CD Odyssey Disc 535: Pink Floyd

It is a happy Sunday morning after a lovely weekend of socializing with various friends.

Today my plan is to kick back, take it easy and spend some quality time with just myself and Sheila.

And to kick it off, here’s the latest review.

Disc 535 is…. The Division Bell

Artist: Pink Floyd

Year of Release: 1994

What’s up with the Cover?  This is quite a trippy cover.  It is a type of cognitive illusion.  In this case you can see it as both two large heads yelling at one another and a single head looking out at you.  Your mind can see them both, but it can’t see them both at the same time.  A lot of the themes explored on “The Division Bell” relate to the importance of human communication, so the cover is pretty clever.

How I Came To Know It:  I only got this album recently.  I’d heard it a few times over the years, but I bought it when Sheila’s coworker Gord decided to part with a bunch of is CD collection.  This was a bargain for me, and I think I bought about twelve albums, mostly flushing out some of the classics I’d always meant to purchase but never got around to.

Also of note, Gord is one of the few people who leaves comments on this blog.  I really appreciate the feedback, so thanks for the good deal on the CD, Gord, but thanks even more for taking an interest in these music reviews.  It feels good.

How It Stacks Up:  With the recent addition of “The Division Bell” I now have six Pink Floyd albums, mostly from the latter half of their career.  I enjoyed this record, but I still have to put it down as last, or sixth.  Someone had to be last.

Rating:  3 stars

The “Division Bell” derives its name from the bell in British Parliamentary tradition that is rung to summon all of the Members of Parliament when there is a vote.  Just like the album cover art, the title is also fitting, given the themes of dialogue and communication it explores.

The “Division Bell” gets off to a bit of a slow start, with a meandering instrumental called “Cluster One” starting the record.  “Cluster One” is typical Pink Floyd fare; atmospheric and meandering, with a big echoing sound that makes you feel a little weightless.  I found “Cluster One” a bit boring, and it didn’t help that my media player seemed to think it was a Blue Rodeo song (for some reason the media player will sometimes just label a song wrong for no logical reason).

Once I overcame that little technological hiccup I could get into the album, which does pick up after “Cluster One.”  There are plenty more noodling tracks that don’t seem to go anywhere, but at least there is David Gilmour’s guitar to keep you company.  Gilmour is one of those great guitar players that is instantly recognizable as soon as you hear him start playing.

The first song that interested me musically was “Poles Apart” which lacks much of a notable hook, but makes up for it with some good emotional resonance in the music.  Also, for an album supposedly about communication, “Poles Apart” that on the surface is a song pitying someone who’s “lost the light in their eyes” but underneath that is a fairly passive aggressive poke at some failed relationship.  Are you listening, Roger Waters?

Overall the album feels more bitter than introspective.  The best example of this combination is “Lost for Words” which is a truly beautiful song musically, gently noodling about in a way that Mark Knopfler would appreciate, before Gilmour begins with this good advice:

“While you are wasting your time on your enemies

Engulfed in a fever of spite

Beyond your tunnel vision reality fades

Like shadows into the night.”

But wraps up with a very different message:

“So I open my door to my enemies

And I ask could we wipe the slate clean

But they tell me to please go fuck myself

You know you just can’t win.”

Uh…Dave – it sounds like your still wasting your time on your enemies here.  I would suggest you take the advice of fellow prog rockers Rush on their “Clockwork Angels” album when it comes to enemies. “All that you can do is wish them well” and move on.

For all that, I really like “Lost For Words.”  It is a pretty song to listen to, even if I don’t think it follows its own advice.

This was a pretty common experience for me on this record.  The lyrics are very defeatist, but the music that accompanies them is often inspirational.  In a clever way, Pink Floyd has drawn out how in our hearts (represented by the music) we are optimistic and desperately seeking true connection, but our words fail us, and communication breakdown seems inevitable as soon as we try to speak.

Later in the record, the song “Keep Talking” advises us to do just that, although again it is mostly accusatory in tone (i.e. – ‘why won’t you talk to me/You never talk to me’).  Also, the inclusion of a Stephen Hawking giving us a little lecture through the song about how language separates man from the animals feels a bit trite.

Musically, “The Division Bell” has a lot to recommend it.  Gilmour’s guitar is as good as ever, and the big ‘outer space’ resonant sound the band is known for is showcased wonderfully (thanks to Bob Ezrin, who scores yet another victory in his illustrious career as a producer).

However, it also falls victim to its own theme; unable to decide exactly what it wants to communicate about communication.  There are a lot of mixed messages and the music while good, isn’t great like on previous efforts.  As with “A Momentary Lapse of Reason” (reviewed back at Disc 390) I found myself wishing Roger Waters was still with the band giving the thematic direction the album needed.

Of course, Roger and David weren’t talking, so that was never going to happen.  How ironic.

Best tracks:  Poles Apart, A Great Day for Freedom, Lost For Words, High Hopes