Meddle by Pink Floyd

Meddle, Pink Floyd's 1971 masterpiece, is an essential album for my collection.

This album was a troubled recording process. It was initially planned so that each band member would play on an isolated track without knowing what the others were doing, which ultimately led to failure; no song was ever properly assembled using this technique.

Then problems arose at the historic Abbey Road studio, which was not yet equipped to record more than eight tracks, deemed insufficient to accommodate the band's ideas and sound. So, they moved to various London studios.

The real inspiration that sparked the compositions for this album was a single, isolated note, played on the piano by Richard Wright, filtered with an effect that made it sound like a submarine's sonar, its sound breaking, softening, and changing with the density of the water. This was the beginning of the composition of Echoes, the marvelous suite that occupies the entire B-side of the album.

The history of the cover is also troubled, the only one created by the band (as stated on the cover itself). They initially rejected the proposal from graphic design studio Hipgnosis and suggested a close-up of an ear underwater. The result wasn't approved by the graphic designers, who proposed a photo of the back of a baboon, but the band requested a subject that was "underwater" (in line with the album's title track and the sonar sound of Echoes). They reached an agreement with the graphic designers for a close-up photo of an ear underwater, with the auricle completely submerged and the ripples in the water representing interference, something that can only be vaguely appreciated (at least for me) by opening the cover completely and looking at the overall image created between the back and front. Am I the only one who thinks it looks like an upside-down nose? The cover is credited to Bob Dowling for the photo with Pink Floyd for the design and to Hipgnosis for the inner sleeve.

"One of These Days" is a well-known masterpiece, having been used in numerous TV theme songs. It features an extraordinary bass line by Waters with Echo Binson effects, accompanied by Gilmour's guitar. A fantastic song, noteworthy is that the bass line originates from a guitar riff created by David Gilmour and then played on bass by Roger Waters. Nick Mason's voice appears in the electronically modified line "One of these days I'm going to cut you into little pieces."

"Echoes" features Richard Wright's fantastic piano, with a riff conceived during an improvisation: Wright passed a note through a Leslie speaker, producing a sort of "underwater sound." A song with an epic tempo, a visionary mood, moments of funk, and dominated by experimentation. A masterpiece.

Other more melodic tracks complete the album, including "Fearless" which quotes and reproduces the Liverpool fans' chant "You'll Never Walk Alone."

The title, Meddle, is a play on words between "medal" and "meddle" (to interfere).

A melodic and psychedelic album that, in my opinion, takes their sound to a new level—some would say even greater. I believe that immense musical masterpieces have sprung from its roots. For me, it's simply different; I also love their previous works. I don't question the greatness of what came after, but I believe that what came after doesn't completely erase the greatness of this and their previous works.

An album that was born during a difficult phase for the band, in search of new ideas and sounds, ended up being one of their finest works in my opinion, and which I obviously can't help but recommend to all of you.

The Tracks

1. One of These Days (5:56)

2. A Pillow of Winds (5:13)

3. Fearless (6:08) *

4. San Tropez (3:43)

5. Seamus (2:15)

6. Echoes (23:27)

Running Time 46:42

The Lineup

- David Gilmour - guitars, bass (1), harmonica (5), lead vocals (2, 3, 5, 6), and harmonies (3)

- Richard Wright - Hammond, Farfisa, piano, lead vocals (6)

- Roger Waters - bass, acoustic guitar (4), lead vocals (4)

- Nick Mason - drums and percussion, vocals (1)