Pink Floyd Retrospective: Album 14- The Division Bell

 

Richard Wright's final album with the band...

Album:  The Division Bell

Year Released:    1994

Lineup:

Pink Floyd David Gilmour – vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards, programming Nick Mason – drums, percussion Richard Wright – keyboards, vocals Additional musicians Jon Carin – additional keyboards, programming Guy Pratt – bass guitar Gary Wallis – percussion programming and performance Tim Renwick – additional guitars Dick Parry – tenor saxophone Bob Ezrin – percussion, keyboards Sam Brown – backing vocals Durga McBroom – backing vocals Carol Kenyon – backing vocals Jackie Sheridan – backing vocals Rebecca Leigh-White – backing vocals Michael Kamen – orchestral arrangements Edward Shearmur – orchestrations Stephen Hawking – speech synthesis (on Keep Talking)

Track Listing:

No. Title                                                         Length

1. "Cluster One"                                   5:56

2. "What Do You Want From Me"             4:22

3. "Poles Apart"                            7:03

4. "Marooned"                          5:30

5. "A Great Day for Freedom"             4:16

6. "Wearing the Inside Out"                    6:49

7. "Take It Back" 6:12

8. "Coming Back to Life"          6:19

9. "Keep Talking"                          6:11

10. "Lost for Words"                   5:15

11. "High Hopes"                                  8:31

Total length: 66:23

Overall Thoughts:

After "A Momentary Lapse of Reason", Pink Floyd went seven years before recording another album.  It would be the final album for keyboardist Richard Wright, who would pass away in 2008.  The legally no longer a member of the band, he collaborated and even wrote some of the music for their 14th album, "The Divison Bell".

There was an overall theme to "The Division Bell"- communication and talking through problems.  It's a good theme, not one that us usually the centerpiece of a rock album.  "Keep Talking" has Stephen Hawking in the background saying the humanity's ability to talk was a reason mankind was able to be more than animals.  "Lost for Words" is the opposite- how a lack of communication led to anger and bitterness (the song seems to be an ode to their former bandmate Roger Waters).

There's some excellent songs here- "Keep Talking" and "Take It Back" are the highlights, just missing my personal top 10.  Musically, the album is excellent, and the instrumentals are fantastic.  It never quite reaches the heights of their best albums- but "The Division Bell" is a great record.  

Ranking of Pink Floyd Albums (adding as more albums are reviewed):

1. Wish You Were Here
2. Dark Side of the Moon
3. The Wall
4. A Momentary Lapse of Reason
5. The Division Bell
6. Meddle
7. A Saucerful of Secrets
8. Obscured by Clouds
9. Ummagumma
10. Animals
11. More
12. Piper at the Gates of Dawn
13. Atom Heart Mother
14. The Final Cut

Top 10 Pink Floyd Songs (changing as more albums are reviewed):

1. "Wish You Were Here", Wish You You Were Here
2. "Comfortably Numb", the Wall
3. "Money", Dark Side of the Moon
4. "On the Turning Away", A Momentary Lapse of Reason
5. "Us and Them", Dark Side of the Moon
6. "Learning to Fly", A Momentary Lapse of Reason
7. "Welcome to the Machine", Wish You Were Here
8. "Time", Dark Side of the Moon
9. "Fearless", Meddle
10. "Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I-V)", Wish You Were Here