Any other band would have been overwhelmed by the prospect of matching the sky high expectations from them after the success of Dark Side Of The Moon. It briefly looked like that would be the fate of Pink Floyd as well. Until Roger Waters took charge of the band and steered them along in a masterful fashion, culminating in what is widely regarded as Pink Floyd’s very best album (but I’ll visit that topic later). Compared to DSOTM, Wish You Were Here is focussed on a narrower and more personalised concept. It is a cynical take on the commercialisation of the music industry combined with heartfelt grief and admiration for ex-band member Syd Barret and his tumultous career. Barret quickly earned a near-mythical reputation as a psychedelic guitarist. But all the fame took its toll on him, alongwith excessive drug intake, before his composing and performing abilities became increasingly incoherent, forcing the band to drop him against stiff resistance from their music company. Waters made the album a lyrical tribute to Barret’s genius, at the same time severely criticizing the commercial pressures exercised on musicians by the industry. This was combined superbly with another path-breaking innovation by keyboardist Richard Wright - the use of machine exhaust sounds on the synthesizer. So, let’s take a look at the album, track by track: 1.Shine on you crazy diamond, Parts I-V: This 13 1/2 minute epic has become a prog-rock anthem and a favourite in all Floyd concerts. Gilmour’s mesmerising guitar tabs will haunt you all the time on repeated listening. The track’s emotional intensity builds up in a leisurely manner, with a heart-wrenching solo by Wright, culminating in a suspenseful pause before Roger Waters launches into a stupendous vocal performance. Gilmour did a good job of rendering it in the 1995 live concert, but the pain in Waters’s voice as he sings, ’’You reached for the secret too soon, you cried for the moon’’ belongs to a different musical universe. This is followed by a jazzy solo by guest saxophonist Dick Parry, closing the track on a soothing note. Geez, I really didn’t do justice to this track at all, just too hard to put it across in words! 2.Welcome to the machine: This track is more in the vein of the band’s work in The Wall. Difference is, it’s a lot more balanced with an interlude consisting of acoustic tabs followed by an incredible keyboard solo by Wright, where he demonstrates the use of a machine-exhaust sound. Waters is in fine form as songwriter, with Gilmour giving a hard-hitting vocal performance: What did you dream? It’s all right, we told you what to dream You dreamed of a big star, he played a mean guitar, He always ate in the Steak Bar, he loved to drive in his jaguar, So welcome to the machine. I must add that this song is really meant for hardcore Pink Floyd and prog-rock fans, as it is not very accessible to a mainstream audience. 3.Have a cigar: The band is back to their favourite beat, the one used in Time and Echoes. Guest vocalist Roy Harper does a fine job though this song was really meant for Waters. There is little work for Wright, apart from accompanying Gilmour on the signature chords. This song is really Gilmour all the way with a long guitar solo to close the song. My favourite, also of many other Floyd fans, lines from the song: The band is just fantastic, that is really what I think. Oh, by the way, which one is Pink? Ha, ha, there is nobody called Pink in the band, which goes to show how much producers bother to find out about the band they’re promoting. There are also hints of the already pronounced discord among the band members: It’s a helluva start, it could be made into a monster if we all pull together As a team. 4.Wish you were here: Ah, this is the piece-de-resistance’ of the album. This is not Pink Floyd at all with the simple country tabs played on the acoustic guitar and the dreamy chorus sung by all band members together. And yet, what is simple in design so often turns out to be brilliant in effect. Waters’s words will forever be on the lips of Floyd fans: So, so you think you can tell Heaven from Hell blue skies from pain Can you tell a green field from a cold steel rail? A smile from a veil? Do you think you can tell? 5.Shine on you crazy diamond, Parts VI-IX This 12 1/2 minute epic starts where Parts I-V end. Halfway through, the track changes direction with a lively jazz section where Wright elaborates his ideas on the machine-exhaust sound further. Again, a real delight for prog-rock fans, yet it remains accessible to all music lovers. Wright signs off with a tragic outro, ending the album on an eerie note, ensuring that Pink Floyd are Pink Floyd as always, wiping off any trace of sugar-candy in your mouths. After this album’s success, Waters decided that his dominance over the band was good for it and not otherwise and tightened his stranglehold, first sacking Wright, then Mason and partly Gilmour. So this is the last album in which the band is still a well-oiled ’machine’ with all parts working away furiously. But, now for the big question: Is it really the best Floyd album, even better than DSOTM? I beg to differ. While each track on WYWH is strong with penetrating lyrics, the album as a whole doesn’t hold together as beautifully as DSOTM. Shine on is a gigantic epic, Welcome to the machine is chilling and edgy, Have a cigar is classic Floyd and Wish you were here is country. These diverse genres don’t fit into each other as well as DSOTM, which is one enchanting saga from start to finish with superb continuity. Suffice it to say that DSOTM is arguably musically superior to WYWH. But this is the next-best and the next-best of Floyd is certainly worth a place in your collection.