A fitting end to the career of history’s most valued, treasured and enduring bands…
Review by Raymond Westland
Release date: 10 November 2014
There are probably a million stories written about Pink Floyd and the musical exploits of its individual members, with David Gilmour and Roger Waters being the most visible in the public eye. Gilmour still releases the occasional solo record and Waters is still touring the world with his The Wall project, which is his musical magnus opus after all. The Endless River, the band’s last and final album, is built around the late Richard Wright’s considerable skills on the keyboard and it’s meant as a tribute to his memory and musical legacy.
This makes The Endless River a special album to say the least. In many ways, comparisons can be drawn with Made In Heaven by Queen, another release which was put together by the surviving members after the unfortunate death of lead singer Freddie Mercury. The genesis of this Pink Floyd album is the recording sessions of The Division Bell back in 1993. A lot of the material that didn’t make the cut was put away in a vault for later use. It has to be said that the parts being used on The Endless River aged really well, considering the fact that it was written more than twenty years ago. It’s also another reminder of Pink Floyd’s timeless charm and quality.
Having said that, The Endless River takes quite some time to digest, especially in this day and age. The album is basically one long mainly instrumental track, divided into different sections, in very much the same way as a classical music piece. This also gives the whole project a certain ambient feel. The Endless River isn’t about technical flash and dash either, something which is all the rage with more contemporary progressive rock and metal bands. All the music is built around Richard Wright’s keyboard and synthesizer play with Gilmour’s guitar play only playing second fiddle. It takes quite a lot of listening before pieces like ‘Things Left Unsaid’, ‘It’s What We Do’ and ‘Nervana’ immerse you in sheer musical bliss.
For the sake of argument one could say that Roger Waters should have been involved with the project. However, he was never a part of The Division Bell sessions to begin with. The Endless River doesn’t have the stellar quality of some of the band’s seminal works like The Wall, Dark Side Of The Moon or Wish You Were Here. But then again, the album was never meant to be as such. Above all, it’s a heartfelt tribute to the musical legacy of Richard Wright and thus a fitting end to the career of history’s most valued, treasured and enduring bands. Therefore, an essential release, if ever there was any.
9 out of 10
Track Listing:
- Things Left Unsaid
- It’s What We Do
- Ebb And Flow
- Sum
- Skins
- Unsung
- Anisina
- The Lost Art Of Conversation
- On Noodle Street
- Nightlight
- Allons-Y (1)
- Autumn ‘68
- Allons-Y (2)
- Talkin’ Hawkin’
- Calling
- Eyes To Pearls
- Surfacing
- Louder Than Words
