[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_code module_class=”custom-cat” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n
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[\/et_pb_code][et_pb_text module_class=”article-title” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_font=”||||||||” header_text_align=”center” header_text_color=”#111111″ header_font_size=”68px” custom_margin=”40px||||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”intro-text” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_orientation=”center” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
Shine on you crazy diamonds: MOJO ranks every Pink Floyd studio album.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”credit-main” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”||||||||” text_font_size=”16px” text_orientation=”center” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
Words by Mark Paytress<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/12\/Pink-Floyd-1973-hero.jpg.jpg” title_text=”Pink-Floyd-1973-hero.jpg” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n Drummer Nick Mason once described Pink Floyd as \u201cthe last of the gifted amateurs\u201d. To a generation that went pop with The Beatles, they\u2019re archetypal muso pioneers who elevated rock into a refined late 20th century art form. Today, they\u2019re more likely regarded as the mature listener\u2019s Radiohead. There\u2019s merit in all three perspectives.<\/p>\n But first impressions stick hard, and for some Floyd remain the first and last of the great European psychedelic acts \u2013 house band at UFO in \u201967, and the inspiration for numerous Kraut- and space-rockers. And\u00a0for a band that prided itself in anti-star anonymity, the original Floyd frontman Syd Barrett was a poster-boy for acid rock and, later, a textbook freak-scene casualty. His traumatic breakdown was both the breaking and the making of Pink Floyd, his subsequent alienated state the inspiration for so much of the band\u2019s later and greatest works.<\/p>\n Barrett\u2019s departure, after just one album, robbed the Floyd of its star and songwriter. With his replacement, Cambridge pal David Gilmour, joining fellow Cantabrigian Roger Waters (bass), Rick Wright (keyboards) and Mason, the group won a reputation as a technologically advanced concert attraction, though it wasn\u2019t until 1971\u2019s\u00a0Meddle\u00a0that they hit on the sophisticated, melodic style that became their trademark.<\/p>\n 1973\u2019s\u00a0The Dark Side Of The Moon\u00a0captured this and the group\u2019s abiding themes perfectly. It launched Pink Floyd into superstar territory, and that\u2019s where they stayed, even seeing off punk rock with 1979\u2019s antagonistic\u00a0The Wall. By now, Waters was running the show, prompting tensions that saw band-members concentrate on solo projects after 1983\u2019s\u00a0The Final Cut. Regrouping as a trio without Waters for 1987\u2019s\u00a0A Momentary Lapse Of Reason and 1994\u2019s\u00a0The Division Bell, the classic quartet reunited for the Live 8 concert in 2005, though Wright\u2019s death in 2008 and the recent resumption of hostilities between Waters and Gilmour means there\u2019ll be no full-scale repeat. Remember them this way…<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#111111″ module_class=”custom-divider” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/12\/Endless-River.jpg.jpg” title_text=”Endless-River.jpg” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n 15. The Endless River<\/b> (Parlophone, 2014)<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n In July 2005, the classic Pink Floyd line-up including Roger Waters regrouped for the first time in 24 years at the London leg of the Live 8 charity spectacular. However, the death of Rick Wright in 2008 drew a line under any residual hopes for a future Pink Floyd album. His passing did, though, prompt David Gilmour and Nick Mason to revisit tapes made by the trio during the making of 1994\u2019s\u00a0The Division Bell. An hour of material was salvaged and assembled into four parts, partly to emphasise the Floyd\u2019s role as champions of ambient music, partly to spotlight Wright\u2019s contribution to the group. \u201cHis playing was at the heart of the Pink Floyd sound,\u201d Gilmour acknowledged as the album debuted at Number 1 in the UK.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#111111″ module_class=”custom-divider” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/12\/A-Momentary-Lapse-Of-Reason.jpg.jpg” title_text=”A-Momentary-Lapse-Of-Reason.jpg” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n 14. A Momentary Lapse Of Reason <\/b>(EMI, 1987) [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n Though Waters had departed in 1984 thinking Pink Floyd were over, Gilmour was determined to keep the group going, even if Nick Mason was his only official accomplice, with the sacked Rick Wright reinstalled on a \u2018hired hand\u2019 basis. To plug the gap, Anthony Moore helped turn the guitarist\u2019s thoughts into lyrics,\u00a0The Wall\u00a0co-producer Bob Ezrin was back and more than a dozen supplementary musicians chipped in. Mostly recorded at Gilmour\u2019s houseboat studio, the album marked a return to Floydian themes, with an emphasis on bite-sized songs such as Learning To Fly and On The Turning Away, both pulled off as singles. Dogs Of War showed that Gilmour could bare his teeth too, admitting \u201cWe all have a dark side \/ To say the least\u201d. Nevertheless, Nick Mason felt that the album was \u201ctoo careful\u201d, a result, perhaps of the threat that Waters might put a legal halt to proceedings at any moment.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#111111″ module_class=”custom-divider” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_divider][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/12\/Atom-Heart-Mother.jpg.jpg” title_text=”Atom-Heart-Mother.jpg” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n 13. Atom Heart Mother<\/b> (Harvest, 1970)<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n After the throat-clearing\u00a0Ummagumma, Floyd extended their concept rock reputation with two contrasting lengthy pieces that top and tail this set. The side-long title track, which featured an orchestra, a choir and composer\/arranger Ron Geesin, evoked the grandness of The Who\u2019s Tommy\u00a0and the eloquence of early Curved Air.\u00a0Set closer Alan\u2019s Psychedelic Breakfast was more in the avant-garde vein with taps dripping and bacon frying, something\u00a0Floyd occasionally\u00a0repeated on stage.\u00a0But what no doubt impressed in the concert hall\u00a0sounded ham-fisted on reflection, even to group members who disparaged the album. Despite its shortcomings, \u2018the one with the cow cover\u2019 gave Floyd their first Number 1 in Britain, confirming their reputation as the country\u2019s leading underground-turned-progressive act.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#111111″ module_class=”custom-divider” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/12\/The-Division-Bell.jpg.jpg” title_text=”The-Division-Bell.jpg” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n 12. The Division Bell <\/b>(EMI, 1994)<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n From the opening instrumental, Cluster One, The Division Bell sounded more assuredly like a Pink Floyd album than most had done since Animals in 1977. Gilmour, Wright and Mason worked more harmoniously than they\u2019d done in years, amassing dozens of musical ideas during the first few weeks of sessions. If the album had communication as an overall theme, it was probably best expressed on second song, What Do You Want From Me, an impassioned blues with lyrics by Gilmour\u2019s soon-to-be wife Polly Samson. Most Floydian of all was the closer, High Hopes, inspired by Gilmour\u2019s pre-band days in Cambridge, containing references to early songs Bike and See Emily Play, a time when \u201cThe grass was greener \/ The light was brighter\u201d.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#111111″ module_class=”custom-divider” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/12\/Obscured-By-Clouds.jpg.jpg” title_text=”Obscured-By-Clouds.jpg” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n 11.<\/b> Obscured By Clouds<\/strong> (Harvest, 1972)<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n Following 1969’s More, Floyd’s second soundtrack to a Barbet Schroeder film, La Vall\u00e9e, was recorded while the band worked up what would become\u00a0The Dark Side Of The Moon. Like the first, the predominant sound is acoustic, with Burning Bridges very much the key collaboration here. Written by Waters and Wright, with Gilmour adding warm, Peter Green-like guitar touches, the song is characteristic of the languid early \u201970s Pink Floyd sound. There are surprises too. The Gold It\u2019s In The\u2026 sounds like a Sweet Jane pastiche, Free Four, a happy song about death\u201d according to one reviewer, was US-style rock with a glimpse of future Floydian themes.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#111111″ module_class=”custom-divider” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/12\/More.jpg.jpg” title_text=”More.jpg” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n 10. More<\/b> (EMI Columbia, 1969)<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n David Gilmour\u2019s contributions to\u00a0 A Saucerful Of Secrets indicated he\u2019d make an easy fit after Syd Barrett\u2019s departure with one reservation \u2013 he was not a natural songwriter. Barbet Schroeder\u2019s invitation for the group to deliver the score for a counterculture film about heroin addiction came at the right time, giving the group a space in which to explore new musical directions. Besides, the Floyd\u2019s instrumental work lent itself to soundtracks. Three strands emerged: a first side dominated by melancholy, mostly pastoral Roger Waters material; several mood music instrumentals; and a flirtation with power trio dynamics on The Nile Song and its twin, Ibiza Bar. It\u2019s worth noting that Waters\u2019 The Crying Song shares some similarity with Syd Barrett\u2019s solo song Opel, taped around the same time.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#111111″ module_class=”custom-divider” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/12\/The-Final-Cut.jpg.jpg” title_text=”The-Final-Cut.jpg” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n 9.<\/b> The Final Cut <\/strong>(Harvest, 1983) [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n Initially,\u00a0The Final Cut\u00a0was to be a supplementary set to\u00a0The Wall\u00a0titled Spare Bricks. Then, in what would later turn out to be a critical moment in Roger Waters\u2019 life, he rewrote it as a concept album concerning the betrayal of the postwar consensus concerning overtly liberal and internationalist values. At times, Waters\u2019 righteous indignation at the \u201covergrown infants\u201d made him sound like an ageing punk rocker backed by a thick, tough sound that sounded nothing like Pink Floyd. After all, Rick Wright had been sacked, Nick Mason was barely present and David Gilmour reduced to just one (joint) vocal, on Not Now John. Lambasted by many in its time,\u00a0The Final Cut\u00a0sounds a lot better now the world has caught up with Waters\u2019 ire.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#111111″ module_class=”custom-divider” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/12\/SAUCERFUL-OF-SECRETS.jpg.jpg” title_text=”SAUCERFUL-OF-SECRETS.jpg” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n 8. A Saucerful Of Secrets<\/b> (Harvest, 1969)<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n Floyd\u2019s second album, and the first with David Gilmour, finds them inching their way beyond Barrett-style psychedelia towards an uncertain future. More rock than pop, it again picks up the interstellar theme (something Waters denies) with the dronal riff-rock of Let There Be More Light and Waters\u2019 own Set\u00a0The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun. Surely the band\u2019s most democratic studio set,\u00a0A Saucerful\u2026\u00a0finds room for Rick Wright\u2019s Syd-shaded Remember A Day and See-Saw; the epic, three-movement title track, meticulously mapped out by ex-architectural students Waters and Nick Mason; while Barrett makes\u00a0a valedictory cameo on the fragmented and surreal Jugband Blues.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#111111″ module_class=”custom-divider” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/12\/ummagumma.jpg.jpg” title_text=”ummagumma.jpg” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n 7. Ummagumma <\/b>(Harvest, 1969)<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n Two sides of this double album were a revelation; the remaining two an indulgence. Live, late-\u201960s Floyd had become a formidable post-psychedelia force, the loss of Barrett erased by their rebirth as accomplished masters of cosmic rock constructs.\u00a0The Piper\u2026\u00a0fave Astronomy Domine sounds even more otherworldly here, while nightmarish drone-rock yellathon Careful With That Axe, Eugene no doubt gave Hawkwind a few ideas. A pity, then, that the stunning concert material was diluted by a second disc where each member was given half a side\u00a0to parade his individual talents.\u00a0It might have fed a few egos, but fans were left hungry for the return of the collective Pink Floyd consciousness and all that entailed.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#111111″ module_class=”custom-divider” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/12\/ANIMALS.jpg.jpg” title_text=”ANIMALS.jpg” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n 6. Animals <\/b>(Harvest, 1977) [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n With each success, Pink Floyd \u2013 or, more accurately, lyricist\/driving force Roger Waters \u2013 grew increasingly disillusioned, and never more so than on this tough, attack-minded set. The recent emergence of punk, which threatened to undermine everything the band stood for \u2013 Johnny Rotten\u2019s customised \u2018I Hate Pink Floyd\u2019 T-shirt said it all \u2013 only served to intensify Waters\u2019s bleak, Orwellian world view. Handbag-wielding moralist Mary Whitehouse is clearly the target on Pigs (\u201cYou got to stem the evil tide, keep it all on the inside\u201d), while the agitated drone-rock of Sheep chides the passivity of the masses, and Dogs \u2013 \u201cAnd you believe at heart that everyone\u2019s a killer\u201d \u2013 expresses the misanthropic tone more generally.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#111111″ module_class=”custom-divider” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/12\/THE-WALL-1.jpg.jpg” title_text=”THE-WALL-1.jpg” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n 5. The Wall <\/b>(Harvest, 1979)<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n Widely regarded as Waters\u2019s masterwork, a view reinforced by the later big-screen version,\u00a0The Wall\u00a0wraps up all the Floyd\u2019s prevailing themes and presents them storybook style. From the cruelties of war and childhood to alienation, manipulation and the chasm between band and audience, it\u2019s all here in one big Gerald Scarfe-designed metaphor. With Waters calling the shots, and Rick Wright falling through the band\u2019s internal cracks, it\u2019s Gilmour who delivers the most Floydian cut, Comfortably Numb. But with a Number 1 single \u2013 Another Brick In The Wall, Part 2 \u2013 and producer Bob Ezrin supervising the orchestrations, this radical departure won a new generation of admirers.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#111111″ module_class=”custom-divider” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/12\/MEDDLE.jpg.jpg” title_text=”MEDDLE.jpg” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n 4.<\/b> Meddle<\/strong> (Harvest, 1971)<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n After the grand folly of\u00a0Atom Heart Mother, the Floyd reined in their orchestral ambitions, relying instead on creating textured work using their own instruments. The result was Echoes, a masterful, side-long piece that propelled the mysticism of late-\u201960s Hendrix and Donovan into new realms of sonic sophistication. It was a significant breakthrough \u2013 blissful yet melancholic, intricate yet melodic \u2013 and remains a peak in the band\u2019s career. But the panache couldn\u2019t be sustained across two sides. Opener One Of These Days was a dynamic drone-rock chiller, but featuring Steve Marriott\u2019s dog as vocalist on Seamus only confirmed the band\u2019s desire to resist album-length greatness.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#111111″ module_class=”custom-divider” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/12\/WHISH-YOU-WERE-HERE.jpg.jpg” title_text=”WHISH-YOU-WERE-HERE.jpg” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n 3.<\/b> Wish You Were Here<\/strong> (Harvest, 1975)<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n Having considered an album of sounds made with household instruments, Floyd debuted three songs in concert in November 1974. That just one of these, Shine On You Crazy Diamond, made it onto this hugely anticipated set testifies to the creative uncertainty prompted by the enormous success of\u00a0The Dark Side Of The Moon. While that had explored madness in a general sense, Shine On\u2026 (\u201cyou painter, you piper, you prisoner\u201d) purposefully invoked Syd Barrett, a choice made all the more acute when their \u2018crazy diamond\u2019 ex-bandmate spontaneously appeared at the sessions. Elsewhere, Waters rages at the music biz, his bile tempered on the title track by Gilmour\u2019s classy melodicism.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#111111″ module_class=”custom-divider” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/12\/PIPER-AT-THE-GATES-OF-DAWN.jpg.jpg” title_text=”PIPER-AT-THE-GATES-OF-DAWN.jpg” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n 2.<\/b> Piper At The Gates Of Dawn<\/strong> (EMI COLUMBIA, 1967)<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n In many regards, this is the anti-The Dark Side, a wide-eyed Summer of Love leap into psychedelic abandon with barely a hint of progressive polish, let alone thematic rigour. But, propelled by the songwriting and fantastical imagination of Syd Barrett,\u00a0Piper\u2026\u00a0has its own internal logic, balancing electrifying, state-of-the-art improvisations (Interstellar Overdrive; Pow R. Toc H.) with troubadour trip-outs back to childhood (The Gnome; Bike), mediaeval times (Matilda Mother) and countryside (The Scarecrow). Barrett\u2019s perfectly enunciated Englishness and jutting Telecaster rhythms prevail, as Rick Wright\u2019s Phantom Of The Opera Farfisa\u00a0runs provide a gothic sideshow.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#111111″ module_class=”custom-divider” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/12\/DARK-SIDE-OF-THE-MOON.jpg.jpg” title_text=”DARK-SIDE-OF-THE-MOON.jpg” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n 1. The Dark Side Of The Moon<\/b> (Harvest, 1972)<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n While rightly regarded as a peak of prog rock invention, The Dark Side\u2026 also owed a little to the Stones\u2019 Exile\u2026 (the soulful backing vocals) and Bowie\u2019s Ziggy Stardust (wrapping loosely related material into a concept). The result was a record that defined the decade, that became more famous than the band themselves, and an enduring rock classic that still sounds as crisp and relevant as it did 40 years ago. Waters would never again write so elegantly about madness and alienation, while the band, now with Gilmour vocally to the fore,\u00a0were never more balanced. And with no dud\u00a0in sight, audiophile-friendly production and a rousing, meaningful finale,\u00a0The Dark Side\u2026\u00a0more than justifies its reputation.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#111111″ module_class=”custom-divider” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_divider][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Shine on you crazy diamonds: MOJO ranks every Pink Floyd studio album.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":3561,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"modified_by":"akindell","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/mojo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3569","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/mojo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/mojo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/mojo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/mojo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3569"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/mojo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3569\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3572,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/mojo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3569\/revisions\/3572"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/mojo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3561"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/mojo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/mojo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/mojo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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