Mookie Gizzy
Footballguy
I’m just going to assume I’ll have it higher ranked than anyone else
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FBG'S TOP 100 PINK FLOYD SONGS - #01 - Comfortably Numb from The Wall (1979) (3 Viewers)
- Thread starter Anarchy99
- Start date
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
My rank: 14
This is my favorite from OBC, but I would have had many more on the list if we could have gone longer. As I said when Stay was posted, OBC fascinates me because it includes the band's attempts at various forms of then-mainstream rock that they normally didn't try. This is straightforward boogie rock, which is fun, but what makes it special is David Gilmour's spectacular guitar playing. If he had wanted to be Joe Walsh or someone like that, he would have succeeded just as much as he did as a space rocker.
Anarchy99
Footballguy
The Gold It's In The . . . wasn't on your list. So unless there is another PF song countdown going on on another website, then I'm just going to assume you had it ranked the same as 31 people (which was not at all). If you intended to quote the post for Summer '68, then yes, you awarded that song the most points.
Mookie Gizzy
Footballguy
No, I meant the next song on the list
jabarony
Footballguy
Good tune. I'm surprised it was only on 1 ballot. Though I suppose that partially falls on me.
Bottomfeeder Sports
Footballguy
The one named in memory of Eric F Waters?
Anarchy99
Footballguy
#73-T - The Fletcher Memorial Home . . . from The Final Cut (1983)
Appeared On: 3 ballots (out of 32 . . . 9.4%)
Total Points: 12 points (out of 800 possible points . . . 1.5%)
Top Rankers: @Dan Lambskin @Mookie Gizzy @Dwayne Hoover
Highest Ranking: 21
Live Performances:
PF: None
DG's PF: None
DG: None
RW: 121 (Buenos Aires - 2007-03-18)
NM: None
Covers: Australian Pink Floyd, Celtic Pink Floyd, Garrett Hicks, Kill Everyone, Inomarki, Bruno Hrabovsky, Brit Floyd
Our 5th entry from everyone's favorite Pink Floyd album, The Final Cut: A Requiem For The Post-War Dream. Spoiler alert: only 5 more to go!
The song is about Roger Waters' frustration with the leadership of the world since World War II, and him asking if this was what his father died for, that we might be just as well off with the Nazis ruling the world. He suggests that these "colonial wasters of life and limb" be segregated into a specially-founded retirement home. Waters calls out Ronald Reagan, Alexander Haig, Menachem Begin, Margaret Thatcher, Leonid Brezhnev, Joseph McCarthy, and Richard Nixon.
This bitter and angry song, named after Roger's father, expresses his feelings about the tyrants who toy with human life the way a child might with plastic army men. The song suggests they are incapable of understanding anything other than violence or their own faces on a television screen.
Waters' father died in 1944 in the battle of Anzio, and over the next few years, more and more men appeared in England as soldiers returned home. For Roger, it was especially difficult, as his father never appeared. Eric Waters' body was never recovered, so Roger and his mother lived with the faint hope that he would someday return. Video from his father's memorial service in 2014.
The Fletcher Memorial Home is another track that was slated for The Wall album. Demo. After The Wall film was completed, Roger asked his band mates if they had any new material. Gilmour had not been working on anything else, so he asked Waters to delay the recording until he could write some songs, but Waters refused. And we all know how things went from there.
Vulture Ranking (out of 165 songs): 54
Ultimate Classic Rock Ranking (out of 167 songs): 133
Louder Ranking (out of 50 songs): NR
WMGK Ranking (out of 40 songs): NR
Ranker Ranking (out of 132 songs): 77
Billboard Ranking (out of 50 songs): NR
Vulture Ranking (54 out of 165 songs): This is what passes as a standout cut on The Final Cut, another labored bombastic piece of political sarcasm, with a mildly recognizable melody. Fletcher, incidentally, was Waters’s father’s middle name. The memorial home in question is supposed to be for the ruling world leaders of the era — Reagan, Haig, Thatcher, Brezhnev, and so on. (There wasn’t room here for Argentina’s leader at the time, Leopoldo Galtieri, a bad hombre indeed.) Anyway (this is my favorite part) after Waters gets them all in a room together, he sings — cue the Snidely Whiplash voice — “Now the final solution can be applied.” And people say he wasn’t fun at parties.
UCR Ranking (133 out of 167 songs): For a brief moment – the instrumental break between verses three and four – this sounds like a Pink Floyd song, with Gilmour’s guitar reaching to the rafters and Waters’ bass getting tangled with Mason’s drums, instead of just keeping time with a piano and Michael Kamen’s orchestra. But before long, we return to Roger’s ho-hum melodicism and pitch-black humor, as he theorizes about applying Nazi tactics to ’80s world leaders.
Moving on, a @Mookie Gizzy exclusive, as he was the only one to vote for our next selection . . . a song that was first known as "The Most Boring Song I've Ever Heard Bar Two."
Appeared On: 3 ballots (out of 32 . . . 9.4%)
Total Points: 12 points (out of 800 possible points . . . 1.5%)
Top Rankers: @Dan Lambskin @Mookie Gizzy @Dwayne Hoover
Highest Ranking: 21
Live Performances:
PF: None
DG's PF: None
DG: None
RW: 121 (Buenos Aires - 2007-03-18)
NM: None
Covers: Australian Pink Floyd, Celtic Pink Floyd, Garrett Hicks, Kill Everyone, Inomarki, Bruno Hrabovsky, Brit Floyd
Our 5th entry from everyone's favorite Pink Floyd album, The Final Cut: A Requiem For The Post-War Dream. Spoiler alert: only 5 more to go!
The song is about Roger Waters' frustration with the leadership of the world since World War II, and him asking if this was what his father died for, that we might be just as well off with the Nazis ruling the world. He suggests that these "colonial wasters of life and limb" be segregated into a specially-founded retirement home. Waters calls out Ronald Reagan, Alexander Haig, Menachem Begin, Margaret Thatcher, Leonid Brezhnev, Joseph McCarthy, and Richard Nixon.
This bitter and angry song, named after Roger's father, expresses his feelings about the tyrants who toy with human life the way a child might with plastic army men. The song suggests they are incapable of understanding anything other than violence or their own faces on a television screen.
Waters' father died in 1944 in the battle of Anzio, and over the next few years, more and more men appeared in England as soldiers returned home. For Roger, it was especially difficult, as his father never appeared. Eric Waters' body was never recovered, so Roger and his mother lived with the faint hope that he would someday return. Video from his father's memorial service in 2014.
The Fletcher Memorial Home is another track that was slated for The Wall album. Demo. After The Wall film was completed, Roger asked his band mates if they had any new material. Gilmour had not been working on anything else, so he asked Waters to delay the recording until he could write some songs, but Waters refused. And we all know how things went from there.
Vulture Ranking (out of 165 songs): 54
Ultimate Classic Rock Ranking (out of 167 songs): 133
Louder Ranking (out of 50 songs): NR
WMGK Ranking (out of 40 songs): NR
Ranker Ranking (out of 132 songs): 77
Billboard Ranking (out of 50 songs): NR
Vulture Ranking (54 out of 165 songs): This is what passes as a standout cut on The Final Cut, another labored bombastic piece of political sarcasm, with a mildly recognizable melody. Fletcher, incidentally, was Waters’s father’s middle name. The memorial home in question is supposed to be for the ruling world leaders of the era — Reagan, Haig, Thatcher, Brezhnev, and so on. (There wasn’t room here for Argentina’s leader at the time, Leopoldo Galtieri, a bad hombre indeed.) Anyway (this is my favorite part) after Waters gets them all in a room together, he sings — cue the Snidely Whiplash voice — “Now the final solution can be applied.” And people say he wasn’t fun at parties.
UCR Ranking (133 out of 167 songs): For a brief moment – the instrumental break between verses three and four – this sounds like a Pink Floyd song, with Gilmour’s guitar reaching to the rafters and Waters’ bass getting tangled with Mason’s drums, instead of just keeping time with a piano and Michael Kamen’s orchestra. But before long, we return to Roger’s ho-hum melodicism and pitch-black humor, as he theorizes about applying Nazi tactics to ’80s world leaders.
Moving on, a @Mookie Gizzy exclusive, as he was the only one to vote for our next selection . . . a song that was first known as "The Most Boring Song I've Ever Heard Bar Two."
Last edited:
Anarchy99
Footballguy
Friend of @PIK95 dating profile . . . takes over 2nd place
SWIPE RIGHT / SIGN HIM UP FOR FBG
@lardonastick (20 similar songs, 10 of the same Top 10)
@Yo Mama (20 + 8)
@DocHolliday (19 + 8)
@Desert_Power (18 + 9)
SWIPE LEFT / IT'S NOT LIKE I KNOW THESE PEOPLE
@jabarony (9 + 3)
@Anarchy99 (9 + 6)
@Pip's Invitation (11 + 7)
CHALK RANKINGS (Average songs per list)
Yo Mama - 16.16
Friend of PIK95 - 15.48
Yambag - 15.10
PIK95 - 14.90
Ghost Rider - 14.77
Galileo - 14.71
BroncoFreak_2K3 - 15.58
Dwayne Hoover - 14.29
FatMax - 14.16
ericttspikes - 13.19
Pip's Invitation - 12.23
Mookie Gizzy - 11.94
SWIPE RIGHT / SIGN HIM UP FOR FBG
@lardonastick (20 similar songs, 10 of the same Top 10)
@Yo Mama (20 + 8)
@DocHolliday (19 + 8)
@Desert_Power (18 + 9)
SWIPE LEFT / IT'S NOT LIKE I KNOW THESE PEOPLE
@jabarony (9 + 3)
@Anarchy99 (9 + 6)
@Pip's Invitation (11 + 7)
CHALK RANKINGS (Average songs per list)
Yo Mama - 16.16
Friend of PIK95 - 15.48
Yambag - 15.10
PIK95 - 14.90
Ghost Rider - 14.77
Galileo - 14.71
BroncoFreak_2K3 - 15.58
Dwayne Hoover - 14.29
FatMax - 14.16
ericttspikes - 13.19
Pip's Invitation - 12.23
Mookie Gizzy - 11.94
Anarchy99
Footballguy
He is Every Man.
FatMax
Member
I think his chalk will run very strong.
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
This is not a song. It's a revenge fantasy with cheesy music (minus the guitar solo at 2:20).
Ghoti
Footballguy
Dr. Octopus
Footballguy
@Anarchy99 - please remove from this countdown which is for Pink Floyd SONGS.
Anarchy99
Footballguy
#73-T - See-Saw from A Saucerful Of Secrets (1968)
Appeared On: 1 ballot (out of 32 . . . 3.1%)
Total Points: 13 points (out of 800 possible points . . . 1.5%)
Top Rankers: @Mookie Gizzy
Highest Ranking: 13
Live Performances:
PF: None
DG's PF: None
DG: None
RW: None
NM: None
Covers: Paolo Sala, Dan LaFortune, Bruno Hrabovsky
Richard Wright was the sole composer and lyricist, performed lead vocals, and played piano, organ, xylophone, and Mellotron. On the recording sheet, the song is listed as "The Most Boring Song I've Ever Heard Bar Two". The song was recorded over a two day stretch in early 1968 shortly after Dave had joined the band. People that want to take the high road on this one feel the song is about the loss of childhood and eventually growing up. Another theory is the song tells of a strangely troubled brother-sister relationship; the loss of a child, with the sister killing the brother,
However, the song is filled with double meanings and innuendos of incest, sex, and drugs.
Marigolds are very much in love / But he doesn't mind / Picking up his sister, he makes his way to see saw land / All the way, she smiles / She goes up while he goes down, down
Sits on a stick in the river / Laughter in his sleep / Sister's throwing stones / Hoping for a hit / He doesn't know, so then / She goes up while he goes down, down
Another time, another day / A brother's way to leave / Another time, another day / She'll be selling plastic flowers on a Sunday afternoon
Picking up weeds, she hasn't got the time to care / All can see, he's not there / She grows up for another man, and he's down
Another time, another day / A brother's way to leave / Another time, another day / A brother's way to leave
In an interview, Rick referred to his two songs on the Saucerful LP (the other being Remember A Day): "They're sort of an embarrassment. I don't think I've listened to them ever since we recorded them. It was a learning process. Through writing these songs, I learned that I'm not a lyric writer, for example. But you have to try it before you find out. The lyrics are appalling—terrible—but so were a lot of lyrics in those days." Wright has remained critical of his early contributions to the band.
The song was never performed live by the band or any of the solo performers.
Vulture Ranking (out of 165 songs): 146
Ultimate Classic Rock Ranking (out of 167 songs): 88
Louder Ranking (out of 50 songs): NR
WMGK Ranking (out of 40 songs): NR
Ranker Ranking (out of 132 songs): 100
Billboard Ranking (out of 50 songs): NR
Vulture Ranking (146 out of 165 songs): Just what we needed, a pastoral, gossamer bit of wispy melody and fairy-tale vocalizing. A horrifyingly bad Wright composition from the band’s second album. The backing vocals are a parody of themselves.
UCR Ranking (88 out of 167 songs): Richard Wright’s woozy daydream of a song is a placid piece of psychedelic pop. See-Saw moves like molasses as it envelops you in its decadent, descending swirl of mellotron, xylophone, and fey vocals. The subject matter – the power balance between a brother and sister – is curious but not captivating.
Coming up, a song that wouldn't have ranked so far down the list if a million tear stained eyes had voted for it.
Appeared On: 1 ballot (out of 32 . . . 3.1%)
Total Points: 13 points (out of 800 possible points . . . 1.5%)
Top Rankers: @Mookie Gizzy
Highest Ranking: 13
Live Performances:
PF: None
DG's PF: None
DG: None
RW: None
NM: None
Covers: Paolo Sala, Dan LaFortune, Bruno Hrabovsky
Richard Wright was the sole composer and lyricist, performed lead vocals, and played piano, organ, xylophone, and Mellotron. On the recording sheet, the song is listed as "The Most Boring Song I've Ever Heard Bar Two". The song was recorded over a two day stretch in early 1968 shortly after Dave had joined the band. People that want to take the high road on this one feel the song is about the loss of childhood and eventually growing up. Another theory is the song tells of a strangely troubled brother-sister relationship; the loss of a child, with the sister killing the brother,
However, the song is filled with double meanings and innuendos of incest, sex, and drugs.
Marigolds are very much in love / But he doesn't mind / Picking up his sister, he makes his way to see saw land / All the way, she smiles / She goes up while he goes down, down
Sits on a stick in the river / Laughter in his sleep / Sister's throwing stones / Hoping for a hit / He doesn't know, so then / She goes up while he goes down, down
Another time, another day / A brother's way to leave / Another time, another day / She'll be selling plastic flowers on a Sunday afternoon
Picking up weeds, she hasn't got the time to care / All can see, he's not there / She grows up for another man, and he's down
Another time, another day / A brother's way to leave / Another time, another day / A brother's way to leave
In an interview, Rick referred to his two songs on the Saucerful LP (the other being Remember A Day): "They're sort of an embarrassment. I don't think I've listened to them ever since we recorded them. It was a learning process. Through writing these songs, I learned that I'm not a lyric writer, for example. But you have to try it before you find out. The lyrics are appalling—terrible—but so were a lot of lyrics in those days." Wright has remained critical of his early contributions to the band.
The song was never performed live by the band or any of the solo performers.
Vulture Ranking (out of 165 songs): 146
Ultimate Classic Rock Ranking (out of 167 songs): 88
Louder Ranking (out of 50 songs): NR
WMGK Ranking (out of 40 songs): NR
Ranker Ranking (out of 132 songs): 100
Billboard Ranking (out of 50 songs): NR
Vulture Ranking (146 out of 165 songs): Just what we needed, a pastoral, gossamer bit of wispy melody and fairy-tale vocalizing. A horrifyingly bad Wright composition from the band’s second album. The backing vocals are a parody of themselves.
UCR Ranking (88 out of 167 songs): Richard Wright’s woozy daydream of a song is a placid piece of psychedelic pop. See-Saw moves like molasses as it envelops you in its decadent, descending swirl of mellotron, xylophone, and fey vocals. The subject matter – the power balance between a brother and sister – is curious but not captivating.
Coming up, a song that wouldn't have ranked so far down the list if a million tear stained eyes had voted for it.
Last edited:
Ghoti
Footballguy
Done, sent my top 25 to Anarchy for posterity but I don't want to mess up his listings. I'll post it when it's done.
zamboni
Footballguy
You ghoti be crazy, gotta have a real need...
zamboni
Footballguy
Always thought this was an interesting song - didn't really sniff my top 25, but I like it - mainly because I love Richard's voice.
Anarchy99
Footballguy
I already added in your list. It didn't really mess things up all that much. Well, except those three non-album track B-sides you picked from 67-68.
Ghoti
Footballguy
Very cool, appreciate it! I'm afraid 25 songs is too few for me to get into the b-sides, but someone did pick "Corporal Clegg", so hats off to them!
Anarchy99
Footballguy
Welcome to @Ghoti, who being late to the party, gets thrown into the fray right away , , ,
SWIPE RIGHT / WE'RE GONNA FIND OUT WHERE YOU FANS REALLY STAND
@BassNBrew (18 similar songs, 8 of the same Top 10)
Friend of @PIK95 (17 + 8)
@Yo Mama (17 + 7)
4 tied with 16 songs
SWIPE LEFT / NOW THERE'S ONE IN THE SPOTLIGHT, HE DON'T LOOK RIGHT TO ME, GET HIM UP AGAINST THE WALL
@Anarchy99 (8 + 5)
@jabarony (10 + 2)
@Pip's Invitation (11 + 7)
3 tied with 12 songs
CHALK RANKINGS (Average songs per list)
Yo Mama - 16.16
Friend of PIK95 - 15.48
Yambag - 15.10
PIK95 - 14.90
Ghost Rider - 14.77
Galileo - 14.71
BroncoFreak_2K3 - 15.58
Dwayne Hoover - 14.29
FatMax - 14.16
Ghoti - 13.85
ericttspikes - 13.19
Pip's Invitation - 12.23
Mookie Gizzy - 11.94
NOTE - I am not going to recalculate the chalk rankings for people already listed. That would fall under the category of "close enough."
SWIPE RIGHT / WE'RE GONNA FIND OUT WHERE YOU FANS REALLY STAND
@BassNBrew (18 similar songs, 8 of the same Top 10)
Friend of @PIK95 (17 + 8)
@Yo Mama (17 + 7)
4 tied with 16 songs
SWIPE LEFT / NOW THERE'S ONE IN THE SPOTLIGHT, HE DON'T LOOK RIGHT TO ME, GET HIM UP AGAINST THE WALL
@Anarchy99 (8 + 5)
@jabarony (10 + 2)
@Pip's Invitation (11 + 7)
3 tied with 12 songs
CHALK RANKINGS (Average songs per list)
Yo Mama - 16.16
Friend of PIK95 - 15.48
Yambag - 15.10
PIK95 - 14.90
Ghost Rider - 14.77
Galileo - 14.71
BroncoFreak_2K3 - 15.58
Dwayne Hoover - 14.29
FatMax - 14.16
Ghoti - 13.85
ericttspikes - 13.19
Pip's Invitation - 12.23
Mookie Gizzy - 11.94
NOTE - I am not going to recalculate the chalk rankings for people already listed. That would fall under the category of "close enough."
Anarchy99
Footballguy
#93-T - Hey, Hey, Rise Up! from Digital Single (2022)
Appeared On: 1 ballot (out of 33 . . . 3.0%)
Total Points: 2 points (out of 825 possible points . . . 0.24%)
Top Rankers: @Ghoti
Highest Ranking: 24
Live Performances:
PF: None
DG's PF: None
DG: None
RW: None
NM: None
Covers: None
"Hey, Hey, Rise Up!" is the first entirely new piece of music recorded by Pink Floyd since Louder Than Words in 2014. David Gilmour was inspired to record it in support of Ukraine during the 2022 Russian invasion. It is based on a 1914 Ukrainian anthem, Oh, The Red Viburnum In The Meadow and features vocals in Ukrainian by Andriy Khlynyuk of the Ukrainian band BoomBox.
Gilmour had known Khlyvnyuk and Boombox since 2015, when they both played at Koko, London, in support of the Belarus Free Theatre. When Gilmour – who has a Ukrainian daughter-in-law and grandchildren – saw an Instagram video of Khlyvnyuk singing the Ukrainian World War I protest song in Kyiv's Sofiyskaya Square, he felt he had to support Ukraine.
Gilmour explained, "I read that Andriy had left his American tour with Boombox, had gone back to Ukraine, and joined up with the Territorial Defense. Then I saw this incredible video on Instagram, where he stands in a square in Kyiv with this beautiful gold-domed church and sings in the silence of a city with no traffic or background noise because of the war. It was a powerful moment that made me want to put it to music."
He contacted drummer Nick Mason and suggested they should record something using the Pink Floyd name. "We, like so many, have been feeling the fury and the frustration of this vile act of an independent, peaceful democratic country being invaded and having its people murdered by one of the world's major powers," said the guitarist.
Gilmour and Mason, together with longtime Pink Floyd bass player Guy Pratt and keyboardist Nitin Sawhney, recorded "Hey, Hey, Rise Up!" With Khlyvnyuk recovering in the hospital from a shrapnel wound sustained defending Ukraine, he gave Gilmour his blessing to use his vocals for the song. Gilmour wrote extra music, including a guitar solo. They used Khlyvnyuk's vocals from his Instagram video of him singing "The Red Viburnum in The Meadow." Richard Wright's daughter Gala Wright was also present during the recording.
PF released the song on April 8, 2022, with all proceeds from the single going towards the Ukrainian Humanitarian Relief Fund. The band revealed on December 24, 2022 that Hey, Hey, Rise Up!" had raised £500,000 for five humanitarian charities. The release topped Billboard's Digitial World Sales chart.
Vulture Ranking (out of 165 songs): NR
Ultimate Classic Rock Ranking (out of 167 songs): NR
Louder Ranking (out of 50 songs): NR
WMGK Ranking (out of 40 songs): NR
Ranker Ranking (out of 132 songs): NR
Billboard Ranking (out of 50 songs): NR
Appeared On: 1 ballot (out of 33 . . . 3.0%)
Total Points: 2 points (out of 825 possible points . . . 0.24%)
Top Rankers: @Ghoti
Highest Ranking: 24
Live Performances:
PF: None
DG's PF: None
DG: None
RW: None
NM: None
Covers: None
"Hey, Hey, Rise Up!" is the first entirely new piece of music recorded by Pink Floyd since Louder Than Words in 2014. David Gilmour was inspired to record it in support of Ukraine during the 2022 Russian invasion. It is based on a 1914 Ukrainian anthem, Oh, The Red Viburnum In The Meadow and features vocals in Ukrainian by Andriy Khlynyuk of the Ukrainian band BoomBox.
Gilmour had known Khlyvnyuk and Boombox since 2015, when they both played at Koko, London, in support of the Belarus Free Theatre. When Gilmour – who has a Ukrainian daughter-in-law and grandchildren – saw an Instagram video of Khlyvnyuk singing the Ukrainian World War I protest song in Kyiv's Sofiyskaya Square, he felt he had to support Ukraine.
Gilmour explained, "I read that Andriy had left his American tour with Boombox, had gone back to Ukraine, and joined up with the Territorial Defense. Then I saw this incredible video on Instagram, where he stands in a square in Kyiv with this beautiful gold-domed church and sings in the silence of a city with no traffic or background noise because of the war. It was a powerful moment that made me want to put it to music."
He contacted drummer Nick Mason and suggested they should record something using the Pink Floyd name. "We, like so many, have been feeling the fury and the frustration of this vile act of an independent, peaceful democratic country being invaded and having its people murdered by one of the world's major powers," said the guitarist.
Gilmour and Mason, together with longtime Pink Floyd bass player Guy Pratt and keyboardist Nitin Sawhney, recorded "Hey, Hey, Rise Up!" With Khlyvnyuk recovering in the hospital from a shrapnel wound sustained defending Ukraine, he gave Gilmour his blessing to use his vocals for the song. Gilmour wrote extra music, including a guitar solo. They used Khlyvnyuk's vocals from his Instagram video of him singing "The Red Viburnum in The Meadow." Richard Wright's daughter Gala Wright was also present during the recording.
PF released the song on April 8, 2022, with all proceeds from the single going towards the Ukrainian Humanitarian Relief Fund. The band revealed on December 24, 2022 that Hey, Hey, Rise Up!" had raised £500,000 for five humanitarian charities. The release topped Billboard's Digitial World Sales chart.
Vulture Ranking (out of 165 songs): NR
Ultimate Classic Rock Ranking (out of 167 songs): NR
Louder Ranking (out of 50 songs): NR
WMGK Ranking (out of 40 songs): NR
Ranker Ranking (out of 132 songs): NR
Billboard Ranking (out of 50 songs): NR
Last edited:
Anarchy99
Footballguy
I have a super, duper deluxe version of The Endless River . . . basically a ton of tracks I downloaded when it was released almost 10 years ago. There are over 40 tracks and almost 3 hours of music. I still haven't listened to more than three of them. Sadly, I don't think I am missing out, and there is nothing compelling me to want to hear more.
FatMax
Member
In that case, it appears to be appropriately titled.
(I've only heard the single off of that album, and I can't even remember it's name)
Ghoti
Footballguy
So what's this? I come barging in here late to the party and throw THIS one in my top 25.... really?
OK, I'll admit some of the high ranking comes from this being a recent, unexpected song that came out of the blue after I had given up any hope of ever hearing a new Pink Floyd song. And one can certainly argue that it's not even "real" Pink Floyd given that it's just Mason and GIlmour and neither of them even sing on it. I'm not going to fight you on that. But you know what? I just think the message was timely (and without veering into the political, it counters Waters' more pro-Russian stances), it's hella catchy (even though I don't understand a word of it), and anytime I can get a new Gilmour guitar solo in 2022, I'm a happy guy. When this came out last year, I thought it was cool that these guys can still show their relevance, so if you want to think of this as a lifetime achievement ranking, that'll do.
OK, I'll admit some of the high ranking comes from this being a recent, unexpected song that came out of the blue after I had given up any hope of ever hearing a new Pink Floyd song. And one can certainly argue that it's not even "real" Pink Floyd given that it's just Mason and GIlmour and neither of them even sing on it. I'm not going to fight you on that. But you know what? I just think the message was timely (and without veering into the political, it counters Waters' more pro-Russian stances), it's hella catchy (even though I don't understand a word of it), and anytime I can get a new Gilmour guitar solo in 2022, I'm a happy guy. When this came out last year, I thought it was cool that these guys can still show their relevance, so if you want to think of this as a lifetime achievement ranking, that'll do.
Ghoti
Footballguy
I'm interested to know what you think!
FatMax
Member
The first song on my list that will make an appearance on in this countdown (coming in the very near future, I think) is there largely because of Mr. Gilmour's solo. It's a plenty good enough reason for an song to make your list, or mine.
FatMax
Member
Also, during this reprise, I feel like this is a good time for a feel good story.
When my wife and I met some 20+ years ago, she had barely heard of Pink Floyd, much less ever really listened to them. Fast forward to this past weekend, we had to make a road trip to see some of her family. As the copilot, she is normally in charge of tunes for most trips. Her unprovoked selection on this fine day .... was Dark Side and The Wall, front to back. I couldn't be more proud of my work here.
When my wife and I met some 20+ years ago, she had barely heard of Pink Floyd, much less ever really listened to them. Fast forward to this past weekend, we had to make a road trip to see some of her family. As the copilot, she is normally in charge of tunes for most trips. Her unprovoked selection on this fine day .... was Dark Side and The Wall, front to back. I couldn't be more proud of my work here.
Galileo
Footballguy
So, what's this? We Ghoti backup to #93 to accommodate the new guy?
Yo Mama
Footballguy
One of these days, I'm Ghoti cut you into little pieces
Ghoti
Footballguy
Well done! I feel it’s our duty to proselytize others, I‘m hoping my kids don’t just listen to Floyd to humor me.
Ghoti
Footballguy
Well done! (And I had that coming)
zamboni
Footballguy
We call it riding the gravy train.
Anarchy99
Footballguy
Think I’ll buy me a football team.
ericttspikes
Footballguy
Best bacon solo of all time?
zamboni
Footballguy
I hear some eggs in there on background vocals.
Totally agree, really like this one a lot.
FatMax
Member
It was very good. I wish I would have heard it earlier. It'll be in the rotation now. Thanks for picking it!
Ghoti
Footballguy
I’m really glad you enjoyed it. I feel it has a vintage Gilmour solo - the old man still has the touch. It definitely flew under the radar in the States (lyrics not in English? How dare they?) but I think it’s catchy for sure.
Rand al Thor
Footballguy
I think I can speak for us all when I say thanks for doing this. I know it's a lot of work, but I'm really enjoying the reveal. So far I've only had one song that's made the charts (Don't Leave Me Now). I get that the song is not everyone's cup of tea, and yeah, the singing is painful to listen to, but I think that's the whole point? Maybe it's not a great song on its own, but it was a crucial song in the context of The Wall, and for me, it marked the point of no return for Pink. The first part of that song is so discordant and painful and I remember this song always made me feel uncomfortable. Then it ends with the smoothing 2 chord "ooh babe" for the last minute that, combined with the animation in the movie during that part, put this one in my top 25.
The comments on Youtube kind of summarize what I'm feeling when I listen to this song. Youtube Link
The comments on Youtube kind of summarize what I'm feeling when I listen to this song. Youtube Link
Anarchy99
Footballguy
#71-T - The Thin Ice from The Wall (1979)
Appeared On: 3 ballots (out of 33 . . . 9.1%)
Total Points: 14 points (out of 825 possible points . . . 1.7%)
Top Rankers: @Anarchy99 @Dan Lambskin @BrutalPenguin
Highest Ranking: 15
Live Performances:
PF: 31 (London - 1980, Is There Anybody Out There Version)
DG's PF: None
DG: None
RW: 249 (Berlin - 1990, Moscow - 2011, The Wall Live Version)
NM: None
Covers: Out Of Phase, Kiki & Herb, Ian Anderson, Gia Greene, Josh Young, Mac Floyd, Low Flying Hawks
As one listens to this song, one can easily feel that it is the distillation of Roger Waters' bitter feelings about 'modern life.' The newborn babe looks upon the world naively, with no premonition of the pain in store when he grows up and encounters all the obstacles to happiness in the modern world. The spectre of Syd Barrett also lurks in the background, as one who slipped through 'the crack in the ice' and out of his mind. After the somewhat esoteric, dreamy landscapes of Pink Floyd of years past, the song is a startling summing up of Roger's actual experience of the real world. Though it takes the form of a sad and beautiful warning to the newborn 'Pink,' the much deeper meaning is apparent in the feeling of the piece.
As with the other songs on The Wall, The Thin Ice tells a portion of Pink's story. This song narrates the first couple of years of Pink's life, before he is old enough to realize what has happened to his father. The "Thin Ice" represents the fragile period of innocence in our lives before we can really understand the world around us. Furthermore, the third and fourth lines from the third verse: "Dragging behind you the silent reproach, Of a million tear-stained eyes" act as a very poignant metaphor for the psychological and emotional effects war has not only on the population that suffered it, but also the generation of children left to suffer as the final bearers of that war's damage. It shows thousands of men in the war, either wounded or dead, then goes to Pink in his motel pool suffering over his father's loss in a blood filled pool.
Film Version| Demo Version| Reprise Demo
Back in the 80's, after the band had broken up, Roger was asked in an interview if he would you ever perform The Wall again on stage, "No . . . Indoors, it made no sense financially; it's too expensive. And, as it's partially an attack on the inherently greedy nature of stadium rock shows, it would be wrong to do it in stadiums. I might do it outdoors if they ever take the wall down in Berlin." Then, in November 1989, when the wall started coming down he agreed to perform in Berlin in July 1990 (just three weeks after David's version of Floyd played at the Knebworth festival).
All profits were to go to the Memorial Fund for Disaster Relief, a UK-based charity. Waters tried to get the likes of Peter Gabriel, Bruce Springsteen, Eric Clapton, Rod Stewart, and Joe Cocker to perform, but they either declined, were not available, or dropped out.
For Waters, it offered a second chance to stage the production with larger bricks, bigger inflatable puppets, and a larger audience than any of the original Pink Floyd shows, plus a worldwide TV audience. A sell-out crowd of over 250,000 people attended, joined just before the performance by a further 100,000 spectators when the gates were opened. The massive 550-foot long and 82-foot high wall was built in close to the Brandenburg Gate, right on Potsdamer Platz, the no man’s land between East and West Germany, and the production team didn’t know if the area might still be riddled with mines. In fact no-one did, so before setting up they did a sweep of the area and found a cache of munitions and a previously unknown SS regiment bunker.
The show ended up with an eclectic group of guest performers including members of The Band, The Hooters, Van Morrison, Sinead O'Connor, Cyndi Lauper, Marianne Fiathful, The Scorpions, Joni Mitchell, Paul Carrack, Thomas Dolby, and Bryan Adams.
Bob Guccione (who launched SPIN magazine and whose father started Penthouse) wrote a lengthy article of the performance and commented:
"Roger Waters was anti-climatic and, ultimately, a bore. The concert as an event raised the benchmark for spectacles, like a high jumper setting a new, improbable world record: No single concert has ever been bigger in attendance or venue or scope. And, like a balloon so big that it pops, that’s what ruined this: Everything—the night, the hype, the stage, the idea—drowned the performers and the performance. And the very execution of the show, where a stage crew built the great wall out of Styrofoam bricks so that by the end of the first hour (and effectively, long before that), the musicians were completely removed from view, worked against involvement in it. We —all 300,000 of us—watched 90 percent of the action on TV; giant video screens built into the wall.
In front of his stark white wall, Roger Waters performed alone for the most part, or with extras as props, in this overblown enactment of his life-long insecurity problems. He attempted to appropriate the real wall and real history for his show and choked on his own hubris. The music was, and is (on the newly released live record), exceptional rock’n’roll. But this show lacked the fire of Pink Floyd’s original performances, and Waters lacks the charisma to carry off the audacity of his own idea."
Vulture Ranking (out of 165 songs): 72
Ultimate Classic Rock Ranking (out of 167 songs): 66
Louder Ranking (out of 50 songs): 48
WMGK Ranking (out of 40 songs): 23
Ranker Ranking (out of 132 songs): 33
Billboard Ranking (out of 50 songs): NR
Vulture Ranking (72 out of 165 songs): A minor scene-setting track for The Wall, in which we’re supposed to appreciate the precariousness of Pink’s position. He’s on thin ice, people!
UCR Ranking (66 out of 167 songs): Many of The Wall’s better moments bring together the double album’s two lead singers in a balance of sweet (Gilmour) and sour (Waters). After the overture, the main story begins here, with Gilmour’s gentle, parental cooing in the first verse, followed by Waters’ silver-tongued cynicism in the second. If the “thin ice” is one metaphor too many on an album that has its hands full with one big, blocky metaphor, the swaying guitar solo sounds good.
Louder Ranking (48 out of 50 songs): The second track from The Wall is almost a segue of the opener, telling the story of the central Pink character growing up (opening with the closing crying child from In The Flesh. All runs relatively smoothly, lyrically and musically, until Waters takes over from Gilmour on vocals, warning of “the thin ice of modern life…”, and soon all hell breaks loose with a huge heavy rolling riff reminiscent of In The Flesh.
WMGK Ranking (23 out of 40 songs): The Wall opens with In The Flesh, but that song takes place later in the storyline. The story really begins with track two, The Thin Ice. The song starts with Gilmour’s warm detailing of a baby being born into a loving home. But enter Waters, who warns, “Don't be surprised when a crack in the ice appears under your feet / You slip out of your depth and out of your mind with your fear flowing out behind you / As you claw the thin ice.”
Coming up next (assuming we don't have anyone else that submits a new list), we head back to Ibiza, where Dave feels like a hard-boiled butter man.
Appeared On: 3 ballots (out of 33 . . . 9.1%)
Total Points: 14 points (out of 825 possible points . . . 1.7%)
Top Rankers: @Anarchy99 @Dan Lambskin @BrutalPenguin
Highest Ranking: 15
Live Performances:
PF: 31 (London - 1980, Is There Anybody Out There Version)
DG's PF: None
DG: None
RW: 249 (Berlin - 1990, Moscow - 2011, The Wall Live Version)
NM: None
Covers: Out Of Phase, Kiki & Herb, Ian Anderson, Gia Greene, Josh Young, Mac Floyd, Low Flying Hawks
As one listens to this song, one can easily feel that it is the distillation of Roger Waters' bitter feelings about 'modern life.' The newborn babe looks upon the world naively, with no premonition of the pain in store when he grows up and encounters all the obstacles to happiness in the modern world. The spectre of Syd Barrett also lurks in the background, as one who slipped through 'the crack in the ice' and out of his mind. After the somewhat esoteric, dreamy landscapes of Pink Floyd of years past, the song is a startling summing up of Roger's actual experience of the real world. Though it takes the form of a sad and beautiful warning to the newborn 'Pink,' the much deeper meaning is apparent in the feeling of the piece.
As with the other songs on The Wall, The Thin Ice tells a portion of Pink's story. This song narrates the first couple of years of Pink's life, before he is old enough to realize what has happened to his father. The "Thin Ice" represents the fragile period of innocence in our lives before we can really understand the world around us. Furthermore, the third and fourth lines from the third verse: "Dragging behind you the silent reproach, Of a million tear-stained eyes" act as a very poignant metaphor for the psychological and emotional effects war has not only on the population that suffered it, but also the generation of children left to suffer as the final bearers of that war's damage. It shows thousands of men in the war, either wounded or dead, then goes to Pink in his motel pool suffering over his father's loss in a blood filled pool.
Film Version| Demo Version| Reprise Demo
Back in the 80's, after the band had broken up, Roger was asked in an interview if he would you ever perform The Wall again on stage, "No . . . Indoors, it made no sense financially; it's too expensive. And, as it's partially an attack on the inherently greedy nature of stadium rock shows, it would be wrong to do it in stadiums. I might do it outdoors if they ever take the wall down in Berlin." Then, in November 1989, when the wall started coming down he agreed to perform in Berlin in July 1990 (just three weeks after David's version of Floyd played at the Knebworth festival).
All profits were to go to the Memorial Fund for Disaster Relief, a UK-based charity. Waters tried to get the likes of Peter Gabriel, Bruce Springsteen, Eric Clapton, Rod Stewart, and Joe Cocker to perform, but they either declined, were not available, or dropped out.
For Waters, it offered a second chance to stage the production with larger bricks, bigger inflatable puppets, and a larger audience than any of the original Pink Floyd shows, plus a worldwide TV audience. A sell-out crowd of over 250,000 people attended, joined just before the performance by a further 100,000 spectators when the gates were opened. The massive 550-foot long and 82-foot high wall was built in close to the Brandenburg Gate, right on Potsdamer Platz, the no man’s land between East and West Germany, and the production team didn’t know if the area might still be riddled with mines. In fact no-one did, so before setting up they did a sweep of the area and found a cache of munitions and a previously unknown SS regiment bunker.
The show ended up with an eclectic group of guest performers including members of The Band, The Hooters, Van Morrison, Sinead O'Connor, Cyndi Lauper, Marianne Fiathful, The Scorpions, Joni Mitchell, Paul Carrack, Thomas Dolby, and Bryan Adams.
Bob Guccione (who launched SPIN magazine and whose father started Penthouse) wrote a lengthy article of the performance and commented:
"Roger Waters was anti-climatic and, ultimately, a bore. The concert as an event raised the benchmark for spectacles, like a high jumper setting a new, improbable world record: No single concert has ever been bigger in attendance or venue or scope. And, like a balloon so big that it pops, that’s what ruined this: Everything—the night, the hype, the stage, the idea—drowned the performers and the performance. And the very execution of the show, where a stage crew built the great wall out of Styrofoam bricks so that by the end of the first hour (and effectively, long before that), the musicians were completely removed from view, worked against involvement in it. We —all 300,000 of us—watched 90 percent of the action on TV; giant video screens built into the wall.
In front of his stark white wall, Roger Waters performed alone for the most part, or with extras as props, in this overblown enactment of his life-long insecurity problems. He attempted to appropriate the real wall and real history for his show and choked on his own hubris. The music was, and is (on the newly released live record), exceptional rock’n’roll. But this show lacked the fire of Pink Floyd’s original performances, and Waters lacks the charisma to carry off the audacity of his own idea."
Vulture Ranking (out of 165 songs): 72
Ultimate Classic Rock Ranking (out of 167 songs): 66
Louder Ranking (out of 50 songs): 48
WMGK Ranking (out of 40 songs): 23
Ranker Ranking (out of 132 songs): 33
Billboard Ranking (out of 50 songs): NR
Vulture Ranking (72 out of 165 songs): A minor scene-setting track for The Wall, in which we’re supposed to appreciate the precariousness of Pink’s position. He’s on thin ice, people!
UCR Ranking (66 out of 167 songs): Many of The Wall’s better moments bring together the double album’s two lead singers in a balance of sweet (Gilmour) and sour (Waters). After the overture, the main story begins here, with Gilmour’s gentle, parental cooing in the first verse, followed by Waters’ silver-tongued cynicism in the second. If the “thin ice” is one metaphor too many on an album that has its hands full with one big, blocky metaphor, the swaying guitar solo sounds good.
Louder Ranking (48 out of 50 songs): The second track from The Wall is almost a segue of the opener, telling the story of the central Pink character growing up (opening with the closing crying child from In The Flesh. All runs relatively smoothly, lyrically and musically, until Waters takes over from Gilmour on vocals, warning of “the thin ice of modern life…”, and soon all hell breaks loose with a huge heavy rolling riff reminiscent of In The Flesh.
WMGK Ranking (23 out of 40 songs): The Wall opens with In The Flesh, but that song takes place later in the storyline. The story really begins with track two, The Thin Ice. The song starts with Gilmour’s warm detailing of a baby being born into a loving home. But enter Waters, who warns, “Don't be surprised when a crack in the ice appears under your feet / You slip out of your depth and out of your mind with your fear flowing out behind you / As you claw the thin ice.”
Coming up next (assuming we don't have anyone else that submits a new list), we head back to Ibiza, where Dave feels like a hard-boiled butter man.
Bottomfeeder Sports
Footballguy
This isn't quite right. But I'll bite my tongue for now.
Anarchy99
Footballguy
#71-T - The Nile Song / #70 - Ibiza Bar from More (1969)
The Nile Song:
Appeared On: 1 ballot (out of 33 . . . 3.0%)
Total Points: 15 points (out of 825 possible points . . . 1.8%)
Top Rankers: @Pip's Invitation
Highest Ranking: 11
Ibiza Bar:
Appeared On: 1 ballot (out of 33 . . . 3.1%)
Total Points: 14 points (out of 825 possible points . . . 1.7%)
Top Rankers: @Pip's Invitation
Highest Ranking: 12
Live Performances:
NM: Nile Song - 156 times
Covers:
The Nile Song: Voivod, Cadmium Orange, Melvins, Gov't Mule, Bridge Farmers, Human Instinct, Mary Goes Round, I Tubi Lungimiranti, Ichabod, 10 Minute Warning, Nozems
Ibiza Bar: Replicants, MoonHead, Liquid Visions, Love Battery
It's a double shot from the More soundtrack by way of Pip's Invitation. Even though the songs are on different sides of the album, they very easily could be conjoined as one track.
Commissioned as a soundtrack to the seldom-seen French hippie movie of the same name, More was a Pink Floyd album in its own right, reaching the Top 10 in Britain. The group's atmospheric music was a natural for movies, but when assembled for record, these pieces were unavoidably a bit patchwork, ranging from folky ballads to fierce electronic instrumentals to incidental mood music. Several of the tracks are pleasantly inconsequential, but this record does include some strong compositions, many of which developed into stronger pieces in live performances, and better, high-quality versions are available on numerous bootlegs.
The Nile Song was Floyd's first venture into the arena of heavy metal, this is a fun song (when taken in a satiric way) featuring power chords and shouting vocals from Dave, but interestingly enough, written by Roger. This helped to provide the inspiration for Young Lust on The Wall many years later. This piece was re-released on the Relics compilation in 1971. The Nile Song seems to be a tribute to an unknown (and probably unknowable) woman, a golden and unreachable goddess with the characteristics of a siren: 'she is bound to drag me down.' The song is featured in the party scene early in the film when the main characters, Stefan and Estelle, first meet. It is an edit of the album cut.
Basically a reprise of The Nile Song, Ibiza Bar has most of the same riffs as well as the same vocal style, except on the chorus, which is soft to the point of being inaudible — possibly because the lyrics don't make much sense. The recording is rough and the mixing is not very good, which doesn't help this song with nothing to distinguish it. This is the second song to appear in the film. After Stefan has arrived in Paris, he goes to a bar where it is playing and meets Charlie.
More reached #9 in the UK and, upon re-release in 1973, #153 in the U.S. This was the last of three Pink Floyd albums to be released in the United States by the Tower Records division of Capitol Records. The Nile Song was released as a single in France, Japan, and New Zealand around the same time.
The album received mixed reviews from critics. Record Song Book said the album was "always extremely interesting ... quite weird in parts too". The Daily Telegraph was favorable, describing it as starting to "define experimental instrumental identity." Music Hound and Rolling Stone were less positive with the former giving the album a rating of one out of five and the latter calling it a "dull film soundtrack".
The Nile Song
Vulture Ranking (out of 165 songs): 41
Ultimate Classic Rock Ranking (out of 167 songs): 51
Louder Ranking (out of 50 songs): 46
WMGK Ranking (out of 40 songs): NR
Ranker Ranking (out of 132 songs): 86
Billboard Ranking (out of 50 songs): 22
Vulture Ranking (41 out of 165 songs): Pink Floyd rocks out! How this track fits in with anything else the band was doing or ever would do isn’t clear, but let’s thank heaven for small favors. This is a genuinely bashy triumph in a compact three-and-a-half-minute package; if you’re not paying attention, you could mistake it for the New York Dolls, though not as focused or tight. (Pink Floyd didn’t do tight. Or focus.) Gilmour kicks *** in the last minute or so. What Waters is talking about I have no idea.
UCR Ranking (51 out of 167 songs): Just because there’s no room for Wright on this track doesn’t mean that it’s wrong. On this most muscular of Pink Floyd songs, Gilmour roars on vocals and squeals on guitar, Waters assaults his bass and Mason kicks everything forward with his drums. They could have been a damn fine power trio if the whole concept album thing didn’t pan out.
Louder Ranking (46 out of 50 songs): From the soundtrack to Barbet Schroeder’s psychedelic drug-fest More, which was the first full-length Pink Floyd album not to have any involvement from founder member Syd Barrett. Written by Waters and sung by David Gilmour, The Nile Song is one of the heaviest songs Pink Floyd ever recorded, almost a proto-version of Not Now John. It was released as single in France, Japan, and New Zealand, and was covered by Floyd fans Voivod on their 1993 album The Outer Limits. It’s bracing to remember Floyd this way, savaging the amps like a petulant garage band. Waters’s lyrics are suitably damaged too, the song’s protagonist caught under the spell of a dark sorceress: ‘She is calling from the deep / Summoning my soul to endless sleep / She is bound to drag me down.’
Billboard Ranking (22 out of 50 songs): As purely heavy (musically, if not thematically) as Pink Floyd ever got, with a rave-up so scorching you can practically feel the acid dripping off the guitars, and production so fuzzy you’d never guess the unnerving sonic spotlessness of A Momentary Lapse Of Reason lay within the band’s next two decades. It’s not what Floyd was best at, obviously, but it’s a much more persuasive argument for the band as a potential Blue Cheer or early Who rival than you’d expect, and it makes you feel a little bad for Gilmour and drummer Nick Mason that they didn’t get to play Roger Daltrey and Keith Moon more often.
Ibiza Bar
Vulture Ranking (out of 165 songs): 59
Ultimate Classic Rock Ranking (out of 167 songs): 68
Louder Ranking (out of 50 songs): NR
WMGK Ranking (out of 40 songs): NR
Ranker Ranking (out of 132 songs): NR
Billboard Ranking (out of 50 songs): NR
Vulture Ranking (59 out of 165 songs): Another good rocker from the movie soundtrack.
UCR Ranking (68 out of 167 songs): Every so often, Pink Floyd let their hard-rock flag fly. This time around, the buzz-and-clatter is satisfying (although not as dynamic as The Nile Song from the same album). And the lyrics aren’t dumb. Gilmour gives voice to artistic creations that come to life and beg their artists for a friendly setting and a happy ending.
We couldn't possibly be going back to The Final Cut again . . .
The Nile Song:
Appeared On: 1 ballot (out of 33 . . . 3.0%)
Total Points: 15 points (out of 825 possible points . . . 1.8%)
Top Rankers: @Pip's Invitation
Highest Ranking: 11
Ibiza Bar:
Appeared On: 1 ballot (out of 33 . . . 3.1%)
Total Points: 14 points (out of 825 possible points . . . 1.7%)
Top Rankers: @Pip's Invitation
Highest Ranking: 12
Live Performances:
NM: Nile Song - 156 times
Covers:
The Nile Song: Voivod, Cadmium Orange, Melvins, Gov't Mule, Bridge Farmers, Human Instinct, Mary Goes Round, I Tubi Lungimiranti, Ichabod, 10 Minute Warning, Nozems
Ibiza Bar: Replicants, MoonHead, Liquid Visions, Love Battery
It's a double shot from the More soundtrack by way of Pip's Invitation. Even though the songs are on different sides of the album, they very easily could be conjoined as one track.
Commissioned as a soundtrack to the seldom-seen French hippie movie of the same name, More was a Pink Floyd album in its own right, reaching the Top 10 in Britain. The group's atmospheric music was a natural for movies, but when assembled for record, these pieces were unavoidably a bit patchwork, ranging from folky ballads to fierce electronic instrumentals to incidental mood music. Several of the tracks are pleasantly inconsequential, but this record does include some strong compositions, many of which developed into stronger pieces in live performances, and better, high-quality versions are available on numerous bootlegs.
The Nile Song was Floyd's first venture into the arena of heavy metal, this is a fun song (when taken in a satiric way) featuring power chords and shouting vocals from Dave, but interestingly enough, written by Roger. This helped to provide the inspiration for Young Lust on The Wall many years later. This piece was re-released on the Relics compilation in 1971. The Nile Song seems to be a tribute to an unknown (and probably unknowable) woman, a golden and unreachable goddess with the characteristics of a siren: 'she is bound to drag me down.' The song is featured in the party scene early in the film when the main characters, Stefan and Estelle, first meet. It is an edit of the album cut.
Basically a reprise of The Nile Song, Ibiza Bar has most of the same riffs as well as the same vocal style, except on the chorus, which is soft to the point of being inaudible — possibly because the lyrics don't make much sense. The recording is rough and the mixing is not very good, which doesn't help this song with nothing to distinguish it. This is the second song to appear in the film. After Stefan has arrived in Paris, he goes to a bar where it is playing and meets Charlie.
More reached #9 in the UK and, upon re-release in 1973, #153 in the U.S. This was the last of three Pink Floyd albums to be released in the United States by the Tower Records division of Capitol Records. The Nile Song was released as a single in France, Japan, and New Zealand around the same time.
The album received mixed reviews from critics. Record Song Book said the album was "always extremely interesting ... quite weird in parts too". The Daily Telegraph was favorable, describing it as starting to "define experimental instrumental identity." Music Hound and Rolling Stone were less positive with the former giving the album a rating of one out of five and the latter calling it a "dull film soundtrack".
The Nile Song
Vulture Ranking (out of 165 songs): 41
Ultimate Classic Rock Ranking (out of 167 songs): 51
Louder Ranking (out of 50 songs): 46
WMGK Ranking (out of 40 songs): NR
Ranker Ranking (out of 132 songs): 86
Billboard Ranking (out of 50 songs): 22
Vulture Ranking (41 out of 165 songs): Pink Floyd rocks out! How this track fits in with anything else the band was doing or ever would do isn’t clear, but let’s thank heaven for small favors. This is a genuinely bashy triumph in a compact three-and-a-half-minute package; if you’re not paying attention, you could mistake it for the New York Dolls, though not as focused or tight. (Pink Floyd didn’t do tight. Or focus.) Gilmour kicks *** in the last minute or so. What Waters is talking about I have no idea.
UCR Ranking (51 out of 167 songs): Just because there’s no room for Wright on this track doesn’t mean that it’s wrong. On this most muscular of Pink Floyd songs, Gilmour roars on vocals and squeals on guitar, Waters assaults his bass and Mason kicks everything forward with his drums. They could have been a damn fine power trio if the whole concept album thing didn’t pan out.
Louder Ranking (46 out of 50 songs): From the soundtrack to Barbet Schroeder’s psychedelic drug-fest More, which was the first full-length Pink Floyd album not to have any involvement from founder member Syd Barrett. Written by Waters and sung by David Gilmour, The Nile Song is one of the heaviest songs Pink Floyd ever recorded, almost a proto-version of Not Now John. It was released as single in France, Japan, and New Zealand, and was covered by Floyd fans Voivod on their 1993 album The Outer Limits. It’s bracing to remember Floyd this way, savaging the amps like a petulant garage band. Waters’s lyrics are suitably damaged too, the song’s protagonist caught under the spell of a dark sorceress: ‘She is calling from the deep / Summoning my soul to endless sleep / She is bound to drag me down.’
Billboard Ranking (22 out of 50 songs): As purely heavy (musically, if not thematically) as Pink Floyd ever got, with a rave-up so scorching you can practically feel the acid dripping off the guitars, and production so fuzzy you’d never guess the unnerving sonic spotlessness of A Momentary Lapse Of Reason lay within the band’s next two decades. It’s not what Floyd was best at, obviously, but it’s a much more persuasive argument for the band as a potential Blue Cheer or early Who rival than you’d expect, and it makes you feel a little bad for Gilmour and drummer Nick Mason that they didn’t get to play Roger Daltrey and Keith Moon more often.
Ibiza Bar
Vulture Ranking (out of 165 songs): 59
Ultimate Classic Rock Ranking (out of 167 songs): 68
Louder Ranking (out of 50 songs): NR
WMGK Ranking (out of 40 songs): NR
Ranker Ranking (out of 132 songs): NR
Billboard Ranking (out of 50 songs): NR
Vulture Ranking (59 out of 165 songs): Another good rocker from the movie soundtrack.
UCR Ranking (68 out of 167 songs): Every so often, Pink Floyd let their hard-rock flag fly. This time around, the buzz-and-clatter is satisfying (although not as dynamic as The Nile Song from the same album). And the lyrics aren’t dumb. Gilmour gives voice to artistic creations that come to life and beg their artists for a friendly setting and a happy ending.
We couldn't possibly be going back to The Final Cut again . . .
Last edited:
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
Your write-up and the math says otherwise.
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
My ranks: 11 and 12, respectively.
Two factors are at play here. One is that I irrationally love the More soundtrack and these two hard rockers are a big part of why (I am not finished with it on this countdown). The other is that I love loud-a$$ late '60s proto heavy metal, and these are Floyd's only two contributions to the genre. They are on my list for the same reason that The Gold It's in the... is -- guitar fireworks from David Gilmour in a way that we don't normally get them.
More is fascinating because almost all of it is the most mellow, blissed-out, atmospheric stuff that any hippie stoner would have come up with in the late '60s -- and yet most of its tracks are more focused than the vast majority of their other releases between 1968 and 1970 -- and then all of the sudden you get these two tracks that could be Steppenwolf or Blue Cheer or whatever, and do a really good job of it.
The Nile Song is the more fully formed and slightly better of the two. It gets the nod for its coda, where things become totally unhinged, mirroring the effect that the sorceress has on the narrator. But Ibiza Bar is also great for its keening chorus, which sets up a great contrast with the bursts of energy that come before and after it.
Rightfully, both songs have been embraced by some of the louder/more experimental indie bands. Voivod's cover of The Nile Song and Love Battery's cover of Ibiza Bar are particularly worth hearing.
I think what I like about both More and Obscured by Clouds is that the film-scoring process forced the band to be tighter and more disciplined than they were when left to their own devices pre-DSOTM. Not only did they rock harder at times, they sculpted their tunes with a purpose.
zamboni
Footballguy
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