and Rick were, both instrumentally and vocally. One of the great guitar/keyboard duos in rock. Not an album, but worth checking out: [Pink Floyd - Live At Pompeii](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_Floyd:_Live_at_Pompeii). ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2017, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-first-time-listener-tell-me-whats-good-re-pink-floyd-albums/800631/44 "2017-11-05T00:33:48Z")
In a nice coincidence, I stumbled across a show called “Classic Albums” on AXS tonight, and it was an hour on the making of DSotM. They had all the musicians, Alan Parsons, and a few others talking about the making of the album…really compelling, and some unexpected bits like how a rejected piano piece for an Antonioni film became “Us and Them”. ---
**Author:** ![Lobot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce7236/32.png) [@Lobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobot)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2017, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-first-time-listener-tell-me-whats-good-re-pink-floyd-albums/800631/45 "2017-11-05T01:56:17Z")
The essentials are Dark Side of the Moon, The Wall, Wish You Were Here, Meddle and Animals, in that order, with Piper at the Gates of Dawn if you want to hear what most of the other stuff was referring to regarding Syd Barrett. ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2017, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-first-time-listener-tell-me-whats-good-re-pink-floyd-albums/800631/46 "2017-11-05T02:24:29Z")
The ones with their hits: Dark Side of the Moon Wish You Were Here The Wall I think every song that gets remotely good airplay is on one of those albums. All of the tracks on the first two are good, but there’s a lot of filler on the last one - there’s probably one good album’s worth over the double-LP. The other really good essential albums: Animals Meddle There’s nothing here that’s going to get played on the radio. The good songs (middle 3 tracks of Animals, last track of Meddle) are too long or (first track of Meddle) not at all suited for radio play. But they are absolutely essential to understanding what makes Pink Floyd one of the biggest bands ever. Others I’ve intentionally listened to multiple times: Obscured by Clouds - Nothing to recommend it all that highly, but it has a few solid tracks. Piper at the Gates of Dawn - Very nearly a completely different band. Has very little to do with their work that made them big names, but is good in its own right. Momentary Lapse of Reason - Slightly different without Roger Waters, but some solid work in my opinion. Somewhat generic and nothing that really stands out all that much. The rest I either haven’t heard enough, if at all. I don’t really have any desire to listen to The Final Cut again even though I own it. I may have listened to it twice, and it was just boring. But [some people](http://kol.coldfront.net/thekolwiki/index.php/Drab_Bard) (see first miss message) say that about Pink Floyd in general. Despite being a big fan of PF, I thought that miss message was hilarious the first time I saw it, because it’s somewhat true from certain points of view. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2017, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-first-time-listener-tell-me-whats-good-re-pink-floyd-albums/800631/47 "2017-11-05T02:52:23Z")
I’ll chime in as a long time Floyd fan, although like many I much prefer the Barrett-less Floyd. I’d suggest dipping your toes into the Floydian Sea with some songs that are pretty well known but per your claim, have likely never heard. “Time” is a brilliant Floyd song about ageing and how time eludes our grasp, it’s probably my favorite Floyd tune. “Money” “Welcome To The Machine” “Have A Cigar” “Pigs (Three Different Ones)” “The Great Gig In The Sky” “Breathe” “Mother” “The Thin Ice” “Wish You Were Here” “Comfortably Numb” “Young Lust” “Run Like Hell” That’s a small sample of many of their better/well known songs from Dark Side Of The Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals and The Wall. So fire up YouTube and spend some time listening, preferably on headphones. One of the beauties of The FLoyd is their intricate production on their records that includes a lot of sound effects, people laughing, talking, footsteps running and any manner of thing, and they’re masterfully blended into the mix, sometimes astonishingly so. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2017, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-first-time-listener-tell-me-whats-good-re-pink-floyd-albums/800631/48 "2017-11-05T02:54:03Z")
I think as an introduction to Pink Floyd, anything from Dark Side through the Wall work pretty well. But then, that’s my favorite era of PF. After than explore Meddle (Echoes is awesome, but probably more so after some familiarity). Then Ummagumma and earlier works. ---
**Author:** ![Lobot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce7236/32.png) [@Lobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobot)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2017, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-first-time-listener-tell-me-whats-good-re-pink-floyd-albums/800631/49 "2017-11-05T03:00:41Z")
Something worth pointing out is that _The Final Cut_ is a Roger Waters solo album in disguise, while _A Momentary Lapse of Reason_ is a David Gilmour solo album in disguise. I quite like them both, but they have more in common with _The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking_ and _About Face_ respectively than they do with Pink Floyd proper. Even _The Wall_ verges on a solo album, but Gilmour and Ezrin elevate it considerably. ---
**Author:** ![Lobot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce7236/32.png) [@Lobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobot)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2017, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-first-time-listener-tell-me-whats-good-re-pink-floyd-albums/800631/50 "2017-11-05T03:04:00Z")
Also, any curiosity about post-Barrett, pre-Dark Side Floyd is well-served by just watching Live at Pompeii. ---
**Author:** ![GESancMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gesancman/32/2923_2.png) [@GESancMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GESancMan)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2017, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-first-time-listener-tell-me-whats-good-re-pink-floyd-albums/800631/51 "2017-11-05T04:03:15Z")
> [@glowacks](#): > > The ones with their hits: > The other really good essential albums: > Animals > Meddle > > There’s nothing here that’s going to get played on the radio. The good songs (middle 3 tracks of Animals, last track of Meddle) are too long or (first track of Meddle) not at all suited for radio play. That may be true today, but once upon a time, both “One of These Days” and “Sheep” were radio staples. ---
**Author:** ![Archeonomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7cd45c/32.png) [@Archeonomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Archeonomist)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2017, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-first-time-listener-tell-me-whats-good-re-pink-floyd-albums/800631/52 "2017-11-05T04:12:36Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Bolding mine. > > Yeah, I would say that Comfortably Numb is a great song all around, in terms of capturing that internal conflict and alienation that Pink Floyd became known for, and for that soaring, majestic guitar solo. The contrast between the two is what makes that song so powerful. > > That solo is held up in guitar circles as one of the greats - Gilmour’s most well-known and well regarded. (I think he played it on a '56 Les Paul Goldtop, with P-90’s, not his famous put-together black Strat with white pickups). No, it’s recorded with the black strat. The solo for Another Brick part 2 is the LP with the P90s. ---
**Author:** ![Real\_Iggy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@Real\_Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Real_Iggy)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2017, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-first-time-listener-tell-me-whats-good-re-pink-floyd-albums/800631/53 "2017-11-05T04:18:28Z")
Nice that you are willing to try new things. That’s freaking awesome. Curiosity question to help if you don’t mind. NOT being a smart ass. I promise. How old are you and what do you normally listen to? My favorites in order are: DSOTM: I collect that album. Long story. But since you’ve heard that all the way through I’ll start with my second favorite. Wish You Were Here Animals The Wall: Let me explain. I spent almost every weekend when I was younger at the midnight movies (Heavy Metal, Song Remains the Same, & The Wall) tripping with friends. That album was huge so I played it and heard it a lot. Great album! BTW: The lyric you mention at the top is from the song “Hey You” 🙂 Delicate Sound of Thunder (Live disc). Meddle: For sure. Can’t forget that one! Hope that helps. Peace, Iggy ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2017, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-first-time-listener-tell-me-whats-good-re-pink-floyd-albums/800631/54 "2017-11-05T10:41:52Z")
I find it interesting the span of tastes one band covered. FWIW, (Sir!) David Gilmour is my favorite guitarist. I’m sure some guitar guru can explain to me why that is; I read his bio on wiki, and the critics (very favorable) take on his playing style, and the words, I understood them individually… His solo on _Comfortably Numb_ from _Delicate Sound of Thunder_ is, IMO, without equal. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2017, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-first-time-listener-tell-me-whats-good-re-pink-floyd-albums/800631/55 "2017-11-05T10:45:02Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > The version of [Comfortably Numb from Pulse](https://youtu.be/vi7cuAjArRs) is really, really good. Dave’s solo is predictably amazing, and when the mirror ball “blossoms” at the end…_ **wow** _. Basically the entire “Pulse” live CD is uniformly awesome and worth looking into. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2017, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-first-time-listener-tell-me-whats-good-re-pink-floyd-albums/800631/56 "2017-11-05T13:19:55Z")
> [@ExTank](#): > > I find it interesting the span of tastes one band covered. > > FWIW, (Sir!) David Gilmour is my favorite guitarist. I’m sure some guitar guru can explain to me why that is; I read his bio on wiki, and the critics (very favorable) take on his playing style, and the words, I understood them individually… > > His solo on _Comfortably Numb_ from _Delicate Sound of Thunder_ is, IMO, without equal. It’s Gilmour’s phrasing and tone. He’s playing very straightforward stuff, but so expressively. He’s known for composing his leads, constructing them to fit the song and only improvising around the edges. It suggests he invests a LOT of thoughtfulness into what he is doing. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2017, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-first-time-listener-tell-me-whats-good-re-pink-floyd-albums/800631/57 "2017-11-05T17:07:47Z")
Indeed. He’s one of my favorite guitarists too, always has been. A friend of mine from long ago back when we would get incredibly stoned and listen to these records together once surreptitiously declared “It’s like having another singer in the band!” It most certainly is, for the reasons WordMan describes above. His phrasing is top-notch and always, ALWAYS works within the context of the song. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2017, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-first-time-listener-tell-me-whats-good-re-pink-floyd-albums/800631/58 "2017-11-05T18:07:07Z")
Some underplayed singles from the various albums: PIPER Lucifer Sam Matilda Mother The Gnome Chapter 24 Scarecrow SAUCERFUL Remember a Day Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun See Saw UMMAGUMMA Careful with that Axe, Eugene Grantchester Meadows ATOM HEART MOTHER Summer '68 RELICS Paintbox Julia Dream See Emily Play Wasting My Time MORE Cirrus Minor Green Is The Color Cymbaline OBSCURED BY CLOUDS Obscured by Clouds The Gold, It’s in the… Childhood’s End Free Four WISH YOU WERE HERE Welcome to the Machine THE WALL Hey You Nobody Home ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2017, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-first-time-listener-tell-me-whats-good-re-pink-floyd-albums/800631/59 "2017-11-06T06:24:22Z")
The Final Cut has some awesome amazing songs (The Gunner’s Dream, The Final Cut, even Not Now John) but it is far too much of Water’s whinging again about his dead father. You’d think he’s have gotten it all out of him in DSotM, but apparently not. And what is worse, without the input of Gilmour to actually create good, subtle songs out of Waters’ angst, the rest of the album is shrill and as subtle as a short sharp shot in the head. (witness The Fletcher Memorial Home). As for Gilmour’s solo output, his first self-titled album is much better. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2017, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-first-time-listener-tell-me-whats-good-re-pink-floyd-albums/800631/60 "2017-11-06T10:47:44Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > The Final Cut has some awesome amazing songs (The Gunner’s Dream, The Final Cut, even Not Now John) but it is far too much of Water’s whinging again about his dead father. You’d think he’s have gotten it all out of him in DSotM, but apparently not. And what is worse, without the input of Gilmour to actually create good, subtle songs out of Waters’ angst, the rest of the album is shrill and as subtle as a short sharp shot in the head. (witness The Fletcher Memorial Home). > > As for Gilmour’s solo output, his first self-titled album is much better. The only song on that album I recall liking was a short piece called [“One of the Few”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zgzw--iz8kQ). _goes to YouTube to relisten to Not Now John, Gunner’s Dream, Final Cut_ a) In the case of “Not Now John”, it sounds _way_ too much like “Waiting for the Worms” from the previous album _The Wall_. b) I like the opening to “Gunner’s Dream” but it doesn’t stay ethereal and instead goes for saccharine and whine. c) “Final Cut” is OK in a “meh” sort of way. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-first-time-listener-tell-me-whats-good-re-pink-floyd-albums/800631.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-first-time-listener-tell-me-whats-good-re-pink-floyd-albums/800631.md?page=4)