Post by Tony LeCalvez
Meddle- Pink Floyd
- One of these Days
- A Pillow of Winds
- Fearless
- San Tropez
- Seamus
- Echoes
An often-overlooked album in the Pink Floyd discography, Meddle was released in 1971 just prior to their achievement with Dark Side of the Moon. A lot of the perfected sounds and styles are present on Meddle and you can hear how Dark Side of the Moon is a natural evolution. Beginning with “One of These Days” the rhythmic pounding of the synth and bass drive the opening of the album through a tunnel of sounds to be cathartically released by the roaring drum set and decompressed instrumentals roaring in. The sonic delivery is very reminiscent of “On the Run” from Dark Side.
The following three tracks all turn down the intensity, opting for acoustic instruments and lap guitars. “Fearless” has exceptional lyrics mirroring political leadership to standing on the edge of a cliff, “San Tropez” is very stylistically different, having a psychedelic doo-bop vibe and “Seamus” is fun for being vocally performed by dogs. There’s a nice blues line moving along the guitar with a choir of dogs.
All three songs are nice but they’re really just getting the listener ready for the crown jewel of the album; the 23-minute long “Echoes”. Starting at a crawl of light guitar and a ringing bell, the song slowly spreads into a convulsion of instruments, waves of shifting intensity battering at each other for foreground room, yet molding together so well when that attention is lost. Despite being of few lyrics, the song is packed with emotive playing that expresses so many emotions through playing alone.
Meddle does lack some of the iconic moments that came with Dark Side of the Moon, but regardless, it’s still an incredible album even if it’s living in the shadow of its more successful younger brother.