Production
The intro is constructed around the same loop of acoustic guitar played with the EBow, Zoom-enhanced and played backward, that can be heard on “Take It Back.” In this case it is accompanied by numerous synthesizer effects. The beat is provided by programmed hi-hat, and resonant guitar chords with very present delay then join in. This somewhat cosmic-sounding mood is complemented by a lead guitar line from David Gilmour. Programmed drums then reinforce the beat, supported in turn by two rhythm guitars and a bass. Stephen Hawking’s synthesized voice can be heard from 1:15: For millions of years… This is followed by the first verse, which is sung by Gilmour in an almost confiding voice. Nick Mason is playing his Drum Workshop kit and, along with the various programmed rhythm elements, lays down an excellent groove. Gilmour continues his lead vocal accompanied by backing vocals in a sort of question-and-answer dialogue, to some degree resembling Rick Wright’s “Wearing the Inside Out.” The physicist’s voice is heard again at 2:38 with It doesn’t have to be like this… and then Gilmour seems to answer him with a furious solo on his “Red Strat” with Big Muff distortion. Gilmour’s phrasing is hard-edged rock, and he is accompanied by the superb rhythm section of Nick Mason, Guy Pratt, and—with various programmed and “live” percussion instruments—Gary Wallis. Not to forget Rick Wright’s Hammond organ, which now puts in an appearance. Wright also takes over from Gilmour’s solo on a keyboard whose sound recalls the Minimoog, the phrasing bringing to mind some of the big moments of Wish You Were Here. Gilmour then resumes his dialogue with the backing vocalists, and while they sing the last four lines of the song, he plays another solo, this time using his Heil Sound Talk Box for the first time since Animals. Whereas on tracks like “Pigs (Three Different Ones),” he used it to create particular sonic effects, this time he plays a full-blown and highly successful solo, somewhat in the style popularized by Peter Frampton in the early seventies. Against the background of this Talk Box solo, Hawking’s voice can be heard repeating the statement It doesn’t have to be like this, (at 4:54), followed a few seconds later by All we need to do is make sure we keep talking. The track ends with a fade-out in an atmosphere dominated by the rhythm guitars, the various sequencer programming and rhythmic elements, and synth pads.
“Keep Talking” is an ambitious track that succeeds thanks to Stephen Hawking’s extraordinary message and Pink Floyd’s excellent execution.
Stephen Hawking is director of research at the University of Cambridge, the birthplace of David Gilmour and Syd Barrett and the childhood home of Roger Waters.
Stephen Hawking, who suffers from motor-neurone disease (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), is the author of the worldwide bestseller A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes, published in 1988. His extraordinary life was made into a movie called The Theory of Everything (2014), directed by James Marsh.
For Pink Floyd Addicts
The rapper Wiz Khalifa uses a sample of “Keep Talking” in his song “B.A.R.” (2009).
Lost For Words
David Gilmour, Polly Samson/5:16
Musicians
David Gilmour: vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, programming
Rick Wright: keyboards, piano
Nick Mason: drums
Jon Carin: keyboards, programming (?)
Gary Wallis: percussion
Recorded
Britannia Row Studios, Islington, London: January 1993
Astoria, Hampton: February–May, September–December 1993
Metropolis Studios, Chiswick, London: September–December 1993
The Creek Recording Studios, London: September–December 1993
Technical Team
Producers: David Gilmour, Bob Ezrin
Sound Engineers: Andy Jackson, Keith Grant (The Creek), Chris Thomas (mixing)
Assistant Sound Engineer: Jules Bowen (Astoria)
Genesis
This song, which David Gilmour wrote with Polly Samson, tells of two friends. Or rather two former friends. The first is addressing the second, who makes no reply on the subject of the grievances he has caused: I was spending my time in the doldrums because I felt persecuted and paralysed. He then realizes that he is wasting his time on his enemies and that hostility is preventing him from facing up to reality. What is the point of wanting revenge? To martyr yourself to caution is not going to serve any purpose, sings Gilmour. The best solution would be to make peace, But they tell me to please go fuck myself/You know you just can’t win.
No prizes for guessing that the two individuals in question are David Gilmour and Roger Waters. On the part of Gilmour, anger and incomprehension have given way to reflection and a desire to bury the axe: So I open my door to my enemies—an offer Waters flatly rejects: “[The] Future and world welfare don’t rest on a reconciliation between Dave Gilmour and myself,”36 the former Floyd bassist has declared.
Production
“Lost for Words” begins with a low C played on a synthesizer. We then hear resonant footsteps as someone walks toward a door that is then opened and closed. Could this symbolize a past being left behind? A bass drum and a hi-hat (both almost certainly programmed) immediately mark the beat. Synth pads then help to generate a darkish atmosphere, and dissonant notes on the piano ratchet up the tension a little more before the mood lightens again with the entry of two acoustic guitars positioned on either side of the stereo field. These are played by David Gilmour, delivering a folk-like accompaniment on his Gibson J-200 and accompanied by an organ whose particular sonority recalls a harmonium. Gilmour then plays a very good solo, still acoustic, and this time with Rick Wright on piano (but quite recessed in the mix). Nick Mason marks the start of the first verse with a tom break, and lays down a rhythm very much in the style of US folk rock, supported by Gary Wallis on tambourine and Guy Pratt on bass guitar. The very first notes of the melody inevitably bring to mind Bruce Springsteen and his superb song “Independence Day” (The River, 1980). David Gilmour sings in a clear, confident, and gentle voice. He sounds serene, at peace. The emotions he expresses through the lyrics are not innocuous, they represent a painful period in his life, but the storm has now passed, and this calm is reflected in his performance.
The end of the third verse gives way to an instrumental bridge that opens with a series of strongly tremolo-colored notes on the Strat. Distorted, reverb-drenched guitar sounds and synth pads weave a dreamlike atmosphere in which crowd noises emerge reasonably distinctly. The scene is probably a boxing match, the perfect metaphor for the confrontation between Waters and Gilmour, and this would seem to be confirmed by the pair of boxing gloves illustrating the sleeve of the promotional single that was released in the US in March 1994 (the “clean” version, that is to say with the word fuck expunged!). This interlude dominated by sound effects is followed by two more verses, after which Gilmour plays a second solo on his Gibson J-200, his performance in no way inferior to his legendary electric solos. “Lost for Words” ends with a fade-out accompanied by birdsong and church bells that gradually increase in volume, providing a link with the last title on the album: “High Hopes.”
What to say about “Lost for Words”? This admission in song of the scars caused by his violent disagreement with Waters is a brave move on Gilmour’s part. It also provides him with a way of once and for all ruling out the possibility of any further collaboration between the two men. He has extended the hand of friendship, but it has not been taken. End of story.
For Pink Floyd Addicts
When the Right One walks out of the door, sings Gilmour in the third verse. Could the Right One be Rick Wright, fired by Waters from Pink Floyd toward the end of the recording sessions for The Wall?
High Hopes
David Gilmour, Polly Samson / 8:32
Musicians
David Gilmour: vocals, vocal harmonies, classical guitar, lap steel guitar, programming
Rick Wright: keyboards, piano (?)
Nick Mason: drums
Bob Ezrin: keyboards (
?), programming (?)
Jon Carin: keyboards (?) piano (?)
Guy Pratt: bass
Gary Wallis: percussion
Michael Kamen: arrangements, orchestral conducting
Charlie Gilmour, Steve O’Rourke: voices on the telephone
Unidentified Musicians: orchestra
Recorded
Britannia Row Studios, Islington, London: January 1993
Astoria, Hampton: February–May, September–December 1993
Metropolis Studios, Chiswick, London: September–December 1993
The Creek Recording Studios, London: September–December 1993
Technical Team
Producers: David Gilmour, Bob Ezrin
Sound Engineers: Andy Jackson, Keith Grant (The Creek), Chris Thomas (mixing), Steve McLaughlin (orchestra)
Assistant Sound Engineer: Jules Bowen (Astoria)
Genesis
David Gilmour has said that “High Hopes” was the last song on The Division Bell to have been completed, even though it was composed back in July 1993. It is also the song that sealed his lyric-writing partnership with Polly Samson: “I came up with a tiny bit of music, just had it on cassette, just a few bars of piano and then I went off to get away to a small house somewhere with my girlfriend Polly and try and make some progress on lyric writing and she gave me a phrase, something about ‘before time wears you down’ and I took it from there and got stuck into a whole sort of thing.”148
“High Hopes” is an evocation of David Gilmour’s youth in Cambridge, the expression of a profound nostalgia—a recurrent theme in Pink Floyd ever since the days of Syd Barrett—for a bygone world, a world of magnets and miracles in which our thoughts strayed constantly, where the grass was greener, the light was brighter, and nights spent in the company of friends were inexhaustible sources of wonder. The narrator, who seems to have come to the end of his days, and thus to have reached the time of judgment (the division bell), recalls this period (before time took our dreams away) with abundant emotion. It is clear that his friends have disappeared or are no longer friends, that his life has been strewn with obstacles and consumed by slow decay, and that the dreamed-of world is in reality crushed by the weight of desire and ambition. For the character in the song, life has flowed like an endless river, the title Pink Floyd would give their final album ten years later. Should we see this penultimate line of “High Hopes,” the closing track on The Division Bell, as a deliberate desire for continuity?
According to Bob Ezrin, “High Hopes” is the best song on the album. “It’s the best track on the record. It is all David. It knitted together the album. It’s a monochrome, high-contrast musical painting, surrounded by a few little colourful elements, that form a wrapper around it. But the essence of the song is very stark. It’s peculiarly English. And when the Floyd are being English, they are at their best. Sometimes they are almost Dickensian. So is this.”81
“High Hopes” was released as a single on October 17, 1994 (with “Keep Talking” as the B-side). It reached number 26 on the British charts in October 1994.
Production
The concluding track on The Division Bell opens in a distinctly pastoral mood, with birdsong, bells chiming in the distance, a buzzing bee… Each of these elements lends itself to symbolic interpretation: the birds resemble those at the beginning of “Cirrus Minor” (More), the village church bells are the same as the ones in the intro to “Fat Old Sun” (Atom Heart Mother), and the bee is not unlike that of “Grantchester Meadows” (Ummagumma). Is this intentional? Probably, given the context of the song. A second bell then rings out, putting an end to the gentle bucolic scene. Given its absolute regularity, this “division bell” (which always tolls on the same note of C) has presumably been sampled and programmed. It is answered by a piano, and a kind of dialogue between the two ensues. David Gilmour then launches into the lead vocal in a low and rather melancholy voice supported by the same piano (Wright? Carin?) and Guy Pratt’s bass. Very discreet strings enter with the first bridge, and Gilmour starts to accompany himself on a nylon-string classical guitar (his Ovation 1613-4?), supported by a beat apparently composed of a tom sample and a rimshot (from 1:16). This passage also brings to mind Sting’s superb song “Shape of My Heart” (1993). This is followed by another verse (at 1:54) and, eventually, the first refrain, sung by Gilmour in a higher voice and accompanied by Michael Kamen’s strings, a tambourine, and a (programmed?) drum part. After a third voice and a second bridge, Gilmour plays one of his rare solos on a nylon-string guitar (from 2:58). In fact he plays two guitar parts: a first, consisting of the same motif played over and over again, in the right-hand channel, and a second, answering the first with Spanish-sounding phrases, in the left. He is accompanied by Michael Kamen’s string and brass arrangements and some rather military-sounding snare drums (samples?) that recall “Bring the Boys Back Home” from The Wall. In the final refrain of the song, Gilmour harmonizes with himself. This time, Nick Mason’s drums are very present and launch the guitarist into an epic lap steel solo on his Jedson, most probably with Big Muff distortion. The instrument is tuned in E minor (E, B, E, G, B, E). Gilmour plays for almost 2:20, and it has to be acknowledged that this is one of the characteristic Pink Floyd sounds, reminiscent in particular of The Dark Side of the Moon. “I always had a fondness for pedal steels and lap steels. I guess it’s because I could never come to grips with standard bottleneck playing.”162
The track ends with a fade-out of the music over which the bell gradually returns, eventually ringing by itself for around twenty seconds. This is followed by twenty seconds or so of silence until at 8:18 a sort of hidden message can be heard in the form of a telephone conversation between the Pink Floyd manager, Steve O’Rourke, and Charlie, Polly Samson’s young son: Hello?/Yeah… /Is that Charlie?/Yes./Hello Charlie!/[the Charlie in question then mumbles something and hangs up]/Great! The reason for this little joke is that Steve O’Rourke insisted on making an appearance on the album.
“High Hopes” is also one of the high points on the album, not least for the different atmospheres it evokes. However, David Gilmour would explain that he had a lot of trouble re-creating the mood of his original demo: “I did a complete demo of that in a day at the studio. But for some reason, we couldn’t use it because, I think, maybe the tempo wavered a little bit. It then took ages to capture a take that was anywhere near as good as the demo.”162 He can rest assured: the final result is definitely up to scratch.
David Gilmour and Polly Samson refer to the Giant’s Causeway in County Antrim in Northern Ireland. In Celtic legend, the causeway is linked to Fingal’s Cave in Scotland, which gave its name to a Floyd composition for the soundtrack of Zabriskie Point. Is this intended as another allusion to Pink Floyd’s past?
COVERS
The Finnish heavy metal band Nightwish covered “High Hopes” in concert. A version can be found on the double live album (and DVD) End of an Era (2006).
The bell that can be heard in this song is not actually the famous division bell of the Houses of Parliament. It is thought to be the bell of either Cambridge University or Ely Cathedral.
THE
ENDLESS
RIVER
ALBUM
THE ENDLESS RIVER
RELEASE DATE
United Kingdom: November 10, 2014
Label: Parlophone Records Ltd.
RECORD NUMBER: 825646215423
Number 1, on the charts for 19 weeks (United Kingdom); number 1 (France, Belgium, Canada, Netherlands, Germany); number 3 (United States)
Things Left Unsaid/It’s What We Do/Ebb And Flow/Sum/Skins/Unsung/Anisina/The Lost Art Of Conversation/On Noodle Street/Night Light/Allons-y(1)/Autumn ’68/Allons-y(2)/Talkin’ Hawkin’/Calling/Eyes To Pearls/Surfacing/Louder Than Words BONUS TRACKS TBS9/TBS14/Nervana
The Endless River Marks the End of the Road
July 2, 2005. The lineup for the Live 8 concert in Hyde Park, which took place just before the thirty-first G8 summit (in Scotland), w
as on a par with Bob Geldof’s new and commendable ambition: the cancellation of the debt of the world’s poorest countries. Paul McCartney, Elton John, the Who, Sting, U2, Madonna, and Coldplay all answered the call from the former lead singer of the Boomtown Rats. Far more surprisingly, Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Rick Wright, and Nick Mason were prepared to set aside their grudges for this humanitarian cause. “Breathe,” “Money,” “Wish You Were Here,” “Comfortably Numb”: the group performed four of its major compositions, and as darkness fell over the heart of London, the old magic kicked in, as if the years had left the four members of Pink Floyd, and most importantly their music, completely untouched… “After our final bow, we headed backstage where there was plenty of undisguised emotion on show,” writes Nick Mason, “but I am delighted to report that, great troopers that we are, the four of us displayed that inscrutable and dry-eyed stoicism that is part of a fine Pink Floyd tradition… And there for now the story must pause.”5
Completing the Cycle
However, the Pink Floyd story did not reach its conclusion with the reunion of the four musicians on the lawns of Hyde Park at the Live 8 concert, and neither did it end with the death of Rick Wright, aged sixty-five, on September 15, 2008, two years after Syd Barrett had died. Waters, Gilmour, and Mason as well as the wider musical world and the group’s enormous fan base were deeply saddened by the loss of both these musicians.
The story was to continue with a new album, the main aim of which, for David Gilmour, was to perpetuate the memory of the deceased keyboard player, described by the Floyd guitarist as “such a lovely, gentle, genuine man,” who would “be missed terribly by so many who loved him.”166 During the course of 2012, David Gilmour, assisted by Nick Mason, therefore delved into the group’s relatively recent past—that is to say the twenty or so hours of improvisation recorded in 1993, the era of The Division Bell, only a small proportion of which had been used in the making of the album. “Initially, we had considered making The Division Bell as a two-part record,” explains Nick Mason to Michael Bonner. “Half to be songs, and the other a series of ambient instrumental pieces. Eventually, we decided to make it a single album and inevitably much of the preparation work remained unused.”167 At the time, this second part, consisting of ambient music, had been baptized The Big Spliff (not without a touch of humor) by sound engineer Andy Jackson, who nevertheless envisaged that it would one day be released on disc as a follow-up or complement to The Division Bell.
Pink Floyd All the Songs Page 75
