Tags
david gilmour, Music, News, nick mason, pink floyd, rick wright, roger waters, syd barrett, the endless river
Polly Samson, the wife of David Gilmour has revealed that a new Pink Floyd album will be released this October. The album is set to be called The Endless River and will be their first since 1994’s The Division Bell.
This news is certainly surprising, but the fact that this material isn’t entirely new makes it somewhat less surprising. The tracks on this album are based on sessions from 1994 and have been described by Samson as “Rick Wright’s swansong and very beautiful.” Pink Floyd fans will forever argue whether Syd Barrett, Roger Waters or David Gilmour was the best frontman, but the idea of a Wright-led Floyd adds a new dynamic. Wright was much less prolific as a songwriter than any of them, but his contributions to the group shouldn’t be overlooked. It shouldn’t be forgotten that Wright contributed in writing much of The Dark Side of the Moon (particularly “Us and Them”), as well as “Echoes” and “Shine on You Crazy Diamond,” two of Pink Floyd’s most celebrated tracks. As well as this, he had a beautiful voice that harmonised with Gilmour’s wonderfully.
Personally my favourite Pink Floyd works are the Waters-led Animals and The Wall, and while that’s unlikely to change I am very interested in hearing this upcoming album. Although Pink Floyd’s two albums without Waters are far from my favourite, I still found much to enjoy on them, and the Waters fan in me still has his upcoming solo album to look forward to. At the very least, this will serve as a great way to remember the late Rick Wright.
It should be noted that Pink Floyd have made no official announcement about the album as of yet. Below is arguably Rick Wright’s greatest contribution to Pink Floyd, “Us and Them.”