As we near the end of our Pink Floyd series, I chose to move things along as quickly as possible. Thus, this show features five albums in only nine ttracks.

Four of the releases are by Roger Waters, who became fairly prolific in his old age. I confess that I really hesitated to spend money on most of the releases featured in this episode. I mean, “The Wall”….again??? Yet another David Gilmour live album? Roger Waters narrating a Stravinsky piece? It all felt like way too much redundancy, or irrelevance to the average Pink Floyd fan. Why would anybody need a third or fourth version of something that was already beaten into our consciousness?

I call this series “How Music Changed”, so isn’t it ironic that in order to tell the complete story of Pink Floyd, I must cover the same things over and over? That was certainly my thought before listening, and I made these purchases while gritting my teeth, but...I somehow found myself surprised by most of the content.

Yes, the basic themes and melodies have not changed, but there is plenty of new ‘color’ to the mix, with a few music passages added to keep it interesting. For sure, Roger Waters in particular has grown wizened – both figuratively and literally, as his age has only intensified his beliefs, with his delivery clear minded and much more pointed than his earlier theme albums.  

At worst, this episode could be considered nothing more than a reprise of the post-Syd Barrett band’s best work (which, I suppose, on some level it is) but considering that approximately a half-century passed in the interim, it’s rather impressive, despite my predispositions. 

Featured tracks:

The Ballad of Jean Charles De Menezes – Roger Waters

Mother – Roger Waters

The Blue – David Gilmour

Fat Old Sun – David Gilmour

Soldier’s Tale – Roger Waters

Deja Vu - Roger Waters

The Last Refugee – Roger Waters

Picture That – Roger Waters

Two Suns in the Sunset – Roger Waters