Wish You Were Here (1975) - Album Review

Wish You Were Here was released two years after Pink Floyd’s breakthrough success following The Dark Side Of The Moon, which still ranks as one of the best albums I’ve listened to. It simultaneously acts as a tribute to Syd Barrett, a member of Pink Floyd back in the late 60s when they were first starting, and as a response against the music industry.

Shine On You Crazy Diamond, which bookends the album, acts as a tribute. The first part, or as it's labeled, Pts. 1-5 is one of the best songs I’ve ever listened to. It’s 13 minutes long, yet if you’re not constantly checking the runtime, it doesn’t feel 13 minutes long. Each section of the song, from the synth buildup to the first guitar notes (absolutely amazing), to the rocking section, to the vocal which appears 9 minutes into the song, to the ending, all of it is crafted so excellently that for me, I wanted more. If they made one, I might listen to a 22-minute version of this song. Each part does a great job of preparing you for the next part, because each part manages to build up anticipation until the end, where it starts to calm down and go into…

Welcome To The Machine, which represents their backlash against the music industry. They talk about how it’s an industry filled with lies and manipulation (What did you dream? It’s okay, we told you what to dream.”) that sucks up people who just want to do art to express themselves ("You bought a guitar to punish your ma, and you didn't like school, and you know you're nobody's fool") and farms them for money (“So welcome to the machine.”). And the song is undercut by weird electronic noises and instrumentals, representing the cold, uncaring world of the music industry.

This is further exemplified with Have A Cigar, which is way more catchy, and tells the same story as Welcome To The Machine, except now told in the eyes of a producer in the industry. We see the lies and manipulation they present to their promising new people (“You gotta get an album out, you owe it to the people.”) with the flattery to make them stay (“Well, I’ve always had a deep respect and I mean that most sincerely.”) In case you can’t tell, these two tracks are not holding back their punches against the music industry, which is even more powerful when you consider that this was their followup to The Dark Side Of The Moon: their breakthrough hit, and still one of the best selling albums of all time.

Wish You Were Here, the next track, goes back to being a touching tribute to Syd Barrett, and is one of the band's most popular songs they’ve made. It’s sentimental with a great guitar line, no complaints there. The final track (yes, there are only five tracks in this album) is the final half of Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Pts. 6-9. While Pts. 1-5 are a masterpiece in my books, Pts. 6-9 are way more underwhelming. It just doesn’t stack up to the beginning.

Now, yes, there are only five tracks, which means the songs are long: the shortest is Have A Cigar, at 5 minutes and 7 seconds. Besides Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Pts. 1-5 and Wish You Were Here, the tracks can feel like they are overstaying their welcome, especially Welcome To The Machine. Have A Cigar, less so, and at least Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Pts. 6-9 has a lot of variety to give a different sound. So while it’s a touching tribute and harsh critique rolled into one, it can feel like they could have trimmed some stuff out or added more tracks to give more variety to the album as a whole.

Regardless, it’s not a bad album by any means. It’s great, although I feel my opinion is heavily skewed by Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Pts. 1-5, which is a masterpiece in my books. That’s pretty much the only song I listen to from that album.

I rate it an 8/10, and my favorite track from this album is Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Pts. 1-5. Obviously.