How does a band follow up a stone-cold classic? By making a second one. After the enormous success of 1973’s The Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd decided to again make an album that focused on larger thematic issues. Those issues included alienation, the conflict of art and commerce, and the band’s feelings of loss after Syd Barrett departed the band to deal with his mental health issues.
Wish You Were Here is built around the bookends of the multi-part composition “Shine on You Crazy Diamond,” segments of which surround three other songs: “Welcome to the Machine,” “Have a Cigar,” and the title track. While the band has claimed “Shine On” to be about various things, it’s largely read as a tribute to Syd, who they missed, and who, on a couple of occasions, showed up to the studio, often disheveled, while they were recording.
“Welcome to the Machine” and “Have a Cigar” take on the frustrations that accompany commercial success, including the dread of possibly trading artistic integrity for success. While the band’s vocalist/bassist Roger Waters has said “Wish You Were Here” was not directly about Syd, guitarist/vocalist David Gilmour has noted that he never plays the song without thinking of his former bandmate. Essentially two verses and a single chorus, it’s as devastating an evocation of loss as anything in popular music.
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Comments
Thanks Troy, for this fresh look and appreciation to the follow-up album of ‘Dark Side of the Moon’.
It can be a tricky thing to pull off a successful successor, but Pink Floyd certainly did so with ‘Wish You Were Here’. I have nothing further to add.