Meddle (Pink Floyd, 1971)

Except for Syd Barrett purists (see A Very Irregular Head), the "classic" era of Pink Floyd began with the 1971 release of Meddle. By this time, pretty much all of the Barrett influence had been scrubbed from the music and Roger Waters was asserting a greater leadership role, sharing or having sole credit on every song, as well as writing all the lyrics. It's the first album to use a genuine segue, with the howling wind of "One of These Days" whooshing listeners into the first notes of "Pillow of Winds". Of course, the real champion track is the side-long "Echoes". Normally, sidelongs are a Bad Idea, with Love's "Revelation" being probably the worst offender. "Echoes", however, is a multi-stage sonic journey, one that seems to get its sections just right, moving along before things get too dull. Even the "rock" section could probably pass for chillout if you are open-minded enough to accept music other than Enya. Being pre-Dark Side, though, there is still a little weirdness. For instance, pretty much everyone considers "Seamus" to be not much more than a failed experiment in having a dog serve as co-lead vocalist. "San Tropez", the only vocal outing by Waters, is the latest iteration in the Waters songbook of shuffle-type songs that had evolved along the lines of "Biding My Time" and "Free Four" and would ultimately reach fruition on "Money" a couple years later.

While Meddle is overall a fairly "stable" recording for Pink Floyd, the album is bookended by two shakier albums. Atom Heart Mother precedes, and is a more haphazardly recorded experience. While one may criticize Waters's skill as a musician, his architecturally-inspired management was a welcome addition (albeit in later years rather draconian). Meanwhile, Obscured By Clouds, which followed, represented the final soundtrack-contract work by the band and feels more like a throwback to the days of old rather than the album that would directly precede the following year's Dark Side of the Moon.

On a final random (and frankly mathematical) note, I picked up this album on CD in 1993, one of my first ventures outside of Wall/Dark Side territory. It's a little sobering to think my CD is now as old as the original album was back when I got the CD. And I thought 1971 was thousands of years ago back then!