Straight to the point: There are a few moments in The Endless River, but they’re a bit far and between. Although I’m happy to add this to my Pink Floyd collection, I’ll be honest and admit that wanted a little more. Still, there are some very lovely passages here. It is sad to know that this is the end (again) of Pink Floyd. The album did provide a twinge of the nostalgia and melancholy that comes over me when I hear Pink Floyd (or maybe I put on Pink Floyd when the lows come). Either way, I am happy the album is here and here’s why:
Like most people, I thought Pink Floyd were done after the 1994 album The Division Bell, and for sure after they released the live album Pulse in 2006. The 2005 Live 8 reunion was a bit of a bonus, but it served as just a stroll down memory lane for most fans (I wasn’t even born when they released Dark Side).I was resigned to the end of my favorite band and like most Pink Pigs, saddened when Rick Wright passed in 2008.
When news of The Endless River came out, I was excited! I have never “waited” for a Pink Floyd album. My dad used to have The Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall on vinyl. I remember hearing them as a kid and of course I loved the line “We don’t need no, education!” However, I really didn’t get into Pink Floyd until after high school so by that time, all their studio albums and major tours where done.
As a consolation prize, I did see Roger Waters perform The Wall live here in L.A. a few years ago, but of course, that wasn’t Pink Floyd, especially without David Gilmour! (I side with Gilmour on the whole post-Waters saga, but that’s another post.)
So I was psyched and ready to hear their last hurrah. My expectations where also leveled a bit when I read that this was material from The Division Bell and that served me well. I listened with both a critical ear and also with the knowledge that this material wasn’t originally “good” enough for a proper Pink Floyd album. They had planned a double-album originally but ran out of time and scrapped the instrumental B-Side, which is what this is, with modern guitars, drums, bass and other instruments added to accompany what Wright recorded over 20 years ago. Only the last song, Louder Than Words, has vocals and that seems fitting. It is, after all, a goodbye or eulogy album for Wright.
The album provided a new experience for me, waiting for a Pink Floyd album, brought back some of the joy of hearing Gilmour, Mason and Wright do their thing, and definitively closed the Pink Floyd chapter. For sure this is the end of the great Pink Floyd and I’m happy about it, in a strange way.
It’s like when a great fighter retires – I enjoy watching them fight, but I also don’t want to see them hang around too long. Although music is different than fighting, there does seem to be a high point and an eventual leveling. Pink Floyd reached The Dark Side of the Moon and end their career as a group on The Endless River.
And with that, enjoy the last song and video from Pink Floyd, Louder Than Words:
The Endless River Track Listing
Side 1:
01 Things Left Unsaid
02 It’s What We Do
03 Ebb And Flow
Side 2:
04 Sum
05 Skins
06 Unsung
07 Anisina
Side 3:
08 The Lost Art of Conversation
09 On Noodle Street
10 Night Light
11 Allons-y (1)
12 Autumn’68
13 Allons-y (2)
14 Talkin’ Hawkin’
Side 4:
15 Calling
16 Eyes To Pearls
17 Surfacing
18 Louder Than Words
