The Cavern
Rock & Words
(SOUNDTRACK FROM THE FILM) MORE (Pink Floyd, 1969)
Artist: Pink Floyd (B+)
Recording Dates: Mar 1969
Release Date: July 27, 1969. UK
Record Label: Columbia/EMI
Producer: Pink Floyd
Rating: 7.5
Era: Progressive (1968-???)
Subgenre: Soundtrack
Best Song: Cymbaline
Tracklist: 1) Cirrus Minor; 2) The Nile Song; 3) Crying Song; 4) Up The Khyber; 5) Green Is The Colour; 6) Cymbaline; 7) Party Sequence; 8) Main Theme; 9) Ibiza Bar; 10) More Blues; 11) Quicksilver; 12) A Spanish Piece; 13) Dramatic Theme.
Hehe, did you think I was going to jump straight to Ummagumma? I almost did, but this is one of Floyd's semi-official albums that's well worth checking out. It's generally not included in the official discography, although it had some success in the UK, reaching number 9 on the charts, still overshadowed by the tremendous Piper at the Gates of Dawn. Those who aren't die-hard Pink Floyd fans might be surprised to learn about this album, since Ummagumma is generally considered the successor to Saucerful of Secrets. And I don't blame them; there's not much information about this album, and it took me quite a while to discover it myself, but it's not just musical filler for some weird movie, as one might think.
The reputation they earned as an avant-garde and experimental group with their first two albums led film director Barbet Schroeder to commission them to compose the music for the film More. This album would thus be a first for Pink Floyd in several respects: their first foray into the world of full-length soundtracks (Obscured by Clouds is their second soundtrack, though almost no one knows it), their first self-produced album, and the first on which Barrett is definitively absent. Unlike Saucerful, where he collaborates on some tracks and his physical presence is noticeable, here he is nothing more than a shadow of madness and experimentation. It would be the first album where the group was definitively without its leader and began that long and arduous journey in search of an identity, which would take them about three or four years to find. Although 1969 wasn't a bad year for them, in the interim they were still under Syd's shadow, trying to fill his void, wandering between rock, avant-garde, cosmic psychedelia, some well-crafted folk ballads, furious rockers, and frank flirtations with progressive rock. The truth is that this album inaugurates that era in which Floyd tried everything and nothing at once. In some cases, they managed to create excellent songs, daring and with a more or less distinctive style, but in others, it must be acknowledged that they failed miserably. And this is an album where these two facets are very clearly evident.
I haven't seen the film, which is really hard to find, but I know it's about a guy who falls for the wrong girl and ends up dying in Ibiza, drowning in heroin. The film hasn't received very good reviews, but it must be said that the album has many moods, and you can recognize the calm and sweet fragments of love ("Green is the Colour"), more upbeat parts ("The Nile Song"), and much more bizarre sounds that might work well in the context of the heroin world, but which don't make sense outside of the film ("Quicksilver") and flounder horribly as standalone pieces. After all, Pink Floyd was a relatively unknown band that was beginning to fade after the success of their debut, and they're by no means experts in film scores like John Williams or Ennio Morricone (or the Betas, considering A Hard Day's Night and Help!). But it's a worthwhile contribution, and the album achieves some very interesting moments. Perhaps the most remarkable aspect is that they manage to create a solid album, bearing Pink Floyd's signature sound, without including any enormous, monstrous suites like "Saucerful of Secrets," "Atom-Heart-Mother," or "Echoes." Most of the songs are relatively short, and despite the varying moods of some tracks, a certain Pink Floyd style is perceptible. In a way, upon first listen, one experiences a sense of familiarity with the sounds. It's not a lost masterpiece from the group, but I maintain that for Pink Floyd's era, it's a very good effort, with some well-crafted tracks that could have been classics or at least included on compilations from the band's early years.
The album opens with “Cirrus Minor”, where Wright’s keyboards take center stage, crafting a little gem with flute-like sounds and beautiful note progressions. After a very ambient intro of over a minute of birds chirping happily, the acoustic guitars and the hypnotic, delicate melody begin. The keyboard creates a tremolo effect that enhances the song’s dreamlike quality. Around the 2:30 mark, the vocals end, and the guitar leads into a magnificent coda sequence with the flute-like keyboard and the birds in the background, becoming increasingly dramatic and ethereal, yet retaining a certain delicacy. Just over five minutes of very relaxing and atmospheric music. Simple, beautiful, and bearing Floyd’s experimental stamp, it’s a great opening to an album, and I imagine, to a film.
Next up is a very powerful rocker, considered by some to be a proto-metal track. It's "The Nile Song", which has an unusual intensity in Floyd's catalog, except for a copy or remake on this same album, "Ibiza Bar." David screams the vocals wildly, cranks up the distortion, and delivers a devastating melody. Nick Mason sounds brutal on the drums, inserting arrangements that give it that proto-metal feel. It's a surprising song because it deviates somewhat from the Floyd style we know, but it demonstrates that they could rock hard when they wanted to. The downside is that the sound is too muddy and the equalization is terrible, so Gilmour's solos don't shine as much, and compared to the "Ibiza Bar" remake, with the same intro and sequence of tones, "The Nile Song" falls a bit short. In any case, it seems to me that these two tracks (Nile and Ibiza) are more of a parody of the prevailing Hard Rock of the time and, at the same time, a parody of Syd's astral rockers. They simply saw an opportunity to include them on a soundtrack without getting too badly damaged. But the joke worked, and besides, the two songs provided a turning point for the album, which is otherwise quite mellow.
Next up is “Crying Song”, another delicate, simple, beautifully arranged ballad that has everything it needs to work. In my version, the music starts about 30 seconds after the track begins, and I don't know if that's a mistake or if it's related to the film's sequence. The harmony is beautiful, framed by the acoustic guitar and a bell-like keyboard that gives it a lethargic, almost lullaby-like feel. This first part reminds me of the effect of “No Surprises,” doesn't it? At 2:50, David plays a very tranquil, three-finger solo-coda, which is possibly the first to bear the hallmark and sound that will dominate his future work, and the song ends like that, with that dreamy and majestic air of strangeness.
Next up is “Up The Khyber”, which has no reason to exist. Firstly, because it could have worked as part of the film to add intensity to a scene, but as a standalone track it's meaningless; it's just drumming and strange keyboard sounds that my five-year-old neighbor could have composed. And don't tell me it's jazz, because it isn't. Secondly, because even though the drumming is good and perhaps the only redeeming feature of the track, it's a carbon copy of the beat Mason uses in the syncopated battle sequence of the “A Saucerful of Secrets” suite. So, definitely, the song has no purpose; it sounds chaotic, but pointless, and it could have easily made room for one of the tracks that appear in the film but not on the album. Someone said this track could qualify as the stupidest song Floyd ever made… and I agree.
Then there's "Green Is The Colour", a return to folk-progressive ballads, this time with a pastoral feel thanks to the flute, the tender keyboard line, and the solo reminiscent of Jackson Browne, along with a very gentle vocal melody. It's simple, like most of the songs on this soundtrack, but it shows that Pink Floyd could work perfectly in this quieter, more balanced, optimistic territory. After this album, there would be very few songs with this same luminosity.
Next up is “Cymbaline”, which could easily win the award for Pink Floyd’s most criminally underrated song. It also falls into the album’s ballad category, but the vocal harmonies are exquisite, as is the keyboard work, and the way it builds in the chorus is truly moving. The song slowly builds in intensity, especially with Mason adding a bit more drive in the backing vocals, without ever reaching a climax. But it is undeniably beautiful, perfectly balanced, with impressive teamwork, and above all, a highly inspired Rick Wright at the peak of his career. This song undoubtedly deserves to be among the band’s best.
Then there's "Party Sequence", which must have had its reasons in the film, but it's another one of the tracks that feels superfluous on the album. Played with bongos and a flute that seems to have no rhyme or reason, its only redeeming quality is that it lasts less than a minute.
Next up is “Main Theme”, with a much more experimental and bizarre feel, reminiscent of the dark mood of the previous album. There are some very strange effects created with the drum cymbals, sounding like bursts throughout the song. After a lengthy intro of over a minute, which seems like it's going to be another collage of noises, the song ignites with a superb bass line from Waters over the cymbal beat. Just as we're recovering from the first of Roger's magnificent lines, at 2:10 the keyboard enters with some plucked notes with an almost Egyptian feel, which steal the show. Then come changes in tone, the guitar takes on a violin-like effect, and then shifts to a bluesy slide. It's truly IMPRESSIVE what the band manages to achieve in this astral, experimental, dark instrumental, with an incredible result, almost on par with “Set The Controls To the Heart Of The Sun.” And the best part is that it works without being an overly complex suite in terms of structure.
Then comes “Ibiza Bar”, maintaining the album's momentum. It's a great song, the second rocker, with a proto-metal feel… Hey, wait a minute, doesn't it give you a sense of déjà vu? Did Pink Floyd steal it from somewhere? Yes, from themselves, and from a song on the same album. Or can you notice any difference between the intros and the tonal sequences of “The Nile Song” and “Ibiza Bar”? Because I can't. Anyway, maybe they had some connection in the film, but they could have easily called one of them a “reprise” or something like that. The point is, “Ibiza Bar” is much more polished and has a better sound than the first. It might sound less powerful, but with better detail, more developed drumming, and slightly more refined and precise solos. So I'll stick with this one.
Then there's "More Blues", which is essentially Gilmour showing us every blues cliché imaginable for just over two minutes. It's not a bad track, just very generic. Later on, David will have time to showcase his blues influences without sounding blatant, but rather with his own unique and polished style, as in "Shine On You…" or "Comfortably Numb."
And since the album already has songs nominated for the stupidest and most underrated, we also have "Quicksilver" nominated for the most boring song in Floyd's entire discography. It's a soporific and snobbish collage of drawn-out cymbal effects and the monotonous sound of keyboards played practically at random. And while Rick deserves a monument for his delicate and inspired touch on most of the album, here he deserves to be told by a 5-year-old how-not-to-play-the-keyboard. "Quicksilver" is the equivalent of "Revolution #9" but even more boring, and it's not even a short ordeal; it lasts over 7 minutes. Songs like this cause an album that could easily have earned a 9 to lose several points.
The penultimate track is “A Spanish Piece”, another bizarre song, but one that leaves a pleasant aftertaste. It features flamenco-like guitar riffs and a voice—I'm not sure if it belongs to the band or an actor in the movie—doing a Spanish accent and asking for tequila. It's a silly but fun song, combining that Spanish guitar and requinto feel with a dark, cosmic keyboard. It's a simple joke, and not very long, so it's harmless, and it likely evolved into “Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast.”
The album closes with “Dramatic Theme”, which, besides having a highly inventive title, features another great, very cool bass line courtesy of Waters. Not as elaborate as “Main Theme,” but certainly dramatic, it allows David to engage in a great solo—another on this album that already hints at the style he will develop and that will become his trademark. The piece is another short but well-balanced instrumental, with excellent tension management, although it ends rather abruptly, leaving the listener wanting more.
In short, a good album among those from this early period of Floyd. Perhaps because it's a soundtrack it's not as well-known (and yet "Obscured By Clouds" is also a soundtrack and IS well-known), but I think it's one of the most balanced albums they managed to make after Syd's departure and until they rediscovered their own style around '72. The thing is, just as it has some joyful, delicate, and luminous folk gems, or some dark and experimental progressive collages, it also has some huge, bland, stupid, and soporific missteps. And they also demonstrate that they can rock out with gusto with "Ibiza Bar" and "The Nile Song." So, all things considered, it's a fairly diverse album, perhaps the most varied of those from this early period. Another plus is that we see David beginning to create his mathematical and cold guitar style, distancing himself from Syd's crazy, ethereal, and somewhat improvised solos. And another plus is that Wright is in a tremendous moment, shouldering a large part of the album and making it a success with delicate and perfect arrangements.
If you're not a die-hard Pink Floyd fan, this might not be the best place to start discovering the band. But if you're already feeling that Dark Side of the Moon, The Wall, or even Piper are starting to sound repetitive and you want to hear something new from the group, you might be pleasantly surprised by this album. I think it could have a higher rating because of the tracks marked in red, and the good quality of the unmarked tracks that still manage to work well; but unfortunately, those three missteps in blue, and particularly "Quicksilver," really detract from it. If you ignore them and skip ahead, the album is quite enjoyable.
By Corvan
Apr/30/2010
