Month: December 2024

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Genesis (Prog rock 1965 – 2025 part 4)

Genesis is the most prominent prog rock band โ€“ probably after Pink Floyd – at least in the 1970s. This post focuses on that period. For each of the songs you can listen to, I refer to one or more characteristics of prog rock distinguished in the previous instalment.[1]

Genesis was formed in 1967 by pupils at Charterhouse School in Godalming (Surrey). The hard core consists of Tony Banks (keyboards) and Mike Rutherford (bass) guitar have been members of the band until its disbanding in 2022. Other members include Phil Collins (1970 – 1996) drums and vocals, Peter Gabriel (1967 – 1975) vocals and Steve Hackett (1971 – 1977) guitar.

Their first tracks, melodic pop songs like ‘The silent sun‘ (From Genesis to revelation, 1968) are not a commercial success. Nevertheless, the members of the band decide to carry on. They perform regularly in small venues and work steadily on their next album, Trespass (1970), with which the band scores much better. The song ‘The knive’ (Trespass, 1970) is illustrative of the band’s transition from psychedelic rock to prog rock, evidenced by its length, complexity and beat changes, among other things. This live recording was made in 1973 at Bataclan, Paris.

Nursery cryme (1971)

Meanwhile, the next album is in the works.  This new album, Nursery Cryme has a conceptual and theatrical approach. The song ‘The musical box’ (Nursery cryme, 1971) illustrates this. The lyrics of this song are macabre and surreal, which is accentuated by Peter Gabriel’s theatrical recitation, to be see here in a live recording at Shepperton Studios in London (1973). It is easy to hear that a mellotron has also been added to the instrumentation. 

The story is set in Victorian Britain. Henry is accidentally decapitated by his girlfriend Cynthia while playing criquet. At home, Cynthia turns on Henry’s old music box, which unleashes the ghost of Henry as an old man, who tries to seduce Cynthia. A nurse enters the room and throws the music box against the wall, destroying Henry. 

The press pays more attention to Peter Gabriel’s costuming than the music, which evokes mixed feelings among the remaining band members but is good for public interest.

Another song from this album you can listen to here illustrates the use of mythological, historical and fantasy themes. This song (length 13 minutes) ‘The fountain of Salmacis’ (Nursery Cryme, 1971) is about Hermaphroditus and the nymph Salmacis and features alternately dreamy and dramatic musical support. The group’s popularity on the European continent is steadily increasing; that in the UK lags behind.

Foxtrot (1972)

We are a year later and then Foxtrot is released. The group now falls completely for producing long songs. The suite ‘Summer’s ready’ (Foxtrot, 1972) lasts 23 minutes and consists of seven parts, ranging from serene to bombastic. You’ll find almost all the hallmarks of prog rock in it. The recording you see dates from 1973 and was filmed in various locations.

Another track on this album, ‘Watcher of the skies’ (Foxtrot, 1972) stands out for its experimentation with electronic instrumentation. The intro evokes an ‘otherworldly’ atmosphere thanks to the use of the mellotron. Listening and watching this song recalls a variety of genres: opera, rock, surrealism and drama. Gabriel appears in a different costume in each song.

Peter Gabriel wrote the lyrics. The songs together project daily experiences of two lovers about good versus evil in the Old Testament. Find short descriptions of the individual parts of the suite here.

Selling England by the pound (1973)

The album ‘Selling England by the pound’ (1973) followed another year later. In the song ‘Firth of fifth’ (Selling England by the pound, 1973), symphonic and classical influences stand out in particular: Classical piano parts and an epic guitar solo give the impression of listening to a short symphony. The following recording (without the piano part, which was omitted during live performance) was made in Rome in 2007. The song consists of three parts, of which especially the first – the piano part – is complex in terms of rhythm and tempo and uses rare time signatures, such as 13/16 and 15/16 interspersed with 2/4 measure. This song is considered one of the best examples of prog rock.

The song’s title refers to the erratic and ever-changing estuary of the River Forth, a metaphor for man’s ever-changing and unpredictable life course.

Another song on this album โ€˜The Cinema Showโ€™ (Selling England by the Pound, 1973) also has complicated and unusual beat changes. The recording you watch and listen to here was filmed at the Apollo theatre in Glasgow and at the New Bingley Hall in Stafford on 9 and 10 June 1976, respectively. During the first part of the recording, we are watching a silent movie. Iโ€™am always amazed at how this kind of film plays on the chuckles. 

The lamb lies down on Broadway (1974)

After internal struggles over content, the next (concept) album, ‘The lamb lies down on Broadway’, is released in 1974. Ultimately, the story is about Rael, a Puerto Rican boy living in New York City who goes on a spiritual quest to establish his freedom and identity. In the process, he encounters several bizarre characters. 

Most of the album’s lyrics are written by Gabriel, but he left the music to the other members of the group. He wanted to spend more time at home because his first child, Anna was born prematurely and had health problems. The other members of the band were not happy about this. As a matter of fact, they had been annoyed for some time by Gabriel’s increasing role as singer. Gabriel himself had already concluded that a solo career would do better justice to his artistic ambitions.

‘The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway’ (1974) is the last album Peter Gabriel was involved with. During the tour to promote the album, he announced he would be leaving the band.

A trick of the tail (1976)

 The remaining members set to work on the next album ‘A trick of the tail’ (1976) after the tour. Finding a replacement for Gabriel was difficult, but then it turned out that the best candidate was already a member of the band, namely Phil Collins. He would increasingly leave the drumming to others as ‘frontman’ in the following years. Virtuosity, both of individual band members and as a group, is also a hallmark of prog pop. You can hear and see that in ‘Dance on a vulcano’ (A trick of the tail, 1976). The recording was filmed in the Lyceum ballroom in 1980. 

in 1977, Steve Hackett also decides to leave the group. He feels shortchanged by Tony Banks and Mike Rutherfort, who increasingly disapproves of his lyrics and compositions. The deeper cause was a growing distance between their ideas about the band’s musical direction. Banks, Rutherford and Collins opted for accessible pop-oriented music, while Hackett was unfailingly attracted to the experimental and symphonic music that is characterising Genesis until then.  Hackett, meanwhile, had made his first solo album ‘Voyage of the acolyte’ (1975), which was warmly received. He too opts for a solo career in which he can realise his artistic ideas. Compare ‘Ace of wands ‘(Voyage of the  acolyte, 1975) by Hackett with ‘Follow you follow me’ (…And then there were three’, 1978) by Genesis and you’ll hear what I mean. 

For Steve Hackettt, this was the beginning of a career in which he would made 24(!) solo albums to this day, taking every opportunity to experiment with a variety of musical genres. Together with ex-Yes guitarist Steve Howe, he made his highest-scoring hit, ‘When the  heart  rules  the mind‘( 1985). You can also watch and listen to a performance of ‘Firth of Fifth’ (2013), together with large orchestra at London’s Royal Festival Hall, now with the piano intro.

Genesis’ fans are disappointed with the band’s new direction, but the number of new fans compensates. A period is now dawning for Genesis, with the group releasing one high-scoring album after another: ‘Land of confusion’ (Invisible touch, 1985) and ‘I can’t dance’ (We can’t dance, 1991) and more. Watch and listen to a recording of ‘I can’t dance’ in Rome (2007) here. Unadulterated pop, but worth listening to.  Also note the grand staging.

In 1996, Phil Collins decides to leave the band after 25 years to take up other projects. He would later return for short periods a few more times.  In 2014, the BBC broadcasts a programme on the band’s history, ‘Together  and apart’  in which Hackett also takes part. The group gives its last concert on 26 March in London. 

Genesis eventually sold between 100 and 150 million albums; most of them in the post-1980 period, when the group had traded prog rock for pop. 

As was the case with other prog rock groups, it took a long time for Genesis to gain respect from music critics and for the public in general to discover the group. Later, most critics changed their minds and now Genesis ranks as one of the most prominent bands of the past 50 years: ‘Ultimate Classic Rock’ summed up, “There is no denying that Genesis helped create the identity of prog-rock and made some of the genre’s most essential albums,” but continued “the group’s music gradually became less and less progressive, until the band became an outright pop act.”

Starting with the band Rush’s transition from hard rock to prog rock and from prod rock to neo-progressive rock, the next articles will look at the development of neo-progressive rock between 1975 and 1985.  

[1] This post is based on an analysis of articles in Wikipedia (Eng.) and recordings on YouTube. ChatGPT was used as an aid in structuring the information.

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The heydays (Prog rock 1965 – 2025 part 3)

This post covers 11 characteristics of prog rock. Each is illustrated with recordings by prominent groups such as Yes, King Crimson, Soft Machine, Caravan and, of course, Pink Floyd and Genesis. Become aware of their differences and similarities

In the early 1970s, the building blocks that ‘proto prog’ groups had provided in the 1960s fell into place. This resulted in progressive rock becoming an identifiable style within rock music in general. Below, I will summarise its characteristics. In doing so, I recall some songs by Pink Floyd, which you could listen to in Part 2 of this series. I also refer to songs by Genesis, a group that will take centre stage in the next instalment. Most of the songs come from four bands, each of which made its own contribution to the development of prog rock: King Crimson, Yes, Soft Machine and Caravan.

Four innovative bands

King Crimson

Formed in 1968 by Robert Fripp, the band disbanded in 2021, after a few periods of inactivity. More than Pink Floyd, King Crimson has an experimental, sometimes avant-garde character and the music has a high degree of complexity. The members of the band play a variety of instruments, leading to a broad palette of sounds. You can hear Starless here. This complex instrumental song showcases Robert Fripp’s unique guitar playing (Starless and Bible Black, 1974) 

Yes

Yes was founded in 1968 by Jon Anderson and still exists to this day,  after dozens of line-up changes. Like King Crimson, the band is known for its complex compositions, virtuosity, spiritual lyrics and unusual time signatures. At the same time, the band’s songs are more accessible. The band has announced it will release a new album in 2025. To get acquainted with the group, I will show you here a live performance of โ€˜Round aboutโ€™ (Fragile, 1971) The song opens with acoustic guitar playing by Steve Howe, followed by dynamic and complex bass lines, harmonies and a catchy chorus.

Soft machine

This is an English band from the Canterbury area, formed in 1966. Initially with a strong psychedelic orientation, the group later developed towards prog rock with a jazzy accent. You can listen to ‘The tale of Taliesin’ย (Love makes sweet music, 1969)here.

Caravan

Formed in 1968 by David and Richard Sinclair. The band still exists after several interruptions, although its predicted success never quite has materialised. Its style is more melodic and accessible and less influenced by jazz than Soft Machine’s. The group combines complex structures with a warm, playful atmosphere and is known for its dreamy and sometimes humorous approach. Here you are listening to ‘Golf girl’ (In the land of grey and pink, 1971).

Characteristics of the heyday of prog rock (late 60s, early 70s)

1. Long numbers

Prog rock broke with the standard three-minute pop structure and embraced long songs with individual parts, like classical music. This applies to most of the songs you can listen to below.  I particularly mention Pink Floyd’s suite ‘Dark side of the moon’ (1973), which filled the entire album of the same name.

2. Experimentation , improvisation and innovation

Many songs arose from improvisations during performances and jam sessions in the studio, trying out different instruments and technical aids. Listen and watch Pink Floyd‘s song ‘Interstellar Overdrive’ (The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, 1967). You can at most hear that the song was born out of improvisations during live performances by its lack of structure at the end before the band picks up the theme again. Moreover, widely different long versions of the song circulate among themselves, including the soundtrack of the film London ’66 – ’67. Anyway, you  hear the band’s psychedelic roots.

The ability to improvise makes it attractive for musicians to play in a prog rock band. This is especially true of the most experimental band King Crimson. ‘Larks’ Tongues in Aspic Part I’ (Larks’ Tongues in Aspic, 1973) is an avant-garde song with great rhythmic complexity and strong dynamics, partly due to the combination of strings with heavy guitar playing.

Another example is Soft Machine’s ‘Facelift‘ (Third, 1970). The organ parts of this 18-minute song were improvised. The song ‘For Richard‘ (If I Could Do It All Over Again, I’d Do It All Over You, 1970) by Carava is one of this band’s most iconic songs. It lasts 18 minutes and begins with a subdued introduction that develops into an intense climax.

3. Dynamics and complex structures 

Almost all the songs by all the bands I review here, consist of contrasting parts that differ in tempo, rhythm and measure. They often start out simple and then build up to a layered and complex whole. You can listen to Caravan’s 22-minute suite ‘Nine Feet Underground’ (In the Land of Grey and Pink, 1971). It consists of several jazzy improvisations that seamlessly blend together, even though they are recorded separately. This live version was recorded in Paris, 2003.

The song ‘Heart of the sunrise by Yes (Fragile, 1971) starts with an explosive bass part by Chris Squire and alternates between intense and subdued moments. Alternating time signatures and virtuoso instrumentation also add to the dynamics. This song is one of the classic examples of prog rock. Finally, you can take another listen to Pink Floyd’s ‘Brain Damage/Eclipse‘ (The Dark Side of the Moon, 1973). This is the last part of the suite that, as mentioned, covers the entire album. 

4. Unusual time signatures

Prog rock experiments with time signatures such as 7/8, 5/4 and other non-standard patterns, giving the melodies a special character. The King Crimson song you can listen to and watch below, ’21st century schizoid men’ (In the court of King Crimson, 1969) is taken from the group’s debut album. This album later turns out to be their most successful and influential album. In the song, 4/4 and 6/4 bars alternate. The last part (the ‘outro’) has no beat at all. The song combines an unusual beat with cryptic lyrics and an epic arrangement with symphonic grandeur. This 2016 recording enhances this effect as the group now performs with three (!) drummers.

I also mention Pink Floyd’s song ‘Money’ (The Dark Side of the Moon, 1973). It is written in 7/4 time.

5. Instrumental virtuosity

In prog rock, technical prowess of the musicians played an important role. This was linked to the presence of extended instrumental passages, often with solos by all members of the band. This applies to all the bands you can listen to here. Still, a couple of examples. The first comes from Yes‘ Homeworld’ (The Ladder, 1997).

After the group had increasingly turned to a polished pop style in previous years, ‘Homeworld’ is a successful balance between accessibility and the bandโ€™s 1970s prog rock roots. King Crimson also revives ’70s ements in one of its later songs, ‘FraKtured’ (The constrKuction of light, 2000). Furthermore, this recording (Berlin, 2000) shows even more matured virtuosity. ‘Winter Wine‘ (In the Land of Grey and Pink, 1971) by Caravan combines dreamy melodies with a nostalgic atmosphere and imaginative lyrics. It shows the introspective and lyrical side of the group.

6. Concept albums and thematic cohesion

Many prog rock songs tell a story with a philosophical, mythical or sci-fi background. In some cases, this background extends over an entire album. Pink Floyd has carried this feature furthest in both album art, music videos and films. Here you are listening to an excerpt from the filmed version of ‘Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)’ (The Wall, 1979). Both the album and the film revolved around alienation and the impact of a repressive upbringing.

Another example is ‘The dark side of the moon’, also by Pink Floyd. Theme of this album is time, mortality, and the human condition. You can hear ‘Time’ (The Dark Side of the Moon, 1973) here. 

7. Orchestral character with influences from classical music and jazz

Prog rock integrates among others classical compositional techniques (such as fugues and symphonic structures) and jazzy improvisation. You can watch and listen to ‘Firth of fifth’ (Selling England by the pound’, 1974) by Genesis. The piano intro, with its complex beat and Steve Hackett’s guitar solo are heavily influenced by classical music. The awkward piano intro was usually omitted in live concerts.

Yes’s song Close to the Edge (Close to the Edge, 1972) lasts almost 19 minutes and has an epic character with symphonic grandeur. The album is considered as the high point of Yes’s career. Moon in June (Third, 1970) by Soft Machine marks the transition from psychedelic rock to jazzy prog rock with long instrumental passages with surreal lyrics. The fully instrumental song ‘Slightly all the time’ (Third, 1970), also by Soft Machine, features extended and virtuoso saxophone and organ parts and moves smoothly between jazz, rock and avant-garde. Caravan’s song ‘If I could do It all over again, I’d do It all over you’ (If I could do It all over again, I’d do it all over you, 1970) combines a catchy melody with complex jazzy parts.

8. Use of synthesizers and other electronic instruments

All bands increasingly used electronic keyboard instruments such as mellotron and mini Moog from the early 1970s to create orchestral, sometimes bombastic sounds.  The song below, ‘Out-bloody-rageous’ (Third, 1970) by Soft machine starts with electronics, followed by more traditional jazz-rock instrumentation.

In Genesis‘ ‘Watcher of the Skies’ (Foxtrot, 1973), you can hear the ominous sounds a mellotron can produce The mellotron intro is one of prog rock’s most iconic ‘samples’. King Crimson’s orchestral number ‘Epitaph‘ (In the Court of the Crimson King, 1969) has a classically epic and melancholic atmosphere thanks to the mellotron.

9. Philosophical and esoteric texts

Many lyrics are poetic and profound, focusing on abstract concepts such as the universe, the human condition and spirituality. Caravan’s song ‘In the Land of Grey and Pink’ (In the Land of Grey and Pink, 1971) is light-hearted, dreamy and playful, with surreal and humorous lyrics and has a relaxed, almost pastoral atmosphere. This is another classic within prog-rock.

Pink Floyd’s ‘Comfortably Numb’ (The Wall, 1979) is also an introspective song about isolation and losing touch with reality.

10. Dynamics and atmosphere

Prog rock plays with dynamics by contracting between quiet, introspective moments and bombastic outbursts. Spatial effects are often used, which can have a hallucinatory effect. Genesis‘ next song ‘The Musical Box’ (Nursery Crime, 1971) combines an imaginative storyline with musical dynamics and theatrical vocals.

Echoes (Meddle, 1971) by Pink Floyd is a 23-minute song that combines complex structures with atmospheric sounds and experimental instrumentation. What you can see is a live performance in Gdansk (2006). The song ‘And You and I’ (Close to the Edge, 1972) by Yes has a poetic, almost spiritual atmosphere, partly due to the combination of mellotron and acoustic guitar.

11. Visual effects and multimedia

Needless to say, Pink Floyd in particular could afford fascinating visual effects in its final years, performing to audiences of tens of thousands, as here in “Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I-V)” (Wish You Were Here, 1975), performed in London (2004).

But Genesis also attached great importance to stage decoration and lighting. During the tour to promote the album ‘The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway’ (1974), three giant screens were used on which eight projectors projected 1450 images. Furthermore, there was a laser show.

Prog rock had a great influence on the development of other forms of rock, including metal, in the 1970s. In Part 6 dealing with ‘neo-progressive rock’, I will show how the genre has renewed itself in the late 1970s and early 1980s, including the further use of electronics and improving the songsโ€™ accessibility. 

The next episode focuses on Genesis, one of the leading and most inspiring rock bands during the last years of the 20stecentury.

[1] This post is based on an analysis of articles in Wikipedia (Eng.) and recordings on YouTube. ChatGPT was used as an aid in structuring the information.

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Pink Floyd (Prog rock 1965 – 2025, part 2)

The songs of the English group Pink Floyd reflect many stylistic building blocks of prog rock mentioned in the first episode of this series. This is why this group is often called the first “prog rock” band. Listening to Pink Floyd is therefore a good way to get an impression of this genre. 

The band’s founding members Roger Waters, Nick Mason and Richard Wright studied architecture at London Polytechnic and Syd Barrett at Camberwell College of Arts in the early 1960s. Few bands will have had so many different names in this early period: Sigma 6, Meggadeaths, Screaming Abdabs, Leonard’s Lodgers, Spectrum Five and Tea Set. When Barrett discovered that an eponymous group existed in the distant Netherlands, the name Pink Floyd made its appearance. Pink and Floyd are the first names of two American blues musicians.

The band is performing regularly in clubs and gained some fame for being considered one of the first groups with a psychedelic sound. With Syd Barrett as their main inspiration, Pink Floyd also distinguishes themselves at the time with elaborate compositions, sonic experimentation and philosophical lyrics. The group had its first hits in 1967, Arnold Layne and ‘See Emily play‘. The links point to the corresponding music videos. To my taste, the image and sound are strikingly like the videos the Beatles previously made to accompany their songs.

Syd Barrett’s artistic starring role took its toll when he collapsed mentally and physically due to LSD use. At times, he stood motionless on stage for long periods and was unresponsive. Eventually, he agrees to leave. David Gilmour takes his place and his guitar solos would become an unmistakable part of many of the group’s songs. In the following years, Roger Waters increasingly becomes the artistic brain of the band and gradually takes over the leadership. The second album ‘A saucerful of secrets’ (1968) still features one Syd Barrett song: ‘Jugband blues’. The song ‘Set the controls for the heart of the sun’ exudes a mystical atmosphere and is a bridge to the following albums on which increasingly longer songs appear. You can listen to this song here:

I will leave the next album ‘Ummagumma’ unmentioned. In retrospect, the band members thought this was a failed experiment. And then, in 1970 the group is releasing ‘Atom heart mother’, which would become the band’s first number-one album in the UK. The album’s title track is a six-part suite, covering one side of the LP. The orchestral arrangements include a brass and string section and a 16-piece choir. You can watch and listen to a live performance in full ensemble here. Such large-scale performances were very expensive and later the group shortened the suite to 15 minutes without additional musicians.

Precisely because of the orchestral nature of the original version, symphony orchestras that do not shy away from experimentation have also included the entire suite in their repertoire in edited form. You can watch a performance by the Conservatorio di Cagliari here.

The next album to hit number one in many European countries is ‘The dark side of the moon’. In the US, it spent 14 years (!) on the Billboard Top 100. Global sales reached 50 million copies. The album explores themes of conflict, greed, life, death and mental illness. Memories of Syd Barrett resound in many places. You can watch and listen to a live performance of the album, filmed at Earls Court 1994, here.

Together, both sides of the LP form a continuous piece of music. The five songs on each side reflect different stages in human life, starting and ending with a heartbeat. Below you can listen to six songs that became top-one singles. “Speak to Me” and “Breathe” emphasize the importance of making your own choices in life. The first side of the album ends with Wright’s and Clare Torry’s metaphor for death.

“Money“, the first track on side two, opens with the sound of cash registers and rhythmically ringing coins. The song mocks greed and consumerism. “Money” would become the band’s most commercially successful song. “Us and them”addresses the risks of using black-and-white contrasts to characterise individuals and relationships. The album ends with “Eclipse“, which embraces the concepts of otherness and unity and encourages the listener to recognise common traits in fellow human beings.

Four female vocalists sing on “Brain damage”, “Eclipse” and “Time”, and saxophonist Dick Parry plays on “Us and them” and “Money”. Besides conventional rock band instruments, synthesizers play a prominent role on this album.

The next album ‘Wish you were here’ would also get a number-one listing in many countries, including the US and Great Britain. This album is steeped in melancholic memories of Syd Barrett, co-founder of the band. Dedicated to him is ‘Shine on you crazy diamond’, a nine-part suite. Critics consider this album one of the best prog rock albums of all time. While Pink Floyd was working on the album, Barrett made an unexpected visit to the studio. He had grown fat and bald and was not recognised at first. He hung around a bit without saying much. 

In the mid-1970s, Waters is becoming an increasingly emphatic leader of the band and he is determining the themes for new albums, for which he also writes the lion’s share of the lyrics. For the next album, he writes a script with Bob Ezrin around Pink, a character inspired by Waters’ childhood experiences, the most poignant of which is his father’s death in World War II. Pink would become addicted to drugs and depressed by the music industry, eventually turning into a megalomaniac, a development partly inspired by Syd Barrett’s downfall. By the end of the album, the increasingly fascistic audience would watch Pink break down the wall and become a normal and caring person again. You can watch a 1994 performance of ‘Another brick in the wall’ here.

This song sung by a giant choir and orchestra is also fun to watch. 

Meanwhile, tensions are rising within the band: Waters fires Wright, because of his lack of input in the production of ‘The Wall’, and he sleeps in a different hotel from the other band members after gigs. Gilmour has felt undervalued for years. Indeed, he is not the most creative songwriter, but his guitar playing is leading Pink Floyd. It was under these circumstances that the production of ‘The Final Cut’, the 12de studio album came about (1984). The Final Cut is an anti-war concept album that addresses what Waters considers the betrayal of fallen British servicemen, like his father. They sacrificed their lives during World War II for an unrealized post-war dream. You can watch the subdued song ‘Two sons in the Sunset’ here. It is about the impending atomic holocaust. Critics’ reactions vary. Rolling Stone considers it “art rock’s crowning masterpiece”, the magazine sees it mostly as a solo album by Roger Waters.

‘The final cut’ is the last album Gilmour, Mason and Waters made together. It would take until 1987 to resolve all legal issues, the most important of which was whether Gilmour and Mason can continue with Pink Floyd. They eventually agreed on this, and Wright also came back on board. The trio’s first joint album was ‘A momentary lapse of reason’ (1988). Qualitatively, it did not come close to the albums from the 70s. The ironically titled ‘Signs of Life’ is an instrumental prelude to ‘Learning to Fly‘ in which Gilmour’s guitar comes into its own, and the uplifting ‘On the Turning Away’ is just beautiful. You can listen to and watch this song here.

After this, two more albums, will follow ‘The division bell’ (1994) and Endless river (2014) The group has promoted ‘The division bell’ extensively in the US and Europe, as well as ‘A momentary lapse of reasonโ€™. From ‘The division bell’, you can watch and listen to ‘High hopes’ here and from ‘Endless river’ to ‘Louder than words’ here. 

Wright died of cancer on 15 September 2008, aged 65. His former bandmates all paid tribute to his life and work; Gilmour said on the occasion that his “soulful voice and playing were vital, magical components of our most recognised Pink Floyd sound”. A week after Wright’s death, Gilmour released “Remember a Day” from A Saucerful of Secrets, written and originally sung by Wright, as a tribute on BBC Two’s programme ‘Later… with Jools Holland’. You can watch and listen to this performance here.

After the disbanding of Pink Floyd in 2008, Nick Mason and David Gilmour go their separate ways. By then, Waters already had been performing under his own name for years, singing old and new songs.

In 2018, Mason formed a new band, ‘Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets’, to perform Pink Floyd’s early material. Both the new band and the audience seem to have lots of fun. You can watch ‘Fearless’ here.

It’s quite a seat, but very much worth it. 52 years after Pink Floyd’s filmed a performance in Pompeii, Nick Mason gives a 2.5-hour concert at this venue with his new band.  You can hear almost all the famous Pink Floyd songs in the process.  Watch the full recording here.

David Gilmour has gone in a different direction, producing his own studio albums. The fifth album, ‘Luck and strange’, was released in June 2024. Gilmour’s wife, novelist Polly Samson, wrote most of the lyrics, which often deal with mortality and ageing. Their children contribute additional vocals, lyrics and instrumentation. This music video for the song ‘Luck and Strange’ includes fragments from 2007 of Richard Wrightโ€™s performing, a year before his death.

The ‘Luck and strange tour’ from September 2024, has visited Circo Massimo in Rome, the Royal Albert Hall in London, the Intuit Dome and the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles and Madison Square Garden in New York City. YouTube is teeming with worthless videos of visitors. Instead, you can see here some footage of a rehearsal for these gigs, with a prominent contribution from Romany Gilmour.

By 2013, Pink Floyd had sold more than 250 million records worldwide, making the group one of the best-selling music artists of all time at that time. ‘Dark side of the moon’, ‘The wall’ and ‘Wish you were here’ are among the best-selling albums of all time. Four Pink Floyd albums topped the US Billboard 200 and five the UK Albums Chart. In the Sunday Times Rich List, Music Millionaires 2013 (UK), Waters is at number 12 with an estimated fortune of ยฃ150 million, Gilmour at number 27 with ยฃ85 million and Mason at number 37 with ยฃ50 million. 

So, what makes Pink Floyd a prog rock group? In the first instalment of this series, I listed the characteristics of prog rock. Keeping these in mind, what stands out most are the complex orchestral productions, the musical contrasts, their blending with non-conventional sound effects, the thematic nature of the albums, the depth of the lyrics, the psychedelic – others say ‘spatial’ – nature of many melodies, the long, partly improvised solos, the intertwining of music and design of the albums and the spectacular lighting effects during the concerts.  In the next episode, I will start from the characteristics attributed to prog rock and try to recognise them in songs by various prog rock groups.