Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Pink Floyd
Label: EMI Records
Released: 1994
Length: 66:32
Rating: 5/5
Seven years after »A Momentary Lapse Of Reason« (1987), Pink Floyd decided, to the huge delight of their devoted fans, that the time had come for a new studio album. The making of »The Division Bell« was marked by the long-awaited return of original keyboardist and singer Richard Wright, sadly no longer with us, who thus became a full member again of this legendary English progressive rock band, a band few expected to survive the first half of the nineties, let alone put out an excellent studio album packed with unforgettable ambient moments. Rick had to wait for his lost full-member status all the way from 1979, when former bassist and singer Roger Waters high-handedly fired him from the band.
After Waters left, Rick did come back for »A Momentary Lapse Of Reason« and joined forces with his two remaining Pink Floyd buddies, guitarist/singer David Gilmour and drummer Nick Mason, but for legal reasons he only took part in that record as a guest musician. This time around Wright was an equal creative partner, and you can feel it in every single »The Divsion Bell« composition. For the first time since »Dark Side Of The Moon« (1973), he also stepped up as lead vocalist, on the track »Wearing The Inside Out«. Seasoned producer Bob Ezrin, a longtime Pink Floyd collaborator, returned as well, and with his production know-how he seriously modernized the sound, so the album passes the test of time with flying colors today.
Among the old collaborators, keyboardist Jon Carin and saxophonist Dick Parry were back again, the latter lending some of the songs a noticeable jazzy touch with his passages. »The Division Bell« was recorded in various locations, including Gilmour’s floating studio Astoria. The sound of the album was also shaped by the fact that Carin, rummaging around by chance in some long-running Pink Floyd studio, dug up a whole pile of older keyboards, Farfisa organ among them, which gave certain compositions an ‘antique’, nostalgic seventies charm.
One of the biggest flaws, if not the biggest, caused by Waters’ departure was the quality of the lyrics, which got some fair, constructive criticism on »A Momentary Lapse Of Reason«. Gilmour simply wasn’t as gifted a poet as Waters, so on »The Division Bell« he didn’t lose much sleep over how to reach Waters’ intellectual level. For help with the words he called on his then partner and future wife Polly Samson, who exceeded all expectations. Waters’ lyrics were admittedly still a chapter of their own, but Samson helped them get closer to the old standards.
Most of the lyrics on »The Divison Bell« wrestle with problems of communication between people, the inability to fix things with the right words, and the illusory spirit of freedom that took hold in the early nineties right after the fall of the Berlin Wall, only to vanish in an instant with the brutal wars in the territory of the former Yugoslavia (the track »A Great Day For Freedom«). The cover art by the late Storm Thorgerson, with two gigantic faces that form a third, allegorically represented the absence of both former members, original singer and guitarist Syd Barrett and Roger Waters.
»The Division Bell« was an important step up from »A Momentary Lapse Of Reason« in songwriting, arrangements, lyrics and atmosphere, and it brought back some long-missed sonic subtleties. The trio of Gilmour, Wright and Mason this time outdid the expectations of everyone who was convinced that Pink Floyd simply couldn’t make an album anymore that could match the level of their best days with Waters in the lineup. They once again used the tried-and-true winning »Dark Side Of The Moon« formula and made room on some tracks for epic, soul-based female vocal harmonies. Not just the lyrics but also the vocal harmonies and arrangements radiate a new stage of emotional and atmospheric maturity, one the gentlemen Gilmour, Wright and Mason reached only in the years after Waters’ departure, when as friends and musical collaborators they grew closer than ever before.
The whole of »The Division Bell« is a gorgeous ambient journey across vast sonic plains, where Dave’s piercing guitar variations and Rick’s keyboard curtains play the key roles, while the ‘food for thought’ never runs out, so even more than twenty years after its release you can still catch something new on it, some sonic detail you missed before. The instrumental »Cluster One« opens with a one-minute ambient intro, where the muted sounds of electromagnetic waves from the solar wind honestly threw some fans off, since they thought something was wrong with their copy. After this odd opening, space opens up for subtle piano-and-guitar finesse, which right at the start of the album delivers some seriously intense ambient moments.
»What Do You Want From Me«, which gradually grows from a ballad into a more energetic, rocking creation, is marked by plenty of melancholic blues shades. The slow start is defined by Wright’s keyboard soloing and Gilmour’s melancholic guitar variations, followed by the onslaught of mighty female vocal harmonies, creating exceptional emotional depth. The lyrics are basically about a relationship between a man and a woman, but soon become something more, since they contain some considerably deeper metaphors.
On the nostalgic »Poles Apart«, ruled by lovely harmonies between acoustic guitar and keyboards, the Pink Floyd trio remember both of their former buddies in the lyrics, that is Syd Barrett and Roger Waters (the lyrics contain a reference to the track »Hey You« from the album »The Wall«, 1979). Wright’s fantastic organ solo instantly conjures up the nostalgic pulse of the seventies, something that was at least partly missing on »A Momentary Lapse Of Reason«, while the added orchestration enriches the emotionally intense atmosphere.
The wonderful instrumental »Marooned«, which won Pink Floyd a Grammy in 1995, is another incredibly deep ambient creation, where Gilmour with his ‘weeping’ guitar improvisations, backed by fragile piano passages and branching ambient curtains, builds an indescribably melancholic mood that, with every new listen, shakes body and soul with its emotional depth. There’s an all-pervading seaside, island-like atmosphere, with plenty of dissonant sounds, brimming with unsettling nostalgia.
»A Great Day For Freedom«, the next big melancholic moment, is a shattering peace-movement ballad with a deep, pacifist lyric that even the great peacenik Waters might have liked. The fall of the Berlin Wall created a great illusion, when for a short while it seemed the world might finally become free, but it all quickly soured into big disappointment over new wars, tangled up with Western greed, corruption and hypocrisy. Moving piano passages and Gilmour’s dejected vocal performance, in harmony with majestic orchestral arrangements and those distinctive, always thrilling guitar variations, create a beautifully harmonized, smoothly drifting melancholy. Interestingly, this excellent track was originally supposed to be called »In Shades Of Grey«, while many fans were convinced its lyrics are really about the day Waters left the band and finally gave the other members creative freedom, which Gilmour, who hadn’t been on the best terms with Roger for years, repeatedly and firmly denied.
On »Wearing The Inside Out«, a track about an individual returning from complete personal isolation and communication breakdown back into the social world, Wright takes the lead vocal, and it was also his last lead vocal in Pink Floyd history. Before this wonderful comeback, Rick last took the lead vocal on the classic »Time«. He once again did his not-so-frequent duty phenomenally well and created one of the most emotional moments on the whole album, accompanied by melancholic saxophone passages courtesy of Dick Parry, gorgeous symphonic swells and Dave’s melancholic guitar improvisations. On the third verse Gilmour briefly takes over the lead vocal again, which only boosts the exceptional ambient contrast. The backing female harmonies, on the other hand, crank up the incredibly intense, nostalgic and melancholic atmosphere even more, while Dave’s closing guitar solo is definitely among the highlights of »The Division Bell«. Many fans today see »Wearing The Inside Out«, which Pink Floyd (as a band) have never played live to this day, as a kind of farewell song from Rick.
With »Take It Back«, the single and the most commercially minded piece on the album, Pink Floyd created their last big hit (at least as far as the previous century goes). This eco-conscious masterpiece, with an unforgettable video showing the brutal felling of the last tree on Earth, is marked by galloping rhythmic touches of the kind U2 used to love on their hits, which was a smart move commercially. Everything else is pure Pink Floyd sonic heritage, led by a phenomenal chorus, backing vocal harmonies and the central arrangement, while the lyrics knock on the individual’s conscience and remind them of all the pain humans inflict on ‘mother nature’. According to the lyrics, she will sooner or later recover from the devastation and pollution and pay modern man back for his ignorant behavior ‘with interest’ (which has already been happening in the last few years).
»Coming Back To Life« is Gilmour’s complete improvisational triumph on electric guitar, where you simply can’t praise his singing and guitar work enough. Between the keyboard passages he treats himself to several different, fascinating solos, the kind only this great guitar virtuoso could forge. Vocally too, this deeply personal piece is one of the emotional peaks of the album. The lyrics are dedicated to Gilmour’s then partner and future wife Poly Samson, who pulled him out of a severe emotional crisis at the time, when after a long stretch he tried cocaine again, but luckily she managed to save him just in time for him to pick himself up and climb out of the abyss.
»Keep Talking«, which features a sample of the electronic voice of the famous physicist Stephen Hawking, is marked by ethereal curtains and moving guitar variations, which together crank up the melodramatic mood. The entry of mighty female vocal harmonies is pure balm for the ears, while Dave once again shines with his guitar artistry and keeps ratcheting up the tense ambient drama. The lyrics deal with the philosophical question of the meaning of human existence and the wish that proper communication could solve all of humanity’s problems. In the closing section, the guitar variations, with the help of sound effects (a ‘talk box’ effect), sound almost grotesque at moments and briefly recall the »Animals« (1977) classic »Pigs«. »Keep Talking was also the first single released from »The Division Bell.
The next track, also released as a single, was called »Lost For Words«. It was yet another beautiful composition of the kind only Pink Floyd could make. The ambient mood here is exceptionally rich and pastoral thanks to lovely acoustic guitar passages, while Dave’s vocal is in the best possible emotional shape. Because of its acoustic nature, this excellent number has quite a few parallels with the evergreen »Wish You Were Here« from the album of the same name, while Pink Floyd, for the first time in their history, drop the word ‘fuck’ in the middle of a lyric.
Interesting that one of the most optimistic moments on »The Division Bell« is followed by the most melancholic piece in the entire Pink Floyd story. For the album’s grand finale, the gentlemen Gilmour, Wright and Mason created one of the key works of their long musical career. The shattering ballad »High Hopes«, the last single from the album, is one of the most moving, emotionally devastating endings in the whole story of rock music, and at the same time an autobiographical, if not outright farewell, composition. The track opens with the sound of buzzing flies and church bells tolling, out of which a ‘call bell’ emerges, played by Mason, before strikingly fragile piano chords come crashing in.
This time Dave takes a darker vocal approach in the opening verses, which fits the mood and message of this unforgettable classic, while the brutally melancholic chorus is the emotional peak of this ambient masterpiece. In between, moving guitar variations and multidimensional symphonic curtains flow constantly. In the stunningly nostalgic lyrics the trio look back at their past, with plenty of references to their turbulent musical career. Gilmour, who outdoes himself in the closing section with bittersweet guitar variations, always maintained that it’s his autobiographical song, with references to many missed opportunities from the past, but he surely had in mind the early years of his time in Pink Floyd too, before the ‘cracks’ and ‘factions’ appeared in the band. The members of Pink Floyd simply couldn’t have imagined a better ambient farewell and ending to their long road, something even Waters might admit today.
Only a handful of people dared to predict that »The Division Bell« would become one of the best albums of the last decade of the 20th century and one of the deepest achievements in the entire Pink Floyd discography. On it they finally managed to dispel Waters’ long shadow and prove they could make compositions on par in quality and emotion with the ‘golden seventies’. Fans reacted mostly positively, and the album was crowned after its release by a huge tour on the scale of their past spectacles. Still, the reaction of critics at the time to »The Division Bell« was downright devastating, if not criminal, and many came to regret their big mistake only years later. For a long time »The Division Bell« was considered the ultimate Pink Floyd epitaph, with which they unofficially closed their studio journey, but after twenty years shocking news came from Gilmour’s camp that they’re recording a new album again, to be called »The Endless River«. No detailed information is known yet, except that it’s mostly material they started working on back in 1994 and which was originally supposed to come out on a never-realized instrumental project, so it’s already quite likely that stylistically they’ll pick up where they left off on »The Division Bell«.
Lineup
David Gilmour – lead vocals, electric guitar, bass guitar, acoustic guitar, talk box
Nick Mason – drums, percussion
Richard Wright – keyboards, piano, vocals
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Jon Carin – programming, piano, additional keyboards
Guy Pratt – bass guitar
Gary Wallis – percussion
Tim Renwick – guitar
Dick Parry – tenor saxophoneBob Ezrin – keyboards, percussion
Sam Brown – backing vocalsDurga McBroom – backing vocals
Carol Kenyon – backing vocals
Jackie Sheridan – backing vocals
Rebecca Leigh-White – backing vocals
Production
Bob Ezrin and David Gilmour
Tracklist
1. Cluster One (5:58)
2. What Do You Want From Me (4:21)
3. Poles Apart (7:04)
4. Marooned (5:28)
5. A Great Day For Freedom (4:18)
6. Wearing The Inside Out (6:48)
7. Take It Back (6:12)
8. Coming Back To Life (6:19)
9. Keep Talking (6:11)
10. Lost For Words (5:14)
11. High Hopes (8:31)
